I am catching up on the posts and love listening to you as well as reading the comments. I agree that it is important to go outside everyday for a walk --- just a few minutes to stretch, breathe and clear my head. However, the 'few minutes' turns into an hour or more. I am not near a beach but have many trails and a beautiful reservation nearby with a pond and picnic area. I usually carry one of your books, or one inspired by you from your posts. For some moments I am completely transported.❤️
Dear Patti -- I have come to this post a few days late. But want to say your generosity in discussing your work this way is so deeply appreciated.
The “problem” and “solution” you talk about here offers a window on the transitions in your writing that I always wonder at because they are handled so elegantly. I’ve pored over them, actually, and, for instance, Year of the Monkey is a visceral and intimate experience in some way because of your transitions. It seemed to me to be how the mind, your mind, works, what you experience. It feels natural and all completely organically and intuitively connected, rather than being logically or intellectually built. I’ve taken time with it because it seems a living thing and I want to understand it. Your books are beautiful.
Thank you for this post, and sorry for the late reply.
"Mike Hammer Mode" is absolute perfection, particular the italics. I first read a couple of his early works in the early Fifties, when I was a mere smidgen of a human, just because "Pogo" and Fred Astaire had seen fit to do parodies of Mr. Spillane's work. There was no possibility of my grasping anything he wrote, since I had no frame of reference for it in rural New England. My dad was curious by nature, and I had the run of the grownup library, so I read many books years in advance of any hope of comprehension. The Hardy Boys it wasn't. Mike Hammer, of course, a psychopath, and this was never clearer than when he lapsed into italics. Many things became clearer when I found out that Mickey had written comic books in his youth, and Mike Hammer was an extension of his comic book character "Mike Danger." I met Mr. Spillane near the end of his life, just briefly, when we went to the beach in South Carolina with my in-laws, just sort of next door to the beach community where he had been living for a number of years. He was a pleasant fellow, somewhat in character, and a respected author at that point, appearing at a seminar about World War II at the University of South Carolina. I hope you had a pleasant day...your post certainly made mine nicer.
So great to hear this again, Patti. I’ve listened to your audiobook 3x. Our tiny library has very few audiobooks so I return to yours. Reading your own work is such a treat. Thank you! ♥️
Just Kids was an incredible inspiration to me and I found it when I needed it the most. It quite literally was a light to my artistic life! Love seeing your posts, cheers xx
I love this reading - such a descriptive passage - the whole atmosphere of the Chelsea. Thanks for this.
And thanks for the advice. Sometimes I have to remember to just stop and just be in the moment, I'm going to take my dog - Wyatt - out for an evening stroll - the tree frogs are already out - singing in the humid air - feels like summer.
Good night from Detroit, and by the way I love the lighting.
Thank you for reading that, Patti. Your voice and that light were just perfect. It is such a beautiful day and I listened to you as I sat on my terrace, the traffic sound in the background and the trees finally leafed out below, and the Hudson River beyond them and my dog at my feet. It all started because I came out here to listen to you. What a gift you are.
Thank you Patti...and great advice and knowledge gained from the 'Mike Hammer' mode...!
love this book so much
I am catching up on the posts and love listening to you as well as reading the comments. I agree that it is important to go outside everyday for a walk --- just a few minutes to stretch, breathe and clear my head. However, the 'few minutes' turns into an hour or more. I am not near a beach but have many trails and a beautiful reservation nearby with a pond and picnic area. I usually carry one of your books, or one inspired by you from your posts. For some moments I am completely transported.❤️
pls Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'elm.
Luv hearing from you Patti...p.s. do you still know how to Pony?
I love your poem! I have always wanted to visit New York, and now I feel that I have.
It's wonderful to hear and see you work and hear your interjections and thoughts.
Big fan of your work.
Enjoy your day beautifully.
Dear Patti -- I have come to this post a few days late. But want to say your generosity in discussing your work this way is so deeply appreciated.
The “problem” and “solution” you talk about here offers a window on the transitions in your writing that I always wonder at because they are handled so elegantly. I’ve pored over them, actually, and, for instance, Year of the Monkey is a visceral and intimate experience in some way because of your transitions. It seemed to me to be how the mind, your mind, works, what you experience. It feels natural and all completely organically and intuitively connected, rather than being logically or intellectually built. I’ve taken time with it because it seems a living thing and I want to understand it. Your books are beautiful.
Thank you for this post, and sorry for the late reply.
"Mike Hammer Mode" is absolute perfection, particular the italics. I first read a couple of his early works in the early Fifties, when I was a mere smidgen of a human, just because "Pogo" and Fred Astaire had seen fit to do parodies of Mr. Spillane's work. There was no possibility of my grasping anything he wrote, since I had no frame of reference for it in rural New England. My dad was curious by nature, and I had the run of the grownup library, so I read many books years in advance of any hope of comprehension. The Hardy Boys it wasn't. Mike Hammer, of course, a psychopath, and this was never clearer than when he lapsed into italics. Many things became clearer when I found out that Mickey had written comic books in his youth, and Mike Hammer was an extension of his comic book character "Mike Danger." I met Mr. Spillane near the end of his life, just briefly, when we went to the beach in South Carolina with my in-laws, just sort of next door to the beach community where he had been living for a number of years. He was a pleasant fellow, somewhat in character, and a respected author at that point, appearing at a seminar about World War II at the University of South Carolina. I hope you had a pleasant day...your post certainly made mine nicer.
So great to hear this again, Patti. I’ve listened to your audiobook 3x. Our tiny library has very few audiobooks so I return to yours. Reading your own work is such a treat. Thank you! ♥️
The light! It’s as though you were speaking to us from a faraway realm.
Just Kids was an incredible inspiration to me and I found it when I needed it the most. It quite literally was a light to my artistic life! Love seeing your posts, cheers xx
I love this reading - such a descriptive passage - the whole atmosphere of the Chelsea. Thanks for this.
And thanks for the advice. Sometimes I have to remember to just stop and just be in the moment, I'm going to take my dog - Wyatt - out for an evening stroll - the tree frogs are already out - singing in the humid air - feels like summer.
Good night from Detroit, and by the way I love the lighting.
🌙🖤✨🤍
A writing problem can turn into a beautiful thing, love this. And love your thoughts which seem magical at times.
Thank you for reading that, Patti. Your voice and that light were just perfect. It is such a beautiful day and I listened to you as I sat on my terrace, the traffic sound in the background and the trees finally leafed out below, and the Hudson River beyond them and my dog at my feet. It all started because I came out here to listen to you. What a gift you are.
Thank you.