Like everyone else lately, I’ve been glued to the news – the Arab Spring, the tornados, the arrest of Mr. Strauss-Kahn and Weinergate – and sometimes wondering what difference writing can make in this kind of world. But for a reassuring answer, I turn to the wonderful historian, Barbara Tuchman:
Books are the carriers of civilization. Without books, history is silent, literature dumb, science crippled, thought and speculation at a standstill. Without books, the development of civilization would have been impossible. They are engines of change, windows on the world and lighthouses erected in the sea of time. They are companions, teachers, magicians, bankers of the treasures of the mind.
Books are humanity in print.
I’m doing my best to set my light glowing at the top of my lighthouse. I’m back from promoting The Four Ms. Bradwells, and while I do have several more events in the San Francisco Bay Area (including a celebration for the paperback release of The Language of Light – more on that to come in a later post), I’m spending most of my waking hours trying to shed some light on my sea of time by writing a new novel. It’s a happy place for me, to be writing. I’m glad to be back to it!
And I’m reading, too. So many books by authors I love out this spring! – Meg
Note: for anyone participating, you can get back step right back onto the SheWriters Blogger Ball dance floor.
Dear Meg–thanks so much for your insights and inspiration! I don’t always comment, but I always enjoy the wonderful words of wisdom from authors like you! Thanks and take care!
Writer are students of people, their gestures, their hearts. Lovely point. I’ll share it.
Thanks for the great quote. Nice to know you’re working on another novel.
Thanks, everyone!
And don’t forget to click the comment luv box if you want a link to your own blog posts to show below your comment. You never know who might be reading here and click on over to you…
That was wonderfully put Meg. Literature is very important for perserving our culture. Thanks for your words.
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Thanks once agin for the blog ball invite, Meg. Hope sales are soaring for your latest publication.
Deborah recently posted..Cherries from Chauvets Orchard
It really is a good time to be writing. I’ve stopped by your site before (never know who’s looking) and will be putting The four Ms Bradwells on my summer reading list. Thanks for you insight.
Totsymae (Tosh) recently posted..You’ve Got To Shit Or Get Off The Toilet
Visiting from the the She Writes Bloggers Ball and wanted to thank you for setting it up. Such a fun thing to do on a rainy weekend. Good point about books being carriers of history. One of favorite writers, G.K. Chesterton, says the only reason pre-historic humans are pre-historic is because they didn’t leave any writing.
Carol Apple recently posted..Blogger Ball Re-Dux- A Very Brief Review of My First 11 Months of Blogging
Writing as light…I like that. There is so much more involved with the “writing” gig than I ever knew. I am grateful for seasoned authors (like you) who are willing to still mingle and dance with those of us still learning the steps. I am reading The Wednesday Sisters right now, and I love the writers’ group already. Thanks for the invitation to the ball. MMF
‘Books are humanity in print.’ What a great statement. We did the mandatory Disney trip this spring. The big ball at Epcot had a ride featuring the evolution of man. The main idea: the ability to record thoughts and stories that could be shared, focusing on the development of paper and books.
Thanks for hosting the blogger ball, Meg!
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This is my first time to the Blogger Ball! Thanks for hosting this, Meg. I plan to work my way through all the blogs posted.
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Carol, I love the Chesterton prehistory thing!