Martin Luther King Jr. Day is coming up. He's so famous for "I have a dream..." It's a speech full of hope for the future (a dream that our children will live in harmony, that freedom and justice will prevail, and that an environment of hope, faith and brotherhood will transform).

Perhaps it's because that "I have a dream" speech touches me still... But, for me, January is a time of hope. It's a time when we can look forward--to gather around us that which we cherish most, and delve into a new year. So, what do you cherish? What do you love? What are the things (abstract and specific: books, libraries, education, learning, being, becoming) about which you feel most passionate? How will you support, encourage, and embellish those passions in the days, moments, and spots of time that are left in 2009?

Salman Rushdie said, "Literature is where I go to explore the highest and lowest places in human society and in the human spirit, where I hope to find not absolute truth but the truth of the tale, of the imagination and of the heart."

Sexy, jazzy, and more than just a little bit troubled--women like Edna St. Vincent Millay, Dorthy Parker, Zelda Fitzgerald, and Edna Ferber made their marks on the world of literature in the 1920's. In Bobbed Hair and Bathtub Gin, Marion Meade follows the triumphs and failures, the romances and break-ups--along with all those boughts with depression and madness. What was the price for such talents as these--for women who ran wild in the 1920's?

Taken one-by-one, these women led extraordinary lives. They took society by storm, seemingly unafraid or undeterred by the hard knocks life seemed to continually throw their way. Together, they are much more. In some small way, they re-wrote the literary map, helping to usher in a new way of thinking and writing.

If they have now slipped into the cracks of literary history, it is not from lack of trying to create an irrepressible bang. Perhaps these women have just been waiting on the fringes for such a book as Bobbed Hair and Bathtub Gin to resurrect their legends and make their literature live again.

Alan Paton was a South African author, who is famous for Cry, the Beloved Country (1948). Paton was born on January 11, 1903. As a child, he read Charles Dickens, Rupert Brooke and others. His father was a writer, though he was only locally recognized. After attending the University of Natal, Paton was a teacher for a time until he was appointed Principal of the Diepkloof Reformatory.

In Too Late the Phalarope, Alan Paton writes: "Perhaps I could have saved him, with only a word, two words, out of my mouth. Perhaps I could have save us all. But I never spoke them." Read more quotes from Alan Paton (particularly related to Cry, the Beloved Country).

Most of us want more excitement in our lives... What with work, family, extracurricular activities, and all the other responsibilities in our lives, it's not surprising that the magic seems to have slipped away. Where is that child-like wonder, the thrill of getting up every day, the ecstasy of venturing into territory you never imagined you'd explore.

I guess that's part of why I'm so passionate about literature! It's the spice of life. It colors my days, and takes me on adventures when I sleep. I could never be bored as long as I have a stack of books nearby (and the requisite few minutes here and there, so I can bury myself in the many pages). Perhaps, it's time to look at literature again (or discover book adventures for the first time). Let yourself go; discover kings, queens, ladies, and knights. Here's just one work to explore..

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is the famous Arthurian tale about Sir Gawain and his encounter with the Green Knight. The work was written around the 14th century by an anonymous writer. J.R.R. Tolkien (famous for The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings is one of the most renowned translators of the work, and "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" is one of the most widely recognized example of Arthurian romance. It's a tale of enchantment and adventure--not to be missed! Discover the basics of the story, with this study guide. Also, take a look at what Thomas Bulfinch had to say about this famous knight of the Round Table.