Wednesday, August 27, 2008

The power of memoir

I've been reading Rebecca Woolf's "Rockabye: From Wild to Child." This isn't just a story about motherhood. It's what the reviewers might call a tale of transformation, and they would be right. I'm hooked on her writing style and the way she seems to effortlessly make transitions from one moment to the next. Great stuff.

I'm also finishing up Mark Doty's Dog Years. This one's taken me a while because the man is simply incredible. His material is so rich that I often have to stop, go back, and read it again ... and again. If Woolf's book is about more than just motherhood, Doty's book transcends the simple appeal of dogs. It's about life and eventual death, caretaking, and the void we can't possibly know.

This type of writing feeds me as I work on my own project. Inspiration.

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