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Sometimes I think we forget that storytelling first came around a campfire. That human drama, and the development of character came first through oral tradition, and then into written documentation. This, I think, is what makes the role of a playwright so challenging. This is what makes Shakespeare so fascinating – both his works, and the man. He never forgot that a story must first be heard in order to be understood.

About a month ago I had the wonderful opportunity of meeting a great blogger, and we got into some fantastic discussion about what drives our creativity. A question he asked me about a certain children's book project I am working on spurred a whole passionate deluge of my love of languages - the musicality, the concepts they try to embody but somehow just miss, the vehicles they are for connection and human emotion, etc. Having grown up in a household where Spanish and Italian were spoken, having married a Brazilian, having taken French, I am completely in love with the musicality and emotional intensity of the Latin-based languages. And, as I was explaining this to him, it was the focus of my mission to bring that musicality and vibrancy to life in my little picture book, but using the English language. I specifically did not use poetry, but wanted a poetic feeling - just like the every day conversation in Latin-based countries provide a poetry to their communications, just because it is and not because it is sought.

     I've come to a conclusion: It is impossible to feel ugly in Rio. Between the warm sun, the refreshing ocean air, and the confident yet playful attitudes embodied in the Cariocas, a woman can relish the joys of beach life without the self-consciousness that might plague her in the States.

Happy New Years!!! Or rather, Feliz Ano Novo, as they say down here.