Kristin Bair O'Keeffe: Writer. Mom. Teacher. Traveler.

We Pause in the Regularly Schedule Programming for...A TRIP TO BORNEO

Whoop! Whoop!

Those of you who've been looking for the regularly scheduled blog entries (Travel Tuesday: Writing the Far-Flung Life, Women Rock Wednesday, etc.) and my normal musings on writing, China, life, etc., thanks for checking in.

But...right now I'm lying on the beach in Borneo (well, actually, right now I'm in my hotel room, but a few hours ago, I was on the beach, and in another hour or so, I'll be on the beach again. And, of course, with a two-year-old there is much "lying on the beach" going on...mostly I'm chasing Tully, digging in the sand, chasing Tully...get the picture. It's lovely.)

Last week we were in China suffering a case of "too much, too many" (too much noise, too many people, too much traffic, too much smog, too many ____). So before one of us (hubby or I) began to exhibit bad expat behavior, we did what it takes to love our second home (China) again...we got out. It's like that sometimes.

Nothing a week in Borneo won't cure. :)

Here's a peek at our current digs.

Aaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh.

The South China Sea.

Ooh, this is gooooddddd.

Who's ready for the beach?

Women Rock Wednesday: Sara Teasdale (American Poet)

When I was young--really young, like 11 or 12--I discovered a volume of Sara Teasdale's poetry at the Bethel Park Public Library. Gosh, I loved those poems...so much that I read them over and over and over again. Out loud, to myself, to the tree in the backyard, to my best friend. I even copied them by hand in my journal.

Teasdale was this cool woman & amazing poet who wrote all about love and longing, romance, kissing and moons, being misunderstood, girlhood, womanhood...all the right stuff for a middle-school girl hitting puberty.

At that point in my life, I already knew I was a writer so for a while Teasdale served as a guide, a guru, but mostly she was the first female poet I'd heard of who wasn't Emily Dickinson (though I loved her, too). I needed her...a woman poet who wasn't afraid to express herself.

"Feel!" she shouted in her quiet, 19th-century way.

One of my favorites?

Here ya go...

Advice to a Girl

No one worth possessing
Can be quite possessed;
Lay that on your heart,
My young angry dear;
This truth, this hard and precious stone,
Lay it on your hot cheek,
Let it hide your tear.
Hold it like a crystal
When you are alone
And gaze in the depths of the icy stone.
Long, look long and you will be blessed:
No one worth possessing
Can be quite possessed.

Women Rock Wednesday: Kathryn Stockett, Author of "THE HELP" (Have you read it?)

This week, author Kathryn Stockett rocks my Wednesday.

According to my Kindle, I'm 29% of the way through Stockett's first novel THE HELP. Yes, yes, I know it's dangerous to tout a novel too loudly before being 100% of the way through, but even if the rest of THE HELP turns out to be the worst drivel ever written (and of course, it wont'),this book deserves to be touted.

Kathryn Stockett has wowed me...with a story that winds tighter and tighter the further I read, with three female characters who make me cringe and laugh out loud at the same time, and with language and images that stick with me.

Listen to this...

"The houses all be small, but every front yard's different--some scrubby and grassless like a baldheaded old man." (Kindle location 363-64)

"There are ten rooms downstairs and one with a stuffed grizzly bear that looks like it ate up the last maid and is biding for the next one." (Kindle location 679-80)

"If I'd played Mammy [in "Gone With the Wind"], I'd of told Scarlet to stick those green draperies up her white little pooper." (Kindle location 1022-23)

See what I mean? I'm laughing out loud all over again just typing up the quotes.

Have you read THE HELP? What do you think?

Women Rock Wednesday: Eve Ensler (Who's Your Hero?)

Eve Ensler makes me stand up & cheer.

Do you know her? Of her?

She's this amazingly energetic, creative force who advocates all over the world for an end to violence against women & girls. She's a visionary who empowers other people with her actions, choices, and relentless campaigning. She says the word vagina (out loud! in public! on tv!) without flinching. She says the word cunt as if it's not poisonous. Didn't I tell you? This woman kicks ass!

(See what I mean? Standing up and cheering already...let me continue.)

Ensler is the brilliant playwright who wrote and created THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES, this crazily honest, heartbreaking, make-you-wince-and-laugh-out-loud-at-the-same-time play about women's sexuality. (If you haven't seen it / heard of it / read it, check your local listings for an upcoming performance; it's performed every year between February 1 and April 1 in communities all over the world.)

Here's a peek at Eve & glamorous pals getting ready for the 10th anniversary performance of THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES. One of the things I love is that although Ensler's life is so wrapped up in dealing with violence against women & girls, she is bubbly and light. Yes, she can be sharp, direct, and serious, but she isn't swallowed by the sadness she encounters. Instead she counters it (and all the forces that create & support it) with her unflagging determination and belief in all things woman. Watch...you'll see what I mean.

I could go on and on about Ensler (and here's one more link for you), but instead I want to know, What woman makes you stand up and cheer? Why?

* * *

*Ensler's new book I Am an Emotional Creature: The Secret Life of Girls Around the World will be released on February 9, 2010. It's a collection of over 30 fictional monologues of girls all over the world (including a Masai girl from Kenya unwilling to endure female genital mutilation; a Bulgarian sex slave, no more than fifteen, a Chinese factory worker making Barbies).

Women Rock Wednesday: Joyce Carol Oates, Author & (Now) Adventurer

In recent weeks, I've been struck by the fact that after almost 50 years of marriage, her husband's death, and an excruciating widowhood, author Joyce Carol Oates fell in love, remarried, and is now enjoying a new, much more adventurous life.

Why am I so struck by this?

Simple. I'm excited for her. I mean, here's one of the U.S.'s most talented, most prolific authors rediscovering the world at 71 (yep, she's 71 years old). How cool is that?

Whether by choice or necessity, Oates is out of her comfort zone...looking at the world and herself in new ways. What a great reminder to women that we're never too old or too set in our ways to forge new paths.

If you Twitter with me, you've probably seen me link to the January 15, 2010 article in the Wall Street Journal that elucidates Oates's transformation. Here's a bit:

Since then, she [Oates] says, her writing habits, hobbies and outlook on life have changed. She has started going on mountain hikes with Mr. Gross, who loves the outdoors. Last year, the newlyweds moved into a large two-story home filled with colorful contemporary paintings, mobile sculptures and Mr. Gross's photographs of African fauna and temples and palaces in Tibet. Ms. Oates, a confessed homebody who hasn't traveled widely overseas, said she plans to join her husband on some of his adventures.

Sure, some may ask, "Why does she need a man to rediscover the world? After 50 years with one husband, couldn't she have done some discovering on her own?"

My response?

Who gives a hoot? Whatever leads us to new places in both our interior worlds and the exterior one is worth the ride. If it's love, great. If it's tacos, great. If it's some crazy urge to scale the highest mountain in the world, great.

Bravo to Oates. Enjoy.

Extra Tidbit for Writers: Oates has just finished writing a 400-page memoir that deals with her husband's death (February 2008). From what I read, this was not an easy book for her to write, and she says (which I love and agree with wholeheartedly), "It's very clear to me now—as I'd always supposed—that we can't really choose what we write about in any passionate way: the material chooses us."

Women Rock Wednesday: Kiran Bir Sethi Teaches "I Can"

I love when someone takes a simple concept and turns it into an incredible teaching tool...one that leads to empowerment.

Ever heard of Kiran Bir Sethi?

No?

I hadn't either until a friend shared a link to Sethi's recent TED talk (video below). Once I watched, I was smitten. This woman gets it...and is sharing it.

Who is she?

She's the director of a school in Ahmedabad, India, and yowza, she's doing great things for and with the students. This woman rocks our Wednesday.

The philosophy of Riverside School (taken from the website) is:

"COMMON SENSE IS COMMON PRACTICE Riverside is the amalgamation of an approach to learning that is embedded in common sense. It is a vibrant research center for school education, where insights from cutting-edge research are turned into working models of pedagogical practices with a single-minded focus: student wellbeing. Over the last 9 years, Riverside has developed, implemented and shared a unique curriculum that is proving to be the benchmark for providing a no-compromise school education of the highest quality. By developing and sharing such a research-based, practical curriculum, Riverside is providing schools with an alternative model which focuses on excellence and still works in different economic and cultural contexts which make it possible for children all around the country to have access to a true education."

Broke down, it looks like this:

AWARE                ENABLE             EMPOWER

It's a hands-on, get-dirty, express-your-thoughts, get-involved, turn-those-thoughts-into-action kind of practice. When considering how to improve education in the United States (especially in inner-city schools), we should pay attention to this.

Want to learn more? Visit Riverside School.

As Sethi says, "Get infected!"

Introducing...Women Rock Wednesday

Greetings, my friends!

Today I'd like to introduce another new weekly feature to my blog: WOMEN ROCK WEDNESDAY.

Why?

• I'm a woman.

• I've got a lot to say about women...and girls. In recent days, I've written in this blog about all kinds of chick-related things that matter to me, including gender and toys, motherhood & authorhood, and domestic violence.

• I want to hear what you have to say about all this stuff...as moms, dads, daughters, sons, citizens of our world.

• I have a daughter. Right now, she's only (almost) two years old, but already she's absorbing information about what it means to be a girl/woman in our world...some of which is awesome and amazing...some of which is not. I want to stay conscious of her process & her path.

• I'm passionate about putting an end to domestic violence. My debut novel THIRSTY is about one woman's unusual journey through an abusive marriage. I have a history of domestic violence in my family. For years, I've done volunteer work for domestic violence shelters and organizations. Right now I need a designated place on this blog where I can say, "Hey, listen to this...this matters."

• Loads of cool women & cool girls are changing our world in all kinds of kick-ass ways: via writing, knitting, mountain climbing, singing, techy stuff, etc. I need a designated place on this blog where I can say, "Hey, check her out. Look what she's doing."

(NOTE: If you know a cool woman/girl who's doing something share-able, give a holler. I'd love to hear about her.)

And so, WOMEN ROCK WEDNESDAY begins...

So today, to get us started, meet my inspiration for this conversation: my daughter Tully.