Monday, October 12, 2009

Siren Song





Okay, I might be the only person my age who is not at all excited about the movie version of Where The Wild Things Are. Don't leave me now when I confess that I never even read the book as a child. My mother had a strict read what's here policy which included a copy of Anthony Quinn's autobiography, several copies of Aviation Now!, and a gift copy of The Road Less Travelled. I somehow knew I didn't want to read that given that I didn't like that Robert Frost poem, preferring his more obscure, darker selections. Want to wow them at the next party? Learn and recite "After Apple Picking." Seriously, you will have people in awe. You know why? They expect Sylvia Plath. While I definitely go for the romance of the whole head in the oven, you're a fascist brute daddy, but I love you so vibe, I can't say that the poems ever stuck in my brain, feeble equipment that it is.

I think we love what we love and there's no explaining it, not pat explanations to why. I, for one, hate rags to riches stories. I don't know why, but they bore me. Except when I am getting the riches. Feel free to tell that story. I tend toward more morose material. Right now, my steady readers are going, You're shitting me, right? But I also find some incredibly hopeful moments in all of it. I love going somewhere kind of crappy and finding it beautiful. So I'll be posting bits of my new book from time to time and thanking you in advance for the feedback. It's all about haunted houses because I have never lived anywhere that hasn't been.

Michelle's Spell of the Day
"The possession of knowledge does not kill the sense of wonder and mystery. There is always more mystery." Anais Nin

Cocktail Hour
Costume suggestions?

Benedictions and Maledictions
Happy Monday!

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

The last ding dong of doom.--Bill F.

Laura Benedict said...

This is such a relief, darling! Last week I posted a tweet that asked if the "Where the Wild Things Are" trailer reminded anyone of H.R. Pufnstuf. And I didn't mean it in a good way--But no one understood. I got responses about how wonderful Witchie Poo was. No way am I going to see that film. The book was okay, but I always felt like it was one of those inside jokes I never could get.

Great minds, you know. :)

BTW--My parents' open-shelf policy included an abridged paperback Shakespeare (3 plays), Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Sex*, and an encyclopedia of commonly abused drugs. Full color, no less. I found them all to be excellent reference books.

boneman said...

I'de love to tell my version of the rags to riches story, but I have to buy the winning lottery ticket, first.

Now...about that "siren song"
I hear it whenever I drive by the firestation.

costume suggestion?
Go as someone happy with life, a big smile on your face and a friendly greeting on your tongue.
Not the most original, but, right up there with the most fun!

the walking man said...

There have been times when I believe Frost didn't keep his head in the oven long enough. just a few more breaths daddy.

It is kind of funny when standing in a pile of shit with the odoriferous taking you places you never intended to go and finding a ten spot in the steaming load.

Anonymous said...

I love going somewhere kind of crappy and finding it beautiful.

Michelle you love Detroit, so the above is stating the obvious.

Where The Wild Things Are is pure dreck. What kid in the 'Real World' (the type we grew up in, you in Texas, me in West Virginia) would have

***SPOILER ALERT***

ever gone back home after he became The King of the Wild Things on a beautiful island.

I know, I know, you Golding fans: to extend the 'Real World'analogy to the fullest, the island segment would have been more like Lord of the Flies, but still.

Anyway the point is moot. I have a 6- and 8-year-old who both love the book so guess who's going to be sitting in a theatre of screaming kids when this (wild) thing comes out>

Charles Gramlich said...

I didn't read Where the Wild Things Are until I was an adult and reading it to my son. But he and I both loved it. I just don't see how they are going to expand it into a movie, though. But I love the phrase, Let the Wild Rumpus Begin."

The Professor said...

I agree w/ your Frost observation, the darker is better. I am fond, though, of "Neither Out Far Nor In Deep". Favorite Frost line, "Where the slow wheel pours the sand". As for Plath, I prefer Anne Sexton. I prefer her more obscure "To Like, To Love". Favorite Sexton line, "I ask you to inspect my heart and name its pictures".

jodi said...

Hi Lovey, No Wild Things for me either. Early reading was never of the animated sort. P.S. is that the "Betsey Johnson"? Love it. Cocktails soons? Oh, Hell yes!

Lana Gramlich said...

I was compelled to read "Where the Wild Things Are" at work the other day. So many kids are asking for that book. That & "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs." Kind of sad that it takes movies to make kids want to read the books...