Archive for February, 2008
Maybe it was the extra day of the year… Maybe it was just time.
One of the best gifts my mother ever gave me was teaching me to read. At the tender age of five I knew how to read in English and Hebrew. In the den of my parents’ home, they still have those Disney books that started me on my way…
During grad school I worked at a nursery school in Beacon Hill, a natural choice for me because I love kids! The best part of each day was nap time… As the kiddies settled in on their little blue canvas cots, we would listen to Arnold Lobel’s gravely hum as his wonderful “Frog and Toad” came to life, or we would hear Dom Deluise sing so giddily about a bubbling pasta pot in Tomie De Paola’s “Strega Nona” (Grandma Witch).
When I read to the kids, it was almost always Dr. Seuss… “Yertle the Turtle” was never a hurtle when I cleared my throat and read so loud, you could hear a pin drop in that wide eyed crowd of little ones…
And so, years later… after I’ve begun to amass my own small collection of the gems I’ve read along the way, I wrote my own collection of children’s stories.
A good friend, and one of my angels, Fran said during our chat this past afternoon, “Sue… I don’t know why you don’t just write children’s books. I know I’d read them to my little one, and I know a lot of moms who would read your stories to their kids!”
Who knew that was all it took to open the flood gates?
I couldn’t sleep, and finally got up at 3 am to write the first story. I kept writing, and penned an additional three stories in the next 3 hours, for a grand total of FOUR stories in ONE night (morning)!
So… check back for updates, because stories about a little bear named Brubal are going to make their way out into the world!
–Sue
February 29th, 2008
I read some play entries for a local theatre’s contest. One caught my attention since it seemed very close to something I had written long ago.
There was an old man and a young woman, he was an accomplished writer, she was just getting her feet wet — maybe a little in over her head…
What struck me was how one-sided their exchanges were. He got all the good lines, and she just sat rapt with attention.
By the end, she fell in love with the cantankerous writer, and he had asked her to marry him… I saw how it would play out a mile away. The problem is, I couldn’t believe it.
When I tried to rework my piece, my colleagues in the workshop tried to point out how one-sided it was, but I kept trying to defend it. I based the play on a “real life” experience. I had worked for the cantankerous writer (however briefly), and the dynamic was true to life.The problem is, it doesn’t play out well on stage… Where there’s a strong push but no pull, it falls flat.
I’m left wondering if I should or even can make this play more than it was (is)? Has this relationship been exhausted enough in the works of others? If I go back, I’ll keep you posted, and post it on my site.
For now, I have another play that beckons…
–Sue
February 25th, 2008
In the last three days I’ve had two people directly comment on the post I wrote recently about Ricky’s victory on Project Runway.
Both are artists in their own ways, one is a photographer and one is a hair stylist. Both were struck by his reaction and that feeling of sucking vs. not sucking, and the constant need to pick oneself up and dust oneself off.
I’m struck by how much both artists carry this same feeling with them, and touched that my blog could move and inspire them, bring them some comfort, and most importantly CHANGED their perspectives.
This blog is about my development as an artist; if I help others with their development (as artists, but more importantly, as people), then I’ve done my job as a writer and artist.
As a teacher, I usually felt the impact I made on my students immediately, but that isn’t the case as a writer, and it’s nice to have that validation once in a while… (that knowing that I’m not sucking…)
I’m always open to comments on my work, so be sure to post them here or send them my way at: info@suehodara.com
Thanks!
–Sue
February 6th, 2008
