Anita Shreve. Photograph courtesy of her Amazon page. The copyright holder is not cited there.
“I love paintings within paintings. Stories within stories.” Anita Shreve to Hillary Casavant, Anita Shreve: Solder On, The Writer, March 21, 2014
I was sorry to learn on Friday that Anita Shreve died. She was an American writer, well known for her novels, several of which I read and appreciated. She wrote quite a bit about loss, such a big part of life.
Ms. Shreve started her writing career when she was working as a high school teacher in Reading, Massachusetts. One of her early stories, Past the Island, Drifting (1975), was awarded an O. Henry Prize in 1976.
Anita Shreve spent three years working as a journalist in Nairobi, Kenya. In 1999, while she was teaching Creative Writing at Amherst College, Oprah Winfrey called her with the news that The Pilot’s Wife was selected for Oprah’s book club. Since then, Ms. Shreve’s novels have sold in the millions worldwide.
In 2000, her novel The Weight of Water was made into a movie. It was directed by Kathryn Bigelow. The movie starred Sean Penn, Sarah Polley and Elizabeth Hurley. In 2001, her novel Resistance became a film starring Bill Paxton and Julia Ormond. That same year, CBS released The PIlot’s Wife, a movie of the week. It starred Christine Lahti and John Heard.
Ms. Shreve died of cancer on March 29, 2018, at her home at Newfields, New Hampshire. She was seventy-one.
“Writing isn’t about making money, getting famous, getting dates, getting laid, or making friends. In the end, it’s about enriching the lives of those who will read your work, and enriching your own life, as well.” Stephen King
PEN America will honor legendary suspense writer Stephen King with the 2018 PEN America Literary Service Award at its annual Literary Gala on May 22 at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. PEN America confers the Literary Service Award each year to a critically-acclaimed writer whose body of work helps us understand and interpret the human condition, engendering empathy and imagination in even the darkest hours.
Stephen King is the author of more than fifty books, all of them worldwide best-sellers and many—including such classics as It, The Stand, The Dark Tower, Misery, Lisey’s Story, 11/22/63, On Writing, Under the Dome, and many more—providing the basis for major motion pictures and serving as cultural hallmarks for generations.
Among King’s many accolades are the 2003 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters and the 2014 National Medal of Arts presented by Barack Obama. His depictions of horror and violence have also earned him a title as one of the most banned or challenged authors in recent decades.
King is an impassioned advocate of freedom of expression, literacy, and access to information, which he and his wife Tabitha support through their philanthropy.
King’s Haven Foundation provides unique and generous support to writers and other freelancers in the arts who have suffered personal hardship.
Stephen King’s outspoken defense against encroachments on free speech and pointed public criticism of policies that infringe on this and other rights have resulted in his being blocked by President Trump on Twitter.
Scribner will release King’s newest novel, The Outsider, on May 22, the day of the PEN America award presentation.
“No stranger to the dark side, Stephen King has inspired us to stand up to sinister forces through his rich prose, his generous philanthropy, and his outspoken defense of free expression,” said author Andrew Solomon, president of PEN America. “Stephen has fearlessly used his bully pulpit as one of our country’s best-loved writers to speak out about the mounting threats to free expression and democracy that are endemic to our times. His vivid storytelling reaches across boundaries to captivate multitudes of readers, young and old, in this country and worldwide, across the political spectrum. He helps us all to confront our demons—whether a dancing clown or a tweeting president.”
If you are reading this post from an email subscription, you’ll have to link through to the The Poet by Day site to view it: Creative Writing Lessons: Creative Writing Tips from Stephen King.
Courtesy of Stephen King, photo credit Shane Leonard
STEPHEN KING (b. 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, science fiction, and fantasy. His books have sold more than 350 million copies. King has published over fifty novels, including seven under the pen name Richard Bachman, and six non-fiction books. He has written around 200 short stories, most of which are in book collections. Mr. King’s Amazon page is HERE.
His novella Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption was the basis for the film The Shawshank Redemption widely regarded as one of the greatest films of all time. It was in fact voted the greatest film of all time by Empire magazine readers in “The 201 Greatest Movies of All Time” poll in March, 2006.
PEN America stands at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect open expression in the United States and worldwide. It champions the freedom to write, recognizing the power of the word to transform the world. PEN America’s mission is to unite writers and their allies to celebrate creative expression and defend the liberties that make it possible.
Politial protest in Hong Kong against the detention of Liu Xiaobo, Photo courtesy of Pederez under CC BY-SA 2.0 license
The death of Liu Xiaobo will forever mar China’s reputation under international law and global human rights standards, PEN America said today and called on China to Release Late Literary Icon’s Wife, Liu Xia
Liu Xiaobo, a brilliant writer, literary critic, and pro-democracy activist, was a founding member and former president of the Independent Chinese PEN Center. After his arrest, PEN America honored Liu with the 2009 PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award, kicking off an international campaign for his freedom that culminated in his receipt—in absentia—of the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize.
PEN America held a candlelight vigil earlier this evening at the Permanent Mission of the People’s Republic of China to the U.N. to honor Liu Xiaobo’s legacy and protest continued human rights abuses in China, where more than forty writers are currently in jail. This free, public event featured readings from the work of Liu and his wife, Liu Xia, who remains under house arrest in China without charge since her husband’s receipt of the Nobel Prize.
PEN America Executive Director Suzanne Nossel released the following statement today in response to news of Liu Xiaobo’s death today:
“The death of Liu Xiaobo today from a virulent cancer contracted while serving an 11-year prison sentence will forever be a black mark marring China’s reputation under international law and global human rights standards.
“As President of the Independent Chinese PEN Center, Liu Xiaobo was a friend and compatriot for writers all over the world who struggle against tyranny using words as their sole weapon. Liu Xiaobo’s purported crime was no crime at all, but rather a visionary exposition on the potential future of a country he loved.
“For the act of penning seven sentences, China punished Liu Xiaobo with a long prison term, limiting his access to state-of-the-art medical care that might have prevented his illness or improved his prognosis. China’s refusal to honor Liu Xiaobo’s last wish to travel overseas for treatment and its decision to hold him incommunicado during his dying days are a cruel epitaph in the tale of a powerful regime’s determination to crush a brave man who dared challenge a government that sustains its rule through suppression and fear. Liu Xiaobo was not afraid. His courage in life and in death is an inspiration to those who stand for freedom in China and everywhere.
“Our thoughts are with Liu Xiaobo’s family and friends, especially his beloved wife, the poet Liu Xia, who has been kept under house arrest, harassed, and hounded for years without charge. The only thing the Chinese government can do now to expiate its complicity in the death of Liu Xiaobo is to grant his wife, Liu Xia, the freedoms in life that her husband gained only in death. PEN America calls on China to immediately grant Liu Xia freedom of movement, expression, and travel lest their crimes against Liu Xiaobo claim a second victim.”
PEN America stands at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect open expression in the United States and worldwide. The organization champions the freedom to write, recognizing the power of the word to transform the world. Its mission is to unite writers and their allies to celebrate creative expression and defend the liberties that make it possible.
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Joyce Carol Thomas, (1938-2016), poet, playwright and the author of more than 30 books for children and youth
Joyce Carol Thomas was one of nine children born into a cotton-picking family in rural Oklahoma. She died last month on the 16th in Berkeley, California.
Ms. Thomas started out writing poetry and plays and then moved on to young adult fiction. Her first young adult novel, Marked by Fire, was published in 1982 and won the National Book Award in 1983.
She said in one interview, “I know of black boys and girls who squirm uncomfortably in their desks at the two-dimensional, unrelenting portrayal of young people as either victims of slavery or perennial do-rag wearers hanging out on a stoop next to a garbage can. There are black American stories somewhere between slavery and ghetto that also deserve telling.” Her work explored issues of identity and the experience of black lives in rural areas.
In addition to the National Book Award, she won the American Book Award, the New York Times Outstanding Book of the Year Award, Outstanding Woman of the 20th Century Award, three Coretta Scott King Honor Awards, the Center for Poets and Writers’ Poet Laureate Award, Kirkus Reviews Editors’ Choice, the American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults, Book of the Month Club Selection, and others. She received her undergraduate degree from San Jose State and a master’s from Stanford University and taught at several colleges.
Because I am dark, the moon and stars shine brighter.”
Her poetry collections included The Blacker the Berry and Brown Honey in Broom Wheat Tea, which both received the Coretta Scott King Book Award.
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When the berries in the jar
Are biscuit ready
I fix a cup of tea
Then spoon out biscuit jelly
For biscuit brown me
Joyce Carol Thomas
With the holiday’s coming sooner than we’d like to think: her books make great gifts for children and youth. Her board books are charming.
Anita Shreve spent three years working as a journalist in Nairobi, Kenya. In 1999, while she was teaching Creative Writing at Amherst College, Oprah Winfrey called her with the news that The Pilot’s Wife was selected for Oprah’s book club. Since then, Ms. Shreve’s novels have sold in the millions worldwide. 
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