"I gotta do holidays. They offer me so much. In particular, for me and the reader, a whole set of associations. If you write about Easter, if you write about the Fourth of July, something as important, almost invisibly important, as the temporal setting of a book...if the reader can say, 'Gee, that's a time I know. I have a whole set of memories and associations to bring to bear on whatever's happening then,' you've got a lot going for you. "
Richard Ford's Independence Day was the first novel to win both a Pulitzer Prize and the PEN/Faulkner. Holidays are evocative. What does today bring to your mind? From fireworks and grilling to where America is headed with a new president at the helm - July 4th covers a lot of ground. Perhaps fitting for our multi-cultural nation, I'm cooking chili chicken with roasted tomatillo salsa this afternoon. Happy Independence Day!
Friday, July 4, 2008
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1 comments:
It brings to my mind many Independence Day family gatherings. When we lived in the San Francisco Bay area, we always watched the fireworks explode in the fog and give a pitiful glow instead of clean, sparkling color. It was always chilly, too. but fun. Holidays have different meanings for people and we all bring our own memories to the occasion. We, too, had a multi-cultural dinner on this July 4th but, as a child, it was always "American traditional" picnic food.
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