By Lisabet Sarai
I read the news today, oh boy,
About a lucky gal who made the grade,
Although the news made me quite green,
Well I still had to laugh;
I read her biograph.
She was both lonely and unknown,
Older than I am by a year or two.
Six major pubcos turned her down.
A decade on, she scored;
Nobody expected her to win the Nat'nal Book Award... **
I saw a film today, oh boy,
Based on a novel I have always loved,
A crowd of people forked out cash
I couldn't bear to look
How they raped the book.
I'd love to turn you on.
Woke up, fell out of bed,
Brushed the cat fur from my head,
Grabbed a cup of joe and went to read my mail.
Found my keyboard blocked by a black tail...
Read my last day's work and winced,
Tried to keep myself convinced
I could write at all. I penned a line or two.
Checked when it was due and went into a dream...
I read the news today, oh boy,
The vampire lady made another mil.
The New York Times still didn't call
Two K seems awfully small
Now I know how hard it is to publish anything at all.
I'd love to turn you on ...
(to my books, that is....)
* With apologies to John Lennon and Paul McCartney
** For more on Jaimy Gordon and Lord of Misrule, winner of the most recent National Book Award, visit http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/02/books/02book.html
