Dedications, Jane Austen, and Writer's Block

Yesterday, my great-grandmother--someone that I wholeheartedly love and admire--passed on to be with my grandmother.  Along with my mother, they are my biggest influences in life, and they inspired inspire so much of what I write about. I don't feel at the liberty to call myself "a writer" because, quite frankly, I haven't completed anything that wasn't a school assignment (or a blog post, lol) in a while, but I'm working on being more prolific and efficient and trying to get less distracted. I think one of the things that makes writing so difficult for me is my inclination to write about very heavy topics.  Historical fiction is the genre I spend most of my time working with, and the historical times I focus on are typically depressing and tragic, and I tend to feel incapable of writing anything meaningful enough to capture all the pain and suffering of the past.  But I'm working on that.

Of all the literary worlds to disappear into in times of heartache, Jane Austen's remains one of my favorites.  Sense & Sensibility got me through turbulent airplane rides and homesickness, and quoting Lizzy Bennet lets me pretend to be much more independent and self-assured than I actually am. And Austen's stories are markedly less depressing and dark than some of my other most-loved reading selections (i.e. the works of the Bronte Sisters, wartime tragedies, etc.).  Because of this, I'm incredibly excited to be reading Pride & Prejudice as my last novel of my last semester of high school. I started it once when I was in fifth grade but never finished it, and I'm determined to finish it all the way through now.  With that in mind, here is a little springtime style inspiration straight from Miss Austen's universe:

janeaustensworld.wordpress.com

ceciliaroselee.blogspot.com 

rjenkins.co.uk

dianegaston.com

formidablecourage.com 

<3 Frances

O Tannenbaum

It's almost Christmas . . . how is that even possible?  I'll miss Christmastime when it's over.  But what's really sad is that there are a lot of awful things going on in the world right now even though the holidays are supposed to be a time of love and peace.  I always think of the "O Tannenbaum" story when times are hard like this.  It was 1914, and World War I had been a horrible reality for several long and bloody months, but Christmastime somehow brought with it a feeling of beneficence between soldiers on both sides of the trenches.  Their shared appreciation for the beauty and sentiment of the holiday season is equal parts touching and heartbreaking because, while it did bring a sort of peace to the battlefront, the peace was only temporary, and men who had once shared in carols and football games were soon forced to return to killing each other.  In the words of Pvt. Albert Moren:

“First the Germans would sing one of their carols and then we would sing one of ours, until when we started up ‘O Come, All Ye Faithful’ the Germans immediately joined in singing the same hymn to the Latin words Adeste Fideles. And I thought, well, this is really a most extraordinary thing ­– two nations both singing the same carol in the middle of a war.” (from TIME)

I can only hope that maybe we'll be able to find peace this year for people all over the world and that the peace will last.  Every time I see footage from Aleppo or think of what just happened at one of Berlin's beautiful Christmas markets, I'm overcome with sadness and pain and an overwhelming longing for peace. Shouldn't we be able to learn from the past and see that love is the most important thing? 

 

<3 Frances  

Stories in Everything and Vintage Stamps

My mum and I could talk about history forever. It's one big compilation of stories (which, as any bibliophile can agree, are essentially life-blood), and we have the tendency to become incredibly attached to its characters.  Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights are both very admirable pieces of literature, but my interest in them is largely fueled by the true stories about the Bronte Sisters (which are tragic and heartbreaking and full of illness and death, by the way), and I could get totally lost in the library's historical literature section. I was also best friends with my sophomore AP European History textbook and still get emotional over having parted with it....
All this in mind, it's pretty clear why I am so very excited to be sharing these vintage stamps!! My mum found them in a giveaway room at work, and I just took a break from working and went through them this morning. They are so diverse and so clearly used that I can hardly contain my geeky awe, lol. Our favorite discoveries include Christmas stamps from Grenada in 1970, a 1929 stamp from London, stamps from Argentina (the Spanish language-lover in me is super happy about these ones), and a Beethoven stamp that says "Republique Rwandaise." What's really cool is that some of the stamps have black ink residue on them from when they were cancelled at the post office. I keep wondering who bought them and used them and what they were sending. Wartime love letters? Birthday cards? Oh, the possibilities! I'll let you know if anything is haunted.

<3 Frances

Jill's Library: World War I Poets

I once got so excited talking to historical archaeologists and special collections librarians during a field trip to a career expo that I didn't even realize that my school had moved to a different exhibit until I looked around and didn't recognize anyone.  Needless to say, it was a bit scary, but hearing about historical gardens and Edgar Allan Poe's transcript made the momentary fear entirely worth it. If you're a bibliophile, too, I'm sure you understand where I'm coming from :).

I'm sharing this anecdote because this post is a more literature/history-focused one.  I recently rediscovered my mum's collection of World War I poems and poets, and I fell totally in love with it (again).  There is something so moving about reading a poem by someone and then reading their story, and it's particularly tragic to learn that they died shortly after said poem was written.  Reading the beautiful words of Wilfred Owen, for instance, it was difficult to imagine he was killed only a week before the armistice was signed in 1918.  Writing keeps people alive by preserving voices and thoughts and moments, and the fact that so many of the early 20th century's greatest writers had their lives cut short by the very subject they wrote about--war--is so incredibly horrible. Reading about the war also really helps to put into perspective all of the things going on in the present.  While it is crucial to think about the good in the world, it's also necessary to recognize the bad, and there is a lot of struggle and suffering right now.  I often wonder what poetry--be it written or merely felt (because, yes, you can just "feel" a poem)--will arise from all that is happening today.

(Siegfried Sassoon)

 

 

<3 Frances

 

 

 

 

Happy Easter

Happy Easter! 

It feels odd to have Easter in March this year when I'm so used to it being in April, but there are so many pretty purple flowers on the trees that it doesn't seem to matter, and the colors are all very spring-like despite a chilly breeze.  I hope everyone else is having a happy Sunday regardless of whether or not they're celebrating today.  We have a lot of homework to do (sigh) and lost a dear pet last week, but we're honoring the holiday with some memory lane trips courtesy of childhood Easter specials.  There's something very comforting about old holiday specials, and it's been sweet to revisit characters like Snoopy and Max and Ruby. 

Max & Ruby Easter and Spring Compilation

 

It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown!

 

Here Comes Peter Cottontail

<3 Frances



Movie Style: Testament of Youth

I'm reading Vera Brittain's memoir Testament of Youth at the moment.  It's a beautiful, poignant account of life and love during World War I, and Brittain, a feminist and peace activist, offers an honest perspective on how the war changed the youth of her generation.  No longer were they focused on academics or leisure but on survival.  

“There seemed to be nothing left in the world, for I felt that Roland had taken with him all my future and Edward all my past.”

Last year, a film adaptation of Testament of Youth came out, and my mum and I, always drawn to the tragic beauty of war poets like Wilfred Owen, watched it together.  The scenes of the trenches recreated the horrific reality of the war, and the film captured well the novel and the transition that the youth went through from being completely disconnected from war to being fully involved in it.  But while so much of the movie brought out the pain and horrors of the WWI era, the costumes designed by Consolata Boyle reflected (like the poetry) the beauty that so many clung onto during the darkness.










<3 Frances

Piglet is Steampunk

Having been raised by a teacher, I consider myself something of an expert on the characters of Winnie the Pooh.  That said, though, I'd never known all that much about the inspiration behind the characters until yesterday.  I knew they were based on actual stuffed animals, but I hadn't seen them before, and I was SO EXCITED when my mum sent me the link to the Winnie the Pooh exhibit at the New York Public Library.  The exhibit houses the original dolls, which came from London's famed Harrods store in the 1920s.  Being almost 100 years old, they're worn and in some places a bit threadbare, but their antiquity only makes them all the more awesome--and cool (they've got a bit of a Tim Burton-esque look to them now).

My favorite part?  Piglet is totally steampunk!

<3 Frances 

Bibliophilia

Between textbook readings and study guides and essay prompts, I haven't had a lot of time to write any posts, but today I'm very excited to share a new discovery!  Being a bibliophile, I'm capable of completely losing myself in books, and libraries have a special place in my life.  Last year, I herd about this project called "Book Traces" that finds old books that have been written in, drawn on, etc., over the years and collects them as historical artifacts.  But you can still check a lot of them out! I'm seriously too excited about this.  You can visit the tumblr page here: http://booktraces.tumblr.com/  

 

 

 

<3 Frances

Mori Kei

In the midst of studying and packing and unpacking and getting ready for back-to-school, I stumbled upon a few pictures of "mori kei" fashion and fell somewhat in love with it.  Mori is Japanese for forest, and kei means style, so, essentially, mori kei is forest style.  It's sort of like earthy bohemian and vintage and lolita and storybook fairytale all rolled into one, and it's adorable.  I also really think it's great for the coming autumn and the academic year.  Sweaters, school, and crisp red leaves go well together.

<3 Frances

Time Travel: 1910s Style

Yay!  Time for going back in time via photography again!  I think these pictures from the 1910s are really interesting because they're somehow capable of being both timelessly beautiful and somewhat eerie (you know, like Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children).  When we think "vintage fashion," we often end up thinking of the swing dresses of the 1940s and miniskirts of the '60s, but the 1910s had a unique fashion sense all their own that can totally be incorporated into modern day outfits.  Hobble skirts, of course, are 100% optional.  

 

I'm sending strength for everyone's week!

<3 Frances

1950s Fashion Inspiration

It's always fun to revisit style's past lives, and the clothes of the 1950s (as well as those inspired by them!) are instantly recognizable. 

<3 Frances