summer day, summer night

"do you always watch for the longest day of the year and then miss it?  i always watch for the longest day in the year and then miss it."  ~daisy buchanan in "the great gatsby" by f. scott fitzgerald.

one of my favorite novels, favorite characters, favorite quotes.  i think i mention it every year at this time, don't i?

tomorrow, june 21, is the first day of summer, the longest day of the year.  i'll watch for it and hope i don't miss it.  (i don't think i will...)  if my parents were still alive, it would have been their sixty-fifth wedding anniversary.  they were married in old lyme, ct, where they, and my grandparents, and my sisters and i, and friends and cats and i have watched so many longest days of the year.

we'll celebrate my parents, and summer...and reread gatsby and think of the green light at the end of daisy's dock.

happy summer--and happy summer reading--to all!

(i love the painting above--"summer night" by winslow homer, at the musee d'orsay in paris.)

the creek

box full of poem scraps, ideas, ideas,

songs in

a minor key.

moleskine diaries,

thank you

harrison, kooser,

thank you

hemingway,

thank you.

does every writer

try?  or why

limit it to writers?

a good bonfire

might help.

lines about the theater

and mosquitos.

moving the box

means moving the creek.

from the mesa

you can see water

at the base

of the canyon.

(written in new york city during a thunderstorm, 17 june 11)

watching the hawk

my friend in new hampshire has a field of lupines. my friend in vermont feels like wilted petunias and invited me to have lemonade on her porch.

my sister in mystic is doing yard work, and i want to bring her herbs from mim's garden--rosemary, sage, and mint with roots that go down deep and go back forever.  oh wait, she already has herbs from mim's garden.

in chelsea my little terrace has weeds between the stones and a hawk who perches on the rail eyeing pigeons.

maggie sits inside and watches the hawk.

 

yellow knife

yellow knife, carried from africa in the pocket of a ditch-digging

peace corps writer;

a gabon viper once clung

to the netting of his tent

while he lay sleepless below.

we all need shelter and books.

all these years later

i keep the knife close.

and carve initials

on the rails of the old bridge

not because i think it's mine,

but because i know it  is not.

St. Joseph College graduation

It rained, but the day was beautiful, filled with celebration.  How moving, to be at St. Joseph College in West Hartford CT, my mother's alma mater with friends and family, and how honored I felt to receive an honorary degree, Doctor of Humane Letters, along with the inspiring and lovely Kerry Robinson.  Laurette Laramie, my beloved friend and high school history teacher, a distinguished alum of St. Joe's, was instrumental in my receiving this degree--I was so thrilled to spend the day with Laurette.  We share a special love for Breakfast at Tiffany's, so she wore pearls, and we listened to Moon River on the way to the college. My sister Maureen Onorato drove up with Olivier, and we walked around Mercy Hall--our mother's dormitory--and felt her spirit with us.  Molly and Alex Feinstein, our niece and nephew, took a day away from GoBerry in Northampton MA (best frozen yogurt in New England, actually, the world, I'm serious, you have to try it,) to be with us.  And my fellow writer and member of the family and movable feast, Colin McEnroe, got up early after a night of jazz to be with us.  Later, after the graduation, he blogged about two artists with whom we're both a bit obsessed.

I thank President Pamela Trotman Reid--extraordinary, radiant, an inspiration in all ways; Sister Patricia Rooney--awesome Sister of Mercy, a wonderful woman and spiritual powerhouse, I loved her instantly; the Board of Trustees; and, especially, Laurette Laramie--the best teacher in Connecticut-- she is an angel on earth, a scholar's scholar, a singular teacher who sees the huge picture and introduces the students to their own vision; and the late Kathleen Stingle, a champion of goodness and kindness, always advocating for those who need it most, for making yesterday possible.  Love to you all.  And thanks, Mom.  I know you were there.

Here is my graduation speech:

 

Greetings and congratulations, Class of 2011!

 

You have worked and studied so hard to get to this moment in your lives, and here you are today, graduates of St. Joseph College.  You join the ranks of many wonderful, brilliant, creative, metaphysical, caring, scientific St. Joe’s alumnae, including three of the women I love most in this world: my mother, Lucille Arrigan Rice, class of ’46, Kathleen Stingle, class of ’58, and my dear friend and teacher, Laurette Laramie, class of ’60.  I am grateful for my honorary degree, and proud to be among you.

 

You have learned so much on this beautiful campus, in these brick halls.  Your time here has readied you for today and tomorrow and tomorrow—your college experience lives in you now, in your heart and soul and bones, not just in your intellect, or in the observable details of your lives.  St. Joseph College is now part of you, and you of it, and will be forever.

 

Your education has helped you to grow and change, but as you go along, life’s alchemy will work not only on YOU, but on this wonderful education, and IT will grow and change along with you.  At each step going forward, you will regard everything you’ve learned from a new perspective, and it will deepen exponentially so you can better understand yourself and the human condition, which, as you probably already know, are one and the same.

 

I never graduated from college.  I dropped out for reasons tragic and absurd, all of which contributed to why I became a writer.  Although I’m not sure one becomes a writer—writing summons one, much in the way of a religious calling, and once that happens the writer really don’t have much choice.  Plus it’s the only “job,” and I say that in quotation marks, that is best done in pajamas, on a couch, living in the imagination, surrounded by cats, and I really can’t complain about that.

 

You will go forth from here and do extraordinary things—every single one of you.   That is a given.   Some of you have jobs lined up, or have been accepted into graduate school.  Some of you have a game plan, and some of you may not—yet.  You’re all dreaming, and some of those dreams may be clearer than others.   No matter where you fall in the day-of-graduation planning stage, remember: nothing is set in stone, and as long as you keep your heart and mind open, anything is possible.

So.  With “anything is possible” as our north star, I’d like to share some truths that have helped me most along the way.

 

Let’s start with “nothing is set in stone.”  That idea used to terrify me.  I wanted solidity, permanence, reassurances that each choice I made was the right one, and that the results would last forever.   I am here to report that life is more like a river than a rock, that it flows and changes constantly, and carries us along in an ever-transforming way.   So be in the flow, don’t be afraid of the rapids, and enjoy the mad adventure.

 

Listen to yourself.

 

There’s a voice inside you, wiser than the voice of anyone you will ever meet.  People may try to sway you, to convince you of their way of thinking, cause you to doubt yourself.   They might mean well, and love you.  That is not the point, and can sometimes, in fact, confuse the situation.  Support and good guidance are most welcome—I always run decisions past my trusted inner circle.  But when it comes to the actual making up of your mind, trust your own inner voice.   Learn how to listen for it, and know it won’t let you down.

 

To thine own self be true.  Trust your own goodness and wisdom.  If you do what is right for you, with a good motive, it is right for everyone else.  This is not being selfish.  It is honoring your own beliefs and desires, acknowledging your own wisdom, having compassion for yourself and others.  One of my patterns as a young woman was reading people and giving them what I thought they wanted.  In doing so, I prevented myself from being authentic.  It’s taken time, but I’ve outgrown that behavior, and I daresay it’s better for all concerned.

 

Make mistakes.  Make a lot of them.  Don’t try to be perfect because a) perfection is really boring, b) it’s impossible anyway, and c) mistakes can be fun, enlightening, and turn out to be the best thing you’ve ever done.

 

Remind me to tell you about how leaving Zurich one time I missed a turn on the autobahn and ended up in Brussels instead of Paris, randomly having a drink in the lobby of a venerable hotel that had once been a prison with a stranger who said she was a black market diamond merchant from Amsterdam—and why would she make that up?—but was also a computer expert, and this was long ago when few people had computers, and I had just written my first novel in longhand, and yikes, revising was a bear, you can’t imagine, and this diamond merchant convinced me that a computer was the way to go, and, being that the hour was late and I was too tired to drive to Paris—I checked into the hotel with my Scottie dog Gelsey, and the next day drove to the IBM store on Avenue Louise to buy an ordinateur, that’s “computer” in French, one of the languages spoken in Belgium, and wound up spending three months writing Crazy in Love in a tiny garret overlooking the Grand Place, and, wow, was writing and revising so much easier on my IBM ordinateur, first-generation laptop, than with the old fountain pen and legal pad, and let me tell you that’s a wrong turn and mistake I’ve never regretted.  So—make mistakes.

 

And let others make theirs.  You can’t change anyone but yourself.  If you love someone and you think they’re going down a bad road, know it’s their bad road.  Everyone deserves the dignity of her own life.  There’s a difference between love and control.  It’ll save you a lot of pain if you learn to distinguish between the two.

 

Try not to compare yourself to anyone.  Stay focused on your own celestial navigation, and don’t worry that someone else might seem to be happier, thinner, more successful, with a nicer car and/or a cuter boyfriend.  Everything is relative.  Wish everyone the best, root for them, hope they gain their heart’s desires.  Also, you’re thin enough.  Trust me on this.  US Weekly has a lot to answer for.  They make us all feel as if we should be size 2.  When I was your age, size 2 didn’t even exist—it was size 6 or maybe even 8.  You are beautiful the way you are.

 

Make new friends but keep the old, one is silver and the other gold.  I did not make that up.  Neither did my grandmother, though she used to say it all the time.  There is nothing more precious than a good friend.  Keep the ones you’ve loved forever, but don’t be afraid to open up to someone new.  Surround yourself with the best people you can find, ones that tell you the truth and are inclined to take your part in a positive way.  If you have doubts about whether someone is good for you or not, here’s the test that works for me: how do you feel right after you say goodbye?  If you feel uplifted and good about yourself, say yes to the friendship.  If you feel down, full of self-doubt, or with any hit to your self-esteem, the unfriend button is there for a reason.

 

Reality television is stupid.   I encourage you never to watch it.

 

Read as much as you can.

 

Television, Twitter, and Facebook don’t take the place of books, and I’m not just saying that because I’m a writer.  Reading gives you time away, time with yourself.  Let yourself be still and quiet as often as your busy life will permit.  Write.  Have opinions, and find beauty in language.

 

Read poems.

 

Of anything I could tell you, that might be the most important.  Poems can soothe your soul, heal your heart, inspire you to greatness.  I’d like to close with a favorite poem by one of my favorite poets, and I hope you’ll pay special attention to the last line.

 

 

The Summer Day by Mary Oliver

Who made the world?

Who made the swan, and the black bear?

Who made the grasshopper?

This grasshopper, I mean--

the one who has flung herself out of the grass,

the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,

who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down--

who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.

Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.

Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.

I don't know exactly what a prayer is.

I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down

into the grass, how to kneel in the grass,

how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,

which is what I have been doing all day.

Tell me, what else should I have done?

Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?

Tell me, what is it you plan to do

With your one wild and precious life?

 

Thank you.

 

St. Louis

I just returned to the hotel after a wonderful time at the St. Louis County Library, and I thank Tess, Jim, all the librarians, Barnes & Noble for selling The Silver Boat, and all the readers who came out to see me. It is humbling and moving to be on book tour, far from home and cats, and to be so kindly greeted and embraced.  From the minute I stepped off the plane and met lovely author escort Elaine Bly (at left,) I felt the warmth of St. Louis.

I stopped into Tami Scott's wonderful studio for hair and makeup on my way to KPLR afternoon news for an interview  with Melanie Moon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There were many memorable moments tonight.  The crowd was great, and as always, I felt so happy to meet my readers.  I love the Q&A part of each evening.  Tonight people spoke about their mothers, their sisters, their own dreams of writing.   Meeting each person was meaningful in its own way...I always enjoy the moment when signing a book, when we can look into each other's eyes and say a few words.  Sometimes tears are shed, and tonight was one of those times.

Special thanks to some Facebook friends who came a long way to see me.  I marvel at the fact that these women have become true friends of mine.  First I spotted Nancy Duckworth Coombs in the audience.  (From left, Nancy's daughter Liz Coombs Bouley, Nancy, and me.)

 

 

 

 

 

Later, when Susan Kellogg King asked after my cats, I recognized her--and her mother, Sharon Teagarden-King sitting beside her--from their Facebook photos.

(From left Susan, Nancy, Sharon, and me.)

Nancy, Sharon, and Susan and I share a New England--particularly Newport--connection.  The Kings (including Don) brought me a shell-covered box of Second Beach sand.  I'll treasure it!  Most of all they, and Nancy, and my other readers brought me love and support, and for that I'm so thankful.  It's hard to know everyone's name, but checking my Facebook fan page right now I see Kelly Berkley Ramsey and Liza Bascom have posted.  Sorry if I've left anyone out!

The St. Louis County Library is an extraordinary place--they have readings nearly every night:  Mary and Carol Higgins Clark, Nathaniel Philbrick, and James Stewart this week alone.  I'm honored to be among their company...as well as the company of so many wonderful readers, librarians, and booksellers.

The weather was dramatic.  During my breaks I loved watching the light change over the city, the Mississippi River, and the Gateway.  Here is the view from my window just before I left for the library:

 

With Love to Librarians and Booksellers

Now that The Silver Boat is on sale, I have the pleasure of being on book tour, meeting readers along the way. I had a great kick-off event at R. J. Julia Booksellers in Madison CT.  R.J. Julia has supported my novels since the early days, and I'm incredibly grateful.  They took a chance on me relatively early in my career, promoting my novels and asking me to read.  

There have been other constant supports along the way.  The Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library in Old Lyme CT is one--every summer for many years, whenever I had a new novel out, librarian Mary Fiorelli would create a wonderful, imaginative event--I would read or give a talk, sometimes by the fireplace in the library's wonderful reading room, surrounded by paintings done by American impressionists, members of the Old Lyme art colony.

Writing a novel is its own kind of magic.  But the enchantment goes to a new level once the book is in the hands of a reader.  I'm so grateful to all the booksellers and librarians who have helped bring me and my readers together.  It's incredible teamwork all around.  I would love if you'd leave a comment here, telling us about your own favorite bookstores and libraries.

I'll be appearing in Charleston SC at the Post & Courier Book and Author Luncheon on April 21st.  Between now and then I'll be guest-blogging, doing radio and TV interviews, including Better TV--my segment airs tomorrow, 4/13; please check their website to find out where you can see it in your area.

After Charleston, my book tour will take me out west.  I'd love to see you!  Thank you in advance to all the wonderful book people hosting me and coming out for The Silver Boat.

Madison, CT                          R.J. Julia / 7:00pm                                                              Friday, April 8

New York, NY                       Barnes & Noble (Upper East side)/ 7:00pm         Monday, April 11

San Francisco, CA             Belmont Library / 7:00pm                                               Tuesday, April 26

San Diego, CA                       Warwick’s / 7:30pm                                                            Thursday, April 28

Los Angeles, CA                   LA Times Festival of Books                                             April 30 / May 1

St. Louis, MO                        St. Louis County Library / 7:00pm                             Thursday, May 5

 

 

Interviews and blogs/The Silver Boat

Here is a clip of my interview on NY's WPIX, channel 11, from this morning.  It was wonderful speaking with Laurie Dhue.   She kindly held up The Silver Boat and reminded readers of my NYC book signing April 11, 7PM at:

BARNES & NOBLE Upper East Side

150 East 86th Street

New York, NY 10028

I also want to share a link to wowOwow--a piece co-written with Pam Dorman, my publisher and editor.

An interview with Rick Koster in the New London Day.

And four blogs:

Such a Book Nerd

http://suchabooknerd.wordpress.com/2011/03/18/the-family-ocean-the-silver-boat-by-luanne-rice/

 

Crazy Daisy

http://crazyjayzplace.blogspot.com/2011/04/burlap-initial-wreath.html

Linus’s Blanket

http://www.linussblanket.com/new-book-releases-april-3-april-9-2011/

Early Word

http://www.earlyword.com/2011/04/01/fiction-next-week-5/

 

 

 

 

Dear Readers...

Dear Readers,  

Happy April!  I hope this note finds you well.  My windows are open to the sounds of birds flying north, and I am so ready to kick off my shoes and take a long walk on the beach.  My new novel, The Silver Boat, comes out on April 5, and I'm really excited to be telling you about it.

It's about three sisters who reunite for the first time since their mother’s death.  They gather on Martha’s Vineyard, at their beloved childhood home, each of them facing big decisions.  I write about the sisters' relationships, their complicated love, and a family secret that will send them to Ireland in search of their father.

http://luannerice.net/2011/02/the-silver-boat/

I would love if you visited my website for news, stories, blog posts, or just to say hello.

 

You'll find The Silver Boat at your local bookseller...and it is available for pre-order now:

 

Barnes and Noble:   http://bit.ly/fhsnqr

 

Amazon.com:   http://amzn.to/fvPKRP

 

Indiebound: http://bit.ly/gqYt6j

 

I'm very thankful for all your support, and send wishes for a wonderful spring to you and your family.

 

Love,

Luanne

PS. That's Maisie, my youngest cat, proofreading the letter.

Chelsea Gallery Walk

Saturday in Chelsea...walking around, visiting galleries, having coffee with a friend.  I love Tara Donovan's large installations, and felt transported to see her extraordinary latest, Untitled (Mylar) 2011 at the Pace Gallery.  Tara's installation is dark, reflective, organic--it reminds me of stars, spores, a coral reef.  Walking in and out of Chelsea galleries is like spending the day in a dream--losing oneself in beauty, meaning, no-meaning, space... Tara Donovan press release:

NEW YORK, NY. The Pace Gallery presents Untitled (Mylar), 2011, a sprawling single large-scale installation on view for the first time at 545 West 22nd Street from March 4 through April 9, 2011.

In Donovan’s new installation, sheets of Mylar grow into towering organic structures of varying heights rising up to approximately 11 feet tall. As with the artist’s pin drawings on view at 510 West 25th Street, light plays a pivotal role in the work as it catches the folds of Mylar and radiates off its undulating metallic surfaces. The installation relates to Untitled (Mylar), 2010, recently acquired by the Indianapolis Museum of Art for their permanent collection, and is the first of its kind to be shown in New York City. Tara Donovan: Untitled (Mylar), 2011 marks the first major solo-exhibition devoted to Donovan’s large-scale installation or sculptural work in New York City since Donovan at the Met at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in November of 2007, which was extended for nearly a full year by popular demand. The museum show was the fourth in a series dedicated to solo exhibitions of contemporary artists.

From March 16 through June 6, 2011, Donovan will headline Artist File 2011: The NACT Annual Show of Contemporary Art at the National Arts Center Tokyo with two large-scale installations. The group exhibition will be the artist’s first show in Japan.

Tara Donovan (b. 1969, Flushing, New York) received the prestigious MacArthur Foundation “Genius” Award in 2008. The artist holds a B.F.A. from the Corcoran College of Art and Design, Washington, D.C. (1991) and an M.F.A. in sculpture from Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond (1999). The exhibitions at The Pace Gallery follow a three year travelling retrospective devoted to the artist, organized by the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston 2008–2009, which traveled to the Lois & Richard Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art, Cincinnati; Des Moines Art Center; and the Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego through 2010. The retrospective was accompanied by the first monograph on the artist, which was published by The Monacelli Press.

Tara Donovan’s work is held in numerous important public and private collections, including Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo; Brooklyn Museum of Art; Dallas Museum of Art; Indianapolis Museum of Art; The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston; Milwaukee Art Museum; Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego; St. Louis Art Museum; Wadsworth Athenaeum Museum of Art and Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, among others.

Tara Donovan lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. She has been represented by The Pace Gallery since 2005.

**********************************************************************************

I love this, on the desk at the Pace Gallery: LOVE ART & HELP JAPAN

The Silver Boat: out on 4/5

The Silver Boat comes out on April 5, in just a few days, and this is a busy, exciting time.

I've had pleasure of giving interviews for radio, print, and blogs, talking to many wonderful  people about writing, sisters, inspiration, family secrets, and Martha's Vineyard...the novel's setting.  After the solitude of writing The Silver Boat, it feels so good to share the story.  Here's a Q+A I did with Pat Grandjean of Connecticut Magazine.

Travel plans are shaping up--my first book tour in a few years.  I'm so looking forward to visiting bookstores and libraries, and to meeting as many of you as possible...

My kick-off event will be 3/8, R J Julia in Madison CT,(shown in the drawing above) followed by 3/11 Barnes & Noble, Upper East Side, NYC.  (I haven't read in NY in ages--I hope you'll come out to see me!)  I'll update with other dates/stops as well.

Excerpt from THE SILVER BOAT (and Reading Group Guide for Book Clubs)

To celebrate spring, I’m sharing a sneak peek at the first few pages of my new novel, The Silver Boat. Since it comes out on April 5, it seems only fitting. Happy spring, everyone!

Read More

Life out of Balance

Inspired by the perigee moon of March 19...

My essay, Life out of Balance, appears in today's Huffington Post.  I would be so grateful if you felt inclined to leave a comment at the bottom of the Huffpo page, and send the link along to your friends.  Thank you very much!

Lunch and a Novel

Are you free for lunch?

 

I've donated "Lunch with the Author," a signed copy of The Silver Boat, and the chance to have a character named for you in my next novel, to the most wonderful event: Bid to Save the Earth: Christie's Green and Runway to Green Auction. Just click on the link to place your bid...

The auction benefits four environmental charities, including  NRDC--Natural Resources Defense Council--the amazing organization  that does so much to protect our planet...  I'm a member of NRDC and feel so proud of the work they do.

About that lunch.  I'd love to meet you at one of my favorite restaurants: the Red Cat in New York City,

 

 

 

 

or, if you'd prefer to meet in LA, Shutters on the Beach (my all time favorite beachside hotel and restaurant)

 

 

 

 

 

 

or Ivy at the Shore (shown at the top, the terrace cascading with bougainvillea.)  Bring a friend if you'd like; we can talk about books, writing, life, inspiration, wildlife, the sea, the earth, ways we can help...

Please check out the details, as well as the auction itself and other incredible items (go flying with Harrison Ford, meet Lady Gaga in Miami, sit courtside at a Knicks game with Jay-Z, attend opening night at the Metropolitan Opera in a box for eight, or take a tennis lesson with John McEnroe, among many other tempting .)

And I really hope we can have lunch!