"Tell All The Truth" by Emily Dickinson
This short poem begins "Tell all the truth but tell it slant, / Success in circuit lies." Uh, duh. I live for this shit. Fundamental Frequencies is my first presented work that doesn't claim to be 100% fact, but that doesn't mean it's not true. And if you saw True Stories, you know I find truth in repetitions and rehashings. Side story: I recently told Megan that the last line is the only true thing in the story. If you're looking for a sure-fire way to nearly lose an actress, that's it. Side side note: I recently read that writers direct because it's "easy." Like "the hard part is over." Ha.
The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood
If you don't know by now, I'm going to reference Margaret Atwood every single time I write a thing. Live with it. I only recently got to The Penelopiad, a retelling of the story of Odysseus from the perspective of his wife Penelope. It surprised me to realize how accepted Penelope's "official" position is - she stays at home for TEN YEARS waiting for her probably dead husband, raising her son by herself, and hosting a bunch of rude dudes trying to marry her. Clearly, there's more story here than we get in The Odyssey. But towards the end of Penelope's story, you realize there's also more story than she's telling. After all, she didn't really raise her son all by herself - she had a shit-ton of maids, a dozen of which Odysseus ordered killed upon his return. Odd. A big part of Fundamental Frequencies is about power and control in relationships and in the stories we tell about them. Lucy took notes the whole time I was reading this one.
- The Penelopiad on Goodreads
- Video of a performance of The Penelopiad (People, I want to do this so bad. Let's make it happen.)
"The Boys of My Youth" by Jo Ann Beard
I know, I know. We've been through this one too. But I want to focus on the title story specifically for this one, because of some comments I got at the showing a little while back. "The Boys of My Youth" is at first glance a story about boys, a lifetime recounting of crushes and related antics. But Beard must have gotten the same note I did - those related antics are the key. You can reveal a lot about a character through her interactions with her friends and the things they say about her. After the showing, I added another section with Lucy and her sister Cara, saving myself a ton of boring exposition. Another great note from the showing: when you're already doing about a billion crazy things, don't name a girl Toni.
Other recommended reading
These ones get a bit more theoretical about communication and language, but a bibliography isn't a works cited, and I really enjoyed them, so I think you should check them out. Literally.
- Babel-17 by Samuel R. Delany
- The Flame Alphabet by Ben Marcus
- "Variation on the Word Sleep" by Margaret Atwood (ha! again!)
at Broad Street Ministry
October 28 & 29, 2013 at 7 pm
tickets only $5 at the door
October 28 & 29, 2013 at 7 pm
tickets only $5 at the door
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