Edith Wharton and Undercover: The Hearts that can Break

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

I put the finishing touches on the Penn syllabus yesterday, then took my readings to that leafy campus to have them readied for Blackboard. I am teaching, as I have noted here, about vulnerability—about the ways in which we open ourselves and our words to the world. I am teaching heart and I am teaching craft, and Edith Wharton's words, here, inspire: As to experience, intellectual and moral, the creative imagination can make a little go a long way, provided it remains long enough in the mind and is sufficiently brooded upon. One good heart-break will furnish the poet with many songs, and the novelist with a considerable number of novels. But they must have hearts that can break.


I came home to a gorgeous review of Undercover by the phenomenal reviewer/reader known to so many as Booking Mama. She made me think, with her words, about the journey that I have taken since I began to write young adult novels a few years ago—about where I have gone with my characters, and what I, in writing The Heart is Not a Size (due out next March), decided to return to. Thank you, Booking Mama, for that.

8 comments:

Beth F said...

That was a lovely review by Julie (Booking Mama).

I am in love with your banner photo.

bermudaonion said...

I love Booking Mama's reviews - they are so heartfelt. She has made me anxious to read Undercover.

Julie P. said...

Thank you so much for the shout-out! I am so looking forward to reading more of your books. They are such a decadent treat!!!

Ed Goldberg said...

Boy, what fun that would be to take your course. Jealous of those students who can attend.

pink dogwood said...

But they must have hearts that can break

wow!!!

Steph Su said...

And I am in love with the picture on the top of this post. I will (hopefully, if bureaucratic stuff all goes well) be taking a writing class at Penn too, taught by Melissa Jensen. Your students will be lucky to have you as a professor. :)

kristen spina said...

I love this post. And I love Edith Wharton--what an amazing inspiration. And, yes, that amazing photo in your header. Stunning.

Sherry said...

Love this quote for E Wharton. Thank you for sharing more insights on vulnerability in the writing life.

Terrific photo, too. As usual!

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