I suppose if one lives long enough, one will experience war up close or from a distance. Our attitudes toward war, toward those who engage in it or are subject to its consequences, are influenced by the times and circumstances in which we live, by the people we know, by the experiences we have … and by the books we read.
Every war generates its own literature in its time and in later generations. The same war does not automatically generate the same story, or viewpoint, or reader response. The best war literature makes us contemplate the meaning of war to us, personally and as part of larger communities, nations and a diverse species sharing a singular planet.
Whether you choose to read a classic or contemporary book about war, consider following it with a book that approaches the same conflict from an opposing viewpoint. Stretch your vision of humanity. The point is not to change your opinion, although that is possible, but to give you a greater understanding of the human experience.
This blog post honors those who serve and sacrifice on behalf of the rest of us.
There is great, enduring war literature for every generation. Some of the best include:
• The Iliad by Homer: Greek war in the Bronze Age; poetry
• The Art of War by Sun Tzu: ancient Chinese military treatise
• War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy: Franco-Russian War; novel
• The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane: American Civil War; novel
• All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque: World War I; novel
• For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway: Spanish Civil War; novel
• Catch-22 by Joseph Heller: World War II; satire
• M.A.S.H. by H. Richard Hornberger (pen name Richard Hooker): Korean War; novel
• The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien: Vietnam War; fiction, short stories
• Black Hawk Down by Mark Bowden: Somalia; nonfiction
• The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway: Bosnian-Serbian War; novel
• The Last True Story I’ll Ever Tell by John Crawford: Gulf War; memoir
• Behind the Lines Edited by Andrew Carroll: non-fiction letters
After a relentlessly white winter, I was so happy to not see snow that even a Mother’s Day rainstorm couldn’t dampen my spirits. As the week continued with one rainy day following another, I thought less about winter and more about the sunny spring that is struggling to break through this gloomy gray wetness. How we view rain depends so much on past experiences and current circumstances.
In the literary universe, rain is used as a symbol for life, death, miracle, disaster, hope, fear, purification, corruption, etc. It can create atmosphere or become a plot device. Perhaps no other weather condition offers so many symbols – and at polar opposites!
It isn’t hard to think of examples where rain plays a role in story telling: Noah’s Ark and the 40-day rain that brings destruction, then restoration; the sweet April showers that introduce The Canterbury Tales; in countless Shakespearian plays; providing atmosphere and a plot device in Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights; the rain, both hopeful and tragic, at the end of Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath; and, of course, the stereotypical “It was a dark and stormy night.”
The next time it rains where you are, stop, observe and imagine what story might be inspired by the type of rain, the setting and the circumstance you are experiencing. Is it an “ahhh” rain, an “oh!” rain or an “aww” rain? Then, come in out of the rain, cozy up and grab a good book to read!
Even before the Mother’s Day downpour, what started me thinking about rain in literature was watching the 1939 movie The Rains Came, based on Louis Bromfield’s novel. The film was nominated for six Academy Awards and was the first to win for Best Special Effects, beating out The Wizard of Oz in that Oscar category. The book is worth reading and the movie, which I saw on the big screen at the beautifully restored historic (1915) Lincoln Theatre in Massillon, Ohio, is worth watching.
Mother Goose. Old Mother Hubbard. The old woman in the shoe who had so many children. The fairy godmother. The wicked stepmother. From earliest childhood, mothers are key characters in the literature we hear and then read.
Drawn with broad brush strokes that are easy for young minds to understand in nursery rhymes and fairytales, the literary mother-character’s complexity grows as we do.
On Mother’s Day, we celebrate great mothers – those in our lives and the lives of others. In literature, widely celebrated mothers include Margaret March (“Marmee”) in Little Women, Ma Ingalls in Little House on the Prairie and Molly Weasly in the Harry Potter series.
Great mothers are further elevated when we realize how many really bad mothers populate the world … or so it would appear from their frequent portrayals in all forms of story-telling. Some that come to mind are the mythological Medea, the fictional Corinne Dollanganger in Flowers in the Attic (a rotten apple that did not fall far from the tree) and Mommy Dearest herself, Joan Crawford (as described by daughter Christina Crawford). Bad characters seem to interest us more, so it makes sense they inhabit so much of the literary landscape.
If you are fortunate to have a great mother – or your know one – show her she is special this Mother’s Day by presenting her with a book!
On Mother’s Day, I honor the memory of my own mother, Gabriele “Gay” Eman. Like so many other mothers, she first introduced me to the boundless universe of literature by the loving act of reading to me. If you love a young child, read to him or her. It’s one of the best, most enduring gifts you can give.
There are two reasons why authors do book signings: to sell books and to sell themselves. Well-known authors are celebrities who easily attract an audience. But even lesser known or new authors can gain much and they offer much to the people who attend their book signings. There’s usually some presentation — at a bookstore, a library, a workshop or book fair — wherein the author shares insights into the book or the writing process. The presentation can be a formal talk to a group or a brief one-on-one chat.
An author’s signature on his or her book increases the value of the book for collectors. Some autographs are rare but at the other end of the spectrum you find authors who autograph as many copies of their books as possible. One notable example is James Ellroy, crime fiction writer (L.A. Confidential, The Black Dahlia, others), essayist and producer who reportedly signed every copy of the 65,000 first run of My Dark Places.
For authors, there’s an art to having successful book signings. It should be viewed as part of the marketing journey, not as a destination. Pity the poor author who thinks that merely showing up at a book signing will draw throngs of admiring book buyers. As with all other aspects of book marketing, this effort requires a lot of prep work: think of the book’s unique selling points that relate to the book signing venue; create compelling news releases to local print and broadcast media; make sure your website is up to date; work with the event organizers to post information online; perhaps offer a free book through a contest run by the venue or local media; send personal invitations to select target groups, if appropriate; etc.
It’s equally important for authors to have a plan for the venue – location, table, seating, pens, where in the book to sign and how to sign. Some suggestions are offered at Writing World.
For authors, I say “Go, get ‘em!” Contact book stores, libraries, schools or seniors centers (if appropriate) and book clubs, anywhere that people who read gather. Keep up on book fests where your participation may include a book signing. Your fans — current and future — are waiting.
For booklovers, I also say, “Go, get ‘em!” Check the literary section or upcoming events in your local newspapers and library newsletters. Get on the mailing lists of neighborhood bookstores. Check clubs and community groups that bring in speakers. You might end up with a book by a future Hemingway, King, Austen, Rowling, Shakespeare … or Ellroy!
After a smashingly successful Illinois launch of the nationwide Tyrone Power centennial events, featuring the debut of Searching for My Father, Tyrone Power by Romina Power, fans in Ohio are invited to red carpet receptions and movie screenings May 8th in Cincinnati and May 10th in Masillon. Tyrone Power’s three children will be in attendance, autographing limited first editions of Romina’s book. For details about those, and future centennial events, visit Movie Memories.
On April 23rd (Shakespeare’s birthday), hundreds of thousands of lives were impacted as a record 29,000 volunteer givers distributed 580,000 books to light and non-readers on World Book Night. More than one-third of the books went to students and their families. Others were delivered to food banks and fitness centers, hospitals and homeless shelters, parks and prisons. Some givers creatively matched book themes to locations: Young Men and Fire at fire stations, Wait Till Next Year at ballparks small and large (from little league diamonds to Wrigley Field and Fenway Park), and The Zookeeper’s Wife at zoos.
To help World Book Night keep creating stories–and readers–for years to come, you can make a tax-deductible gift to World Book Night now or volunteer to participate next year. World Book Night: spreading the love of reading, person to person.
