Switch-Up

Today I decided to switch-up the blog design (more whimsical!) and re-committed myself to more regularly writing on topics large and small.

I saw Stacy Schiff speak at MPR's Talking Volumes series last night and was completely inspired. She was incredibly knowledgeable, articulate, intelligent and witty, an expert on the lives of at least four individuals on whom she has written biographies. SO cool. If I were to pursue writing I think that non-fiction would  be my path. I envy the life of writers who can somehow manage to get by while researching for years in preparation for their books. Also, I have come to accept that I have a limited imagination, so fiction always strikes me as particularly daunting.

But to craft around existing information a compelling narrative -- that is the kind of project that appeals to me. I'm toying the idea of writing mini-biographies for older generations of my family, since the sources are so accessible to me and it could enrich my understanding of who I am (and hopefully do the same for future generations of my family). Anyway, this is the type of thinking that has come as a result of my recent aunt-hood -- I feel an obligation to be a preserver of family memories and stories for sharing with future generations.

Anyway, I recommend Stacy Schiff! She has written several well-received biographies, most recently on Cleopatra. I think that I will (eventually, when I get through the line of books already on my list), Vera (Mrs. Vladimir Nabokov).