Song of
Cecilia is a literary
journey of love and a lyrical joyride into the triumphs and depths of marriage
and divorce through these ever-shifting sands of economic, moral and social
turmoil -- a novel about the mythic and mystical music two lovers create when
they begin to believe and then shatter the myths they adopt for their lives. The central
theme is the universality of love, the endurance of the love of friends and
family, even the love of God, through the love of writing or rediscovering the
love songs within us all: That joyful noise of life. The story is
highlighted by the "language of love" crafted by the central characters, Mario Angelo
and Cecilia Angelique, in letters, songs, poetry, factual experience and fictional
expression, assuming and then consuming their namesakes in the myth of an angel
and the myth of the patron saint of music as their motivations for living
together -- or for tearing love apart from each other -- evolve and unravel
through friends, other lovers, family, and literature itself over 20 years
spanned in the novel. The 22 chapters
are crafted around literary works central to the lives of Mario and Cecilia,
with the personification of God as a deity of women in dreams, visions, and in
reality. The book progresses in real time through the letters, but ventures
back through the couple's own tumultuous history to encompass mythology, drama,
biblical stories, poetry, art history, philosophy, pop spirituality, rock
music, sonnets and hymns to St. Cecilia, as well as uncovered works written by
ancestors of the central characters. The story
begins with Cecilia marrying for a fifth time after recovering from a second
bout with breast cancer and moving "East of Eden" to flee Mario -- and with
Mario, Cecilia's ill-fated fourth ex-husband, writing unwanted and unsolicited letters
and songs as a prelude to completing the unfinished book of their unique love
story, once posted all over the Internet to disastrous results. He starts out
to write an independent online news column to make ends meet, but is captivated
by writing that becomes more lyrical and natural with his new life view. Both
characters reluctantly begin to revisit their interwoven book of love letters
that bring them to back to real-time questions they must finally answer from
the echoes of Mario's lingering songs and Cecilia's poetic notes from the
past. It becomes Mario's naked to-the-world quest to write a new beginning
and build a new home from the rubble of his divorce, and Cecilia's last silent
stand as the martyr to the Siren-like music of her five marriages. The essential
story of sensual love, lyrical love, naked love, martyred love, family love,
and finally resurrected love is revealed through the songs and the letters,
building to a crescendo of tragic circumstance and leading to a naturally
flowing ending, much like an opera; or maybe a novel-rock-opera. In fact, much
of the music already has been recorded with the help of a band of Seattle-based
musicians, in a form that has spawned an online listening audience aside from
the novel, propelling Song of Cecilia with another wing of creativity
that underscores the writing at hand. (See recordings at Reverbnation.com or CDBaby.com
by Real
News Network) As a
writer/editor who experienced the very real death of the Seattle
Post-Intelligencer this past year, I have written Song of Cecilia to
examine the end of a marriage in a similar vein, or from that personal perspective.
However, it is not a book about divorce or endings, or even a book of tragedy,
even if the love story that is examined in full flesh and detail has tragic
repercussions from beginning to end. I told a writer-friend that the book is a "Woody
Allen-like parody of my own love life; an existential romance novel that proves
the existence of God through the enduring love of my grandmother and my
ex-wife." I also think of the book as an ode to my favorite writers and
writing, sort of a Gatsbyesque cross between Steinbeck's "East of Eden" and his
parable, "The Pearl." Like the ending -- a message in a bottle hurled into the sea of possibility and improbability
-- Song of Cecilia always seems to float effortlessly onward to new
destinations once freed from the beach of my own life experience, the joyful
noise!!! of writing and making music. Feel free to fish the bottle of love from the sea of life and pop the cork on all the joy inside. Angelo Bruscas Amb3music@yahoo.com; 206-718-0360
The
contemporary mystery-romance storyline of 112,000 words unwinds as a modern
twist on "The Divine Comedy" with obvious similarities to "The Great Gatsby" --
told through the eyes of a writer in the maze of a major life transformation; the
spiraling economy has put an end to his newspaper, sparking a renewed search
for personal redemption and reconnection with the lost love and the lost music
of his life. His lost love has taken on the myth of St. Cecilia, martyred for
the love of God, sacrificed for the music of angels.

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WRITING ASSOCIATIONS
- Richard Hugo House
- South King County Cultural Coalition
- Willamette Writers
- Whidbey Island Writers Association
- Pacific Northwest Writers Association
- Field's End
- Community of Writers
WRITING GROUPS
- Seattle Free Lances
- Plateau Area Writers Association
- Youth Speaks Seattle
- Out of the Margins
- Puget Sound Writers Guild
- Bent: A Writing Institute
- Subtext reading series, a collaborative effort by Seattle-area writers and readers
ONLINE COMMUNITIES
- Writers Notebook
- The Write Stuff, writing club for young adult writers
- Poets West
- Forwriters.com
- Absolute Write Water Cooler (forums)
AGENT GUIDES
- Guide to Literary Agents
- Literaryagents.net
- Agent Research & Evaluation
- Preditors and Editors
JOURNALS
(more or less in Northwest)
- List of literary magazine from NEWPAGES.COM
- Alaska Quarterly Review
- Bellingham Review
- CutBank Literary Magazine
- Glimmer Train
- Golden Handcuffs Review
- High Desert Journal
- The Idaho Review
- Poetry Northwest
- The Portland Review
- The Seattle Review
- Tin House
- Zyzzyva
GENERAL
- Arts Resource Network
- Guide to Writers Conferences & Workshops
- Seattle Arts & Lectures
- Publishers Marketplace
- Poets & Writers
- PEN Washington
Song of Cecilia: Lyrics and assorted additions to the real-time novel The Well (new, Jan. 2010) The winds howled with change, in the year that I was born We learned to hide under our desks at school, awaiting the storm. History pierced our side, as we watched our president die The lies raged on from the White House lawn, right before our eyes. The well runs deep for those who seek, the clear water in the past Within its depths, an ageless blessing, the sense of life everlasting. The well rises high with the tears we’ve cried, the endless rain of pain. Take this cup as David rose up, anointed and unafraid – drink from the well of faith. Our thirst was vast and wide, we flew to outer space We began to rock, refusing to stop, time became ageless I hitchhiked from Monterey, wildflowers in my hair Living to love in a time of war, tripping to become aware. The well runs deep for those who reap the fertile seeds on the path. Within its depths, a timeless test, the taste of life everlasting The well rises high, at one with the tide in an effortless, rolling wave Take this cup and rise above, anointed and unafraid – bathe in the well of fate. The storm moved in from the south, as a coyote crossed our path. Blood in its teeth, eyes of ice, there was no turning back. The rock was smooth and sharp, cradled in my hand. I let it fly, with a piercing cry, as God would guide my wrath. The well is clear for those who hear, the pure music of their soul Drop by drop, it will never stop, with a constant and even flow. Take this cup as it is offered up from the fragile glass of days. It is here you’ll find water turned to wine, and drink to your rightful place . . . At the well of saving grace. The lightning split the night and charged the well of life The sky turned red, the coyote lay dead, struck down in full stride. The well runs deep for those who seek, the clear water of the past Within its depths, an ageless breath, answers without asking. Take this cup as it is offered up – at the end of all your days. It is here you’ll find blood turned to wine, and rise to your rightful place . . . At the well of saving grace. I drank to the change of fate, to the relentless truth of time I drank until I could drink no more, at the well that never runs dry. |
