70 years ago 2day Churchill's "finest hour" speech

Today, on June 18 1940, in the House of Commons, Churchill gave his "finest hour" speech. One of the greatest speeches ever delivered. Barely 6 weeks in office as Prime Minister, he faced the threat of invasion from Nazi-occupied France.

It lasted 36 minutes. And is credited with being the moment when Britain found the resolve to fight on after the fall of France and ultimately, with her American and Russian allies, to defeat the German armies.

Churchill's original typescript (23 pages) is currently on view in Cambridge and shows how heavily he edited. Red and blue scrawls of handwriting all over it. Drafted and redrafting. Amending. Adding. Deleting. Right to the last minute as he rose to deliver it and even on the fly as he spoke.

Aside from the obvious thing that strikes you (he wrote his own speeches), the other thing is: apparently, the last part of the speech is written out as if it's blank verse (5 line paragraphs set out in indented type). The scholars that know these things say it's influenced by the Psalms (which together with Shakespeare were the two great influences on his rhetorical style). Here's what one of them says (Mr Packwood to be exact): "Because it looks like poetry, it gave him, I think, a rhythm that brought life to his oratory. This was a man who raised the art of speechmaking to high literature."

Interesting how formatting text in that way helps you say it right. Reminds me of picture books. Which are like poetry that way. They are designed to be read aloud. And as the writer, you try to make them foolproof for reading aloud. Formatting and design are critical.

Anyway, doesn't it make you want to get on a plane and a train and get to Cambridge and see his typescript for yourself? Well. Almost. It does me. Especially if the airline prices come down...

The speech ends with these famous words: "Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that if the British empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, 'This was their finest hour' "

Full transcript of the speech here

Audio clip here

via NYT

Posted via email from s@lly l-j

Birthday Party (or what the church is meant to be)

Posted via email from jsb

what should writers wear?

John Grisham said: "Writers can wear anything. I could go to a black-tie dinner in New York City with blue jeans on and boots and a cowboy hat and a bow tie, and people would just say, 'Oh, he's a writer.' "

One of the perks of being a writer.

(Of course you've never seen John Grisham wearing anything exactly outrageous, have you? so I guess you can afford to say this when you're already kind of put together.)

Posted via email from s@lly l-j

David Suchet narrates: "A Little Girl and a Poor Frail Lady"

Posted via web from jsb

Pietà

Pietà by William Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905), painted in 1876, goes on sale at Christies today in NYC. It is estimated to sell for anywhere between $1.5 and $2.5 million. If it is sold to a private collector this may be the last chance to see it.

It hangs at the end of a long corridor--as you turn the corner you catch your breath.  The two halos are embossed gold, serving to flatten and at the same time separate the two central figures. So that they appear to float free of the space. The angels writhe in agony and wonder at such love, creating at the same time this incredibly beautiful frame around Mary and Jesus.The body of Christ almost glows. Mary's hands that won't let go. And the face of Mary looking out of the picture--as if into the future and us--seems to see the full horror of what has just happened. What our sins have done. Grief too great to bear.            


It is one of the most moving paintings I have ever seen.

More information here

invisible words

"The pages are still blank, but there is a miraculous feeling of the words being there, written in invisible ink and clamoring to become visible." Vladimir Nabokov (1899-1977)

There's a humility in this view point. And it seem to me to be the true one: the view of writer as the servant of the story--whose job is to discover as much as create. To listen and transcribe. The writer basically as scribe. 

It's about the story, not about you the writer.

Do you ever have the feeling that if you don't show up and get those words visible--QUICK--they might just give up on you and go somewhere else to someone who will?

That's motivation to keep showing up. Being available, there, to listen to whatever's happening that day. To whatever your characters are talking about. 

As one editor told me once "Put your characters in a room and listen to what they say."

It's like a show going on in your computer every day. Why would you want to miss that? 

kid with aspergers interviews his mom

This is animation set to a real interview: a 12-year old boy with Aspergers interviews his mom. What a great conversation. What thoughtful questions. What a mom!

Posted via email from s@lly l-j

progress

"The fatal metaphor of progress, which means leaving things behind us, has utterly obscured the real idea of growth, which means leaving things inside us." 

G K Chesteron

wow. what, I wonder, would he have to say to us today about what we're up to?

maybe that all this busy connecting on twitter, facebook etc--if not kept in check--is in danger of leaving us more disconnected?

that all this "socializing" leaves us less social?

that all these "conversations" leaves us less able to communicate?

that listening to all the chatter leaves us less able to hear anything?

that calling our thousands of connections "friends" devalues friendship which is one of the most rare and precious gifts we are given?

Posted via email from s@lly l-j