Thursday, February 18, 2010

Not again


This is becoming a sad series of posts. This morning I read that poet Lucille Clifton had died. Clifton won a National Book Award in 2000, and was a Pulitzer Prize finalist, to name just a few of the honors she earned in her lifetime.

She wrote children's books as well as 11 poetry collections, many of which celebrate her African-American heritage and feminism. National Poetry Month isn't until April--but there's always time to read a poem, and the library's extensive poetry collection will surely have something that fits your taste. You'll find American poets at 811, and British poets at 821. Check the catalog or ask at the reference desk for poets from other countries.

And now I think maybe I should stop reading the newspaper, before this becomes the dead authors blog.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

And now Dick Francis...


Robert Parker, John Updike, J.D. Salinger, and now Dick Francis--we seem to be losing a lot of authors lately. You may have guessed from my post about Robert Parker that I am a mystery reader, so it seems appropriate to say a few words here about Dick Francis.

I'm not the least bit interested in horses or horse racing, but I always enjoyed reading Francis' fast-paced mysteries, almost all of which are set against the backdrop of professional horse racing. As further evidence that a good story can suck you into a world you might otherwise have little interest in, I'd like to recommend two other books for your reading pleasure. In honor of Dick Francis, both are about horses.

Jane Smiley's Horse Heaven
is frequently told from the point of view of the horses. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised that a writer as skillful as Smiley could make this work. Well before the end of the book, I found myself empathizing with the horses and the people who are obsessed with thoroughbred racing. Perhaps I am particularly fond of this book because one of the great characters in the story is a Jack Russell terrier named Eileen!

There have been lots of books written about the legendary horse Seabiscuit, not to mention feature films and a documentary, but the one I would recommend (because it's the only one I've read) is by Laura Hillenbrand. I actually listened to it, and found it to be an amazing story. I'm not the only one--Hillenbrand's story of the horse and the people who loved him was named one of the best books of the year by over 20 publications.

So here's to Dick Francis, and great writers such as Jane Smiley and Laura Hillenbrand who introduce us to worlds we may only know through the pages of their books.