Link Corral: Reboot Your Brain; Submit to Redux; Residency Opportunity in Nebraska

Noel Miller, one of the wonderful Converse low-res MFA fiction students, posted a great piece in the South85 lit journal’s blog:  “Rebooting Your Brain”:

“Sometimes you have to get out of your routine to awaken your imagination and stimulate brain activity. Think of it as shaking-up a bottle of orange juice that’s been sitting a while. Once you turn it over, the pulp starts moving and the juice becomes whole and fresh again (sorry if you don’t like pulp in your orange juice).”

Read on.

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Don’t forget to send your best previously published work to Redux during the open reading period.  Deadline is February 15; please follow these submission guidelines.

Basically, we’re looking for work (stories/poems/essays) that has been previously published in a literary journal that is not available elsewhere online.  This is a great new way to bring a new audience to your work!

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I very much enjoyed my stay at the KHN Center several years ago, so I’m pleased to share the announcement of their upcoming deadline for residency applications:

The Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts in Nebraska City, NE offers 2- to 8-week residencies year-round for writers, visual artists, and music composers. Housing, studio space, $100/week stipend are provided.

Approximately 50 residencies are awarded per year. Two deadlines each year, March 1 for the following July through December; or September 1 for the following January through June.

See website for complete information, guidelines and the online application portal:www.KHNCenterfortheArts.org

The Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the  Arts, 801 3rd Corso, Nebraska City, Nebraska 68410. 402-874-9600, info@KHNCenterfortheArts.org

Gilb & Percy to Read in PEN/Faulkner Series, 2/6

I've been a fan of Benjamin Percy's since I read his stunning story "Refresh, Refresh" in the Best American Short Stories, so I'm hoping that I can find a way to attend this enticing reading hosted by PEN/Faulkner:

 

Dagoberto Gilb & Benjamin Percy

7:30
February 6, 2012  
Folger Elizabethan Theatre
Tickets: $15 (buy)

Dagoberto Gilb is the author of Before the End, After the Beginning, published in November by Grove Press. His previous books include The Flowers, Woodcuts of Women, Gritos, The Last Known Residence of Mickey Acuña, and The Magic of Blood. His fiction and non-fiction have appeared in a range of magazines, most recently The New Yorker, Harper’s, and Callaloo. A finalist for both the PEN/Faulkner and National Book Critics Circle Award, Gilb has been the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and the PEN/Hemingway Award. Gilb makes his home in Austin, and he is the executive director of the new CentroVictoria, a center for Mexican American Literature and Culture at the University of Houston-Victoria.
Read an excerpt of Gilb’s The Flowers from the author’s website.
Purchase books by Dagoberto Gilb.

Benjamin Percy is the author of two novels, Red Moon (forthcoming), and The Wilding, and two books of short stories, Refresh, Refresh and The Language of Elk. His fiction and nonfiction have been read on National Public Radio, performed at Symphony Space, and published by Esquire, GQ, Men’s Journal, Outside, The Paris Review, The Best American Short Stories, Glimmer Train, The Wall Street Journal, and many other publications. 

Purchase books by Benjamin Percy. 

Work in Progress: Truman Capote's "La Cote Basque 1965"

As a guilty pleasure, I enjoy reading Vanity Fair, especially the inevitable article about super-rich people living their super-rich lives.  Various Kennedys are often involved in these articles.  There’s usually a New York City component, which I also love.    

This month’s issue hit a real homerun as far as my narrow interests are concerned, a long piece about “ladies who lunch,” looking at the golden era of fancy New York society women—like Babe Paley and Slim Keith—lunching in the 1960s at fancy New York restaurants like La Grenouille (where I’ve been! Though, now, thanks to this article, I know that I didn’t get a very good table, even though it seemed fine enough at the time…and the people at the table next to us were talking about their yacht—poor things, forced to sit at that even worse table!).  (Here’s a link to some pictures from the article, which can be found in the February issue.)  And, yes, Jacqueline Kennedy made her appearance in the piece.

Also making an appearance:  Truman Capote, famous for his immense betrayal of these ladies who had befriended him and confided in him: 

“This sheltered, hoity-toity world was torn apart in 1976 by the one writer who had been admitted to its inner sanctums:  Truman Capote.  The publication of ‘La Cote Basque 1965,’ a chapter of his long-awaited and never-to-be-completed Proustian novel Answered Prayers, in Esquire magazine, was seen as a betrayal of the confidences he had extracted from so many ladies over so many lunches.  Set in the restaurant of the same name, Capote’s semi-fictionalized account of some of international society’s major scandals mixed real names—Gloria Vanderbilt, Oona Chaplin, Jackie Kennedy, Lee Radizwill—with barely disguised portrayals of his closest friends, most outrageously Slim Keith and Babe Paley.  Much to his chagrin, they banished him from their society forever.  But when all is said and done, no one did more to immortalize the ladies who lunched….”

Of course I had to go reread Capote’s story.  It’s not a traditional story, mostly a series of stories in dialogue as told to and eavesdropped by Jonesy, who is lunching and gossiping with Ina Coolbirth (nice name!).  She has a big secret to tell but has to rip through a bunch of other people’s secrets and drink too much champagne before she can spill it.  It’s a wicked, angry, bitter story, and quite compelling, especially in the context of the Vanity Fair article.  (Here’s an interesting post about Capote and a short excerpt from the story.)

After the story’s publication, after Capote was cut entirely from this society, he famously tried to explain himself:  “I’m a writer! What did they think I was doing all that time at their parties? I was observing them, taking note – I’m a writer!”  But actually, this loss of social status and loss of these friendships seem to have led to a deep personal and professional decline.  (Here’s his obituary from the New York Times; it paints quite a sad picture.)

It’s the big question many writers struggle with:  can—and should—you write about people you care about?  Can a writer get to the deep truth without ruffling any feathers?  Can true art emerge when a writer fears ramifications?

William Faulkner said, “If a writer has to rob his mother, he will not hesitate: The ‘Ode on a Grecian Urn’ is worth any number of old ladies.”  What would Capote say now?  Is “La Cote Basque 1965” an “Ode on a Grecian Urn”?  What if it isn’t?

Excellent Classes Coming up at Politics & Prose

A report from Susan Coll on the exciting new classes offered at Politics & Prose bookstore:

Now open for enrollment is Coming of Age in the Columbine Era, a study of Jim Shepard’s novel, Project X, led by short story writer Paula Whyman.

Other new classes include a study of contemporary poetry and the cultural revolution; a papier mâché workshop taught by French sculptor Constance Chabrières, and an in-depth analysis of the classic Indian novel, A Fine Balance, taught by screenwriter Alexandra Viets.

We are also excited to be offering another installment of the popular Close Reading series by Dylan Landis, a class on literary Washington led by Christopher Griffin, and a variety of memoir classes, including Reading a Life.

Knit Lit returns, and we are also offering a class on Eugene O’Neill pegged to three local productions. Acclaimed novelist James Grady will lead a discussion on Dashiell Hammett’s classic noir trilogy, and there is still space available in a Paris Literary Adventure, one session of which will meet in the evenings.

For a full list of, offerings, please visit http://www.politics-prose.com/classes/2012-classes. You can register for these classes online or call the store at 202-364-1919. Keep an eye out: much more to come!

Iowa Review's Interview with Chris Offutt

Here’s a good interview in The Iowa Review with writer/TV writer Chris Offutt (in particular, I’m a fan of “Weeds,” a show he wrote for). 

Despite an intrusive interviewer, there’s a ton of smart stuff:

“Writing is an uphill battle, and it’s impossible to recognize progress because the progress occurs without you being aware of it, and the only way for you to be aware of it is to do it and then look back. It’s not like math, where you learn to add, then you learn to subtract, then you move on to long division and geometry. With writing, it always feels as if I don’t have much skill to begin with, I’ve lost what little I had, and everything sucks [laughs]. I think it’s the writer’s lot.”

And I know I shouldn’t quote at such length, but I thought this was such helpful advice about revision:

"AD: What are some of the things you teach your students about revision?

"CO: The first one is to write about what you care about. Write about something that hurt you. Write about something that you’re scared of. If you choose a subject with those three attributes, regardless of the quality of the first draft, you will have an emotional involvement in it. That’s the first part. The next one is to really step away from the manuscript. It’s hard for young writers—and for me—to realize you have a lifetime ahead of you. This thing’s not going to be perfect in two weeks or two months. I step away from manuscripts for several months, sometimes years.

 "To revise adequately, you have to be objective, and therein lies the tricky part: if you generate a first draft that you have an emotional relationship with and that you’ve staked your identity on, you’re heavily invested in that. Well, that means it’s subjective. You put everything in. You cut your veins and bled on the page. It’s impossible to be objective very soon after.

"I believe that if you both embrace and surrender to the writing process, something’s going to happen there on the page that’s very separate from what you anticipated and what you thought you were doing—separate from what you had set out to do, and even separate from what you wanted to be doing. If you give it some time, you can look at the work and learn what it really is. That’s when you cut everything out that doesn’t support it. That may be huge chunks and huge scenes. It could be the first twenty pages, because on page twenty-one, this thing took off. No one in their right mind is going to cut the first twenty pages of a manuscript within the first few days of writing it.

"On a smaller scale, what I tend to do with my own work is cut the first few pages and cut the last few pages. In the first few pages, there’s that terrible self-consciousness, the blank page, trying to write something on it, knowing you’re setting out to write a short story, wondering if your idea is sufficient enough. Will it be as good as any other story I’ve written? Eventually, that fades and the story begins. The same thing happens when you approach the ending. When you know the story is approaching the ending, that selfconsciousness kicks in again. And there’s a reluctance to leave that imaginary
world. It starts out difficult to access, then it’s a fucking pleasure to inhabit, and then you have to leave these people and this world alone. For me, there’s a tendency to prolong it a little bit and stay with them. And then there’s also the self-consciousness about ending a story. Endings are important, and they’re difficult. There’s this tendency to write this big, glittering, wonderful ending that reads like someone tacked on this big ending to a short story. It hangs there like a chandelier in a shack."

And there’s more! Read the rest here.

Two-Day Writing Retreat and Healing Poetry in Alexandria

Two interesting events in two different parts of Virginia, one co-organized by the fabulous and fabulously smart Angela Winter (who shared with us her yummy, not-to-be-missed vegan chutneys here):

A Winter Writing Retreat with Pat MacEnulty and Angela Winter
February 18-19, 2012
Saturday 10 am to Sunday 3 pm

Join us for a Winter Writing Retreat at the beautiful Sevenoaks Retreat Center in the foothills of Virginia:  Rejuvenate your writing process, relax with other writers, and explore the process and craft of transformative writing.

You will come away from this two-day retreat with tools to help you commit to your writing and continue to develop your writing process. To enhance our writing, we will also explore mind-body practices to help us settle into our physical bodies, tap into the fullness of the present moment, and open our hearts and voices to the flow of words.

This retreat is appropriate for all levels of writers, and this is also a great professional development opportunity for teachers.

Registration and more information are here:  http://sevenoakspathwork.org/programs/workshopdetail/workshopdetail.php?content_id=47

Pat MacEnulty is the author of six books, including four novels, a memoir, and a short story collection, as well as a self-help book, and numerous interviews and essays. She has facilitated retreats in New York City, San Miguel de Allende, Tallahassee, Fort Lauderdale, Charlotte, and at Sevenoaks Retreat Center.

Angela Winter is a singer, writer, consultant, and former associate publisher of The Sun Magazine. In this retreat, she will blend her experience as a wellness educator with her unique background in voice, sound, and transformational energy work to help participants open their expressive voice and replenish their whole being.

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Morrison House Presents: Mary Azoy, Licensed Professional Counselor & Poetry Therapist:  “Poetry and Creative Play: Writing as an Expressive Coping Strategy”

~Part of a Salon-Style Series Celebrating Culture through Arts, Literature, and History Discussions

DESCRIPTION:  Mary Azoy, Certified Poetry Therapist, will explore the value of poetry therapy as a powerful tool for coping with life’s challenges and enhancing your creative potential. The evening’s presentation will incorporate experiential exercises (both fun and low risk!) as well as plenty of time for discussion and sharing among all those who attend. Bring your favorite pen and writing pad!

WHEN:  Tuesday, February 7, 6 to 8pm

WHERE:   Morrison House, 116 South Alfred Street, Alexandria, VA 22314

INFO/SPONSORS:   Morrison House: www.morrisonhouse.com / Phone: 703-838-8000  & Torpedo Factory Art Center Website: www.torpedofactory.org

ADMISSION:     Free admission (Food and drink available for purchase)

Old Town Alexandria, VA – "Morrison House Presents" is a salon-style discussion series exploring Alexandria’s heritage and culture through talks with artists, authors, and archaeologists from Alexandria and the nationally acclaimed Torpedo Factory Art Center. The stylish yet comfortable setting of the Morrison House salon provides an ideal backdrop for members of the public to participate in an open and lively conversation with artists and other experts.

“Poetry and Creative Play: Writing as an Expressive Coping Strategy”:  Discovering or renewing your creative energy can make the difference between thriving and burnout, especially during these stressful times. Through participation in poetry exercises that are both low-risk and eye-opening you’ll have fun – and gain powerful tools that can help you cope more effectively with life’s challenges in your professional or personal life .Just bring something to write on and with – and a playful attitude!

Mary is a Licensed Professional Counselor (VA) and Certified Poetry Therapist who has been active in the mental health field for more than 20 years. She currently is a clinician in private practice and with Granato Counseling Services in Vienna, Virginia.  Mary also works as a presenter and workshop facilitator with the DOD’s Yellow Ribbon Program that assists military families in coping with deployments and reintegration.  As former Director of Community Education and Crisis Response at CrisisLink, Mary developed an expertise in crisis response, suicide prevention, and grief and trauma, working directly with victims of 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, and others impacted by sudden and traumatic loss.  She has also served as an adjunct professor at George Mason University. Mary graduated from Princeton University and has advanced degrees in psychological services from Marymount University and anthropology from University of Virginia. As a Certified Poetry Therapist, she has conducted expressive therapy workshops both domestically and abroad.  Mary is a former writer for National Geographic Society and the Smithsonian, and is a published poet. 

More about the Series

This series of monthly talks is sponsored by the Torpedo Factory Artists’ Association, the Alexandria Archaeological Commission, and the Morrison House Hotel. The talks take place on the first Tuesday of each month. Cocktails will be available for purchase through The Grille at Morrison House Hotel, and dinner reservations can be made for guests who would like to continue their experience following the event.

About Morrison House

The Morrison House, a Kimpton Hotel, is an elegant boutique hotel located in the heart of Old Town, Alexandria.  Named an outstanding hotel on Condé Nast Traveler’s 2008 Gold List, the hotel exhibits the romance of Europe and the charm of Early America through its decorative federalist-style reproductions. The architecture blends into the historic surrounding of Alexandria, while its warmly lit rooms, soft music, and outstanding cuisine define an experience that is graceful and effortless. The AAA Four Diamond property also features The Grille, an intimate restaurant that serves a menu of relaxed American fine dining.

Work in Progress: The Luxury of Time and Space

This is my last week before my novel-writing workshop starts up at Johns Hopkins, soon to be followed by packets from my Converse College MFA students, so I’ve been trying to make the most of this tiny lull by focusing on my writing—on one rather challenging story in particular.  If I get a working draft, I’ll be able to work from that during the more hectic times when my attention is torn between my work and my students’ work.

During this week, I’ve had no social obligations, which was more coincidence than design (and yes, which is pathetic to admit).  However, I’ve definitely noticed a smoother flow to my writing and time management:  errands/misc. in the mornings, writing in the afternoon, cooking a healthy dinner (by design, thanks to all that yummy holiday food), catching up on New Yorkers and writing magazines at night.  A few select TV shows.  Kind of a quiet, dull life, and I’m not sure I could maintain it for too long…and yet, it seems to be good for my writing.

I’m never far from my story draft.  When I cook, my subconscious is processing the work of the day.  The magazines are inspiring, reinforcing my choice of the writing life with their artfulness, advice, and community.  At night before going to sleep, I think about the characters of my story; when I wake up at 4AM, I think about the story and why it isn’t working and what I’m missing and where it could go.  After I fall asleep and wake up again for real, I try to sort through whatever my subconscious might have figured out while I was asleep.

It’s all very peaceful and very obsessive.

And it’s working.  This morning I had the breakthrough I was hoping for.  I see what the story is about, and I understand how I can get it to that point.  I still have today and tomorrow to work.  My scribbled notes still look smart, a few hours later.  Anything can happen between here and there, of course, but, honestly, I’m not all that worried.  Not that I know what I’m doing, just that I trust that some tiny part of my self knows what it’s doing, and for now, I feel lucky that I can be fine with simply trusting in it.    

Wait for it, wait for it.  And if you have the luxury of time and space—even for a brief time—it will come.

P.S.   This article by Frank Bures in the recent Poets & Writers magazine about the importance of finding ways to create space for your writing self was mentally helpful to me (i.e. the dangers of Facebook and being constantly wired in).  Alas, it’s in print only, but the whole issue is worth seeking out.

Link Corral: Lit Journal Copy Editor Internship; Converse Low-Res MFA App Deadline; New on Redux

Palooka seeks a Copy Editor to fill a literary journal internship opportunity.

The chosen candidate will work remotely, checking facts, proofreading, and line editing all journal content as needed. We produce one to two issues per year (approximately 50 pages each), and the position will begin immediately with work on Palooka #3. Though the internship is unpaid, the candidate will not only gain experience and credibility, but will also have the opportunity to learn how to run a successful literary magazine by working directly with the founder and editor.

The ideal candidate has editing experience, aspires to a career in publishing, is computer literate, Microsoft Word savvy, and demonstrates accuracy and efficiency in completing tasks. Strong communication skills and timely responses via e-mail and telephone are also required.

To apply, please attach a letter of interest tailored to Palooka and this position, along with a resume with at least three references and phone numbers (preferably two are able to attest to your editing experience and abilities) addressed to Jonathan Starke, Editor at <palooka(at)palookajournal.com> (replace (at) with @ in sending e-mail). Include the position title (Copy Editor) in the subject line of your e-mail.

The position will remain open until filled. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.


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Are you ready to take the next step in your writing life?  Do you want to work with acclaimed teachers like Denise Duhamel, Robert Olmstead, and Albert Goldbarth (and me!) Do you want to see what the Chili Cheese A’Plenty at the Beacon Drive-In in Spartanburg is all about? 

Think about joining us at the Converse College Low-Residency MFA Program this summer.  It’s not too late—the deadline for applications in February 15, 2012. 

You can read all the juicy details here. 

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There’s a beautiful new short-short posted on Redux:  “Shelf Life of Love” by Virginia Pye: 

“My brother calls from his rental car on the way home from the hospital while I consider lunch meats at the Stop ‘n Shop. He rarely calls, not until recently. My mother used to call all the time. She can’t get the hang of cell phones and besides, they don’t let you use them from in there, where you need them most. The walkie talkies we gave her and Dad a year ago spoon like lovers in a box under their bed. They were supposed to give her peace of mind when she shuffled out on errands and left him alone. But now she is the one in the hospital and there’s no one at the apartment. Still, the double bed, I imagine, is neatly made, the bedspread faded but clean. She would have wanted it nice for my brother when he got back from visiting her at the end of the day. So far, though, he insists on staying with her, sleeping in a recliner chair like the ones we sat in at the end with Dad. The report from my brother is brief, inconclusive. He’ll get back to me when he has more news. We hang up without saying good bye.”

Read the rest here.

Split This Rock: DC Poetry Festival Set for March 22-25

Has the Occupy movement stirred your soul?  Check out this year's Split This Rock Poetry Festival, here in DC. Registration is now open:

Poems of Provocation and Witness

Split This Rock is a nonprofit organization that calls poets to a greater role in public life and fosters a national network of socially engaged poets. Every two years, Split This Rock hosts a 4-day poetry festival in Washington, DC that draws poets, activists and artists from around the country. The festival includes readings from nationally known poets, workshops, panel discussions, youth programs, open mics and activism.

This March, Split This Rock will host its festival March 22-25, 2012. The festival, titled Poems of Provocation and Witness, will explore economic inequality, political repression, and environmental degradation, among other topics. It will feature some of the most visionary and powerful voices of our time, including Alice Walker, Homero Aridjis, Sonia Sanchez and other featured poets. It will also bring together environmental activists, youth organizers, slam champions, poets of all ethnicities, DC-area poets, publishers, and emerging poets.

To learn more about the festival and to register, click here.

Work in Progress: Commitment

I’ve been between “big projects” lately:  no novel-in-progress that I’m actively pursuing.  No grand plan for the short stories I’ve been writing, though they could be shaped into a “grand plan.”  I’ve got some old work that I’ve figured out how to revise but I’m not revising any of it.

For some reason, this situation has made me feel lazy and aimless.  (Thank you, Life in America and Catholic Guilt.)  So I’ve been driving myself crazy trying to figure out what project to commit to, while also driving others crazy.  Why can’t I figure out that “What are you working on right now?” is just a polite, conversation-starting question, not an invitation for a long rambling discussion of how I feel I must commit to something but I can’t figure out what I’m going to commit to though I’ve given myself a deadline of January to get my act together and I have three ideas that I could…by this time, the questioner has fled to the bar or the bathroom.

I guess what’s interesting is that I know what I want to work on:  these stories.  I have been inspired this fall, working on a series of stories that might end up linked but might not.  I’ve been challenged, uncomfortable, afraid, intrigued by my writing all fall.  I think of ideas and insights at all hours of the day, at any number of various locations.  There are scraps of scribbled paper on my desk, in my nightstand; ideas scrawled on the backs of receipts in my purse.  I can’t get this work out of my head.

Why would I mess with that?  The thought of trying to push myself into something Big because I “should” be working on something Big is insane.  Run the hot streak, right?  Go with the flow.  Trust the muse, have faith in the process.

So here’s my commitment, since the drive home from the MFA residency at Converse was my Official Decision Deadline:  I commit to continue writing these stories that are challenging, uncomfortable, and difficult, and that make me feel happy and fulfilled as a writer.  I commit to not worrying about the Big Picture and the Big Project…until I drive home from the summer residency at Converse.  (I mean, I can’t actually go totally without a Plan, can I?  That would really be insane!)

Writing Prompts & Residency Opportunity for Young Writers

My fabulous neighborhood writing prompt group met this morning, and we found a lot to say about these two prompts:

1.  Saturday

2.  “It’s easier to fight for one’s principles than to live up to them.” ~Alfred Adler

***

Young writers--be check out this great opportunity to live and write in Spartanburg, SC, as the Hub-Bub Artists in Residence Program.  Application deadline:  February 15, 2012. 

From the website:

LIVE FREE AND WRITE

IF YOU ARE a writer between the ages of 20 and 35,

IF YOU LONG to live free and create for 11 months in a huge, beautiful studio apartment,

IF YOU WOULD LOVE to be a part of over 100 nights of art, literature, and entertainment in a historic downtown,

and IF YOU WANT to spearhead community-based projects while collaborating with other creative people and organizations, learn from an award-winning independent small press, and engage your passion for creating new work and making a difference in the community,

YOU SHOULD APPLY for the writer-in-residence position through the Hub City Writers Project and HUB-BUB in Spartanburg, South Carolina, as part of the HUB-BUB Artists-in-Residence Program.  More info.

Residency: Wrap-Up

Another  excellent residency with the Converse low-res MFA program.  So wonderful to see our graduates read their work and lecture on an array of craft topics…surely it won’t be long before I’m off to the bookstore to buy one of their books (I promise always to buy hardcover!).

As for me, I’m still trying to organize my real world life, which I totally forgot about while I was away (not to worry; Steve came along for several days, so it’s not as though I forgot about him). 

Before my mind gets too foggy, and I totally forget about the magic of the residency, here are some quick (paraphrased!) highlights from my notebook:

Small Press Panel

Betsy Teter, Hub City Press  

--Be discriminating in your search for a small press; always ask if the press has active distribution.  Do they send out galleys and review copies?

--Your best chance at a small press is usually when you have some sort of connection; do you know the people who run the press?  Do you know someone who can recommend your work to the press?

--“I’m looking for writers whose books will sell.”  She considers underwriting possibilities as she evaluates work and opportunities for an extended book tour based on places where a writer has lived and has connections.

--She suggested www.newpages.com as the best site to learn more about small press publishers.

Guest lecture on characters by Cary Holladay

--“All of my stores are written because one person loves someone else”: an aching heart is at the core

--A character’s desires create suspense.  These desires my change direction, so ask yourself frequently, what do your characters want?

--“A secret is a useful thing for a character to have or discover.”

--A rule of thumb:  avoid letting your character be alone too long because they ruminate and brood instead of act.

--Readers can tell how deeply you go into your own heart.  “Write until it hurts.”

Oh, seriously, there are PAGES more of great stuff from Cary.  This was an amazing lecture, and I feel fortunate that I was in attendance.  If you ever get the chance to see Cary Holladay read and/or teach, GO!  In fact, drive through a snowstorm to get there.  She’s terrific!  I’ve never met a more generous writer:  in her lecture, she included work by each member of the fiction faculty and discussed it with such love and detail that we all felt blessed.  (And that's NOT a word I tend to use.)  To get a sense of how wonderful she is, check out this interview.

Agent talk by Jeff Kleinman, Folio Literary Management

--He tends to look for two things:  First, a good premise and an ability to come up with ideas.  Second, he looks for a book that is voice-driven.

--Learning to write well is simply the bottom line, he said.  The next step is to figure out what makes you and your story special. 

--In the query process, he suggests always sending along a first page even if not requested in the guidelines, telling the agent you’re doing so “just to give you a sense of the writing.”

--Your cover letter and synopsis should have a voice that reflects the book.  If your book is funny, your letter/synopsis should also be funny.

***

Like all that?  There’s SO MUCH more, including heated discussion about Bobbie Gentry’s  “Ode to Billie Joe,” the annual fiction writers dinner, a night of hilariously bad break-up stories, wine and beer and Jack Daniels & ginger ale, the same Mexican restaurant twice in one day, and the creamiest grits ever!

So….join us.  The application deadline for summer 2012 is February 15!  More info here.

Post-Residency: Exhaustion

SO much to say about the fabulous time at Converse's MFA residency...but I'm waaaay too tired and overwhelmed with chores to say it now.  More later!

Instead, check out today's Doonesbury comic strip in which local DC bookstore Politics & Prose is mentioned!  Yay!  http://www.doonesbury.com/strip  (Check fast...it looks as though this is not a dedicated link to this exact strip.)

Residency: Day I-Have-No-Idea

Yesterday was dubbed The Day of Me.  I was the one who dubbed it this, of course, because in a scheduling glitch, I gave my craft lecture in the morning and then gave my reading at night. So, a long, somewhat nerve-wracking day…but as far as a Day of Me goes, I couldn’t ask for anything better.

My craft lecture was about creating characters who are alive, and Rick Mulkey, our fearless Converse leader, got to offer his rendition of the famous “It’s Alive!” scene from the 1931 movie, Frankenstein, and I got to read passages from some of my favorite fiction:  Moby-Dick, The Catcher in the Rye, We Need to Talk About Kevin, “A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” and (of course) The Great Gatsby.

I’m always nervous to read brand-new work, but my rant-ish story about female aging went well and was beautifully enhanced by my reading partner, visiting guest Keith Lee Morris, who read from his new collection of stories Call It What You Want a hilarious story about male midlife crisis.  The unplanned she said-he said effect was perfect!

And then the poker game.

I sat in just to show a woman could sit in on a poker game, the only one brave (or stupid) enough to do so…and immediately won two very large hands.  (Might I add that I was playing with men who brought their own cards and chips, who spoke a language I didn’t understand (high-low stud, iron cross, guts poker), and even one who was a professional ball player, savvy from years of card games on team buses and locker rooms.)  I quit while I was ahead—entrusting my chips to a trustworthy student, who managed not to lose the entire pot over the next several hours, which is surely more than I would have accomplished had I stayed in the game.

And, to cap the Day of Me, the Stanford-OK game was a thriller.  I was rooting for Stanford, but alas…the game spilled beyond midnight, beyond the Day of Me, and consequently, Stanford lost.  Such is my power on the Day of Me….