Reading for Pleasure?
Athe Oklahoma Center for the Book Award dinner, one of the speaker’s said it was a great day when the 230+ there were joining the Center to “promote the past, current, and future works of Oklahoma authors; promote the literary heritage of the state; and encourage reading for pleasure by Oklahomans of all ages.”
There was an emphasis on reading for pleasure by Oklahomans of all ages. I wonder how many of us have abandoned “reading for pleasure”. I remember sitting up late into the night reading my book, occasionally with a mom saying you better go to sleep or you won’t want to get up in the morning, but not really caring. And once at work a colleague told me she read fantasy novels because it was just like eating candy. (And a lot less fattening.) But like everyone I find myself thinking about work, home issues, staring at nonsensical television and watching way too much news by people intent on hearing their own voices. And way too little time reading for pleasure.
So it was very interesting to find this on Esquire website, that Peter Martin has this to say about the pleasures of reading.
“But then, a couple weeks ago, I decided to pick up Peter Godwin’s When a Crocodile Eats the Sun, which a friend had recommended. It wasn’t something out of the canon that I hoped would come up in conversation with my boss, or at a party filled with beautiful Ivy League women or even girls from Wellesley. Just a book, by a guy I’d never heard of, on a topic I didn’t think I cared about. As I read it, something felt different. Instead of obligation, I was compelled by interest. And it was glorious. Liberating. Like I’d been eating at Long John Silver’s for the last ten years and only just now realized that that’s not what people meant when they talked about seafood. I finished that book and chose another. When it didn’t captivate me within thirty pages, I moved on to another (Mark Helprin’s three-year-old Winter’s Tale). I found myself rushing to get out of work so I could read on the subway ride home. When an express train pulled up, I’d wait for the local. Now that I’m a reader (who’s currently reading the forthcoming Apologize, Apologize! by Elizabeth Kelly), I’m not bothered when my plane’s stuck on the tarmac or a friend shows up late at the bar. I have a book. My book. I can wait.
And here’s a slightly different take on reading for pleasure in this review of Victor Nell’s Lost in a Book: The Psychology of Reading for Pleasure by Jenny Davidson at Light Reading blog.
And when I put pleasure reading in Google I find lots of College/High School students complaining about required reading assignments, which have negated any attempt to have time for pleasurable reading. Maybe teachers should allow one “free” book each semester. It could be its own valuable lesson.
I need to start reading again for the pure pleasure of it. Several books await, with my name on them. Who hasn’t lost themself in the printed word, oblivious to laundry, children, spouses, work and sleep? Why not give ourselves the present of selfless moments of reading pleasure.
So in the words of Archie Goodwin, Nero Wolfe’s confidant, “Go to Hell I’m Reading.”
Celebrating Oklahoma and Margaret Manuel Larason
To honor Margaret Manuel Larason, mother of Linda Edmondson (Attorney General Drew Edmondson’s wife), a collection of photographs from well-known Oklahoma Centennial photographer Mike Klemme were given to Northwestern Oklahoma State University.
Mrs. Larason was a western Oklahoma reporter, history teacher, school librarian and penned several works of county and local history. She also wrote with her daughter, “Kate Barnard: The Story of a Woman Politician,” Chronicles of Oklahoma, 78 (Summer 2000), 160–81.
Quoted from the Alva Review-Courier:
“This gift of artwork is a truly wonderful addition to our new campus and is a fitting tribute to the legacy of Margaret Larason,” Janet Cunningham, university president, said. “We are grateful to all of the donors who chose to honor Mrs. Larason and Northwestern with these beautiful photographs.”
If you haven’t had a chance, you need to stop and view the pictorial work of Mike Klemme, “Celebrating Oklahoma! The Oklahoma Centennial Photographic Survey.” Also take a peek at the scumptious art work on his website. You can also find information for purchasing the book and his art. 
Woody, we hope you’re listening to Jonatha Brooke
This morning I heard Jonatha Brooke on NPR talking about Woody Guthrie and how Nora Guthrie gave her permission to go through the Woody archives and find wonderful bits of unpublished Woody songs and prose.
My favorite this morning is the heartbreaking, Madonna on the Curb,
The result of her collaboration with Woody’s words and her musical style is the album, The Works.
Another lovely example is Sweetest Angel:
I wind the stem of my little clock
And when I look in the crystal glass
I see a lot of faces pass
Of those I knew
And those I know
And you now coming
And you to go
Here’s a word I’d like to whisper
And I’d like to have you listen
All this world is made of love
You are fresh from heaven above
You’re the sweetest angel in this world
You’re the sweetest angel in this world
You’re the sweetest angel in this world
You’re the sweetest angel
When I hold you by your hand
I’m in my happy promised land
When I kiss you in the dark
I’m just happy as a lark
So let me come as close as I can
And lay me down beside you
Here’s a word I’d like to whisper
And I’d like to have you listen
All this world is made of love
You are fresh from heaven above
You’re the sweetest angel in this world
You’re the sweetest angel in this world
You’re the sweetest angel in this world
You’re the sweetest angel
So let me come as close as I can
Let me bring my scattered pages
Let me lay down here beside you
Tonight, and I will whisper
All this world is made of love
You are fresh from heaven above
You’re the sweetest angel in this world
You’re the sweetest angel in this world
You’re the sweetest angel in this world
You’re the sweetest angel
Thank you again Woody for reminding us of the two sides of the coin, human suffering and love.
And the Winners are…..
I’m scooping this story, just got in from the Oklahoma Center for the Book Awards dinner, and I know who the winners are!!!
But First, the coolest thing that has happened to me in a long time was Joseph Shaw, who wrote To Honor the Dead , which I reviewed right here on OkieReads, sat at my table and was looking for me because a friend had shared my review with him. He was very gracious; we talked Fairview and it’s proximity to I-40 or maybe not, and small town Oklahoma.
Authors are rock stars, like Britney Spears or Madonna (oh wait she thinks she’s an author) to readers. In light of instant communication I think readers will begin to have more influence on the publishing industry like music buyers have had on the music industry. Readers will dictate rather than be dictated to by the publishers. It will be interesting that’s for sure. It’s also fun to meet authors to see if they’re nice or arrogant or way too impressed with themselves. I’m obviously a Joseph Shaw fan and he’s one of the nice ones, besides being one hellava writer.
OK, back to the Book Awards and off my soapbox. First award out of the chute, Children/Young Adult goes to….the Young Adult novel, Spy by Anna Myers .
Next the heavy duty Non-Fiction category. Lordy, there were 10 finalists and all an impressive lot. It went to Full-Court Quest: The Girls from Fort Shaw Indian School, Basketball Champions of the World by Linda Peavy and Ursula Smith. Unfortunately they couldn’t be there to accept but Alice Stanton from the University of Oklahoma Press did a good job and reminded us of our own OU girls basketball dreams.
Awards for Design/Illustration were given out in both categories. One to Placing Memory: A Photographic Exploration of Japanese Internment. Design by Eric H. Anderson and Karen Hayes-Thumann. Photography by Todd Stewart. 
The other award in Illustration went to Kandy Radzinski for her illustrations in What Dogs Want for Christmas.
Nathan Brown took the award in Poetry for Two Tables Over. His best work yet, IMHO.
And as they say, last but certainly not least, the Fiction Award went to Carolyn D. Wall for Sweeping up Glass. If you’ve been reading my blog you already know how I feel about this one.
And drum roll please…. The Arrell Gibson Lifetime Achievement Award goes to Robert Conley. But I’m not going to say much now, it’s after my bedtime and Robert Conley deserves a clear head and much more attention. Suffice it to say, the Oklahoma Center for the Book “done good” with this choice.
So I hope I beat everyone to the punch with the announcement of the winners unless some tweeters beat me to it.
Who’s not afraid of Edward Albee in Tulsa
Edward Albee coming to Tulsa, April 14, sponsored by the Oklahoma Center for Poets and Writers. Better get your tickets now, if you want to attend.
Here’s the how from the website:
Literary icon and three-time Pulitzer winner Edward Albee will speak in the OSU-Tulsa auditorium, 7 p.m. Tickets are $10 and may be purchased by calling Teresa Miller at (918) 594-8215.
Hope I will see some of you at the Oklahoma Center for the Book Award dinner on Saturday night. I’ll be taking tickets and giving out seat assignments. Looking forward to finding out the winners, meeting the authors, and having a good dinner besides.
John Hope Franklin, Oklahoma’s renown historian and author
It is with great sadness we recognize the passing of one of Oklahoma’s greatest historians, authors and teachers, John Hope Franklin. During his lifetime he received many honors; many from his native state, including, the Oklahoma Center for the Book Arrell Gibson Lifetime Achievement Award and election to the Oklahoma Hall of Fame.
A chronicler of Black history, he authored numerous books, including his major work, “From Slavery to Freedom: The History of African-Americans.” He taught at Duke University, and graduated from Fisk and Harvard. He co-edited with his son the autobiography of his father, Buck Colbert Franklin’s life. John Hope Franklin also authored his own autobiography, Mirror to America.
Born in Rentiesville, Oklahoma in 1915, Dr. Franklin became a well respected historian and scholar. He fought for civil rights with determination and dignity. In his passing we will all have lost an important and treasured voice.
