Ann S. Epstein writes novels, short stories, memoir, essays, and poems. Please use the links or site menu to go to the HOME PAGE; learn about her NOVELS, SHORT STORIES, MEMOIR, ESSAYS, and POEMS; find interesting facts in BEHIND THE STORY; read REFLECTIONS on writing; check NEWS for updates on publications and related events; see REVIEWS; learn about her END-OF-LIFE DOULA credentials and services; and CONTACT US to send webmail.
“Literacy is a bridge from misery to hope . . . especially for girls and women” (Kofi Annan, former U.N. Secretary General). In the decades when the Taliban was NOT in power, literacy rates for females rose from 5% to 30%. Before turning to full-time fiction writing, I worked for over forty years at a nonprofit that promoted early education worldwide. I am heartsick contemplating what will happen to girls and women in Afghanistan now. Many organizations continue efforts on their behalf, including Women for Women International (rated “good/give with confidence” by Charity Navigator), which set up an emergency fund. Please consider making a contribution to them or another NGO of your choice so Afghan girls and women can still cross the bridge to hope.
Without the Taliban in power, Afghan girls attended schoolWithout the Taliban in power, Afghan women attended the schools they were barred from as children
The Wizard of Oz officially opened 82 years ago today, on August 25, 1939. MGM previewed the movie in Wisconsin two weeks earlier to test its popularity in the Midwest. Viewers were wowed by Technicolor, a film first. Still, production was marred by mishaps and it was a decade before MGM recouped its $3 million investment. Read more about the making of The Wizard of Oz and its “big” and “little” stars in A Brain. A Heart. The Nerve., a fictional biography of the actor who played the Munchkin Coroner (see NOVELS).
The Wizard of Oz released August 25, 1939A Brain. A Heart. The Nerve. (Alternative Book Press) by Ann S. Epstein
My Amazon and Goodreads review of From Sarah to Sydney: The Woman Behind All-of-a-Kind Family by June Cummins with Alexandra Dunietz (Rating 4) – A Testament to the Power of Children’s Literature.From Sarah to Sydney: The Woman Behind All-of-a-Kind Family by June Cummins with Alexandra Dunietz, is a thoroughly researched and insightful biography about children’s book author Sydney Taylor, née Sarah Brenner. Taylor, best known for her All-of-a-Kind Family series, was a pioneer, the first to present a Jewish American family — religious yet assimilated — as the main characters. Like Taylor’s books, which drew on her experiences growing up, Cummins’s biography is also a historical recap of immigrant life on the Lower East Side in the early decades of the twentieth century, of particular interest to me because it portrays the place and time of my parents’ childhoods too. Further, the book reflects on how the evolution of children’s literature, and the publishing world in general, dictate what is acceptable (i.e., marketable) for authors to write. As a fiction writer myself (see my Amazon author page and Goodreads author page), I share Taylor’s wariness and resistance to such constraints. Her defense of her work’s authenticity and enduring values, which Cummins forcefully presents, is admirable and inspirational. Perhaps most appealing is the story of the lifelong closeness and entanglement of the five real-life Brenner sisters, and the support of Taylor’s husband, as uncommon in its era as her books. This comprehensive biography is a testament to the power of children’s literature to confirm identity, educate the young about diversity through engaging storytelling, and create new generations of enthusiastic readers.
A biography of a Jewish pioneer in children’s literatureWhy writers read: “Reading brings us unknown friends.” – Honoré de Balzac
After my “Pauline Bunyan act,” sawing tree limbs felled by the storms rampaging through Michigan last week, I was curious about the cultural and literary origins of the Paul Bunyan legend. The character of the giant lumberjack, accompanied by Babe the Blue Ox, first appeared in the mid-19th century in the oral storytelling tradition of North American loggers. The name may derive from the French-Canadian “bon yenne!” expressing surprise or astonishment. Bunyan was popularized in print in 1916, when William B. Laughead wrote advertising pamphlets for Minnesota’s Red River Lumber Company using the character and naming his ox. Laughead embellished the folk tales, increasing Bunyan’s height so he towered over trees, and attributing to him many natural wonders: he created thousands of lakes with his footprints, made the Grand Canyon by pulling his ax behind him, and built Mount Hood by putting stones on his campfire. Scholars have not been able to determine whether Paul Bunyan was based on an actual character or is wholly mythical, but his story continues to delight both adults and children and his likeness appears in several enormous statues. Learn more interesting trivia in BEHIND THE STORY.
18-foot Paul Bunyan statue with Babe the Blue Ox in Bemidji, MinnesotaPauline Bunyan, a.k.a. Ann S. Epstein Writer, clears fallen tree limbs in her Michigan backyard
“It is really wonderful how much resilience there is in human nature” (Bram Stoker, Dracula). Developmental psychologists (I’m one) tout the importance of nurturing resilience in children. COVID-19 has tested everyone’s resilience. I adapted to the restrictions; as Robert Jordan wrote in The Fires of Heaven, “The oak fought the wind and was broken, the willow bent when it must and survived.” I didn’t snap, although I occasionally felt snappish. But just as I was easing back toward normal, reimposed restrictions in response to the virus’s resurgence have strained my elasticity. Stretch a rubber band enough times and it will no longer bounce back. More thoughts at REFLECTIONS.
Resilience has its limitsWhy writers write: “You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you.” – Ray Bradbury
I’m delighted that Back in THE BRONX (Summer 2021) published my essay Weatherproof Halloween, a memoir about Trick or Treating in my Bronx apartment building in the 1950s, where we children were protected from more than the vicissitudes of the weather. The article, which includes a photo of me and five fellow apartment dwellers in 1953, is on pp. 3-4 & 22. Enjoy reminiscing. Read more in MEMOIR.
Indulge in nostalgia with Back in THE BRONX magazineWhy writers write: “We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospect.” – Anaïs Nin
“There’s nothing wrong with treating children or yourself to a bit of whimsy and wonderment and unimportant foolishness in a world that’s all too full of tears” (“Eric Carle’s Tiny Seeds” by Jonathan Kozol, The New York Times Book Review, August 1, 2021). In his tribute to children’s book author and illustrator Eric Carle, educator Jonathan Kozol captures why Carle, who died in May at age 91, delights us. Generations of readers will forever savor each page of The Very Hungry Caterpillar as they grow from being “hangry” to sympathizing over a tummy ache from overindulgence to being awed by the sight of a resplendent creature. Carle continued making collages until his death, leaving what he called an unfinished “nonsense book.” It’s up to us to carry on his playful spirit by reading his work and inventing new foolishness. I’m doing my part. Although I primarily write “serious” fiction, I always include humor and now and then I simply have to create off-the-wall pieces: “The Epigenetics of Barbie,” “Exploding Pyrex,” and “www.metroperpetual.com” (see SHORT STORIES). “It is a happy talent to know how to play.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Children’s author & illustrator Eric Carle reads “The Very Hungry Caterpillar”Why writers read: “Don’t sleep with people who don’t read!” – John Waters
