Truth

...And, the truth shall make you odd.

 

-Attributed to Flannery O'Connor

Three Sorts of People

Humanity can be roughly divided into three sorts of people--those who find comfort in literature, those who find comfort in personal adornment, and those who find comfort in food.

-Elizabeth Goudge, The Little White Horse, 7.

Art

Of course, not all art has to rock your world and make you a different person, not in a big way necessarily--but I would agree it ought to have a heartbeat, and not be just lines or dabs of color on a surface.

-Daniel Pinkwater, Bushman Lives!, 228-229.

Jane Chords

What is a Jane Chord? "The idea is that if you make a two-word sentence out of the first and last words of a book, it will tell you something revealing about the book in question. Or not..." (Hat tip Terry Teachout.)

Here are Jane Chords for some kid lit favorites:

A Little Princess, Frances Hodgson Burnett: Once / away

The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett: When / Colin

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll: Alice / days

Ramona Quimby, Age 8, Beverly Cleary: Ramona / again

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, E. L. Konigsburg: Claudia / yet

The House at Pooh Corner, A. A. Milne: One / playing

The Hoboken Chicken Emergency, Daniel Pinkwater: Nobody / roller-skates

The Westing Game, Ellen Raskin: The / chess

Haroun and the Sea of Stories, Salman Rushdie: There / sing

Maniac Magee, Jerry Spinelli: Maniac / home

The Hobbit, J. R. R. Tolkien: In / tobacco-jar

The Sword in the Stone, T. H. White: On / Arthur

Analogies

I think I developed this tic, this habit of constantly experimenting with word order, and nuance of meaning, as a kid in grade school. I remember loving the grammar and logic exercises--the ones that went "Tapioca is to an iron foundry as (choose one) (a.) fish bait is to the houses of Congress, (b.) an avocado is to Frank Sinatra, or (c.) amoxicillin is to the National League." Loved those.

 

-Daniel Pinkwater, Chicago Days / Hoboken Nights, 123.

Psalm 130

Though great our sins and sore our woes
His grace much more aboundeth;
His helping love no limit knows,
Our utmost need it soundeth.
Our Shepherd good and true is He,
Who will at last His Israel free
From all their sins and sorrows.

-Martin Luther