The Associated Press is reporting that the Nobel prize for literature will likely not go to an American.
The lede:
Bad news for American writers hoping for a Nobel Prize next week: the top member of the award jury believes the United States is too insular and ignorant to compete with Europe when it comes to great writing.
Ouch. The story is posted on the New York Times' site.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Friday, September 26, 2008
Tools of the trade
*A round-up of Chicago writing classes/workshops:
Newberry Library: Adult education seminars are affordable (prices vary but one example: 8 classes for $160) and generally at convenient times.
Graham School (at the University of Chicago): The Writer's Studio offers a certificate in creative writing and open enrollment classes. Open enrollment classes cost $545 for the 08-09 school year.
University of Illinois at Chicago Writers Series: Classes include practical business oriented writing to story workshops. Prices range from $275-475.
StoryStudio Chicago: Good selection of class schedules and time commitments. Typical cost per course: $375.
The Writers Loft: This web site is intense. I have no idea how much the workshops cost.
*Classes not leading to some sort of degree, available a la carte or towards specific certificates. Please comment if you know of other options. At a later date, we'll look at MFA options locally/regionally.
*Classes not leading to some sort of degree, available a la carte or towards specific certificates. Please comment if you know of other options. At a later date, we'll look at MFA options locally/regionally.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Abbreviated lives.
Can you sum up your life in six words?For example:
- Is beefcake one word or two?
- Wanted: love, affirmation, hugs, freedom, chalupas.
- Stop asking me about band camp!
- He pampered me with sensual pedicures!
Six-word memoirs brought to us by Smith Magazine.
Chi-lit-event!
Prose ShowFrom the Literary Writers Network
With work from Thousand Fibers contributor Stephen Markley!
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Time: 7:00pm - 8:00pm
Location: Mercury Cafe
Street: 1505 W. Chicago Ave.
City/Town: Chicago, IL
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Forget the Pulitzer. Aim for a "genius" grant.
$500,000, no strings attached.
This year's list of MacArthur Foundation felllowship winners includes one young writer, Chimamanda Adichie, "who illuminates the complexities of human experience in works inspired by events in her native Nigeria." Her book, Half of a Yellow Sun, is next on my to-read list.
Details about Adichie's life and work are here; full list of this year's winners here.
This year's list of MacArthur Foundation felllowship winners includes one young writer, Chimamanda Adichie, "who illuminates the complexities of human experience in works inspired by events in her native Nigeria." Her book, Half of a Yellow Sun, is next on my to-read list.
Details about Adichie's life and work are here; full list of this year's winners here.
Monday, September 22, 2008
We can't all write books about whales...
David Gessner, a professor and writer, considers life as a teacher/author in the New York Times. The article says what we all know: you gotta make some bread to make some butter. Wait, I totally screwed up that metaphor. But you get what I mean.
An excerpt:
Writers who have been lucky enough to land these gigs are inclined to talk — when we aren’t grumbling — about their good fortune in sensible language, citing all that is sane, healthy, balanced and economically viable about their jobs. But another question is discussed less. What exactly does all this teaching do to our writing? And what, if anything, does it mean for a country to have a tenured literature?
An excerpt:
Writers who have been lucky enough to land these gigs are inclined to talk — when we aren’t grumbling — about their good fortune in sensible language, citing all that is sane, healthy, balanced and economically viable about their jobs. But another question is discussed less. What exactly does all this teaching do to our writing? And what, if anything, does it mean for a country to have a tenured literature?
Vacation reading
Chicago lit event:
Deb Olin Unferth reads at Quimby's on Sat., Sept. 27. Info here.
From the Village Voice review of her new novel:
Vacation, Deb Olin Unferth's dreamy, surreal debut novel, reads like an extended hallucination or out-of-body experience, as unsettling as it is compelling. The fragmented narrative is an intricate cross-hatch of character and misprision: A man named Meyers stalks his wife, whom he suspects is having an affair with an old acquaintance named Gray. The wife, never named, follows Gray across Manhattan, but it's a random, compulsive pastime she engages in while her marriage unravels; she doesn't know Gray, doesn't know he's her husband's friend, doesn't know that Gray's own marriage has ended. Meanwhile, a young woman seeks the biological father she has never met, an eco-terrorist who liberates captive dolphins.
Now for some unfortunate news: We missed Irvine Welsh (author of Trainspotting and Crime) at the Metro’s new reading series, Read Against Recession. Bummer.
Deb Olin Unferth reads at Quimby's on Sat., Sept. 27. Info here.
From the Village Voice review of her new novel:
Vacation, Deb Olin Unferth's dreamy, surreal debut novel, reads like an extended hallucination or out-of-body experience, as unsettling as it is compelling. The fragmented narrative is an intricate cross-hatch of character and misprision: A man named Meyers stalks his wife, whom he suspects is having an affair with an old acquaintance named Gray. The wife, never named, follows Gray across Manhattan, but it's a random, compulsive pastime she engages in while her marriage unravels; she doesn't know Gray, doesn't know he's her husband's friend, doesn't know that Gray's own marriage has ended. Meanwhile, a young woman seeks the biological father she has never met, an eco-terrorist who liberates captive dolphins.
Now for some unfortunate news: We missed Irvine Welsh (author of Trainspotting and Crime) at the Metro’s new reading series, Read Against Recession. Bummer.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Big and Ugly
The latest issue of the Big Ugly Review is live, with the theme fight or flight.
The image to the right (->) is from a photo essay in this issue.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
How writers make a living...
Narrative has an essay on the fact that writers can rarely support themselves through writing alone.
An excerpt:
Here capitalism is again at odds with our better instincts: envy alone won’t explain the contempt aimed at the writer whose work seems guided by commercial rather than literary instincts, nor condescending terms ranging from genre writer to hack. Nevertheless, the writer who cannot sell his words is the writer who cannot eat, and even the most successful of literary writers are up against the fact that their craft carries with it an enormous latency.
Warning: Depressing calculations within the story
Some simple math: This summer saw the U. S. federal minimum wage rise to $6.55 an hour, a figure somewhat increased in certain states. Let us imagine a writer who spends two years writing a first novel, working full-time—quite a clip for a first book—and sells the novel for an excellent advance of $25,000. In every state, she would have found a counter job at McDonald’s more lucrative.
The link to the full story is here but the site requires (free and easy) registration .
An excerpt:
Here capitalism is again at odds with our better instincts: envy alone won’t explain the contempt aimed at the writer whose work seems guided by commercial rather than literary instincts, nor condescending terms ranging from genre writer to hack. Nevertheless, the writer who cannot sell his words is the writer who cannot eat, and even the most successful of literary writers are up against the fact that their craft carries with it an enormous latency.
Warning: Depressing calculations within the story
Some simple math: This summer saw the U. S. federal minimum wage rise to $6.55 an hour, a figure somewhat increased in certain states. Let us imagine a writer who spends two years writing a first novel, working full-time—quite a clip for a first book—and sells the novel for an excellent advance of $25,000. In every state, she would have found a counter job at McDonald’s more lucrative.
The link to the full story is here but the site requires (free and easy) registration .
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Take the morning off and go to the movies. Maybe a foreign film.
You will not enjoy this unless you watch Mad Men, I suspect, but I stumbled across what is apparently called a "microblog" (these kids today, with their Interwebz and their LOLcatz and their microblogs...): What would Don Draper do?
Highlights:
100.Write your idea down on whatever’s at hand; a receipt, a cocktail napkin, a Yahtzee score card. Never delay.
92.Tell her to stop talking. If she won’t, tie her to the bed and leave.
86.Skip out on fireworks with your family to call your girlfriend. Then head home for a glass of milk.
84.If you’re in a jam, call Peggy.
Gosh, I wish I had a Peggy...
Highlights:
100.Write your idea down on whatever’s at hand; a receipt, a cocktail napkin, a Yahtzee score card. Never delay.
92.Tell her to stop talking. If she won’t, tie her to the bed and leave.
86.Skip out on fireworks with your family to call your girlfriend. Then head home for a glass of milk.
84.If you’re in a jam, call Peggy.
Gosh, I wish I had a Peggy...
Lit mag rankings... (maybe outdated? but still interesting)
I love that some people (like this guy to the right->) take it upon themselves to quantify and rank colleges or programs or lit mags. It seems like a LOT of work, what with researching circulation, submissions received, poems printed, etc. I share with you now these rankings on lit mags, based on the ratio of poems received to poems printed "and other critera.""This ranking system attempts impose an order on the "difficulty" of a particular literary journal -- that is, the degree of likelihood that a given poem, submitted by a reasonably accomplished poet, will be accepted for publication. The system is based upon a mix of objective and subjective criteria. "
Hmm. Take it with a grain of salt, but it's still a good visualization of magazine titles, circulation and ratio of submissions to acceptance. I know nothing about this Jeffrey Bahr fellow except what's on his site, but he also has some interesting resources for submissions and whatnot.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Unpleasant writing topics: Your butt
Anybody up for reading about colonoscopies?! NO??
Well, what if the story starts like this:
My butt could save your life.
Not my butt, per se, but what's in my butt.
Yowza. Talk about a personal essay. But that column, from the Poynter Institute's Roy Peter Clark, would keep me reading. It's funny and weird and totally appeals to the 12-year-old gross-out fanatic in me.
We can also look at another model of this style (from Dave Barry):
OK. You turned 50. You know you're supposed to get a colonoscopy. But you haven't. Here are your reasons:
1. You've been busy.
2. You don't have a history of cancer in your family.
3. You haven't noticed any problems.
4. You don't want a doctor to stick a tube 17,000 feet up your butt.
Now, from the start, I'm a bit less into it -- the age in the lede makes me tune out a little, because I'm nowhere near 50. If I made it to #4, I'd probably tune back in.
Sensitive topic, but handled with humor -- that's something I like to read. Clark blogs about his column and approach on Poynter, here.
Well, what if the story starts like this:
My butt could save your life.
Not my butt, per se, but what's in my butt.
Yowza. Talk about a personal essay. But that column, from the Poynter Institute's Roy Peter Clark, would keep me reading. It's funny and weird and totally appeals to the 12-year-old gross-out fanatic in me.
We can also look at another model of this style (from Dave Barry):
OK. You turned 50. You know you're supposed to get a colonoscopy. But you haven't. Here are your reasons:
1. You've been busy.
2. You don't have a history of cancer in your family.
3. You haven't noticed any problems.
4. You don't want a doctor to stick a tube 17,000 feet up your butt.
Now, from the start, I'm a bit less into it -- the age in the lede makes me tune out a little, because I'm nowhere near 50. If I made it to #4, I'd probably tune back in.
Sensitive topic, but handled with humor -- that's something I like to read. Clark blogs about his column and approach on Poynter, here.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Lit-obituary
The NY Times Papercuts blog has a sincere post on the death of David Foster Wallace.
David Foster Wallace, who wrote like that leaping and frolicking veldt-creature, is missed already. His best work handed American fiction its pampered ass.
Among many other obits I saw, this one stood apart as a nice tribute and a showcase for the writer's work.
David Foster Wallace, who wrote like that leaping and frolicking veldt-creature, is missed already. His best work handed American fiction its pampered ass.
Among many other obits I saw, this one stood apart as a nice tribute and a showcase for the writer's work.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
You still have time to be a doorman
Children's books are literature too, you know. The New York Times has a neat profile of author and artist Maurice Sendak. My favorite anecdote in the story:When Mr. Sendak received the 1996 National Medal of Arts, President Bill Clinton told him about one of his own childhood fantasies that involved wearing a long coat with brass buttons when he grew up.
“But Mr. President, you’re only going to be president for a year more,” Mr. Sendak said, “you still have time to be a doorman.”
Manly, bookish prizes
The Man Booker shortlist was announced Tuesday (so I'm a few days behind -- sue me). The award "promotes the finest in fiction by rewarding the very best book of the year."
On this year's list of finalists:
“The White Tiger,” by Aravind Adiga
“The Secret Scripture,” by Sebastian Barry
“Sea of Poppies,” by Amitav Ghosh
“The Clothes on Their Backs,” by Linda Grant
“The Northern Clemency,” by Philip Hensher
“A Fraction of the Whole,” by Steve Toltz
“The Northern Clemency,” by Philip Hensher
“A Fraction of the Whole,” by Steve Toltz
I haven't read any of these. Sigh. Too many books, too little time.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
100 words...
100 words, every day. Just a few sentences, a few thoughts, a fragment of a story. A poem. And in 100 days (just a bit more than 3 months) you have 10,000 words. Nice, no?
This sounds imminently more do-able than NaNoWriMo to me (50,000 in 30 days).
Read any good books lately?
For this month only, the Virginia Quarterly Review is sponsoring "a competition to encourage and cultivate young reviewers and critics under the age of thirty."
Interested in trying your hand at lit crit? Details are here. First prize = $1,000!
Interested in trying your hand at lit crit? Details are here. First prize = $1,000!
Friday, September 5, 2008
On politic(ian)s and writing.
Inspired by convention mania and an overdose of political news, we've decided to round up all the books by presidential and vice-presidential candidates. (Major party candidates only, and frankly, Ralph Nader could probably fill multiple posts -- he's prolific as a writer. Did you know that man only sleeps 3-4 hours a night? And does anyone even know that Bob Barr is running? Is Ron Paul still in this thing?)
John McCain (all "co-written" with Mark Salter, cough cough):
Faith of My Fathers
Why Courage Matters
Worth the Fighting For
Hard Call: The Art of Great Decisions
Character is Destiny
KEYWORDS: faith, fighting, hard
Barack Obama:
Dreams from My Father
The Audacity of Hope
Change We Can Believe In (forthcoming, cover notes the foreword is by BO)
KEYWORDS: dreams, hope, change
Sarah Palin:
Moosehuntin' Hockey Mom with Great Hair Seeks Same (OK, I made that one up. Turns out she hasn't written any books... yet.)
Joe Biden:
Promises to Keephttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif
BONUS: Chicago writer Stephen Markley's look at terrible vice presidential choices throughout history on Radar.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Why every country needs the first amendment:
2 Journalists Are Attacked in Russia
ROSTOV-ON-DON, Russia (AP) -- One journalist was shot and killed and another was left with a fractured skull after a beating in Russia's troubled North Caucasus, and police and co-workers said Wednesday the two men were likely targeted for their work.
The attacks on an Islamic TV reporter and an opposition newspaper editor are the latest violence to renew fears about the safety of journalists in Russia. A third journalist was shot by police on Sunday -- a killing the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said represented ''a further deterioration of media freedom in Russia.''
We here at Thousand Fibers believe in not only the power of words but in the need for words and free speech in a truly democratic society. Stories like this frighten us, because they signal that much more is disturbed under the surface than just a random act of violence, a singular case of fear-mongering. Take note.
ROSTOV-ON-DON, Russia (AP) -- One journalist was shot and killed and another was left with a fractured skull after a beating in Russia's troubled North Caucasus, and police and co-workers said Wednesday the two men were likely targeted for their work.
The attacks on an Islamic TV reporter and an opposition newspaper editor are the latest violence to renew fears about the safety of journalists in Russia. A third journalist was shot by police on Sunday -- a killing the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said represented ''a further deterioration of media freedom in Russia.''
We here at Thousand Fibers believe in not only the power of words but in the need for words and free speech in a truly democratic society. Stories like this frighten us, because they signal that much more is disturbed under the surface than just a random act of violence, a singular case of fear-mongering. Take note.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Short stories for short people
Maritime Supernatural Teen Wicca Romance
by Alias
Captain James Audrey watched the scene played out on his deck with eyes as
grey as the ocean. Young midshipman Boris, recently discovered to be a girl
and a witch to boot, was being thrown overboard.
"You can do me no harm," she screamed, "for I am wedded to the sea!"
Then the kelp attacked.
Need just a tiny little escape from your day? Like, say, 55 words of escape? A friend of mine pointed me to 55 a day, a blog that features really short stories. They accept submissions, if you want to test your skills, succinctly.
by Alias
Captain James Audrey watched the scene played out on his deck with eyes as
grey as the ocean. Young midshipman Boris, recently discovered to be a girl
and a witch to boot, was being thrown overboard.
"You can do me no harm," she screamed, "for I am wedded to the sea!"
Then the kelp attacked.
Need just a tiny little escape from your day? Like, say, 55 words of escape? A friend of mine pointed me to 55 a day, a blog that features really short stories. They accept submissions, if you want to test your skills, succinctly.
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