4/29/10

From HIGH SOCIETY THE LIFE OF GRACE KELLY by DONALD SPOTO

Once-married-then-frustrated-actress Grace Kelly once found it acceptable as a Princess to read poetry.

Page 265

"With the actors Richard Kiley and Richard Pasco, she participated in "The American Heritage," prepared In honor of the U.s. Bicentennial. Grace recited poems by Anne Bradstreet, Carl Sandburg, Ogden Nash, T.S. Eliot,and Robert Frost. (Originally staged at the Edinburgh International Festival, the program played later in Pittsburgh, Minneapolis, Princeton, Harvard, and Washington D.C.

"The staged poetry reading continued sporadically from 1976 through 1981 and were a source of great pleasure for Grace and her audiences. She canceled them early in 1982 when she suffered the first of a series of severe headaches that seemed to be migraines but were not. No cause or remedy could be found, except that her blood pressure was abnormally high, and she could not tolerate the side effects of most antihypertensive medications then available to her. The headaches came and went, but her blood pressure was not well controlled. These ailments were the first signs that she was suffering form vascular disease, just like several members of her family.

C 2009 Donald Spoto
Harmony Books

4/25/10

COCO CHANEL Quote

"Some people think luxury is the opposite of poverty. It is not. It is the opposite of vulgarity." - CoCo Chanel

4/22/10

4/19/10

LA TIMES FESTIVAL OF BOOKS at UCLA

Sat, Apr 24, 2010 - Sun, Apr 25, 2010

UCLA FESTIVAL OF BOOKS LOS ANGELES TIMES

It's always great to be around other people who are crazy for books!

4/17/10

NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO LINK - LOTS OF GREAT LITERARY INTERVIEWS and MUSIC

Love listening to NPR... NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO

4/12/10

POLAND'S TRAGEDY AND POLISH-AMERICANS (LIKE ME!)

As a Polish-American, it is difficult for me to believe that the Polish plane that crashed over Russian the other day, was not a kind of holocaust staged by the Russians. For all of those who would wish me to believe that Dan Brown's DaVinci Code is a revelation of conspiracy theories rather than a fictive novel, let me say that many Polish Americans believe that THE COLD WAR GOES ON! This plane crash, because of the importance of so many passengers now dead, is a HISTORY CHANGING EVENT.

The fact that President Lech Kaczynski, his wife, and so very many people important to today's Poland, were on their way to Katyn, a place in the Russian Forest where Polish intellectuals and military officers were dumped in an unmarked grave 70 years ago by Russian soldiers, is especially upsetting. I'm one of those Americans who has ancestors said to be taken away by Russians, never to be seen again. I have been unable to verify or locate these people and I would like the records of the names of those prisoners to be opened.

In one LA Times article I read (in paper) "I just have this feeling that Katyn is a diabolical place in Polish History." Tomasz Lis, journalist and author.


There are so very many links to this story on the Internet. But let me say this. I am linking to the Russian point of view above. So if you are by chance one of my readers from Poland, or Hungary, or Slovakia, please understand the reasons behind this. I'm trying to be fair. I'm trying not to believe that a pilot with experience, with knowledge of his passengers, and warned not to land, would do so anyway. I'm trying not to believe that there was not a terrorist on board, or some character who put a gun to his head.

C Christine Trzyna All Rights Reserved including International and Internet Rights. Please contact me via comments.



4/11/10

From PEONY IN LOVE by LISA SEE

"The Ming dynasty fell in 1644 and the Qing Dynasty, led by the Manchus, began. For about thirty years, the country was in turmoil. Some women were forced from their homes; others went out by choice. Literally thousands of women became published poets and writers. The lovesick maidens were part of this phenomenon. The works of more than twenty of them have survived today.

"I have followed the traditional Chinese style for rendering dates. Emperor Kangxi reigned from 1662-1722. Tang Xianzu's opera The Peony Pavilion was first produced and then published in 1598. Chen Tong (Peony in this novel) was born ca.1649. Tan Ze Ca 1656, and Quian Yi ca 1671. In 1694, The Three Wives Commentary became the first book of it's kind to be written and published by women anywhere in the world."

Lisa See C 2007
Random House Publisher

CONNECT TO LISA SEE's BIO by clicking on the title above

4/7/10

WILDERNESS by LORINE NIEDECKER

WILDERNESS by Lorine Niedecker

You are the man
You are my other country
and I find it hard going.

You are the prickly pear.
You are the sudden violent storm.
The torrent to raise the river
to float the wounded dear.

****
Saw this poetry on the bus and quickly wrote it down...

4/5/10

SKIRBALL : MONSTERS AND MIRACLES A JOURNEY THROUGH JEWISH PICTURE BOOKS

Link now to the Skirball Cultural Center....

"Showcasing more than 100 original illustrations, this delightful exhibition takes visitors on a journey through the world of Jewish picture books from the 16th century to the present.... "

Included are Maurice Sendak, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Lemony Snicket, and Art Spiegelman." (These are the authors I've read. I have Singer and Spiegelman in my collection." Christine Trzyna


Skirball
2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd.
LA, CA 90049

4/2/10

CHRISTINE TRZYNA WRITERLY LIFE COPYRIGHT

Christine Trzyna Writerly Life Rights Information  AKA Christine Trzyna BlogSpot AKA Christine Trzyna

Every once in a while I'll be posting a notice like this one that reminds readers that the content of this blog is Copyright Christine Trzyna with all rights reserved including Internet and International Rights.

If interested in communicating with Christine Trzyna please send a comment that includes your e-mail address and full name.Comments do not automatically appear on the Internet and are moderated.

THANKS!

4/1/10

C IN PALE BLUE

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