Slice of Life Story Challenge March 24 -Making The Most of Quotes


Making The Most of Quotes


My notebooks are liberally sprinkled with quotations. A significant number of them relate to writing in particular and learning in general. Some of them relate to the philosophy of living a fruitful life. Others are collected purely because they entertain me and make me smile.

Today I was doing some rereading of my current notebook and it further reinforced my penchant for the gathering of such uplifting and inspiring words.

So I then searched further back into my notebooks and found these entries:

‘What’s so romantic about living in a lighthouse? Let me tell you, it’s just me and a lot of fish –and I hate fishing.’
Lighthouse keeper being interviewed on radio

‘Sometimes you think you are finished with the book, but the book isn’t finished with you.’
Khalil, Grade one student P.S 20 Clinton Hill School, NYC

‘Your hormones are back and they’re jumping. I need to talk to your Grandma.’
Teacher at Bushwick Middle School to student

‘There is no permanent truth you can corner in a poem that will satisfy you forever. Stay fluid behind those black and white words. They are not you. They were a great moment going through you.’
Natalie Goldberg

‘From the 26 letters of the alphabet writers create an infinite variety of writing- but not from following a writing recipe.
Georgia Heard

‘Writers notebooks are crucial. But we must show students how writers read the world to find potential things to write about.’
Ralph Fletcher

'You can't make someone read, just you can't make them fall in love or dream.'
Daniel Pennac

'Jesus apparently fed 5000 people with two loaves of bread and some fish. Some people call that a miracle. I call it tapas.'
Edinburgh Comedy Festival 2015

"I feel like I've swallowed a live cat and it's clawing at my insides.'
House Designer on Grand Designs TV Show

'Read a thousand books and your words will flow like rivers.'
Lisa See

'People are filling their smoothies with sadness. You know, kale, spinach and avocado.'
Radio Announcement

‘Give your children all of what they need, some of what they want, and the desire to strive for the rest.’

Lester Holt’s father.

Here is further proof of my proclivity towards collecting quotations. These are from my current notebook:




Comments

  1. Amy Rudd24 March 2016 at 18:02

    Alan,
    These are inspiring quotes to have and hold! Perfect for keeping in a notebook! They are words to ponder and savor...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Alan j Wright25 March 2016 at 11:15

      Thank you Amy. They do indeed cause me to ponder and savour and ultimately derive some measure of inspiration.

      Delete
  2. mbhmaine24 March 2016 at 20:34

    These are wonderful quotes! I tend to be haphazard in my quote collection and you've inspired me to become a bit more organized. I can't pick a favorite from yours though I LOVE the first grader's comment. But that Natalie Golberg one is great, too, and I love the lighthouse keeper's comment and...Anyway, here are a few that I've recently jotted down.
    "When you have a really effective hammer, everything starts to look like a nail." heard on a radio interview
    "When I was in the military, they gave me a medal for killing two men and a discharge for loving one." StoryCorps interview on NPR
    "Thinking is a really great tool." one of my first grade students
    Thanks for sharing and for inspiring me to get more organized with my quote gathering!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Alan j Wright25 March 2016 at 11:18

      Thanks for sharing some of your special quotes Molly. Like you I am amazed by the wisdom of the young as exemplified by one of your young philosophers. May the quotes by with you. The eye and the ear are our tools for the gathering of a little magic.

      Delete
  3. Jennifer Laffin24 March 2016 at 21:06

    ‘Give your children all of what they need, some of what they want, and the desire to strive for the rest.’ This one is my favorite. Great writing quotes as well! (Did you know today was Positive Thinking Thursday when you wrote this slice? : )

    Jennifer

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Alan j Wright25 March 2016 at 11:25

      I too love that quote Jennifer. It resonates strongly. I have re-quoted it many times since first hearing it. I was unaware that it was positive thinking Thursday. A nice piece of synchronicity.

      Delete
  4. Amy Warntz24 March 2016 at 21:39

    These are a wonderful compilation of quotes, Alan. My favorite:
    ‘Sometimes you think you are finished with the book, but the book isn’t finished with you.’
    Thank you for letting me get a sneak peek into your notebooks. I love them!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Alan j Wright25 March 2016 at 13:30

      Thanks Amy for your generous words. The day Khalil made that comment is forever etched in my memory. What an absolute gem of a comment from a wise young person.

      Delete
  5. Tara24 March 2016 at 22:48

    Thank you for curating these wise words.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Alan j Wright25 March 2016 at 13:27

      You're very welcome Tara. The pleasure was all mine.

      Delete
  6. Anna Gratz Cockerille25 March 2016 at 01:47

    These are fabulous! I LOVE the idea of looking for quotes in our lives, not just in the pages of our books.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Alan j Wright25 March 2016 at 13:26

      You are so right Anna. It's about scanning widely in order to gather a rich mix of blessings.

      Delete
  7. Joanne25 March 2016 at 02:08

    These are great! I have not been good about this kind of thing and wish I had. I am going to try and be better at collecting quotes. I love G Heards - "...to remind us to stay awake."
    Thanks for sharing your notes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Alan j Wright25 March 2016 at 11:27

      A pleasure Joanne. Good luck with your own collecting.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular With Other Visitors

Writing Opposite Poems

Image
 O pp o s ite  P oem s In his book, ' How To Write Poetry,'  Paul Janeczko presents the idea of opposite poems. Paul suggests they could also be referred to as antonym poems. This is wordplay and it's fun to try. Here are some examples Paul provides to help us see very clearly how these short little poems work. I think the opposite of chair Is sitting down with nothing there What is the opposite of kind? A goat that butts you from behind Paul Janeczko You will  notice the poems are written in rhyming couplets. They can be extended so long as you remember to write in couplets. Paul shows us how this is done. What is the opposite of new? Stale gum that's hard to chew A hot-dog roll as hard as rock Or a soiled and smelly forgotten sock You might notice that some of Paul's opposite Poems begin with a question. The remainder of the poem answer the question posed. Opposite poems are a challenge, but it is a challenge worth trying. Not every thing has a
Read more

Writing About Reading - Reading Reflection Journals:

Image
UPDATED February 2022 Writing in response to literature can be a great way for students to organize their thoughts, explore what they think, and generate ideas. One of the strengths of writing in journals is that it allows students to capture all of those great ideas that generally float off into the air during the discussion.  Journal writing can also become drudgery if students are asked to write too often, given little choice or inspiration in what to write, or if they simply don't have anything to say. While some students eagerly share their impressions about selections they have read in class discussions, others are less comfortable and keep their thoughts to themselves. In an effort to encourage all students to think more about what they read and confidently share their observations and opinions, some teachers are turning to the reading reflection journal and are gaining insights they never anticipated.  The Value of Reflection Journals   Journals assist teachers to gain i
Read more

Learning How to 'Zoom In' When Writing

Image
It is important for young writers to understand that not all parts of a story are equal. There are parts through which a writer moves quickly, and important parts where the writer slows down and lingers a while. This is where the writer might intensify the action or reveal the character’s reactions in greater detail. Young writers need to know that this is a deliberate strategy on the part of the author. The author consciously zooms in. The writer uses a magnifying glass to view a part of the story more closely; to focus on a moment and to slow down time. When an important part of the story is enlarged upon, it   is a signal to the reader, that this part of the story is important. The strategy of ‘zooming in’ goes by many names: ‘exploding a moment’ ‘magnifying a moment’, ‘hotspot’ ‘snapshot’, ‘adding detail’ or ‘slowing the action.’  What ever the name, the idea is the same. The author writes in a way that expands a significant part of the story with the intention of drawing t
Read more

Answering Questions Posed by Young POETS

Image
UPDATED, May 2020 As a frequent visitor to schools I have the great pleasure of working with groups of young, enthusiastic poets and their teachers. When I arrive in a classroom, young poets are often pre-loaded with questions, and most keen to have them answered.  I try to answer as many as I can, but we frequently run out of time, and the poetry caravan moves on to the next classroom. So I am here to answer some of those questions -right here, right now. So here goes: When you were little did you love writing? The short answer is yes. I have always enjoyed words and language. I can't recall a time when I wasn't doing some kind of writing. When did you write your first poetry book? I have had poems published over the years, but it wasn't until 2014 that I had an entire book of poems (an anthology) published. When I looked back through all my notebooks I realized I had hundreds of poems from which to choose. So, 'Searching For Hen's Teeth-Poetry From The
Read more

Slice Of Life Story-The Trials Of A Left Handed Writer

Image
Amazingly I learnt to write using my left hand. An achievement against the prevailing beliefs of the day. My very first teacher saw it as her mission in life to ‘fix’ the poor, wretched little boy suffering from what she clearly diagnosed as left handed disease. She must have thought, 'This child must be re formatted! If he remains left handed he will be forever condemned to writing in a scrawl that no one will be able to read. Ugly hand, ugly hand.' ...They tried to say it couldn't be done, it mustn't be done. They took the pencil out of my left hand and placed it in my right hand. It felt unnatural. It felt weird. It was not right. More to the point it was not left. I was not about to conform. At least they didn't try tying my hand behind my back. Watch me I said. I may be an oddball, left handed scribbler but I am a determined oddball. I mean how boring would the world be if everyone wrote with their right hand? So I dug my toes in –and my hands to
Read more