First, marvelous Mags brought these lines from Shakespeare to our attention:
<< "O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright!
> It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night
> ******As a rich jewel in an Ethiop's ear****** >>
Then Lamadoo wrote:
<< the site needs the obverse to the "Joni in Literature". Maybe "Literature
In Joni"? >>
And kind Kate chimed in with:
<< yes, one of my fav joni lines, you stood out like a ruby in a black man's
ear... <snip> ...very cool observation mags! can this be considered for the
joni in literature part of the website? >>
Then Mags added:
<< that's what I was hoping Kate :-)) >>
And Ruthie said:
<< Maybe JMDL should start a Classic Literature in Joni listing. >>
Good news, Mags, Jim, Kate and Ruthie! In my experience, all you have to do
is ask and Les Irvin will help you make your JMDL dream come true! As for me,
I'M NOT GOING NEAR THIS ONE WITH A TEN FOOT POLE!
When I first proposed the Joni in FIction part of the JMDL site last January,
I thought I would be researching 5 or 10 books. As of today, there are 71
entries in 6 categories -- Books, Films, Poetry, Plays, TV and Miscellaneous.
And there are more coming in every day -- literally! -- from alert JMDLers
everywhere. (I have 4 or 5 more that have come in over the last couple of
days that I haven't even gotten to yet.)
But Literature in Joni? I can't even begin to figure out how to do this. (As
it is, Joni in Fiction has my local librarians looking at me strangely
because my requests for books have become so eclectic over the last 6
months!) OK, for the above Shakespeare quotation, I get it -- you'd just
include the name of the play, the 3 lines, the act and scene numbers,
attribute them to Shakespeare, and you're done. But what about a Joni line
such as, "Like Icarus ascending on beautiful foolish arms?" Do you then write
a synopsis of the story of Dedalus and Icarus? Transcribe someone else's
translation from some ancient Greek text? Or find something on the Web and
provide a link? Do you also include other literary references to this myth,
such as in a Yeats poem, for example?
And then, where would you stop? After you get done with all the biblical
allusions, with the Shakespeare, the Yeats, and the Boho Dance -- would "The
Magdalene Laundries" fit into the Literature in Joni section? I believe there
was a book written about the situation, but is it literature? Then, would you
provide a link to the book or write your own synopsis of the whole tragic
case?
My head is spinning . . .
Don't get me wrong -- I think the idea of Literature in Joni is a wonderful
idea and I would love to see it become a part of the JMDL site. But from my
experience I know that this project would take more time than I have to
offer. (Plus, I want to spend my time taking Joni in Fiction into another
direction I haven't even talked to Les about yet.) The very simple Joni in
Fiction idea took 5 months from concept to reality, and it would still be
just a dream if I hadn't had much-needed help from Les Irvin and Lori Fye.
But if anyone out there does have the time to make Literature in Joni happen
-- go for it! If Les likes the idea, you'll find that he's wonderful to work
with and very patient. And when it's finally online, you will have created
something that will make you feel proud -- and will make us all more
enlightend about Joni.
Take care,
--Bob
