tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23935428.post114326550264822167..comments2024-01-15T03:32:03.328-07:00Comments on Salsa Night: Green ChildrenNickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16680099072195435304noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23935428.post-1144168474649464642006-04-04T10:34:00.000-06:002006-04-04T10:34:00.000-06:00I think Julie gave an apt description of Dillard (...I think Julie gave an apt description of Dillard (although I hesitate to think of myself as reading her "deeply"--my freshman english teacher introduced her to me and I read her works as part of the growing up at college experience, which is why I still feel fondly for her even today). <I>Pilgrim at Tinker Creek</I> is a good place to start if you're looking for a longer, more involved set of essays that all tie together (she won a Pulitzer for it). For a group of shorter essays, try <I>Teaching a Stone to Talk.</I> My favorites are probably <I>For the Time Being</I> (think of the themes of clouds, sand, China, Teilhard de Chardin, Israel, and a consideration of the implications of birth defects all woven together) and <I>Holy the Firm,</I> which really ought to be required reading for every human being at some point in their lives. Ok, I'll get off my Annie Dillard soapbox now. (By the way, I'm not a fan of everything she's ever written, and find most of her more recent attempts, with the exception of <I>For the Time Being</I> to be just ok [I didn't even finish her novel she put out a few years back]. But the stuff she wrote well really can be amazing.)JennyWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02535209437895615609noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23935428.post-1144166009545479592006-04-04T09:53:00.000-06:002006-04-04T09:53:00.000-06:00Annie Dillard writes very poetically about her exp...Annie Dillard writes very poetically about her experiences and nature. Even for those of us who don't see as deeply into books as Jenny, she is enjoyable. I think I started out with <I>Pilgrim at Tinker Creek</I>, but I know Jenny has read a lot more of her.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23935428.post-1144091495657975272006-04-03T13:11:00.000-06:002006-04-03T13:11:00.000-06:00Who is Annie Dillard? I've never heard of her bef...Who is Annie Dillard? I've never heard of her before. Could you recommend one or more of her books to an Annie Dillard novice?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23935428.post-1144083630130962642006-04-03T11:00:00.000-06:002006-04-03T11:00:00.000-06:00Thank you Julie--I love Annie's work (and love fin...Thank you Julie--I love Annie's work (and love finding someone else who has read her!), especially her ability to reveal the sacred in nature.JennyWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02535209437895615609noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23935428.post-1143839932056419712006-03-31T14:18:00.000-07:002006-03-31T14:18:00.000-07:00peace and beauty - you brought a restful moment in...peace and beauty - you brought a restful moment into my day - and you reminded me of Annie DillardAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23935428.post-1143523415300791382006-03-27T22:23:00.000-07:002006-03-27T22:23:00.000-07:00Jared--the key to having a big, bountiful garden i...Jared--the key to having a big, bountiful garden is to marry Nick. He'd have that yard terraced in a second! In fact, he's already planted our lettuce. I potted some pansies yesterday. That's an improvement over last year, when I was gardeningly pathetic (I was growing a baby instead). PS--I'm sorry Nick is already taken.<BR/><BR/>Erin--thanks for your comments--I really liked the image of God not being able to help his sharing of goodness with us and the ties you made between creation and the temple. I think that's part of the reason the temple tells us what it does: to emphasize the act(s) of creation that surround our own creation, our mortal lives, and our exhalted potential.JennyWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02535209437895615609noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23935428.post-1143520148744415632006-03-27T21:29:00.000-07:002006-03-27T21:29:00.000-07:00I loved this piece you wrote, too, Jenny. I love ...I loved this piece you wrote, too, Jenny. I love how God shares his Godness with us...maybe it's not even something He can control, since we're children of God, and have "Godness" in us. A couple of the ways that I think this really comes out is in creation and in proxy work. I love the way temple work is a way that we become a real part of the plan by actually doing some of the work, and I love that we are also made part of the creation process, both through parenthood and cultivation. It really awes me sometimes at the power or the magic or the majesty of Godness and our part in it.Erin Teichert Barbutohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06404660921703909400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23935428.post-1143494318405992402006-03-27T14:18:00.000-07:002006-03-27T14:18:00.000-07:00I was already wanting to start a garden, but now I...I was already wanting to start a garden, but now I REALLY want to. It's going to be a challenge in my sister's yard, though. We're going to have to terrace the slope in her backyard. I guess I'll have to get to work pretty soon if we're going to get seeds in this year...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23935428.post-1143480304564730912006-03-27T10:25:00.000-07:002006-03-27T10:25:00.000-07:00Thanks Nick--it's nice to know I still have some m...Thanks Nick--it's nice to know I still have some mystery about me :) One of the ways I try to understand my past (and what it could mean for my present/future self) is through the cultivation of an aesthetic relationship between my physical and mental experiences. There is something about the process of forcing oneself to consider mundane events aesthetically that is akin to revelation for me--insight into the oridnary wrought through language. But you're right, I don't usually share my aesthetic writing with others. I'm not sure why I posted this, other than it's been something I've been mulling over with an ever-increasing frequency since Lucy's birth. But I have yet to work out that relationship ...JennyWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02535209437895615609noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23935428.post-1143269300290483952006-03-24T23:48:00.000-07:002006-03-24T23:48:00.000-07:00I knew you could write analytically and persuasive...I knew you could write analytically and persuasively (often above my ability to understand- think master's thesis), but I never knew you could write so beautifully. How did you keep this from me for 4.5 years?Nickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16680099072195435304noreply@blogger.com