Horn of Plenty
By Barbara O'Neal | November 24, 2010 |
Amsterdam bookstore by MorBCN
As we are all about to celebrate Thanksgiving, it seemed a good time to think about food and plenty and the abundance that surrounds us in our writing lives. For the space of this weekend, I suggest we focus on plenty, rather than lack.
The image of the cornucopia has been catching my eye quite a lot during this season, and I realized that while I’ve certainly seen it a million times, and colored innumerable versions in coloring contests, I had never looked up the origins. What I found on Wikipedia was a simple story about a goddess whose horn was broken off by Zeus. Feeling regretful, he turned it into a magical horn of plenty that would grant the owner anything she wished.
The actual definition is: Cornucopia, a symbolic, hollow horn filled with the inexhaustible gifts of celebratory fruits.
The inexhaustible gifts of celebratory fruits. Isn’t that a marvelous phrase? Full of potential, possibility, power.
So that’s why we have such a big feast. I don’t know about your house, but at mine, it would be impossible for a crowd of a hundred to eat all the food we bake and cook and stew. A tumble of food pouring out of a horn of plenty to represent all that we have, all that we are blessed to share.
Imagine there is a writing cornucopia. What would that look like? For me, it would be a spill of books, books I read for pleasure, books for research, books I’ve written, books by friends. Books in libraries and books in stores, cookbooks and picture books, essays and comics. Last night, awakened by kittens romping across the bed in the middle of the night, I got up and spent two hours reading Gastronomical Me, by MFK Fisher, a revered food writer I’ve only just discovered. It was a delicious wickedness, me and kittens and a stunningly wonderful book I’ve never read in the middle of the night. Stolen time.
What else would tumble from my writing horn of plenty? Paper, of course, particularly Clairefontaine tablets, and pens of many descriptions. Computers, which have made this job 4 billion times easier. The network of blogs where I read and write, blogs like this one and Lipstick Chronicles, where I was tipped off to MFK Fisher in the first place.
I’m grateful to be living in an era where women write. So much. My grandmother, as clearly a writer as I am, never had the opportunity, wouldn’t even have known how to go about doing it if she had. A huge army of women are writing now, writing literary novels and memoirs and foodie fiction and cookbooks and romances and thrillers and everything else we can think of. How extraordinary!
There are so many more things to put on our list. Let’s assemble a big, juicy love letter to our writing world for Thanksgiving, shall we? Who wants to go next? What is tumbling out of your writing cornucopia?
Barbara O’Neal is the author of more than a dozen award-winning, bestselling novels, including the runaway bestseller, When We Believed in Mermaids, which has been published in more than 20 countries and spent many months on the Amazon Charts, as well as the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Washington Post bestseller lists. Barbara lives on the beach in rugged Oregon with her husband, a British endurance athlete who vows he’ll never lose his accent and their zoo of cats and dogs. You can find more information on her newsletter and where to find her on social media at barbaraoneal.com.
Just today I met with a group of women who are starting community libraries all over the city of Beijing (where there are traditionally zippo). Being surrounded by women who love books and care about raising this generation of children in China to love books too made me feel rich and made me realize that book lovers are everywhere!
Also in my writing cornupcopia are Moleskine notebooks and Wikipedia, Writer Unboxed and public libraries and all the well-worn well-loved books I have dragged all over the world.
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Books would definitely be in my writing cornucopia. Some of my favorites as well as unread–but guaranteed to please–ones, so I can take an occasional break from writing and relax and read a bit.
Music. Miles Davis, for sure.
Skinny pens. Not so skinny that my fat fingers have trouble holding onto them, but not huge barrel-like contraptions, either.
No erasers. If I want to get rid of a word and then erased it, it would disappear for good. What if I want to go back and re-examine that word or phrase? No, no erasers. Just run a line through it.
My “folder” (both literal and also my file on the computer) full of old projects. Some are not gems yet. But with some time and new, fresh eyes…Who knows?
People who love the writing process. It doesn’t have to be someone I know well; it seems that even strangers can connect over revision and writing…
(Thanks for the note about the origins of the cornucopia. I never knew.)
Without appearing to oppose the final part of this post, my writing cornucopia is filled with a myriad of books by male authors.
I’m thrilled that in a female dominated industry there are still so many wonderful male authors producing exciting, daunting and intriguing novels each year.
I do read female authors. My reading choices are never consciously based on sex. Yet when I peer into my cornucopia (current bookshelf of to-be-read) male authors dominate by over 95%.
In addition to this (in my cornucopia) I’d also find writing tablets and numerous pens as I usually write them dry of ink…
Thanks for a cute post and have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Daryl
My two wonderful boys and my husband are my writing cornucopia. They have expanded me and made me view the world in a whole new way.
Time would spill out of my cornucopia. People always comment “where do you find the time to write?” I guess now I know!
And since time is largely invisible, I suppose the rest of the hollow horn is filled with coffee beans…
Hear hear, to that last paragraph! That’s something worth being thankful for, indeed. :)
Moleskins! Yes, yes, yes. I have them all over the house.
Daryl, of course. Didn’t mean to seem sexist. I love male writers, too. I was just thinking from the angle that at one time, this pursuit would have been impossible to me, and I’m desperately glad it is not now.
Time and coffee beans! Great combination.
Barbara,
Well then, I second that. (Your comment just above).
Of course having this pursuit possible now is a truly wonderful thing.
Thanks for the response and here’s hoping you have a fabulous weekend!
Daryl
My cornucopia includes books on train hopping and fairies and the flora of West Virginia and one particular moleskine notebook. Lined yellow tablets. Black angular pencils with no-fail erasers. Bewley’s tea and giant mugs. A picture of my dad and me, an origami crane, and a red elephant. A hand-held recorder. Lots of lights–lamps and candles. A few happy desk plants. Notes to myself. Colored sticky pads. And, for now, a train whistle.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Oh, gosh, my list overlaps so many of the above. In addition, though:
*journals of all kinds
*my Highway of Writing chili-red, retro pen that’s perfectly balanced and makes me smile whenever I pick it up, because it was a gift from my mom and sister
*Absolute Write
*two unnamed blog mamas, who are fierce, diligent and resolute in creating a writing community of hope, and who took a chance on a stranger early this year (even if one of the mamas, as I have stated previously and to her face, tends to “cop a ‘tude)
*that said blog mama possesses a hearty sense of humor and would never exact retribution upon a fledgling writer ;)
*the many writers who model balance, even as they write from their hearts in an industry that won’t always reward that vulnerability…
Well, suffice it to say the list is endless.
Happy Thanksgiving, Barbara, and all my American friends!
Jan, shhhh about Therese’s ‘tude-copping. :-)
My cornucopia is filled with books, post-its of every make and model, cheap mechanical pencils, and the fantastic WU community, all of whom inspire and keep me humble.
Happy Turkey Day to our U.S. friends!
Ah, I love this post. Like you, I am grateful that I have the opportunity to write, and wish my grandmothers had had the same opportunity — I am sure they would have created some marvelous stories.
My cornucopia is full of books, computer files, scraps of paper and pink pens (what can I say? I like to edit in pink). Coffee beans, very dark roast. Chocolate. The gift of time from my husband and kids. Ideas that pop and snap and crackle. Two pet rocks, a purple monkey, and a squeeze ball. Knitting needles for when I am stuck. Great blogs like Writer Unboxed and Don’t Pet Me, I’m Writing. (Therese — my WIP has some West Virginia and fairy lore too. No train hopping though!)
My husband’s grandmother, whose rings I wear, never was allowed to go to college or take on stimulating work. She was born into a social class that frowned upon both. It’s amazing to think about that: “Never was allowed”.
Lots to be thankful for :)
What a great post. I love everyone’s comments.
I’m thankful for:
Little reporter’s notebooks. They fit in my pocket, my purse, my car, my fanny pack–wherever.
My camera and my blog, which inspire me to write every day.
Other peoples’ blogs! The blogging world has enhanced my world immeasurably and helped me to find a supportive community of writers, both locally and around the world.
I also have great places to hike and think, a husband and dog who make my world sweet and the best day job ever, with lots of writing time.
Thanks for the opportunity to share my thanks.
Lots and lots of unlined notebooks! My Mac!
A pack of brilliant colored markers, a finer tipped black ink one for writing. Some music, a cuppa and my photo files.
That would be a great cornucopia for me.
I would echo Petrea and others who have noted the positive, wonderful impact of being in contact with so many other writers through blogging. “Kindred spirits” abound!
This has added a nice new context to cornucopia!
From Canada, best wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving!
Patricia
https://pmpoetwriter.blogspot.com/
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“The inexhaustible gifts of celebratory fruits”
I like that phrase a lot, especially the “inexhaustible” part. :) It’s a good reminder that celebrations of gratitude can be more than one day a year, which is something I plan to keep in mind.
So my cornucopia is overflowing with time, and ideas, and writing friends, and coffeehouses, and lined spiral notebooks, and laptops–and the knowledge of how lucky I am to have all of them.
Donna, on this post-Thanksgiving Friday, with tired arms from cooking and the sudden recognition that we are now officially in the holiday season, I’m grateful for your post. I’m going to see my cornucopia overflowing with time and coffeehouses and lots of writing time and completed pages. Thanks!
My son asked what a cornucopia was last week and I didn’t have time to look up the official answer. I knew what it was but not it’s origination and the why behind it. Now I know!
Mine would have lots of books as well, a writing coach or two to keep me on the right path, lots of wonderful writer friends, green tea of various flavors, music, and technology, (love my iPhone and my iMac!), And time! The ultimate horn of plenty object of desire!
How I wish I would have read this before Thanksgiving! But better now than never. My writing cornucopia is filled with Sharpies, sticky notes, pens from the Englewood Public Library (they give away really nice pens at their author events!), pens from the Tattered Cover, three-ring notebooks and binders, a giant cork board with images that somehow relate to my story in progress, books, books, and more books, and stacks of paper of my work in progress.