Gone to 'Where The Wild Things Are'

I woke up this morning and habitually checked my Twitter feed, only to be told by a very busy trend that Maurice Sendak had passed today at the age of 83. I was saddened, but I instantly remembered his many achievements and smiled. Both within the literary sphere and for me personally... 

Maurice Sendak is arguably the most important children's book author/artist of our time, and his famous story 'Where the Wild Things Are' can be recognised by many. Yes, we all loved how Max got up to mischief in his wolf suit, and created a wonderful world within his imagination. But there was something much more deeper at play here. With this tiny self-written, self-illustrated book came a genre-breaking tale set to change the nature of children's stories forever. There were fairytales... and then there were Sendak's hauntingly beautiful tales, dancing in the darkness of the human psyche. He was a fearlessly honest writer, who didn't intend to write stories for children but spoke to them in a way not many others could. And although he was widely criticised for this, Sendak always faced his difficulties with the utmost courage. He taught children to face it through his books. 

For me personally, 'Where the Wild Things Are' was always a go-to book. It was a comforter. I could confide in Max when the world was against me (who knows, maybe I got in trouble for something stupid), run away, rumble with some monsters, let loose with my emotions and be prepared to come back and face those troubles level headed. Max was there, and he could assure me that everything would be better this time round. Hell, I should probably revert back to this way of dealing with things!!? 

As the library leader of my primary school, Sendak's works were always displayed in the priority spots... and when it came time for the annual school performance, I played that tiny yellow flower in our stage rendition of the story with so much pride (nerdy book girls have no dance skills). It's so hard to put into words what his work meant to me. This is a sad day for library leaders. For children. 

Ever since I heard his interview with Terry Gross last year I realised just how much this man was in tune with himself and everything around him. He spoke so eloquently on life and love lost. And when prompted to face his own mortality, said "I have nothing but praise now, for my life. I'm not unhappy. I cry a lot, because I miss people. I cry a lot because they die, and I can't stop them. They leave me. And I love them more...And it's what I dread, more than anything, is the isolation.... Oh God, there are such beautiful things in the world, which I will have to leave when I die. But I'm ready, I'm ready, I'm ready". It was poignant then, but even more so now. I know that when Maurice Sendak gets back home, his supper will still be waiting and it will be hot. Just the way he likes it. 

And he sailed off through night and day

and in and out of weeks

and almost over a year

to where the wild things are.

R.I.P Maurice Sendak, literary legend.

For those who'd like to hear the story again...

Chapter One: The River Bank

This is just a small thank you to today's episode of The Book Show for rekindling my childhood love affair with Kenneth Grahame's classic The Wind in the Willows. Deserving of particular mention is the charming illustrations by Ernest S. Shepard in the earlier editions. Although as an adult I can readily understand the social underpinnings of the idealised age in which the book was written, I would much rather remember the characters of Mole, Ratty and even Mr. Badger for their depicted pastoral lives, living in a domestic tranquility unhampered from interference from the outside world. To me, there is nothing more whimsical than row boat rides down stream, new friends sharing sandwiches and a lovely new home for an old mole.

 

`This has been a wonderful day!' said Mole, as the Rat shoved off and took to the sculls again. `Do you know, I`ve never been in a boat before in all my life.'

`What?' cried the Rat, open-mouthed: `Never been in a--you never--well I--what have you been doing, then?'

`Is it so nice as all that?' asked the Mole shyly, though he was quite prepared to believe it as he leant back in his seat and surveyed the cushions, the oars, the rowlocks, and all the fascinating fittings, and felt the boat sway lightly under him.

`Nice? It's the ONLY thing,' said the Water Rat solemnly, as he leant forward for his stroke. `Believe me, my young friend, there is NOTHING--absolute nothing--half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats. Simply messing,' he went on dreamily: `messing--about--in--boats; messing----'

`Look ahead, Rat!' cried the Mole suddenly.

It was too late. The boat struck the bank full tilt. The dreamer, the joyous oarsman, lay on his back at the bottom of the boat, his heels in the air.

`--about in boats--or WITH boats,' the Rat went on composedly, picking himself up with a pleasant laugh. `In or out of 'em, it doesn't matter. Nothing seems really to matter, that's the charm of it. Whether you get away, or whether you don't; whether you arrive at your destination or whether you reach somewhere else, or whether you never get anywhere at all, you're always busy, and you never do anything in particular; and when you've done it there's always something else to do, and you can do it if you like, but you'd much better not. Look here! If you've really nothing else on hand this morning, supposing we drop down the river together, and have a long day of it?'

Miss Jane Marple

Today marks the 120th birthday of one of Britain's most celebrated crime fiction writers, Agatha Christie.

Geraldine McEwan playing Christie's Miss Marple!

With classics starting in the 1920's such as The Murder of Rodger Ackroyd, And Then There Were None and The Body in the Library, Agatha Christie is the best selling writer of all time. She has become the world's most translated author, and has sold more than four billion copies of her novel's globally. Most of us will know Christie's work from many of the film and television adaptations, like Murder, She Wrote or Innocent Lies. But I highly recommend to anyone craving a little classic murder mystery to head to a second hand bookstore and dust off a copy of Christie's Murder on the Orient Express.

Happy 120th Birthday Agatha Christie. 

"Everything that has ever existed, lies in eternity."

Those Who Don't Believe In Magic Will Never Find It...

When I was a little girl at primary school, I spent every spare moment in the library. Mornings, afternoons, in between classes and lunch times. What started as reading quietly in the corner soon lead to bigger and better things. At the beginning, I would perform tasks like contacting new books, processing the returns, rearranging the shelves. After a while, I was given the privilege of selecting "Book of the Week", and writing a short review on it. Call me a nerd, I don't mind. Because in the end, not only did I win Library Leader of the Year three years running, I was lucky enough to attend several meet the author days. Here, I was able to put faces to so many of the names that feature down the spine of some of my favourite books. Duncan Ball, author of 'Emily Eyefinger' and the 'Shelby' series. Emily Rodda, the genius behind 'Ronald of Rin' and 'Deltora's Quest'. And Morris Gleitzman, the funny man behind comic novels such as 'Toad Rage' and 'Gift of the Gab'. It was a pleasure meeting these wonderful people, but for each that I met, there were others which I never would. Aside from my love affair with J.K. Rowling, there was only ever one other author who held such a special place in my bookshelf...

Roald Dahl, one of Britain's most famous novelist's for children. What I loved most about Dahl's stories were not only the marvelous, mischievous and magical settings of chocolate factories and giant peaches, but also the bunch of quirky characters that came with it. Looking back, I think what captivated me the most was the way in which Dahl used unsentimental black humour to cast vengeance upon the child-hating adult villains, most notorious being the fall of the evil headmistress Miss. Agatha Trunchbull in Matilda. That and, the list of quotes that have stayed with me for years, "two rights don't equal a left".

So, with today being the official 'Roald Dahl Day', I will dust off my copy of The BFG, and pay homage to a man who saw me though some of my best childhood years.

Imperial Bedrooms

Tonight, Sydney’s Oxford Art Factory was host to American cult novelist, Bret Easton Ellis.

Better known for his transgressive literary works such as Less Than Zero, The Rules of Attraction and American Psycho, Ellis is here in Sydney to present his latest novel, Imperial Bedrooms.

Anyone who is a fan of Ellis’ extreme expressions of opinion through self-destructive delusional youth made their way into town and made a night of it.

Unfortunately I was unable to attend. But from what I heard, there was live music, beer & book signings - a most unique music/literary occasion.