Adam Renn Olenn

"I would sooner fail than not be among the greatest."

Fri, 24 May 2013 10:17:46 -0400

“I would sooner fail than not be among the greatest.”

- John Keats. (To whom I say, “Go get ‘em, Tyger!”)

"You can complete a project by dropping it."

Wed, 22 May 2013 10:04:09 -0400

“You can complete a project by dropping it.”

- Arianna Huffington, at Smith College graduation

"One boy’s footprints are not long in being lost in the snow, in the steadily falling snow of..."

Tue, 21 May 2013 13:37:36 -0400

“One boy’s footprints are not long in being lost in the snow, in the steadily falling snow of the shortest day, the longest night; they are lost as soon as they are made. And once again the heath is clothed in drifting white. And there is no ghost, save the one ghost that lives in the heart of a motherless boy till his footprints disappear.”

- “Independent People,” by Halldor Laxness

Powell's interview: Michael Chabon

Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:18 -0400

Powell's interview: Michael Chabon

Publishing explained

Mon, 20 May 2013 15:57:22 -0400

Publishing explained:

This should clear up all the flavors of publishing, from traditional to totally DIY, and everything in-between.

Do you know what would REALLY make you happy right now? (No, actually, you don't.)

Mon, 20 May 2013 12:00:49 -0400

Do you know what would REALLY make you happy right now? (No, actually, you don't.):

We all want to be happy. But how, exactly, do you go about it? More stuff or less? More choice or less? The answers — from psychologists, journalists, Buddhist monks — may surprise you.

But you can be happy if want to be. It’s volitional. Dig it.

Bill Gates inspires me

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:20:00 -0400

Here he is talking in compassionate and reasonable ways about how to save lives.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/05/17/bill-gates-death-is-something-we-really-understand-extremely-well/

Powell's interview: Dennis Lehane

Mon, 13 May 2013 00:00:34 -0400

Powell's interview: Dennis Lehane:

Representin’ Boston hi-side/lo-side!

Powell's interview: Anne Lamott

Thu, 09 May 2013 00:00:21 -0400

Powell's interview: Anne Lamott

Raymond Chandler on Writing

Wed, 08 May 2013 09:35:59 -0400

Raymond Chandler on Writing:

The best writing in English today is done by Americans, but not in any purist tradition. They have roughed the language around as Shakespeare did and done it the violence of melodrama and the press box. they have knocked over tombs and sneered at the dead. Which is as it should be. There are too many dead men and there is too much talk about them.

The man really knows his way around a sentence.

Powell's interview: Pete Dexter

Mon, 06 May 2013 00:00:22 -0400

Powell's interview: Pete Dexter:

(with thanks to Janelle Browning for introducing me to this fantastic writer)

Spreading the love: "Witness Tree," by Katherine Jamieson

Fri, 03 May 2013 12:16:22 -0400

Spreading the love: "Witness Tree," by Katherine Jamieson:

Listen to Calaine Schafer reading Witness Tree We met Leah at the train station on a bone-cold day when only crows walked the white snowfield outside our house. The threat of black ice on the highway would usually deter mom from getting in the car on a morning like this,…

Iggy Pop: wiry poet

Thu, 02 May 2013 18:00:43 -0400

Iggy Pop: wiry poet:

The ever-candid Stooges frontman joins NPR’s Renee Montagne to discuss living life over the edge, how everyone comes around to his band late, and ways to “become a part of yesterday.”

Even in a simple interview, he’s dropping gems. Also, he called Renée Montagne “baby.”

Ugh. The peril of speaking in Iran.

Thu, 02 May 2013 10:00:23 -0400

Ugh. The peril of speaking in Iran.:

Political cartoons have a long history in Iran and give voice to critics of the authoritarian regime. Lately cartoonists have been increasingly persecuted for their work. A recent book, Sketches of Iran, pairs 40 political essays with cartoons depicting life in Iran today.

This breaks my heart.

Powell's interview: Michael Palin

Thu, 02 May 2013 00:00:20 -0400

Powell's interview: Michael Palin

Of mothers & sisters, by Hallie Ephron

Wed, 01 May 2013 16:32:49 -0400

Of mothers & sisters, by Hallie Ephron:

Four sisters, all writers (not just the one we know best) came of age in the shadow of a complicated, talented, hard-drinking mother. It wasn’t easy, but it made them who they are.

Great essay about growing up in a feisty and firey family by novelist & book critic Hallie Ephron.

Pharaohs' graves will always be robbed, even when that pharaoh is a literary titan like Willa Cather

Wed, 01 May 2013 14:00:15 -0400

Pharaohs' graves will always be robbed, even when that pharaoh is a literary titan like Willa Cather:

Willa Cather’s will forbade the publication of her private letters, but that will has now expired. The Selected Letters of Willa Cather contains more than 500 missives â including one that details the real-life story behind Cather’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, One of Ours.

(perhaps especially then)

Why baseball? Because beer.

Wed, 01 May 2013 10:00:17 -0400

Why baseball? Because beer.:

In the 1880s, it took a German immigrant to change America’s pastime forever. Chris Von der Ahe founded the St. Louis Browns and later helped form a new baseball league. Author Edward Achorn recalls baseball’s early days in his new book.

Spreading the love: Daniel Palmer's "Stolen" launches today

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 15:41:49 -0400

Spreading the love: Daniel Palmer's "Stolen" launches today:

Daniel Palmer, thriller writer and short story writer, is the author of ‘Delirious,’ a technology thriller. Also a musician, he has released the albums ‘Alien Love Songs’ and ‘Home Sweet Home’.

If you need a thriller, Daniel Palmer would be happy to sell you one. He made it himself.

Tomorrow we'll be anything

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 14:00:34 -0400

Tomorrow we'll be anything:

This is the night mom pulls out her cardboard poster tube from where she hides it in the oven. We meet in the dining room with grilled cheeses and she slides out a diploma — can you believe it? sh…

I’m always impressed by a piece of flash fiction that can create a real world with real people and make you feel something. This is worth the three minutes you’ll spend reading it (and thinking about it after).