I’ve just picked up CARVER: A LIFE IN POEMS, a verse novel about my hero, George Washington Carver.
There are a lot of things I could say about this brilliant, generous, kind, unassuming man, but I’ll let him speak for himself:
How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in your life you will have been all of these.
No individual has any right to come into the world and go out of it without leaving something behind.
There is no short cut to achievement. Life requires thorough preparation – veneer isn’t worth anything.
When you do the common things in life in an uncommon way, you will command the attention of the world.
Where there is no vision, there is no hope.
Who inspires you? Any words of inspiration to share today?
Stop by Valerie Geary’s Something to Write About to read my guest post on writing verse novels. Have a wonderful Christmas! I’ll be back next Wednesday, 29 December.
I don’t have any advice but I sure would love some!!!! Hope you have a great holiday Caroline!
Your post at Valerie’s was wonderful!! 🙂
Hi Caroline. So I read the first page of Carver’s work on amazon and I’m not sure I really no what I’m doing. Does this mean Green Eggs and Ham is not a book in verse? Help. ;D
What a brilliant man. I’ve used many of his quotes in my class over the years.
Hi RaShelle,
Green Eggs and Ham is definitely in verse but wouldn’t qualify as a verse novel. Verse novels don’t rhyme and tell a novel-length story in poetry.
If you search my blog for verse novels, you’ll find some good lists of books. Best of luck!
Amazing man! As you know, he inspired me, too. 🙂
I changed my blog profile so people can send me emails. Thanks for pointing that out – I hadn’t realized it had been set that way before!
Have an amazing Christmas, Caroline.
Amy
Have a great holiday!
I love those quotations from Carver, especially “veneer isn’t worth anything.” Merry Christmas to you and your family!
Merry Christmas Caroline!
Thank you so much for sharing your journey with us this year. It’s been a real inspiration to read your posts.
Best wishes for a wonderful 2011 (and 2012 when May B is published).
Amanda