Work in Progress: Distracted Holiday Edition

I’m winding things up here, getting ready for the loooong drive back to the heartland. Driving takes forever, but at least no one charges us for excessive luggage or makes us remove our “suspicious” shoes; no seatbacks whacking our knees and faces. Plus, I believe that driving in this case is greener than flying? In any event, nothing could entice me to fight the “festive” hordes at the airport. So I won’t be posting for at least a week, possibly longer—possibly not until next year! Hope you have a lovely holiday season, safe travels, and a happy 2009!

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I’ll leave you with some odds and ends:

I.
It was announced that poet Elizabeth Alexander will be reading a poem at the inauguration. Of course, that means she’ll have to write it first…can you imagine the pressure? This is a hard time of year to focus on writing, and suddenly you’re required to come up with something brilliant, accessible, and perfect that will make people cry….or at least not make other writers cringe in embarrassment.

I read about the announcement here in the Washington Post, and here’s Elizabeth Alexander’s web site. (On her events link, for January 20, she modestly notes: “Barack Obama’s inagural poet, Washington, D.C.”)

And scroll to the bottom of my post to read a poem that the Washington Post ran (with, I might add, totally messed up linebreaks…ugh) . I very much like the poem, so I’m hopeful that she’ll rise to the occasion. In any event, it’s always nice to see a writer placed in a place of prominence….as it should be every day! (You can read more of Alexander’s work here.)

II.
This isn’t equal to the pressure of writing a perfect poem for a true moment of history like the inauguration of the nation’s first bi-racial president, but I’ve had my own week of modest pressure as I tried to complete a rough draft of a chapter for my new novel before hitting the road.

I tend to think that I don’t write well under pressure, but actually I’m beginning to realize that I do: it seems that often when there’s some sort of artificial deadline (usually leaving on a trip), I come up with great ideas, and the words flow. I started this chapter with only an idea of where the first scene would take place, and a short conversation that would happen there…and two weeks later I’ve got 27 (very, very rough) pages of intense conflict and character development…as well as a killer cliff-hanger ending. All because I’m going out of town. Maybe I should travel more?

III.
Please don’t think I’m vain and overly impressed with myself from the above paragraphs. They were written in the magical time between finishing the rough draft and before reading it over again. Obviously when I reread it, I’ll realize it totally sucks. But for now, I’ll linger in the false sense of serenity and confidence for as long as it lasts.

IV.
Here’s a Jerry Seinfeld-esque observation about myself: Ever notice how all I do is complain about how I’m bad at coming up with titles, and yet in every novel I write, I decide to title EVERY CHAPTER? What’s up with that?

V.
In a totally distracted shift of subject, do check out the new issue of Poets & Writers magazine. Great roundtable discussion with some young agents, an interesting exploration of “why we write,” and some advice for what’s going on when we can’t write. (The magazine is so hot off the presses that articles and excerpts from the new issue aren’t yet online.) If you don’t subscribe, you should.

VI.
Ending with a moment of glory, Elizabeth Alexander’s very moving poem, “Ars Poetica #100: I Believe”:

Poetry, I tell my students,
is idiosyncratic. Poetry

is where we are our ourselves,
(though Sterling Brown said

“Every ‘I’ is a dramatic ‘I’”)
digging in the clam flats

for the shell that snaps,
emptying the proverbial pocketbook.

Poetry is what you find
in the dirt in the corner,

overhear on the bus, God
in the details, the only way

to get from here to there.
Poetry (and now my voice is rising)

is not all love, love, love,
and I’m sorry the dog died.

Poetry (here I hear myself loudest)
is the human voice,

and are we not of interest to each other?


From American Sublime, published by Graywolf Press. (Watch the amazon numbers move on this book!)

Hardcover vs. Paperback Original

Most writers dream of seeing their hard-sought, perfect words printed between hard covers…with a paperback to follow. But is that the best approach for a first novel? Might the trade paperback original be coming into its own? Editorial Ass explores the pros and cons of the hardcover vs. the paperback here.

Excerpt:

"When my last few hardcover books came out," [author] Alice [Mattison] continued, "I noticed that after a reading, audience members were more likely to buy a paperback or two than the new book, which was much more expensive. After I'd thought about it, I began to feel hopeful about a paperback original. At the start of my career I had hardcover books with poor sales that never made it to paperback, and that was infinitely more frustrating, I assure you."

$3000 Scholarship for DC-Area Polish-American Students

This is a bit off-task, but I wanted to alert Polish-American parents/students out there (in the DC area) about a $3000 scholarship available through the Polish American Arts Association of Washington, DC.:

Applications for the PAAA Scholarship 2009 grant of $3000 are now being accepted through March 31, 2009. The winner will be announced May 17. The grant will be awarded at the PAAA Installation in June.

For information and application form see the PAAA web page at http://www.paaa.us/scholarships.htm

Phillip Lopate Coming to Writer's Center

Mark your calendars for this event:

The Writer’s Center will celebrate its 32nd birthday with a reading by acclaimed memoirist, essayist, and film critic Phillip Lopate. Lopate, author or editor of more than a dozen books, including The Art of the Personal Essay, will read from his recent collection of novellas, Two Marriages, his first work of fiction since his 1987 novel The Rug Merchant. About Lopate, critic Sven Birkerts writes: “His fearlessness is tonic, his candor is straight gin.” A reception and book signing will follow the event.

When: Saturday, January 31 (7:30 P.M.)
Where: The Writer’s Center, 4508 Walsh Street, Bethesda, MD 20815
The cost of this event is $25. RSVP at www.writer.org or call 301.654.8664.

Phillip Lopate was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1943, and received a bachelor's degree at Columbia University in 1964, and a doctorate at Union Graduate School in 1979. He holds the John Cranford Adams Chair at Hofstra University, and teaches in the MFA graduate programs at Columbia, the New School, and Bennington. He can be found online at www.philliplopate.com

Newbery Books = Death of Reading?

"The Newbery [award for children’s literature] has probably done far more to turn kids off to reading than any other book award in children's publishing," suggests John Beach, associate professor of literacy education at St. John's University in New York, in this article in The Washington Post.

Could this be true? Read more here.

(Surprising side note: Charlotte's Web did NOT win the Newbery!)

Money for Nothing, Books for Free

If you’re a booklover who’s short on bucks, check out these book swapping sites as profiled in the Washington Post. Basically, you post the titles of books you own that you’re ready to pass along. Members request your books, and once you send them off, you get a credit, allowing you to request someone else’s books…which you can also send back into the world once you read them. Win-win-win!

Two Essay Contests for College Students

If you need some more cash for college, check out these opportunities to turn your words into dough:

2009 Sylvia K. Burack Scholarship Competition

Award: $500 and a year's subscription to The Writer magazine
Judges: The Writer editors
Deadline: March 1, 2009 (postmark)

Description: The Sylvia K. Burack Scholarship is a writing contest for full-time college students. The award is made in memory of Sylvia K. Burack, longtime editor-in-chief and publisher of The Writer. Burack was known for her dedication to helping writers and editors.

Requirements: You must be 18 or older and a full-time undergraduate student at a university or college in the U.S. or Canada at the time of entry. The winner will be asked to provide proof of enrollment.

Rules
--Submit 2 copies of a previously unpublished 600- to 800-word personal essay in English on something you feel passionate about.

--Essays will be judged on the quality of the writing, including grammar, punctuation and expression of ideas.

--Include a cover page with the essay title and word count, as well as your name, address, phone number and e-mail address. Contact information must be valid through July 2009.

--Also include the name and address of your school.

--Place only the title (not your name) at the top of each page of the essay.

--Entries must be typed and double-spaced on standard letter-size paper.

--Number each page. Paperclip the pages together.

--The award is open to students in the U.S. and Canada enrolled full time in an undergraduate college or university at the time of entry. (Do not send transcripts with entries.) Employees of Kalmbach Publishing Co. are not eligible to participate.Only one entry per student will be accepted.

Send entries to:
Sylvia K. Burack Scholarship
The Writer
21027 Crossroads Circle
P.O. Box 1612
Waukesha, WI 53187-1612.

Entries will not be returned. Do not send originals. If the winning entrant cannot be reached by July 1, 2009, the runner-up will be awarded the scholarship.The winner will be announced in July 2009 and will receive $500 and a year's subscription to The Writer.More details: www.writermag.com


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MoneyMatters101.com 2008 Scholarship Award

Award Amount: $300.00 U.S. Dollars
Deadline: December 31, 2008 (postmark)

Description: The 2008 MoneyMatters101.com Scholarship Award is available to freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior students attending a college or university in the United States or Canada. You must have a minimum 2.3 GPA.If you are a freshman and have not yet received your college grades, please submit your transcripts showing that you have enrolled in classes.One scholarship will be awarded. The winner will be notified through postal service and their name will be posted on the MoneyMatters101.com website. Phone calls will not be accepted.

You must submit an essay, maximum of 750 words, which addresses the following question:With banks collapsing, soaring gas prices, companies filing for bankruptcy, people losing their homes, uncertainty in the stock market, rising unemployment figures, and the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, what are your thoughts on the current economic conditions?

In addition to answering an essay question, you must submit your official college transcripts to be eligible for this award.

Application:
All submissions must include your college transcripts and essay. Submissions can be sent through regular mail and must be postmarked by December 31, 2008.

Submissions must be mailed to:
MoneyMatters101.com Scholarship 2008
PO Box 18689
Long Beach, CA 90807

MoneyMatters101.com awards 1 scholarship 3 times a year.
More details: http://www.moneymatters101.com/scholarship/spring2006.asp