THE IMPRESSION OF A WORD

Years ago in Tucson, three women, Joanne, Ruth and I met to talk about all sorts of things, arts, literature, music, philosophy, ideas, family and friends. One day the subject was erotica and we admitted our curiosity. The next day I dashed off to Bookman's Used Books and asked the college age clerk if they carried that category. I told her I was a author, who liked keeping up on all kinds of writing. In excitement, she grabbed another young woman to escort me to their expansive selection. The two showed me their favorites and I left with two anthologies. Above is an image of the books I bought. Imagine my surprise at home, when I opened the first one and found Emily Dickinson. In the Table of Contents, I also found Jane Austen, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Emily and Charlotte Bronte, as well as George Eliot, George Sand, Virginia Woolf, Jean Rhys, Anais Nin, and Sappho. It made me realize how the meaning of words changes through time and cultural shifts. I knew one day these volumes would be a valuable resource for a book I'd write. And though it took a decade, the words of these classical women authors kept whispering in my ear until the book was finished and the print was dry.