A Young Writer Friend

By Belinda

It is Friday evening and the weekend lies before me like a luxurious bolt of cloth from which anything might yet be made. At this moment I am enjoying the thought of it to the full.

I have been listening to the unabridged diary of Anne Frank on CD while walking the village with Molson. What a good writer Anne was, so full of potential. Her descriptions of the small world of the secret annex and those who populated it are so vivid and filled with wry humour, wit and poignancy. I felt, as I listened to her words--her "voice"-- as though I was there, listening to the creaking stairs, slamming doors, droning bombers and machine gun fire that frightened them so much.  I felt that I was watching the people and sharing the emotions she described.

Her constrained surroundings, the tension and deprivation over the two years she and the seven others hid there were in stark contrast to the freedom I had to walk anywhere I wished without fear, to come home and find our cupboards amply filled with food, and to have no fear of hatred and violence being directed against me for my ethnicity or faith.

Anne's diary, which she called "Kitty," was a friend in whom she confided everything. "When I write, I can shake off all my cares, she wrote on April 5, 1944.

Listening to the diary reminds me to be deeply grateful for the blessings of here and now. It is easy to forget; to get off track in relationships that should be cherished, to be greedy for more things that don't matter at all, and forget how much we have. Anne reminds me of all of that and how important it is to stand against prejudice, hatred and bigotry.

This is a link to a 5 minute Anne Frank Biography - Biography.com


Comments

Dave Hingsburger said…
The Diary of Anne Frank was one of those books that, once read, is never forgotten. The simple power of her words, the monumental nature of her experience, are unforgetable. To me, it is one of the most important books ever written. I've seen it peformed - but nothing, nothing, holds a candle to the sheer power of the writing.
2:36 PM
Belinda said…
Dave, I agree. I read her diary in my teens and then later I bought the movie but the version I read in my teens was abridged.

This version, read by actress Selma Blair is so compelling. Hearing the words out loud is incredible.

Anne had such a gift for writing. I hope that one day I meet her in heaven and that maybe she continued pouring out the words that she loved so much and I can read the stories that never got written here.
10:00 PM
Marilyn said…
Though very familiar with Anne Frank's work and story, I watched and listened to the link you provided anyway and found it a timely inspiration for an ongoing project, one I often let slip to the bottom of the pile.

To give voice to a people who have no voice, to express a life that has not found expression is a daunting task, a humbling challenge and possibly a writer's greatest privilege.
11:57 AM
Belinda said…
Dear Marilyn, Amen! I'm glad you were inspired, too.
1:12 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Voyage

Image
Note from Belinda: I read this prayer yesterday and again today--and then I read it to Susan after cell group, when we were having our "second cup" of decaff coffee together. I knew that she'd love it. She has a framed picture on her office wall of a little blond haired girl in a sail boat on a stormy sea. A fatherly sailor,with a weather beaten face; in a gray sou'wester, holds her close, as he capably mans the tiller. This prayer reminds me of that picture and influenced what I wrote earlier today, when I used the metaphor of ebbing waves to describe a lack of consistency and my desire to crash over the sandbar into the peaceful pool on the other side.  ( Susan sent me a link to the painting, which was done by American impressionist Robert Reid in 1888.  It hangs in the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art in NYC.) Be bless ed by the beauty of this prayer. OH LORD OF THE OCEANS, My little bark sails on a restless sea, Grant that Jesus may sit at the ...
Read more

Samson Beaver and his Family

Image
I first posted this in 2009, a little show and tell about one of my favourite photographs. Back then it hung on a wall, but now it's in my bathroom where I see it every morning! I'd forgotten the history behind the story, researched when I first posted this and thought that current readers might enjoy it--a story from a time when this land was still being discovered, not so very long ago. This photograph was taken by Mary Schaffer; artist, photographer, writer and naturalist, in 1907. It is of a Stoney Indian named Samson Beaver, with his wife Leah and daughter, Frances Louise. I bought the photo on a postcard, on a trip to British Columbia and it hangs framed, on the wall I face when sitting at my laptop. I love it. Don't you just feel as if you could gather Frances Louise up in your arms and cuddle her? I get a deep sense of peace and happiness when I look at this family, sitting in the grass of a long ago fall. They are dressed in their best, beautiful c...
Read more

Ere Zij God--Glory to God in the Highest! A Dutch Carol

Image
By Belinda This beautiful Dutch carol was shared today by a friend of Dutch ancestry, on Facebook. I had never heard it before but absolutely loved it. It moved me deeply, especially at the end after the crowd leaves the church and then breaks into spontaneous singing again around a brazier, with the sound of chiming church bells in the background. Listen to it with headphones or a good speaker to get the full effect of the harmonies. And happy first Sunday in Advent!
Read more