So, what is going on in my life? Well, yesterday I spent at Renaissance Stone in Oakland where we sat among the stones and sculptures discussing Rilke and his work for and learning from Rodin. He learned to sculpt words as Rodin sculpted stone. It was a fascinating place to learn more of Rilke and his life and again to see how important it is to read many translations of a work, and to have an understanding of the history from which the work emerges.
I took a workshop with Amy Rennert, a book agent and I have been reading the books she has placed to get a sense of her and whether our book fits what she sells. One book is Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear. It brings WWI to beautiful life and brings back memories of what our grandparents went through. I recommend it.
It is also timely, in that this is Memorial Day weekend, a time to think back and remember those who have died, especially in wars. It is a time to wrap in memory, connection, and love. Summer is here, and the fog is in, and it is cold. Mark Twain's, the "coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco" has officially begun. I am at my desk, wearing a jacket, as the fog spins round, and allows me a place to go inside and think of all those I love who have died.