Find the Language

I snapped this photo quickly while waiting for the F Train. I think of this little girl a lot, how she listened and watched with such intensity.

As I might have mentioned, I have been searching for words, trying to be less fearful about putting down the wrong ones. Part of that search led to the discovery of Write Alm's Prompt-A-Day and, as you can see, it took me eight days this November, to sit down with one of the blogging prompts, one that seems so appropriate, it's almost as if it's laughing at and mocking me.

Find the language.

I wanted to yell at the mere suggestion. I'm trying.

It's music that often gets me there, that helps me fall in love with the way words attach to notes and fall from one to the other.

I turn to Sondheim for his playful skip and staccato stutter. There's always something neurotic and cerebral about his lyrics. A Little Priest, which is a song about what to do with a dead body and turning people into pies (yes, really), is particularly genius. I'll never get over how smart this song is. 

I've talked about Fiona Apple, how corporeal her music is, how it seems to rise up from inside her and manifest itself in a wrenching body. I love this amazing video of Hot Knife, which I know is getting around and exciting a lot of people. (That sounds kind of dirty but I don't know how else to explain it. It's just eliciting a strong reaction to her music.)  

I also like singers that tell stories. Josh Ritter comes to mind. Particularly his Girl In the War. 

There are also a few songs whose lyrics I just think are beautiful because they express something so deeply felt. Falling Slowly by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova and Bob Dylan's I'll Keep It With Mine are two.

I turn to these songs and artists a lot to remind me about language. They remind me what I wish I could say as beautifully, what I might want to say instead, and the rhythm of how to say it.

Eleven Questions and the Song of You

The lovely Faith Elizabeth Hough tagged me in an Eleven Questions Game and I liked her questions so I went for it.

What's your favorite flavor of ice cream?

It's very difficult for me to pick favorites. Particularly when it comes to ice cream.  I love the fresh taste of Mint Chocolate Chip. I love a basic Chocolate. But, there is something about a pure, perfect vanilla that makes me happiest.

What book do you wish you were a character in?

I have always wanted to know Anne Shirley from Anne of Green Gables and be her bosom buddy. I have wanted to live on Prince Edward Island, hang out in Marilla and Matthew's kitchen, walk with Gilbert and Diana from school.  I want to know that entire community.

White, dark, or milk chocolate?

Dark.

Would you rather be a coal miner or a skyscraper window washer?

Skyscraper window washer.  Even though I'm not a huge fan of heights, it would not be as debilitating for me to climb high as it would be for me to end up in a dark, cramped space for an extended period of time.  I also love sun.

If you were an American in the late 1700's, which side would you have taken in the Revolution?
No taxation without representation, yo.

What writing tool would it be hard for you to live without?
This is going to sound crazy but...my hands. I think I would be able to live without a lot of different tools. But I can not, for the life of me, tell a logical story out loud.  I would never be able to dictate a story to someone and have it make any sense. (I apologize to any of you who have had to listen to me tell a story at a dinner party.)

What song best describes you or the way you see the world?
Bob Dylan's 'I'll Keep It With Mine'.  The lyrics mean everything to me. It doesn't describe me but it is how I wish I could be.  It's how I think the world can be seen.

What's your favorite first sentence from a book?
To be honest, I don't have any memory of exact sentences.  I don't have a favorite sentence at all.

If you could get on a plane for a month long vacation tomorrow, where would you go?
I think Japan. Yes.  Or Australia. Or Thailand. Or Peru. Or...

Do you outline your stories?
What's an outline?  ;)

Would you rather live in a palace by the sea or a cottage in the woods?
What an impossible choice.  Certainly a cottage over a palace.  But I love trees and I love the ocean.  A cottage in a wooded area near the sea?  Yes.

I always feel strange about tagging others (I'm weird) but I am in love with Faith's question: What song best describes you or the way you see the world?  I'd love to hear your answers for that, if you feel so inclined.