seeing and dreaming

"You see things as they are and ask 'Why?' I dream of things as they never were and ask, 'Why not?'" - George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)

stars and prisons

In May, 1889, Van Gogh was admitted to Saint-Paul-de-Mausole asylum in Saint-Remy. One of his greatest paintings, Starry Night was painted in June while he was confined there. He left the asylum for good in the spring of 1890. In July, just as he was starting to receive favorable attention for his work, he committed suicide. Shortly before he died, he wrote "I feel a failure."

Goat Detained over Armed Robbery

Did you read this article? Evidently, Police in Nigeria are holding a goat on suspicion of attempted armed robbery. The goat, i imagine, had no comment.

running and writing: dogs, fights and long distance

Today is the 113th Boston Marathon. (photo is the earliest known photo of the Boston Marathon, 1904)
Running a marathon is a lot about not giving up, putting one foot in front of the other, listening to what you're telling yourself, keeping going, keeping going long after you think your body is out of gas ("the wall"), keeping going even when your quads are screaming at you to walk, and your brain is bargaining with you (those people over there are walking why can't you?, no one is making you do this race, just walk for goodness sake and be done with it). It's about holding your focus, taking the next step and finishing the race.

Writing is like that too. It too is a lot about not giving up, putting down the next paragraph (or sentence, or word), listening to what you're telling yourself, keeping going, keeping going long after you think you're out of ideas, keeping going even when the committee in your head is screaming at you to stop, telling you it's not good or funny or interesting or anything and would you just put down your pen already. It's about holding your focus, writing the next thing and finishing the race.

The best races are the ones you thought you could never finish. And the best ideas often take the longest to discover. (At least that's my story and I'm sticking to it.) Perhaps Bill Bowerman (1911-1999), legendary track and field coach and Nike Co-Founder, said it best:— “Sometimes what matters is not what dog is in the fight but how much fight is in the dog.”

in love with language

W H Auden said, "A poet is, before anything else, a person who is passionately in love with language."

OUT TODAY! How To Get Married

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY says it's "Stylish and Witty" SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL says it's "bound to be a hit with the Fancy Nancy Crowd" KIRKUS says "aspiring brides and starry-eyed flower girls alike will be enchanted" I say quick better go and get it before it sells out. Here's the perfect book for kids who play pretend and throw mock weddings, and also for grown-ups who are actual brides-to-be. Our know-it-all narrator is at it again, in this companion to the New York Times bestselling How To Be A Baby... By Me, The Big Sister. Take it from the six-year-old “bride-to-be”: No one will marry you if you don’t ever brush your hair and it looks like a bird’s nest back there. And never get married when it’s dark, because you might not see the groom, and marry the wrong person. When you have found your Own True Love, you must ask permission. “Can I marry you please?” you say. “Yes, please,” he says. More here. What they said about HOW TO BE A BABY: “This book is adorable, original, well-illustrated and fabulous.” THE NEW YORK TIMES “An ultra charming picture book” A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK "One of the funniest books of the year" RADIO 4, Front Row "A psychologically sound picture book" THE LONDON OBSERVER "one of my favorites" THE BOOKSELLER A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEAR

save the dates nyc

two dates in May where I'll be reading from my new books... may 13th, 11am -- Tribeca storytime more here. may 14th, 7-9pm -- evening of fun and food @ Pink Olive (cool, hip boutique in the West Village) more here (and to reserve your spot, space limited).

road to the heart

"There is a road from the eye to the heart that does not go through the intellect. Men do not quarrel about the meaning of sunsets; they never dispute that the hawthorn says the best and wittiest thing about the spring." - G K Chesteron, from A Defence of Heraldry