What books inspire you?


These  books continue to inspire me: 

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Alice Hoffman. The first book I read of hers was The Marriage of Opposites. With this book, the heavens opened up and I found my place of awe. When I read her novels, I often stop dead in my tracks, mouth open, mind buzzing, re-reading passages over and over. How does she do that? Her writing is nothing short of beautiful sorcery. I continue to read her books, some more than once. 

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If Alice Hoffman's books haven't found their way into your library, don't wait any longer!

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The Log From the Sea of Cortez, by John Steinbeck. It is my favorite, non-fiction classic. I found this book in my early twenties and it propelled my desire to write everyday.

 

Written in 1951, it details a journey, an exploratory expedition in the Gulf of California to collect and study marine organisms. But if you've read it, you know it's so much more. The pirate, the sailor, and the unrequited captain from the movie, Master and Commander, in me, still yearns to make this trip.

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This mariners' tale reveals the gentle and often times cruel nature of existence, its raw glory stills the noise of the unnatural world. The "work" of this journey woos us with beauty, the elemental rhythm of life begs us to rethink our own daily pursuits, and the ambitions of land-locked humanity. It illuminates the irrefutability of flesh and blood, matter, and the alchemy of fate. I still dream of sailing away. I will always treasure this book. 

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One Hundred Years of Solitude, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Of course his books are on my list of all time favorites. The first sentence of this book changes the air in the room. I read this in high school and it was a pivotal moment in my life. I knew then, that magic existed in the world, and in my grandmother's house, which both terrified and thrilled me at the same time. I realized books like this would see me past the reality of my young life I was helpless to change.

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To talk of being inspired by Marquez is like saying a Monarch butterfly is beautiful, the words are puny and chiffon-thin. In simple terms, my life was forever changed by his books, my love of writing was cemented, and a sense of wonder has always found it's way into my thoughts because Marquez reminded me, magic is everywhere; life is box of miracles, mine have pink glitter all over them. 

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Speaking of glitter . . .

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Nikki Giovanni, Cotton Candy on Rainy Day. Another book that shaped my life. Giovanni's poems woke me up out of a confined stupor as teen in the 70's. Her courage, her out loud calling it, gave me hope. I wanted to know more, I wanted to be more. Women like me walk around carrying bouquets of gratitude in our hearts for her work.

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"I strangle my words as easily as I do my tears

I stifle my screams as frequently as I flash my smile

  it means nothing

I am cotton candy on a rainy day

  the unrealized dream of an idea unborn"

                                                            - Nikki Giovanni, from Cotton Candy on a Rainy Day

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Joni Mitchell. My life would not be mine without her. Song for Sharon, Amelia, Centerpiece, Willy, Blue, Case of You, Lesson in Survival, it's a long list. No one tapped into my soul like Joni. Her words taught me poetry lives in the ether, it is everywhere beyond the printed page; it is spoken, sung, performed, painted. If I'm asked to confess who influenced my life the most as I enter the white light of eternity, it's Joni, hands down.

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"People will tell you where they've been

they'll tell you where to go

but till you get there yourself,

you never really know."

                                    - Joni Mitchell, from Amelia

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