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Tuesday, April 22, 2014

POWER OF WORDS

By Caroline Clemmons, in for Tessa Gray

As readers and/or writers, words fascinate us. Phrases, descriptions, active verbs, words that paint pictures for our minds.

As long as I can remember, I’ve been fascinated with words and phrases. The first book I remember is a LITTLE GOLDEN BOOK OF PRAYERS. In fact, I think it’s still packed away in a trunk in the garage. I just can’t let go of books, more’s the pity.



The second book I remember is a book of verses by Robert Louis Stevenson. At the time, I had no idea who he was, but I loved that book. Somewhere along the way, it was lost or loved to death. It wasn’t until I purchased A CHILD’S GARDEN OF VERSES for my own children that I realized the title and author of the book. My daughters also loved the book’s poems.

All speech, written or spoken, is a dead language, until it finds a willing and prepared hearer. Robert Louis Stevenson


Neither of those is the book my dad used when teaching me to read. I was thrilled with Bugs Bunny’s antics and Daddy taught me to read using the comic strip in our daily newspaper. To this day I’m not sure whether his greatest motivation in teaching me to read was to educate me or so I wouldn’t pester him the minute he came home from work. ☺ Since he was an advocate for strong education, I hope it was so I would be able to read more diversely.



Now I often reread books I’ve loved in order to study the word pictures the author painted. Do you have favorite authors whose descriptions are so perfect you read them again? I do. One is Loretta Chase in LORD PERFECT. Her descriptions of the hero and heroine are breathtaking. I love that book—as you have already guessed. I enjoy all of her books, but LORD PERFECT and MR. IMPOSSIBLE are my favorites. At least for now, but she continues to write amazing books.



Louis L’Amor is another author whose words paint pictures for me, and for my husband. We have detoured a couple of times while traveling to include a site mentioned in a book. Warning! Skip the town of Mogollon, New Mexico unless you are driving a small car on a weekend. Worst one-way mountain road we’ve ever driven. It’s frightening to look over the side of the mountain and see all the vehicles that didn’t make the turns.

Words have tremendous: power to soothe, power to harm, power to change lives forever. A harsh word cannot be recalled. A kind word never goes unnoticed.

A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.  Proverbs 25:11  

3 comments:

  1. Wonderful blog. I remember learning to read and how a new world opened up to me. I became an avid reader in the first grade and still am! Thank you for sharing!

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  2. Lovely blog, Caroline. One author I enjoy due to her word painting is, Kathleen Eagle. Like you, I've enjoyed reading books to my grandchildren. I've found many books I wish I'd seen as a child. You do a lovely job of word painting yourself, Ladybug!

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  3. One of my favorite quotes is by Leo Rosten who said: "Words hurt. They sing. They sanctify. They were man's first immeasurable feat of magic."

    Now, that is the absolute truth.

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