Tidbits.
(Monday, September 18, 2006)
I have been reading Katherine Anne Porter's short novel "Old Mortality." The short novel is something I hadn't entertained up until this point--at least, not knowingly. I've read Ethan Frome without even considering the genre.
A little blurb before the story began enlightened me to some of Porter's life and career, and I found her inspirational for many reasons. It took her twenty-five years to write her only novel, and she was not published until she was in her thirties. She had many different occupations here and there to "keep her afloat," as the volume says, amidst her writing and travels. Her life made me think:
There is time. Slow down, don't push too hard.
Strive for quality. Put yourself fully into the one thing you wish to accomplish.
Don't spread yourself too thin--or you will be everywhere, but barely. Be one place, fully.
Embrace your imperfections.
Her words are simple and lovely. I found myself underlining many phrases and dogearing several pages, just because some of the words she wrote were so beautiful--and yet they weren't flowery.
A little tidbit that I read over and over: "Young namesake Amy, on her way to a dance, would swish through the hall in ruffled white taffeta, glimmering like a moth in the lamplight, carrying her elbows pointed back stiffly as wings, sliding along as if she were on rollers, in the fashionable walk of her day."
And that inspired me to begin a little something called "Tidbits." I often find myself folding corners and marking little pieces from the books I'm reading, pieces I'd love to share. I thought I would do just that--make it a point to share some little tidbits anytime I come across them... and feel free to share some of yours, if you find any, too. It might inspire someone else to pick up something they otherwise might not have, and read something new.
© Megan K. 2006-2007
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Don't spread yourself too thin--or you will be everywhere, but barely. Be one place, fully.
i loved this and sooooo needed this reminder today!