On what writers need
January 11, 2011
I just finished reading House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. It’s been on my to-read list forever and I finally scratched out some time to make it happen. It didn’t take much; the book is a collection of short stories, some of which aren’t even a full page long.
The stories were easy to read and passed the time quickly and I was grateful that I got some of the cultural references that other readers undoubtedly miss. Here’s the thing though, the stories were the second best part of the book.
The introduction was killer.
It starts with a picture of a young Cisneros sitting at her desk– a desk where she doesn’t write. Cisneros goes on to describe what life was like as she was writing the vignettes that ended up in House on Mango Street.
And about what she learned in the process of putting them there.
One thing that she includes is learning that “writers need long stretches of solitude”.
I guess I’d never considered it, but I think it must be true.
You should read it. (Especially you, Ames.)
Posted in Uncategorized
POSTS
content rss
January 11th, 2011 at 11:59 pm
fix your typos. k, thanks.
and one sentence up there is gramatically incorrect.
sometimes it’s tiring being the smart sister.
January 12th, 2011 at 1:09 pm
when i said fix your mistakes i did not mean call me at 7:30 on my day off to ask for my expertise.
January 12th, 2011 at 9:30 pm
“…in English my name means too many letters.” I’ve read it girl, it’s fab. But I’m gonna pull it off the shelf and read a story or two tonight before bed. I copied a couple of them and read them with the seniors at Granadino. 🙂
January 19th, 2011 at 10:18 am
Sisser…..you are too funny!
Solitude is good, just like anything else, in the correct proportion.
January 20th, 2011 at 4:02 pm
I’m so glad you are back writing your thoughts. Thank you for sharing them with the rest of us. I hope that is resolution too! Missed you!!