Author Archives: Nancy Pinard

About Nancy Pinard

Professionally-speaking, Nancy Pinard is an author-educator who spends her days writing, teaching, reading, and researching for her writing and teaching. She is the author of two published novels, Shadow Dancing and Butterfly Soup, and numerous short stories. She has taught the craft of fiction writing in many venues including Sinclair Community College, University of Dayton Life-Long Learning Institute, Antioch Writers' Workshop, Mad Anthony Writers' Workshop, and Molasses Pond Writers' Workshop. Personally, her faith is what sustains, inspires, and motivates her to continue to explore meaning through literature. "You are right in demanding that an artist approach his work consciously, but you are confusing two concepts: the solution of a problem and the correct formulation of a problem. Only the second is required of the artist." — Anton Chekov to Alexei Suvorin, October 27, 1888

Are You a Creative Genius?

Posted on 12. September 2010 by Nancy Pinard

I’m still hanging out in the Jurgen Neffe biography of Einstein, where he talks about the recurrent personality traits of geniuses (p. 25) based on research by Howard Gardner of Harvard. Gardner compared Einstein with the likes of Picasso, Freud, … Continue reading →

Posted in Einstein, genius | 6 Comments

Diagnosing a Genius

Posted on 11. September 2010 by Nancy Pinard

According to Jurgen Neffe (Einstein, pp. 36-7), various behaviors that Einstein exhibited as a child, specifically delayed speech, fits of temper, an ability to detach and focus on an interest in a way that rendered him inaccessible to those around … Continue reading →

Posted in Einstein, genius | 3 Comments

A Ghoulish Demise

Posted on 10. September 2010 by Nancy Pinard

Jurgen Neffe begins his biography of Einstein at the autopsy (Neffe, Einstein, p. 3-5). The hospital is in Princeton, New Jersey; the medical examiner is Thomas Harvey. Neffe describes the Y-shaped cut: “He places his scalpel behind one of the … Continue reading →

Posted in death, Einstein | Leave a comment

Photo Gallery

Posted on 8. September 2010 by Nancy Pinard

Everyone is familiar with the iconic pictures of Einstein as an old man. He has a wild halo of white hair and looks somewhat mad. As with Darwin, whose iconic photo also shows him as old, bearded, and white-haired, I … Continue reading →

Posted in Einstein, Einstein's children, family members | 6 Comments

The Mileva Maric Controversy

Posted on 7. September 2010 by Nancy Pinard

Einstein married his classmate, Mileva Maric, the only woman in theoretical physics to enter Zurich Polytechnical Institute the same year. She was four years his elder and a disciplined student, having worked very hard to gain entrance to boys/men’s institutions … Continue reading →

Posted in Mileva Maric, Theory of Relativity | 7 Comments

Literary Quote of the Day

Posted on 2. September 2010 by Nancy Pinard

On my homepage I have a Google gadget called Literary Quote of the Day.  Today’s is by Henry Miller–whom I am surprised to find myself quoting.  I once saw a documentary-style biopic on him in which he, a skinny, hollow-chested … Continue reading →

Posted in writing | 10 Comments

The Squirrely Place

Posted on 30. August 2010 by Nancy Pinard

I’m reading the biography, learning the science, and still, I’m in that awful, squirrely place where the locus of the novel refuses to emerge.  I watched a Nova dvd over the weekend, one called Einstein Revealed, and am somewhat into … Continue reading →

Posted in reading, writing | 4 Comments

Regarding Lieserl

Posted on 26. August 2010 by Nancy Pinard

Despite having the highest grades in his graduating class at the Zurich Polytechnic, Einstein was unable to find a job after graduation.  It was understood that such a student would become the assistant to one of the professors there, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Einstein, Einstein's children, Mileva Maric | 3 Comments

Acedia and Me, too

Posted on 22. August 2010 by Nancy Pinard

I’ve been reading Acedia by Kathleen Norris, a book about sloth—both words so seldom used the computer software underlines them in red, as if each is a misspelling of some valid word.  Called the Noonday Demon by the Desert Fathers, … Continue reading →

Posted in writing | 4 Comments

A possible frame for the Einstein novel

Posted on 9. August 2010 by Nancy Pinard

Today I read an article on Einstein that might provide a possible frame for the next book.  I’m not far enough in to say for certain, but the article presents a possibility.   http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1211594-7,00.html The materials seem to be there, in print, translated … Continue reading →

Posted in Darwin, Einstein, Einstein's children, family members, Mileva Maric, writing | 6 Comments