Once Upon a Line

“Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,

From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hand unclean.

From forth the fatal loins of these two foes, A pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life."
-Romeo & Juliet,  Shakespeare

“It's so simple, in a way, I mean, two young people fall in love, because it is love. And they don't get that you're not supposed to do that. You're not supposed to cross the floor and fall in love. But it's love. Love does not understand that. And so, my whole life I have struggled with this notion of that love transcends differences.”

Joseph Kertes is an award winning author.  His most recent book is Last Impressions.  Among his awards are: Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour,  the Canadian Jewish Book Award and the U.S. National Jewish Book Award for Fiction. He founded the creative writing and comedy programs at Humber College.

 "Live like a hero.  That is what the classics teach us.  Be a main character.  Otherwise, what is life for?"  - J.M. Coetzee 

Jenn Weinheimer says these lines "remind me that we can't just passively check the boxes in life and consider that a life.  Elizabeth imploring Paul to "live [his] life so that someone might want to put [him] in a book" is a reminder not of WHICH choices we need to make but that we need to live with intention.  My experience teaching this novel has shown me that these lines have a similar effect on my students.  When they might think that they are just waiting for "real life" (life after high school or after college) to start, it can be tempting to think that one is merely following a script, but Elizabeth Costello reminds Paul (and by extension the readers of the novel) that it's all real--and it's short--and we have to do something so that our lives aren't just resumes--they are stories. "

Jenn Weinheimer spent 20 years in independent secondary-school education as an English teacher, Dean, Department Chair and now Head of Upper School at Cincinnati Country Day School.  While  not a rebellious sort, she hopes "I'm living my life like a main character and creating some good plot twists along the way." 

"Please follow your heart, win or lose."- J.D. Salinger

When Robert Graham was in his early 20s, he read J.D. Salinger's novella “Seymour: An Introduction” and felt compelled to copy down a few lines on a notepad. He then folded up that piece of paper and stuck it in his wallet, where it’s been for the past 30 years.

As a classically trained musician, Graham had some reservations when it came to composing his own music, but he would recall Salinger’s lines as a call to action, reminding him of what was truly important. 

Here are a few other lines from the novel that Robert tries to live by.

“Do you know what you will be asked when you die? …. I'm so sure you'll get asked only two questions.  Were most of your stars out? Were you busy writing your heart out?”

"You become responsible forever for what you've tamed."  - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

"This line jumped out at me when I read The Little Prince for the first time in French
and again, when I read the English translation. The beauty of the line and the lesson
from the fox has continued to resonate with me throughout my life. - Mei Ling 

Mei is a lifelong reader who enjoys books that teach her something new, books that amuse or entertain her, and most of all, books that tell a good story. Storytelling also plays a role in her professional life in corporate communications and media relations. 

"No one can love you the way a mother can.  No one can hurt you the way a mother can."
- T Kira Madden

"Has this book changed the way I look at motherhood? I would say, absolutely, 100%, and that's probably one of the reasons I like it so much." - Michelle Leung

As a librarian with a talent for reading an entire book in a few hours,  Michelle says T Kira Madden's memoir is one of the best books she's ever read in the genre. 

"But that's the way it works in fairy tales, too, isn't it? 
Something always goes wrong, or there wouldn't be a story. 
You have to be strong, you have to earn your happily ever after."

-From Dreams Underfoot  by Charles de Lint

“Of course the whole story is beautiful, but I believe that fairy tales are supposed to have a lesson at the end ...  and in this one (it’s) the idea that we  try as best as we can. 

And we absolutely should! Not letting people off the hook. We do have to do our best. But we do have to be prepared for unintended consequences that come both in life and in fairy tales.” - Simone Rodrigue

When Simone first read Dreams Underfoot by Charles de Lint as a teenager in 1994, she was captivated by all the magic that occurs in the story.  She still finds herself going back to re-read this quote regularly and finds its meaning grows deeper as time passes. 

“For to wish to forget how much you loved someone - and then, to actually forget - can feel, at times, like the slaughter of a beautiful bird who chose, by nothing short of grace, to make a habitat of your heart.”

From Bluets by Maggie Nelson.

“I was so affected by this book, that I held it against my chest and I hugged it.” - Honey Lapcharoen

As a former manager for Barnes and Noble, Honey Lapcharoen has seen and read many books, but nothing prepared her for the experience of reading Maggie Nelson’s Bluets - a meditation on the colour blue that pulls from poetry, science and Nelson’s own life.

Writer and artist Honey Lapcharoen holds advanced degrees in Arts and Humanities Education from NYU, and worked in the book industry for almost a decade. She's currently working on her first novel.

From Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne.

“This was one of the first adult novels I ever read - and loved - after reading an MG (middle grade) version of it. I kind of attribute it to starting my love of adventure stories.” -Rob Shapiro

Rob Shapiro is a writer who has worked in television, film, theatre and copywriting. He recently wrote for Nelvana’s D. N. Ace and co-created two television series that are in development. 

His debut novel The Book of Sam was published in August 2020 by Dundurn Press.