Ann S. Epstein writes novels, short stories, memoir, essays, and poems. Please use the links or site menu to go to the HOME PAGE; learn about her NOVELS, SHORT STORIES, MEMOIR, ESSAYS, and POEMS; find interesting facts in BEHIND THE STORY; read REFLECTIONS on writing; check NEWS for updates on publications and related events; see REVIEWS; learn about her END-OF-LIFE DOULA credentials and services; and CONTACT US to send webmail.
I’m doffing my writer’s hat and donning my fiber artist’s cap (hence my social media handle ase.wovenwords) to announce that this is SPINNING AND WEAVING WEEK. Celebrated the first week every October, the event showcases the beautiful and utilitarian creations made on looms, wheels, and spindles. Cloth-making skills have been practiced for thousands of years using plant and animal fibers. Woven baskets date as far back as 27,000 BCE. Take time this week to appreciate the many types of cloth that adorn and protect our bodies, homes, places of work and entertainment, and havens of comfort and renewal. “I regard spinning and weaving as a necessary part of any national system of education.” – Mahatma Gandhi
Spinning and weaving are universal practices, dating back tens of thousands of yearsGandhi believed that learning to spin and weave were essential
Ann S. Epstein, Writer with a new haircut and eyeglasses
As a writer, I pour my creativity into inventing and revising my manuscripts. I’m not one to “reinvent” or “revise” my own image. Yet, just as I challenge myself to enter unexplored territory as a writer, there comes a time when I admit I need to update myself too. Ergo, after sixteen unshorn years, I got my haircut. Needing new eyeglasses, I also opted not to use the (very) old frames, but to buy new ones. Maybe the physical alterations will lead me to try new literary genres: graphic novels, mystery, romance, sci fi …? Then again, fiction, creative nonfiction, and essays provide enough variety. At least for the next sixteen years. For more of my thoughts on writing, see REFLECTIONS.
As an idolizer of E.L. Doctorow, a fellow graduate of the Bronx High School of Science (albeit 15 years later), and a writer who, like Doctorow, aims to blend fact and fiction until they are indistinguishable, I was delighted and encouraged to read the commencement address he gave to our alma mater’s class of 2011. Among his words, still resonant nearly a decade later: “The human quest for knowledge, for knowing everything there is to know, will always face that expanding circumference of darkness. That is what makes learning such an adventure. You will find that in the world great progress is made in some ways, like curing disease, like inventing robotic devices, going into space, while in other ways, as in our wars, our brutalization of others, our pollution of the natural world, we are faltering. It is possible that our great technical achievements notwithstanding, our moral natures are not keeping up, that we have the brains but not always the hearts to do the right thing. But there is always hope, and there is always the next generation coming along to make things better. We older folks are waiting for you. … If I were a clergyman, I’d cast a blessing. But I’m a writer, so I say: Be brave. Be kind. Take good care of yourself. And carry it on.” Read Doctorow’s entire speech A Master Storyteller’s Advice for Graduates: Be Brave. Be Kind. reprinted in The New York Times. See more quotes from some of my favorite authors in REFLECTIONS.
Words for the future from a rewriter of the pastThe Bronx High School of Science, Doctorow’s alma mater and mine
Words can inspire. Words can heal. In times of crisis, we seek enlightenment and comfort from the words of our leaders. Here are the wise and compassionate words of a true leader, Eleanor Roosevelt: THE ENCOURAGING THING.
My essay “Theirs or Ours? Who Owns Culture? Appropriation on the Docket” is now online in the May 2020 issue of Vine Leaves Press SPILL IT! The essay decries blanket accusations of cultural appropriation and argues that culture belongs to everyone. Examples are drawn not only from creative pursuits, but everyday life such as what we cook, the music we listen to, the clothes we wear, and how we celebrate special occasions. Please use the buttons at the bottom of the essay to share and voice your opinion. Find more of my thoughts about writing in ESSAYS and REFLECTIONS.
Have your sayCulture belongs to everyoneWhy writers write: “I don’t need an alarm clock. My ideas wake me.” – Ray Bradbury
Tens of thousands of teachers, parents, and researchers have read my books about early development and education, most notably The Intentional Teacher. I also write literary fiction for grownups: On the Shore, Tazia and Gemma, and A Brain. A Heart. The Nerve. Read more about my NOVELS and SHORT STORIES. We’re never too old to learn.
Strategies to support early learning An immigrant Jewish family in turmoil during World War I An Italian immigrant survives the Triangle Fire and flees with her unborn childA fictional biography of the Munchkin Coroner in The Wizard of Oz
In my short story, “The Inventor,” I creep inside the head of the person who I imagine created Mr. Potato Head. Researching the real origins of popular toys from my childhood, I discovered that the Slinky was invented accidentally by a naval engineer, Richard James, who was designing a device to secure equipment to rocking ships. While experimenting, he dropped a coil of wire and watched it roll end-over-end across the floor. Instead of thinking “Oops,” he thought, “This would make an interesting toy.” His wife Betty came up with the name Slinky, meaning “sleek or sinuous in its movements.” Richard perfected the materials and dimensions, and the toy was a hit in the stores where they demonstrated it. Richard was granted a patent in 1947, but in 1960, he left his family (slunk off) to join a religious cult. Betty, with six children to support, took over the business and masterminded the toy’s marketing into a national craze and then a perennial favorite. Slinky was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame in 2000. An estimated 400 million have been sold to date. Learn more about my SHORT STORIES, including where their ideas originate, and see BEHIND THE STORY to discover other interesting facts I’ve uncovered while researching them.
Original Slinky toy and box The inventive writer at work
I’m pleased to announce that my short story, “Orphan Camp” has just been published in The Summerset Review, Winter 2019. Here’s the log line: “Orphan Camp” examines how the resilience that allowed Jewish children to survive during WWII made them resistant to adoption afterwards. Although set seventy years ago, the story speaks to today’s many war orphans. Read the story online at http://www.summersetreview.org/19winter/orphan.html.
The Immigrant Yarn Project is the nation’s largest crowd-sourced public art installation in honor of our nation’s rich immigrant history. Hundreds of people are contributing knit and crocheted pieces, which will be assembled into 100 sculptural columns and exhibited in San Francisco in May 2019 before traveling to other locations around the country. I crocheted and sent a granny square (photo below) along with this story: Over a hundred years ago, my four grandparents and my father emigrated from Eastern Europe to the United States. My grandmothers were seamstresses, my mother and aunts were knitters. I knit, crochet, and weave with yarn that I hand-dye. In the enclosed granny square, each strand is made with four shades of cotton thread, each thread is brushed with many colors. The yarn itself thus represents the diversity of our nation. The light blue yarns are left over from when I made my daughter’s “chuppah,” or Jewish wedding canopy, a tradition passed down to yet another generation. The dark blue threads, remnants from decades of weaving projects, represent the Atlantic Ocean which my family had the courage to cross on their voyage to this country. I am also a writer and my NOVELS and SHORT STORIES are often about immigrants, past and present. I am pleased to be part of the Immigrant Yarn Project, which joins with other art and literary expressions in celebrating America’s rich heritage. Read more about the project with instructions on adding your own piece at https://enactivist.org.
I’m doing a Tazia and Gemma book reading and signing at the Ann Arbor Jewish Community Center on Tuesday, December 04, at 7 PM, 2935 Birch Hollow Drive, Ann Arbor. The event is free and open to all. See details on the NEWS page. Learn more about the book at NOVELS.
