"If food is poetry, is not poetry also food?"

This quote is by Joyce Carol Oates ( Writer's Hunger : Food as Metaphor," New York Times (August 19,1986) ) and is, apparently, a pretty popular quote, but one I had never heard. Here is another.

"When people say there is too much violence in [my books], what they are saying is there is too much reality in life. "
New York Times (July 27, 1980)

I started reading Joyce Carol Oates about the time of these quotes and read quite a bit of her work. I like the second quote a lot because I did stop reading her books because of the violence in them. Is there too much reality in life? Probably. If life could be a little more fanastic and illusional, that would be great. If there were no karma, no effects to causes, no need for the ability to respond for our actions, well, that would make for a good book, eh? "Too much reality in life" - I love it. Speaking of a philosophical basis for one's life, I plan on starting some groups at the bookstore, fairly soon. I would like to have a writer's group, a reader's group ( book club), a philosophy group and a salon-type event tentatively called a Self-Education Group. The last group would entail having a subject for which everyone who wants to attend would find information about, through whatever sources. We would, then, come together and talk about the subject with as many different viewpoints as attendees. Genius, isn't it? I think the group may qualify as a con-ver-say-shun, but I like The Self-Education Group. (Notice the correct use of hyphenation.) When exactly these groups will be coming to life is actually depndant upon seating. I am ready to go, other than that! I will keep ya'll updated and, by the way, The English Major Bookstore now accepts Visa, Mastercard, The Discover Network card and American Express! Take good care!