You could submit something:

To the Chicago Reader, for the annual fiction issue.
Details here.

You could write about this:

Details on Slate here.

Girls Gone Wilder

OK, there's a part of me that waxes nostalgic about reading Laura Ingalls Wilder because I share her last name. But the other part really loved reading those books when I was a kid. So it was with intrigue and fondness that I read this piece in Salon about Rose Wilder Lane and her life. The Wilder women also are the subjects of an Aug. 10 New Yorker piece.

From the Salon piece (quoting author Wendy McClure here): "For some reason Rose went out of her way to promote the idea of her mother as the sweet little lady pouring out her life in notebooks. She did it at her expense, and maybe ours, too, because I really wish that as a kid I'd gotten to hear more about Rose's writing life. For God's sake, the woman spent a whole winter in an unheated Greenwich Village flat typing and sleeping under newspapers, and somehow that's not as cool as twisting hay?"

Poetry from normal, banal life

Robert Pinsky writes about Alexander Pope and finding poetry in the mundane on Slate, here.

"All I have is intense curiosity."

I am eating up this Paris Review interview with Gay Talese. He works in a bunker (former wine cellar) in his house and writes longhand before typing on a typewriter before transferring his later draft to computer. He takes notes on cardboard shirtboards, like you might find at a drycleaners. Oh, and he's been hailed for writing one of the greatest magazine stories ever.

Mmm, delicious books

Newberry Library Book Fair this weekend. Any takers?

Are you a literary lightweight?

Take this quiz from the BBC magazine to test your literary knowledge. It's a random sample from the General Certificate of Secondary Education, which is taken by 15- and 16-year-olds in the UK. I did... much worse than I would have liked.

In which I suggest things you read online:

Useful:
Brevity's "Craft Essays"
in which we read short essays on the craft of nonfiction writing

Enlightening:
Papercuts Blog "Living with Music" Series
in which authors discuss their current playlists, often made of eclectic choices

Moving:
Pacing the Panic Room Blog
in which a dad-to-be (now a new dad) writes "candidly and vividly about the building of (his) family"

Screamin' seafaring tale wins bad writing contest

Thanks to the Washington Post and the AP, which keep me up to date on each year's Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest.

This year's winner:
Folks say that if you listen real close at the height of the full moon, when the wind is blowin' off Nantucket Sound from the nor' east and the dogs are howlin' for no earthly reason, you can hear the awful screams of the crew of the "Ellie May," a sturdy whaler Captained by John McTavish; for it was on just such a night when the rum was flowin' and, Davey Jones be damned, big John brought his men on deck for the first of several screaming contests.

Printers Row Lit Fest this weekend!

From the Trib:

 

Join the Chicago Tribune for the Midwest's largest literary event! This outdoor festival offers the opportunity to hear authors speak and debate their works. It also features unique booksellers, poetry readings, exhibitors, kids activities, cooking demos, wine tastings, and much more. Hours are from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. on June 6-7.

My top picks (I wish that I could get to these, but I'm not sure if it'll happen): Neil Gaiman and Elmore Leonard. Columnist Leonard Pitts is in a panel discussion, which could be good. And Amy Dickinson (of the Ask Amy column) will be chatting about her book. And music critic Greg Kot is on the schedule too. Oh, also: Harvey Pekar and Paul Buhle will be talking about graphic novels. 

Schedule, map and more here. 

A writer's cure for writer's block

There's a little thing I do when I can't write: When I'm feeling sleepy, when my head is in a fog, I reach across my desk, digging under the piles of unanswered mail, to unearth my copy of Herzog by Saul Bellow. And then I open the book — anywhere— and read a paragraph.

From Jeffrey Eugenides on NPR 

hey, so anyway...

this is going on this week:
pilcrow lit fest (the calendar!)

Justifying the life of fiction writers...

From novels to storytelling to television, fiction has a place in everyone's lives. For those of us who read and write for pleasure, we argue that we are educated, entertained and connected through works of fiction. But "The Evolutionary Argument for Dr. Seuss" on Salon highlights how important fiction is. 

From the article: The latest and most intriguing effort to understand fiction is often called Darwinian literary criticism, although Brian Boyd, an English professor at the University of Auckland in New Zealand and the author of "On the Origin of Stories," a new book offering an overview and defense of the field, prefers the term "evocriticism."

I have a hard time tying evolutionary biology into enjoyment of fiction. But part of me loves the idea that there's a scientific way to prove that writing, reading, watching tv, enjoying movies, etc. is good for us as individuals, good for society and good for the human race. It's a nice thought.  

Oprah's apology

Does James Frey deserve an apology? If Oprah says so, it must be true. 

 

 

(e)Book review

I keep asking about that damn Kindle, and somebody over at NewPages went and did a nice little review. Yes, I've read some of the other reviews, but I felt like this one was a good representation from a true reader's standpoint (not just a recap of its features and flaws). 

  

Need some feedback on...

Summer plans? MFA programs? Online workshops? There are lots of good discussions about all these topics over at the Creative Writing MFA Handbook Blog. 

Ditch work, come home early

... That's the title of this poem on Juked. It does make me want to go home early, bake bread and, well, go read it yourself. 

Thief! Thief!

I'm a bit late to this piece written in 2007, but my brother just tipped me off to a great article in Harper's: The ecstasy of influence: A plagiarism. A great meditation on the ways that plagiarism is pervasive in creative works (music, poetry, literature). 

And if you're intrigued by the intro--in which we learn that the original story Lolita was written in 1918, and not by Nabokov--I've found a translation online here. 

Miscellany.

Relatively new blog I like: Schott's Vocab: A Miscellany of Modern Words and Phrases. 

I <3 short stories

Now I know that I'm not the only one in America who likes to read short stories. It turns out AO Scott (film critic at the New York Times) is pulling for a return to the form. See: In Praise of the American Short Story. To me, there are few things more satisfying to read than a bit of Flannery O'Connor, Roald Dahl or some short Hemingway. They show just how powerful a few pages can be. 

Some of my faves:

A Good Man Is Hard To Find (O'Connor) 

Royal Jelly (Dahl) 

Hills Like White Elephants (Hemingway)

BONUS PICKS: 

Big Blonde (Dorothy Parker)

Welcome to the Monkeyhouse (Kurt Vonnegut)

I'm taking recommendations, if you want to drop anything in the comments. 

New word: GIPE

OK, it's an acronym, but it sounds good aloud, too. It stands for Good Idea, Poorly Executed, and Monica Khemsurov explains it in the New York Times T Magazine. Though she's using it to talk about design things (fashion, home decor, etc) I can see an immediate application to writing and editing. I think I may frequently struggle with stories that are GIPEs--the idea is fantastic, but the writing is just ok. Gipe Gipe Gipe. Gotta work on that "e" part in my writing, I guess.

Read.

Some things to read. 

Poetry

Spring Evening Poem from Juked. 

Fiction 

Fortune-Cookie Messages Appropriate for Dickens Characters from McSweeney's. 

Nonfiction

The Bluest Eye from Brevity. 

Experiments in literary magazine editing

Creative Nonfiction, the premier literary magazine for creative nonfiction (ahem, obviously), has an interesting experiment in their new issue. Instead of starting with the lede (i.e. first paragraphs) that each author composed, they lopped off the beginning few bits. They are unveiling the "real ledes" and the author's comments on their Web site here. Only one is posted now, but I'm looking forward to buying the mag and checking back on the site.

The whole idea is interesting though -- could you lop off the beginning couple paragraphs off a story (or the beginning lines of a poem)? How would that change the work? And if an editor screwed around with your story that much, would you be irked? Or just glad that you were getting published?

Grammar police on patrol

Looks like the grammar police are no happier with our current president (see: "a very personal decision for Michelle and I") than they were with the previous president (see: "nu-cu-lar"). The New York Times has a story on the grammatical anticipation for the State of the Union, headlined The I’s Have It.

Since his election, the president has been roundly criticized by bloggers for using “I” instead of “me” in phrases like “a very personal decision for Michelle and I” or “the main disagreement with John and I” or “graciously invited Michelle and I.”

The rule here, according to conventional wisdom, is that we use “I” as a subject and “me” as an object, whether the pronoun appears by itself or in a twosome. Thus every “I” in those quotes ought to be a “me.”

Quote for the day

"I've always liked the uniform of the poet. I've gone through some nice pajamas."

- U.S. Poet Laureate Kay Ryan, on working in bed (excerpted from a good, long interview in the Winter 2008 Paris Review)

Exercise... for your mind.

Make it a habit to write a letter at least once a week. This can be a letter you send or one you keep for yourself alone. Your correspondent can remain the same, or you can switch it up from week to week. Your correspondent can be human or animal or spirit. Take a few moments to stop and breathe before beginning. Write each letter for at least a half hour, communicating whatever is most “present” for you at the time. Save these letters and see what you might be able to mine for other writing.

From Brevity, in an essay on creative writing craft by Brenda Miller. 

Things My Beard Can Lift

Ok, you got me, I don't have a beard. But this guy does, and he's lifting stuff, heavy stuff, for charity. You definitely need to check it out. 

Also, I realize this doesn't really have anything to do with writing, publishing, news, reading or other common topics. But shouldn't we share things that we think are great? 

TONIGHT

LITERARY DEATH MATCH at the Hideout. Check it.

In concert with the AWP Conference, LDM Chicago, Ep. 1 (the 24th LDM ever) will bring together six readers from six of today’s finest literary journals and concerns (reading for five minutes or less), in what will be a literary celebration for the midwestern ages.

Redheaded stepchildren

Tired of all those rejection letters for your submissions? Maybe you should turn to Redheaded Stepchild, a literary magazine that specifically calls for pieces that have already been rejected. 

Details are here. 

Kanye's a'musin...

so apparently mr. west has made his literary debut....

Grammar stuff!

Oh, how much do I want some grammar plates?! Some people might find that sad, but it's so true. Will everyone please visit www.grammarstuff.com and buy (me) something? 

(Thanks to the NewPages blog for linking to this. That proves that I'm not the only who thinks this stuff is fantastic.)

Kindling

With the news of a new version of the Kindle from Amazon, I'm wondering (again) whether this is really the future of reading. Can someone please weigh in? Leaked photos are here. The Sony one, with a touch screen, looks kind of cool. 

Shall we start using our books to stay warm (y'know, since the economy is crap and our heating bills are so expensive)? 

UPDATE: Just to be fair, how about somebody showing some love for the Sony Reader? 

Good quote:

"I have the feeling that my books get written through me and that once they have got across me I feel empty and nothing is left."

- Claude Levi-Strauss 

my first post: 15 mins of slight confusion before i deleted accidentally and had to re-create

This is happening in Chicago next week. Suzanne and I are probably going. You should too, but only if you can find your old school ID and/or have plenty of spare change.

*image has nothing to do with post. it is just nice to share and was created by tema stauffer.

New issue of Brevity.

Nothing like a little short, snappy nonfiction to brighten my day. 

Read it here. 

Praise. song. for. inaugural. poetry.

Did anyone else notice how incredibly slowly Elizabeth Alexander read her poem? It was like she was teaching kids how to read. 

Anyway, the full transcript of the inaugural poem is at the New York Times, and the Poetry Foundation is all buzzbuzzbuzz with comments. 

Call me sentimental, but I liked these lines at the end:

What if the mightiest word is love?

Love beyond marital, filial, national,
love that casts a widening pool of light,
love with no need to pre-empt grievance.

In today’s sharp sparkle, this winter air,
any thing can be made, any sentence begun.
On the brink, on the brim, on the cusp,

praise song for walking forward in that light.

Good news, good poem, good blog

Good news for writers and publishing: More people are reading! 

Fiction reading increases for adults in the New York Times 

My favorite poem in the latest issue of poetry was "The First Line is the Deepest," by Kim Addonizio. The trick is to find all the references to other poems/poets all over the piece. (The poet also reads the poem on the Poetry Web site.) The link to read the poem is here. She reads aloud on the podcast here. 

From the world of blogs, not new but always good: The "Blog" of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks. Artwork above is courtesy of said "blog."

It's all about focus

http://www.locusmag.com/Features/2009/01/cory-doctorow-writing-in-age-of.html 


The single worst piece of writing advice I ever got was to stay away from the Internet because it would only waste my time and wouldn't help my writing.

Round-up of good stuff

A writer and reader on why publishers fail from Forbes

They dumb everything down.
Why is publishing the only industry so arcanely enigmatic that no one, not even the people doing it, seems to understand its sublimely mystical machineries? Many media watchers are linking the latest horrors in publishing to the financial crisis, but it's not quite as simple as that, either.

The the impotence of proofreading, from the Stranger

Yes, proofreading your peppers is a matter of the the utmost impotence. Now, this is a problem that affects manly, manly students all over the word.

Calls for funny poetry by women, posted on the New Pages blog

For shits... and giggles

Did I tell you there's an online (print??) lit mag called the Shit Creek Review? For reals. It's legit, too, and I've started thinking that it'd be great to have that on your list of publications: "James Jameson's work has appeared in Poetry, the Chicago Review, The New Yorker and Shit Creek Review..."
Check it out here.

The End of Cushy Schmooze Fests

The New York Times says the publishing industry is reconsidering the luxurious, book-related soirees of old. Mr. Moneybags (see above) will be so sad to hear it. It's doubly sad for me, because I've always wanted to hang out at schmooze fests, and now who knows when I'll have the chance? Staff cuts, corporate restructuring, cutbacks on perks--looks like publishing is going the way of ... pretty much every other industry right now. 

Read it: Puttin' Off the Ritz: The New Austerity in Publishing.

Happy New Year!

Now go write. Wasn't that one of your resolutions, to write more? Edit more? Submit more? Get published more?

Go. do. make. write.

Happy Birthday, Mr. Salinger!

JD Salinger turns 90 today, so I hear. But he's still locked up in New Hampshire, hiding from the public, adoring fans and life in general.

What do you think he does all day? I'm betting he's got satellite TV and tivo and watches non-stop soap operas. Or maybe he has a terrible online poker habit. That's the thing about being a recluse--we can speculate and make up lots of ridiculous stories, and there's no way to validate them. Or invalidate them.

Read more about the elusive author in Still Paging Mr. Salinger, from the New York Times.