Friday, April 7, 2017

Frank Herbert/Robert Frost/Alice Friman/William Faulkner

File:Frank Herbert - 1984.jpg
Uli Kaiser photographer

Frank Herbert's Dune is classic science fiction and one of highest sold science fiction books.

Why would I be so absorbed with Paul Atreides and everything else created by Frank Herbert in his novel Dune and the five sequels to Dune? The fascinating world's and complexities would be one. Then there is a hero and underdog to root for. Frank Herbert wrote soft science fiction in that he took a lot of the technology out of his storytelling. The emphasis was on political intrigue, ecology and human relationships.

I've read everything I mean everything that Frank Herbert wrote.  Imagine my surprise that four books had been posthumously published 2012, 2013 and 2014. I never saw the movie Dune. Why would I ruin a good book with a sniveling abbreviation of the story in a movie?   http://www.dunenovels.com/author/frank-herbert

Robert Frost is my favorite poet. Well I like him as much as Carl Sandberg. Well have you noticed it is hard to pick your favorite poet. It is sort of like deciding who your favorite child is. I like the fact I get his poems. There is a lot of symbolism and small touches that I will read to deepen my appreciation. But the gist is there. My favorite poem, Come In, by Robert Frost helped me decide to leave a job I enjoyed to take a job back in my hometown.

Come In

As I came to the edge of the woods, 
Thrush music -- hark! 
Now if it was dusk outside, 
Inside it was dark. 

Too dark in the woods for a bird 
By sleight of wing 
To better its perch for the night, 
Though it still could sing. 

The last of the light of the sun 
That had died in the west 
Still lived for one song more 
In a thrush's breast. 

Far in the pillared dark 
Thrush music went -- 
Almost like a call to come in 
To the dark and lament. 

But no, I was out for stars; 
I would not come in. 
I meant not even if asked; 
And I hadn't been. 


I first encountered Alice Friman at a writer's conference. What made me a huge fan was a poem of hers published Georgia Review about why an aged aunt could be sassy with a walker. Poetic license taken liberally with that last statement. It is just that this blog post is getting long. Buy a book of Alice Friman's poetry. You will not be sorry.

William Faulkner  His work speaks for itself.  The in-depth confidence in the multitude of characters woven together for some of the finest literature of the English language.

Thanks for visiting.



9 comments:

  1. Robert Frost...William Faulkner. Writing to die for!

    Nilanjana
    Madly-in-Verse

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  2. I need to read more Faulkner. Trying to get more classics in. For the last few years, I have joined various reading challenges, including a classics one and one on poetry. I now need to read some Robert Frost. You can see my progress and links to challenges on my blog. I have begun hosting challenges as well--one last year and four this year. One is on loners in literature--somehow I think something by Faulkner or Frost might work for that one.

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  3. I'm a big fan of the Dune books too. I especially liked the new books that flesh out the history of the original series.
    Discarded Darlings - Jean Davis, Speculative Fiction Writer, A to Z: Editing Fiction

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  4. Hi Ann - I could never get into the Dune books ... one day perhaps. I definitely need to read more - Frost and Faulkner ... and poetry .. cheers Hilary
    http://positiveletters.blogspot.co.uk/2017/04/f-is-for-feral-goats.html

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  5. I never read the Dune books, and Faulkner's short stories I always felt were easier to get into than his novels. His Nobel acceptance speech is one of the most inspiring things I've ever read as a writer.

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  6. I read Dune a long time back. Like Frost, his alliterative plays to your heart

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  7. Robert Frost. Yes, brilliant poet. His words are timeless.

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  8. All good picks indeed. Dune was great, the movie was utter crap though.

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  9. I recently was finally able to manage a poem, in a Robert Frost rhyme scheme that has eluded me for a decade. The man had a meter in his head, like unto having a built in metronome.

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