We decided to have a little fun here this holiday season.  With all the snowy and sparkly December joy that surrounds us, we felt we here at Linchpin should share our good tidings with the world, with the help of our friends.  I asked some of these friends and lovers of Linchpin to answer a few holiday questions.  With the hopes of not only better understanding each other, but to also expand our thoughts about what everyone else experiences this time of year, our friends have responded with some fun and quirky answers. Please enjoy, stay warm, and I’ll give five bucks to the first person to make some crazy kind of poem out of these.  Make sure to check back, we have more coming in every day!

1. What was the best book someone ever gave you as a gift?

Love is a Dog from Hell by Bukowski – Kelly O’Mouse

Everything as Expected. It is by James Herndon and is about the artistic collaborations of his then wife Fran Herndon and Jack Spicer.  The poet David Abel gave me the book.  Over a decade later, I found myself living on the 3rd floor of Fran’s San Francisco house, and she remains one of my dearest friends. – Elizabeth Robinson

Rainer Maria Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet – Kade Jensen

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance -Nate Jordon

From my Aunt Mary, on her deathbed: a three-volume edition of Marx’s Capital. – K. Silem Mohammad

Best book I got as a gift was Bird By Bird by Annie Lamott. Not only was it a thoughtful present for a writer, it was extremely well-written and interesting. Much more helpful than most of the books on writing I’ve read so far. - Allison Martin

The Giving Tree, by Shel Silverstein  - Travis Cebula

That would have to be the book, The Snowman, by Raymond Briggs. I got it from my parents when I was four, and I just fell in love. It’s a picture book, but it let me imagine my own story, so this was probably my first taste of story writing.  - Erin Askeland

That’s hard to say. The best book gifts I get are from myself to myself, generally. One of the best one’s I’ve ever given to myself was a catalogue raisonne – “Mark Rothko: The Works on Canvas” published by Yale back in 1998 in hardback with slip case. I bought it back in winter of 1999/2000. But on occasion, I’ve received a range of equally wonderful books in many categories of writing and publishing from loved ones. - Christopher Stackhouse

I hesitate to label any book the “best” because I have many lovely book presents, but there is one book that was perhaps the best-timed gift. I received Means of Transit, a memoir by Teresa Miller, as a surprise gift in the mail when I was feeling extremely lonely and adrift in my MFA program, and it was exactly what I needed to read at that time. – Emrys Moreau

I’m not sure I can pinpoint just one book. Thinking . . . I believe at some point, someone gave me The Little House on the Prairie books. I read them over and over and over as a child. I did the same with Anne of Green Gables and the Chronicles of Narnia. They are still on my bookshelf today, and I consider them to be some of my most treasured possessions. I think they really inspired a love for literature and creativity, which has carried through to today. – Mandy Rutherford

The complete Laura Ingalls Wilder series, which my parents gave me when I was five,  was the first book gift I remember receiving.  All the books in the box set had beautiful paintings on their covers.  It felt so special, to have matching books, the next one always waiting to be started. When people ask me why I don’t like Little Women, I tell them it’s because Alcott had inferior packaging. – Meredith Clark

“Elvis is Dead, But At Least He Isn’t Gaining Any Weight” by David Hernandez.  This, in fact, is one of the only books that anyone has ever given to me as a gift per se. However, I did get in as a boy (around age 10) and it was one of the first books of poetry that I ever saw by a Latino writer (and a Chicago area one at that).  It spoke volumes to me about the possibilities inherent in poetry and gave me a push forward. – Luis Humberto Valadez

2. What is your Favorite Holiday Tradition?

Paper crowns are worn at breakfast, ginger bread houses, Greeks playing poker and yelling at each other, and at least 10 viewings of The Christmas Story. - Rebecca George

Cheese fondue with family on Christmas – Travis Cebula

That one’s easy. My parents and I eat pizza on Christmas and watch movies in the afternoon, usually after a nice Christmas walk. We don’t need a giant fancy meal, so we make it easy. – Erin Askeland

My family plays board games together after we open our presents. Some of our favorites are Trouble, Sorry, and Apples to Apples. – Allison Martin

Drinking port and cognac, eating cobbler and left overs, telling stories with friends and family coming and going, in front of my dad’s fireplace in Detroit. - Christopher Stackhouse

Trick-or-treating. - K. Silem Mohammad

Dressing up family pets as elves or Santas. Sweaters on pets often seem creepy to me, but I appreciate full-on costumes. - Emrys Moreau

My whole family gathers in a circle to say how much we love each other … and then we all do a shot of whiskey.  - Marie Larson

well…i’m just going to be honest…turkey and presents! – Kelly O’Mouse

My father goes to the used record store and picks out a CD to fill a gap in our music collections.  He’s been doing it at Christmas and on our birthdays for well over ten years.  Some of his choices are wise and easy to understand(Talking Heads), but some are a little impossible to explain (Van Halen?  Really?). – Meredith Clark

Egg Nog. – Kade Jensen

Pure, absolute gluttony – Nate Jordon

Watching a movie with the entire family.  Though the movie often is horrible (usually something like “Click”), the fact that I may not be in the same room with everyone again until next Christmas makes me appreciate that I can be there. - Luis Humberto Valadez

My family really doesn’t have all that many . . . but I do rather enjoy unwrapping gifts from my grandma. She supplies me with accessories for next year’s tacky holiday sweater party. – Mandy Rutherford

3.  IF YOU WERE AN ORNAMENT, WHAT WOULD YOU LOOK LIKE?