"I am not throwing away my shot" - Lin-Manuel Miranda, Inspiration, and Persevering in writing

I had heard the rave reviews of the smash-hit/blockbuster/phenomenon known as Hamilton for a few years ... I finally saw Hamilton on July 4th, locked in my air-conditioned room trying to block out the sounds of fireworks and firecrackers and tuning in to the sublime music and acting that makes Hamilton so unique.

I loved it! Since then I have listened to the music over and over (I'm listening now) and I plan to see it again soon, trying to rope in some of my family members to watch it with me.

Forgive me for presuming, but I have sensed a few parallels between Lin-Manuel Miranda and me.

1. He read a book that inspired him - Ron Chernow's biography of Hamilton.
    I read a book that inspired me - The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano.

2. He spent years working on the music for Hamilton the musical.

    I spent years researching Equiano's life and that of his daughter, Joanna Vassa.

3. He built a world for theater-goers and movie-watchers to inhabit for a few hours.

    I built a world--Nigeria and South Carolina in the mid 18th century; England in the early

   19th century, for readers to inhabit for a few days.

4. He fashioned a compelling story about a complex man--Alexander Hamilton.

    I attempted to fashion a compelling story about a complex man--Olaudah Equiano.

5. He taught some American history while entertaining audiences.

    I teach some American and British history in my historical novel.

5. He wrote an award-winning musical, as both composer and lyricist, attracting millions to the stage and screen.

    I wrote....

Well, that may be where the parallels end. I did write a historical novel about the daughter and sister of Olaudah Equiano--Remnant. I am passionate about Equiano's life and telling his story. I researched for years and wrote for years. And yet, my novel is not yet published.

Lin-Manuel Miranda has inspired me to not "throw away my shot." I am returning to the novel into which I put my heart and soul, and will keep revising. Then I'll send it out into the world of publishing again. But if all else fails, I'll self-publish. I have resisted self-publishing, but it may be the best route for Remnant in the current publishing climate. Stay tuned...

Have you written a novel or short story or poem? Have you tried to get it published? Don't give up! Keep sending it out there into the world. Don't throw away your shot!

The Glass Ocean - three strong story lines by three admirable authors

Over the summer I'll blog on books I'm reading, highlight aspects of brilliance, and what I learn about writing by reading.

The Glass Ocean is a historical novel about three fascinating women. What is especially intriguing about this novel is that each of the three authors wrote one of the storylines--and they have not revealed who wrote which! It's a mystery I'm trying to unravel by reading their other books. The collaboration of Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, and Karen White seamlessly meshes the storylines together, leading the reader riveted.

Three strong characters

Don't ask me which of the characters I like the most. If you did, I might say Tess, which surprises me because she is the least like me! Tess had an unconventional upbringing and uses her artistic skills to create forged paintings that get sold for a profit. She wants out of the "family business," but is strongly tied to her older sister--surprises abound there. Tess is aboard the Lusitania in 1915 to forge documents. 

Caroline is a debutante married to a wealthy steel magnate who is trying to outrun his humble upbringing and become part of New York's high society. She is also attracted to a male acquaintance from her home in the south.

Sarah is a historian whose first book, Small Potatoes, on the Irish potato famine, was a big hit, but five years later she hasn't written anything new, and paying for her elderly mother's care has drained her bank accounts.

Each of these women has a distinct, saucy or confident, sweet or serious, funny or surprising character. Their dialogue is unique to their character and their relationships reflect their values. Hmmm - maybe that's easier when you're only focusing on one character...

Three dynamic stories

Tess is participating in a scam; Caroline is fending off a potential lover and trying to rekindle love for her husband; Sarah is trying to make a comeback with a new book on her great-grandfather (who just happened to work on the Lusitania.

Who will get caught? Who will fall in love? Who will survive the German's torpedo striking the Lusitania? There is enough intrigue in each storyline to keep the reader engaged. Possibly Sarah's storyline has a bit less drama, but the romance plot keeps it going.

Pick-up-the-thread transitions

The triad of skilled authors creates a thread of transitions between the chapters, which alternate between the three characters. Read these examples:

End of chapter 10 - "Surrounded, you might say, by all his secrets"

Start of Chapter 11 - "With a flourish, Jones help up the pale pink silk tulle and linen tape lace afternoon dress, her expression like one who'd just exposed a secret."

End of Chapter 11 - "G. Forgive me."

Start of Chapter 12 - ""Pardon me," said Tess." 

End of Chapter 16 - "Don't mess with my Rubik's Cube while I'm gone..."

Start of Chapter 17 - "Caroline felt as if she were playing a game..."

Too much of this could become annoying, but I found myself looking forward to how they would connect one chapter to the next.

Reading the book convinced me, inspired me, to revisit my historical novel and introduce more trauma, conflict, and suspense to Joanna's storyline. A slave who escapes during the Revolutionary War has drama aplenty, but my biracial heroine in early 19th century England leads a charmed life. I'm going to make her life a bit more difficult!

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Williams, Beatriz, Lauren Willig, and Karen White. The Glass Ocean. William Morrow, 2018.

Utopia

As I write this on June 2, 2020, I bet most of you feel like we're in a dystopia. COVID19 has taken the lives of over 100,000 Americans and almost 400,000 people around the world. With the recent murder of George Floyd, what else can we call it when a police officer dispassionately kneels on the neck of an American citizen (who happens to be a Black man) while his fellow officer kneels on his back, effectively cutting off his oxygen and killing him, and the subsequent protests and riots, the USA feels like a dystopia right now. Writing about Utopia is either outlandish or well-timed - you decide. I'm still blogging about British Literature, and my class read the classic text Utopia, by Sir Thomas More.

What is Utopia? Can an ideal society even exist? In our British Literature class, we examined several works whose authors explored the concept of utopia.

Throughout the class, several settings included some aspects of a utopian society -- the hall at Heorot, after Beowulf killed Grendel and the men were at peace; King Arthur's Camelot--when they weren't fighting and his wife, Queen Guinevere, wasn't going off with Lancelot; or maybe Avalon, that legendary island, almost an earthly paradise, where King Arthur went to be healed of his fatal wounds (a bit oxymoronic), and where Lanval traveled to with his gorgeous fairy queen. Yes, I think Avalon best fits the title of Utopia, largely because it is an unknown island where only healing and blessings exist.

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Utopia-by-More#/media/1/620772/163819

Sir Thomas More created his own ideal utopia and dictated the rules, principles, and characteristics of this island nation, purportedly visited by Rapheal Hythloday in his novel, Utopia. What are some of the characteristics of this utopian society?

• Everyone works six hours a day - no idlers
• Goods are justly distributed
• Scholarship and learning are respected
• Buildings are built to last
• Compassion reigns - not competition
• Everyone eats well - they all eat meals in the community together
• Very few laws and no lawyers
• They live on an island and detest/avoid war

Sounds good, right? Well, there are other characteristics that are not so "utopian." This society also includes the following:

• No money or private property
• No lawyers (not sure which side to put this on!)
• People are moved from the city to country - rotated into new settings and families
• Slavery exists (can a society be utopian if slaves are necessary?)
• Each city is ruled by a prince elected for life
• Those who are elderly and infirm are urged to starve themselves

What do you think? Here are a few characteristics of a utopia I would want to live in:

• Equal opportunities and rights for women and men, all races, old and young, immigrant and native
• No discrimination on the basis of sex, gender, race, language, differently-abled
• A Government that truly is "of" the people, "for" the people, and "by" the people - led by men and women who are compassionate, intelligent, humble, and wise
• Free expression is encouraged but hateful acts and speech are so disparaged and de-legitimized that no one wants to engage in it
• Dialogue and community replace violence and misunderstanding
• Universal education and health care for all
• A hybrid capitalist/socialist society where all have needs met and no one is abysmally poor or unnaturally wealthy
• Freedom of religion - personal and corporate

I could go on and on. I believe there are aspects of American society that are utopian--though it's hard to see it right now.

Please add your thoughts -- what are some of the elements of your Utopia?

British Literature - Week 11 - Arthurian Literature - "The Elusive Arthur"

There is significant circumstantial evidence supporting the existence of a leader/general/king named Arthur/Artorius in the mid-fifth century C.E. (A.D.). In my view, there is a strong likelihood someone named Arthur existed and the legend of King Arthur is based on a historical figure. Due to the numerous sources written over several centuries in many languages mentioning Arthur, it seems probably the writings are based on someone who led battles in Britain around 460 C.E. The "no smoke without fire" argument is appropriate considering all the "smoke" swirling around Arthur. What was the original spark that generated all that smoke?

I found what may appear to be an unconvincing and irrelevant bit of information quite compelling. Near the end of the sixth century, the name Arthur experienced a resurgence. Popular historic figures often pave the way for a plethora of namesakes and there is no other plausible explanation for the sudden popularity of the name Arthur other than that an actual, popular person named Arthur existed.

Arthur is included in many accounts where all other figures are historical. Thus, it stands to reason Arthur is also a historical figure. All the people mentioned in the Annales Cambriae were real, leading me to believe Arthur was also real. Folklorist Jennifer Westwood pointed out that in every case, figures pictured sleeping in a cave are historical, not merely legends. So it would seem that Arthur was a living, breathing man, or at the very least was thought to be a real man by those who wrote about him throughout the years.

The Round Table at Winchester Castle.https://wwnorton.com/college/english/nael/middleages/
topic_2/illustrations/imroun.htm

There are references to, and ommissions of, Arthur from the earliest historical account of British history. Gildas, a sixth-century monk, does not mention Arthur by name, nor does Bede in 731 C.E. However, an Old Welsh Poem written in the sixth century, Y Gododdin, mentioned Arthur by name. Nennius, in the early ninth century, claimed to have gathered up all the oral and written tradition and "made one heap of all he found" (Lacy and Ashe 12). Nennius pictures Arthur as a leader of battles who carried the image of the Virgin Mary into battle, and at one time killed 960 men. One can see in this account the historical figure birthing the legendary figure.

The time period Arthur lived in cannot be pinned down with exactitude, but the many references to fighting the Saxons put his lifetime during the period the Britons were fighting off invading barbarians--Vandals, Alans, Sueve, Franks, Goths, Burgundians, and Huns. When Britain broke away from the Roman Empire in around 410 C.E., Angles, Saxons, and Jutes began to invade Britain. They expanded and multiplied, eventually taking power and naming Britain "Angleland" (England). However, for a short period of time, the Britons resisted, and it is during this period that Arthur must have lived. This resistance is historical, and all the references to Arthur place him at the center of the resistance.

The final piece in the puzzle to solve Arthur's legitimacy is from outside Britain. A cleric from Brittany named William wrote the Legend of St. Goeznovius. He called Arthur 'the king of the Britons,' and noted that Arthur cleared the warlike men of Saxony from the island before he died. All the features of the story are historical. Thus, with all the evidence provided, Arthur himself should be considered historical.

British Literature - Week 10 - Wife of Bath's Tale - What do Women Want?!

Who would ask this question? Women or men? When might this question be asked? In 2019 or 1399? The answer to both questions is  "yes" and "both"! Believe it or not, Chaucer's pilgrim, the Wife of Bath, answers this question in a tale about a maiden, a knight, an old woman, King Arthur, and Queen Guenevere.

882         And so bifel that this kyng Arthour

                  And so it happened that this king Arthur
883         Hadde in his hous a lusty bacheler,                  
                  Had in his house a lusty bachelor,
884         That on a day cam ridynge fro ryver,                  
                 That on one day came riding from hawking,
885         And happed that, allone as he was born,                  
                 And it happened that, alone as he was born,
886         He saugh a mayde walkynge hym biforn,                  
                  He saw a maiden walking before him,
887         Of which mayde anon, maugree hir heed,                  
                 Of which maiden straightway, despite all she could do,
888         By verray force, he rafte hire maydenhed;                  
                  By utter force, he took away her maidenhead;

Basically, the maiden is walking along minding her own business, when this knight comes up to her, admires her, and rapes her. There is great consternation in King Arthur's Court. King Arthur acquiesces to his wife Guenevere's request, and he allows her to decide whether the knight will live or die. She tells the offending knight he has exactly one year to figure out what women want. If he can answer the question within one year, he will be saved.

904         I grante thee lyf, if thou kanst tellen me
                  I grant thee life, if thou canst tell me

905         What thyng is it that wommen moost desiren.
                  What thing it is that women most desire.

So the knight travels to ask everyone he can find what it is that women most want. Along the way he gets a variety of answers:

• riches
• gaiety
• clothing
• lust in bed
• widowhood
• flattery
• freedom
• to be considered steadfast
• to be able to keep a secret

He continues to seek for the one, right answer and comes upon 24 dancing ladies. Upon his approach they all disappear, save for one very old, very ugly woman. He asks her "what thing it is that women most desire." She has the answer, she says, but demands he agree to meet her one request of him if she is right. He gives his assent willingly. 

The knight and the old woman go back to King Arthur's Court and he gives the answer:

1038       "Wommen desiren to have sovereynetee
                    Women desire to have sovereignty

1039       As wel over hir housbond as hir love,
                  As well over her husband as her love,
1040       And for to been in maistrie hym above.
                  And to be in mastery above him. 

What do you think? Do you agree? Let's unpack that word "sovereynetee." According to Susanne Sara Thomas, in "The Problem of Defining Sovereynetee in the Wife of Bath's Tale," the two "sovereigns" in the Tale are "apparently Arthur's queens and the old woman" (Thomas). The word's pairing with the word "maistrie" seems to suggest control and dominance, but to have mastery connotes "to prevail, win the victory, be victorious" (Thomas). At the time Chaucer wrote Canterbury Tales--context is supreme--sovereignty meant "complete independence and self-government" (Thomas). So is that what we women really want - complete independence?

That's not the end of the tale, though. After the knight gives Queen Guenevere the answer, which is correct, the old woman collects on his promise and makes the knight marry her. He is not at all happy, as you can imagine, but a promise is a promise. On their wedding night ...

1083       Greet was the wo the knyght hadde in his thoght,
                  Great was the woe the knight had in his thought,

1084       Whan he was with his wyf abedde ybroght;
                  When he was brought to bed with his wife;
1085       He walweth and he turneth to and fro.
                  He wallows and he turns to and fro.
1086       His olde wyf lay smylynge everemo,
                  His old wife lay smiling evermore,
1087       And seyde, "O deere housbonde, benedicitee!
                  And said, "O dear husband, bless me!
1088       Fareth every knyght thus with his wyf as ye?
                  Does every knight behave thus with his wife as you do?

In other words, "Yo, hubby, why the long face? Do all husbands act like this on their wedding night?" So the old woman gives him a choice--she will stay as she is, old and ugly, and be a very faithful wife; or, she will transform into a beautiful young maiden, but she will be unfaithful. It's his choice. Well, apparently he was paying attention, because he gives a brilliant answer: you choose!

1228       This knyght avyseth hym and sore siketh,
                 This knight deliberates and painfully sighs,

1229       But atte laste he seyde in this manere:
                  But at the last he said in this manner:
1230       "My lady and my love, and wyf so deere,
                  "My lady and my love, and wife so dear,
1231       I put me in youre wise governance;
                  I put me in your wise governance;
1232       Cheseth youreself which may be moost plesance
                  Choose yourself which may be most pleasure
1233       And moost honour to yow and me also.
                  And most honor to you and me also.
1234       I do no fors the wheither of the two,
                  I do not care which of the two,
1235       For as yow liketh, it suffiseth me."
                  For as it pleases you, is enough for me."

And what does she do? She chooses to be young, beautiful, and faithful! How about that for a happy ending (except for the poor maiden in the beginning of the tale). It's important to remember that this is a tale written by the Wife of Bath, and her fingerprints and character are all over the tale. Here is the link if you'd like to read the entire tale: http://sites.fas.harvard.edu/~chaucer/teachslf/wbt-par.htm

Please post your own answer to the question (whether you are a man or a woman) - what do women really want?!

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Works Cited

Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Geoffrey Chaucer Page. Ed. General Editor Larry D. Benson. Cambridge: Houghton Mifflin Co., 2008. Web. 1 April 2019. .

Thomas, Susanne Sara. “The Problem of Defining ‘Sovereynetee’ in the ‘Wife of Bath’s Tale.’” 

           Chaucer Review, vol. 41, no. 1, July 2006, pp. 87–97. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1353/cr.2006.0017.

British Literature - Week 9 - Wife of Bath's Prologue

http://sites.fas.harvard.edu/~chaucer/canttales/wbpro/

We're back to finish our examination of some of the greatest British Literature every written. In Canterbury Tales, readers are introduced to all the characters going on the pilgrimage to Canterbury in the General Prologue, followed by the tales by various characters. The tales are usually preceded by prologues - so first we get a preview into the author of the tale, and then the author (one of the pilgrims) tells a story. The stories are each a product of that particular pilgrim, so another avenue of exploration includes analyzing why that character told that tale. Chaucer was a brilliant poet, which makes reading his work enjoyable and exhausting, like exhuming the text for hidden meaning!

How can I describe the Wife of Bath. She is bawdy, forthright, unapologetic, and a feminist ahead of her time. She is on the pilgrimage to find husband #6! The first five husbands died (which is curious in and of itself!). The Wife of Bath had three good husbands -- good is defined by her as an old, rich, wealthy husband who will die soon and leave her all his worldly goods. She had a love/hate relationship with her fifth husband (who was a pall-bearer at the funeral of her fourth husband). He literally threw the book at her--the Book of Wicked Wives.

1       "Experience, though noon auctoritee
                "Experience, though no written authority
2       Were in this world, is right ynogh for me
                Were in this world, is good enough for me
3       To speke of wo that is in mariage;
                To speak of the woe that is in marriage;
4       For, lordynges, sith I twelve yeer was of age,
                For, gentlemen, since I was twelve years of age,
5       Thonked be God that is eterne on lyve,
                Thanked be God who is eternally alive,
6       Housbondes at chirche dore I have had fyve --
                I have had five husbands at the church door --

Throughout the prologue, the Wife of Bath carries on an argument, an "apologia," defending her many marriages and her attitudes toward men. She includes arguments from the Apostle Paul, and church fathers like St. Jerome and St. Augustine. The Wife of Bath carries on a theological argument for multiple husbands and enjoyment of sex, carefully choosing biblical passages to support her arguments. Here is a small sampling:

55       I woot wel Abraham was an hooly man,
                I know well Abraham was a holy man,
56       And Jacob eek, as ferforth as I kan;
                And Jacob also, insofar as I know;
57       And ech of hem hadde wyves mo than two,
                And each of them had more than two wives,
58       And many another holy man also.
                And many another holy man also.
59       Wher can ye seye, in any manere age,
                Where can you find, in any historical period,
60       That hye God defended mariage
                That high God forbad marriage
61       By expres word? I pray yow, telleth me.
                By express word? I pray you, tell me.
62       Or where comanded he virginitee?
                Or where commanded he virginity?
63       I woot as wel as ye, it is no drede,
                I know as well as you, it is no doubt,
64       Th' apostel, whan he speketh of maydenhede,
                The apostle, when he speaks of maidenhood,
65       He seyde that precept therof hadde he noon.
                He said that he had no precept concerning it.
66       Men may conseille a womman to been oon,
                Men may advise a woman to be one,
67       But conseillyng is no comandement.
                But advice is no commandment.

My students reviewed the Wife of Bath's description in the General Prologue, and worked in small groups examining the primary texts to which the Wife of Bath refers in her argument in favor of multiple marriages. We discussed medieval marriage and contemporary marriage, the differences, and even the similarities. In the 14th century, women were identified by their relationship to men. Has that changed as much as we think it has? For one answer, watch this video by my new favorite author, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: We Should All Be Feminists

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Work Cited

Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Geoffrey Chaucer Page. Ed. General Editor Larry D. Benson. Cambridge: Houghton Mifflin Co., 2008. Web. 1 April 2019. .

British Literature - Week 8 - Canterbury Tales

If you studied Chaucer in school, or have any familiarly with Middle English, you probably have heard or read the first 18 lines of the General Prologue to the Canterbury Tales (modern English translation provided under each line of Middle English):

1   Whan that Aprill with his shoures soote

  When April with its sweet-smelling showers

2   The droghte of March hath perced to the roote,

 Has pierced the drought of March to the root,

3   And bathed every veyne in swich licou

  And bathed every vein (of the plants) in such liquid

4   Of which vertu engendred is the flour;

 By which power the flower is created;

5   Whan Zephirus eek with his sweete breeth

  When the West Wind also with its sweet breath,

6    Inspired hath in every holt and heeth

  In every wood and field has breathed life into

7    The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne

   The tender new leaves, and the young sun

8    Hath in the Ram his half cours yronne,

 Has run half its course in Aries,

9   And smale foweles maken melodye,

 And small fowls make melody,

10  That slepen al the nyght with open ye

   Those that sleep all the night with open eyes

11   (So priketh hem Nature in hir corages),

   (So Nature incites them in their hearts),

12   Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages,

  Then folk long to go on pilgrimages,

13   And palmeres for to seken straunge strondes,

 And pilgrims to seek foreign shores,

14   To ferne halwes, kowthe in sondry londes;

  To distant shrines, known in various lands;

15    And specially from every shires ende

  And specially from every shire's end

16    Of Engelond to Caunterbury they wende,

   Of England to Canterbury they travel,

17   The hooly blisful martir for to seke,

  To seek the holy blessed martyr,

18   That hem hath holpen whan that they were seeke.

   Who helped them when they were sick. (Chaucer)

What's going on here? Well it's April, the wind is blowing, flowers are blooming, birds are singing, and it's time for a pilgrimage. An assorted group of misfits join together at a pub to go on a pilgrimage to Canterbury and the site of Thomas a Becket's martyrdom. Chaucer gathers 29 pilgrims from a wide variety of backgrounds--Knight, Parson (pastor), Nun, Miller (sells grain), Plowman (farmer), and many others. Each pilgrim shall tell two tales on the way to Canterbury, and two on the way back -- the one who tells the best tale will earn a free meal upon return to the pub - the Tabard Inn. Canterbury Tales should have totaled 120 tales, but only 23 are written. Chaucer died before he could complete his magnum opus. Few poems have survived as long or garnered as much study as Canterbury Tales.

The poem defies genre - at times an estates satire, catalog, portraiture, fabliau (French fable). Chaucer draws readers into a bawdy, raucous, hilarious setting, against the backdrop of 14th century England and the Black Death - the plague that had decimated half the population. Possibly some of its immediate and enduring popularity testifies to our need for distraction and entertainment!

What would a modern-day Canterbury Tales look like? Where would such an odd assortment of folks all be going - maybe to a concert, or a political event, a 4th of July celebration, or the beach? What modern-day characters would comprise a 2019 Canterbury Tales - doctor, rap artist, student, priest, homeless mom, banker, nerd, athlete, drug dealer, chef?!?

If you'd like to read it for yourself, click Canterbury Tales General Prologue. 

Next week we'll examine the Wife of Bath - a fascinating, independent woman who embarks on the pilgrimage to find husband number six - the first five died!

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Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Geoffrey Chaucer Page. Ed. General Editor Larry D. Benson. Cambridge: Houghton Mifflin Co., 2008. Web. 1 April 2019. .