We were thinking of going to the cabin, but the weather is turning cooler and it is possible there will be rain, so we're sticking it out here. That suits me fine. I haven't been eager for any travel. I've got my mysteries lined up like ducks, friends to see and an art exhibit I'd like to squeeze in. Travel on this weekend means traffic, and some work is going on on the bridges and really, it's easier to stick close.
I finished Toni Morrison's "Home", and it's a beautiful little book, like a prose poem, and redemptive in tone. It reminds me of "The Bluest Eye". There is a whole lot of hope in this book though, and I like that touch. And the main male character is fully delineated, and beautiful, in an honest way. I remember many years ago being thrilled by Morrison's visit to the university where I was a graduate student, and my being chosen to have dinner with her, as the representative of my creative writing department. I was quiet, but managed to talk about a few non-literary topics. She also did a workshop with a few of us, and then there was a gala speech in front of thousands. She was comfortable to be around, and comforting, and she has a great sense of humor. Soon after I met her, she won the Noble Prize for Literature. I've never questioned that award. She is a great writer, and each book has universal, timeless issues intertwined within. She has us revisit our history as a nation, and she recalls it not to shame us but to reclaim the humanity of a time most would rather forget. Like Ralph Ellison's "Invisible Man", she speaks beyond nationhood, and yet is quintessentially American. Her rhythms, like his, are jazzy and pulses of the body. She's a treasure.
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