Keepin' On

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 15:08:00 -0400

Just a quick note here while we decide if the Burry Blog will continue.

Last month was the 13th anniversary of the start of The Burry Man Writers Center. Considering how many well-respected writing sites have come and gone since ‘97, I consider that quite an accomplishment. The worth of the site is what we offer to our visitors and fans, and we thank you for continuing to visit and take advantage of the several thousand resources we’ve hunted up over the years. Our Play Submission page is visited by at least one new person every second-and-a-half, 24 hours a day (somebody do the math, please). Saying that, there’s a tip jar on the site, and if something has helped you along, a few sheckles in the pot would be a nice thank you.

This past August was also the 2nd anniversary of Inked-In, where writers from around the world do that social networking thing that we’ve all come to love. Drop by and say hello.

All Burry-things considered

Fri, 24 Jul 2009 17:30:49 -0400

Dear Friends,

The most important thing we can do right now is to create art. Go create.

Latest on the Blogs …

Steampunk computers and manual typewriters raise some covetous interest. New members Jean C. and Nanette post their first blogs; Prakash gets people talking about moral dilemmas.

Where’s your next blog?

“Beauty is difficult”

As we accustom ourselves to blogs, tweets, blips, snippets and texts, the world accommodating our words gets smaller and smaller. We’ve been hearing about, and discussing, the “end of dead-tree publishing” for more than a decade now; this past year we’re finally seeing the proof of that self-fulfilling prophesy.

And yet it’s still the dream of every writer — every one of you, every one I know, every one I’ve ever heard of — to get a book published, in some form or another. A real book, with a cover and pages and the smell of ink, even if the aroma is now from soy. We saw a wonderful movie last night, “Julia and Julie” (Meryl Streep is astounding), and was impressed by how much the process and feelings of writing permeated the script. The somewhat disappointing section of the film, the modern-day story of a young writer blogging about recreating every recipe in Child’s epic Mastering the Art of French Cooking in a year, was ostensibly about the birth of “new media”: the growing (in 2002) reach and influence of blogs, the mad dash by publishers and print magazines to latch on to the still-rare concept of a blogger who can actually write. That blogger’s dream? To get a book published, a real book, with a cover etc etc. Something quite a bit longer than 140 characters in search of an author.

I just read a piece in National Geographic by Cathy Newman, a writer of some 25 years experience, someone I was aware of but not familiar with who I will now be following eagerly. The story is about Venice, a city I adore and would dream about if I dreamt. It is full of delicious images and experiences, it portrays a glorious city on the brink of collapse, as only Venice can brink and has been brinking since the 1800s and will continue to brink.

“Listen,” she writes. “Venice should be heard as well as seen. At night the eye is not distracted by the radiance of gilded domes. The ear can discern the slam of wood shutters, heels tapping up and down the stone steps of bridges, the abbreviated drama of whispered conversations, waves kicked against the seawall by boats, the staccato of rain on canvas awnings, and always, always, the heavy, sad sound of bells. Most of all, the sound of Venice is the absence of the sound of cars.”

It is a story that encompasses history, architecture, romance, culture — life — and several thousand words. It is a story that justifies and demands a magazine, a writer schooled by experience in the long form, a readership eager for more than blips and tweets. I began to read the last paragraphs to Jennifer and started weeping from the joy and beauty of Ms. Newman’s voice.

Yesterday my editor sent back a sentence he’d rewritten. “I didn’t get this,” he said. As a playwright, I spend a tremendous amount of time on the cadence and rhythm of my sentences, I spend hours resequencing words so the beats come out right. I try to do that in the “money work” too. The edited version may have been grammatically correct or confusion-adjusted, but it was clunky and ungainly and lacked poetry. And I let it go, picked my battle, said “Yeah, that’s fine.”

Someday he’ll learn that “Yeah, that’s fine” means I don’t like it. But I won’t be giving in to the next ungainly rewrite. Cathy Newman taught me that..

On The Calendar:

Peter McGarry’s adaptation of Lysistrata, and The Importance of Being Earnest, adapted by Nell Corrin, will appear at the Winnipeg Fringe Festival July 16 to 30; Edmonton, Aug 8 to 24; and Vancouver Sept 12 to 23. Search the websites for time and place.

David Slack’s 24:7 Theatre Festival in Manchester, England, runs July 20-26.

“Enemy Lines”, a film written by Fiona Veitch Smith, will screen during the Rushes Soho Shorts Festival July 23-29 in London.

Terena Scott is a presenting at the Mendocino Coast Writer’s Conference, Aug 1, sharing tips on the different ways an author can become published, from the traditional route (via an agent) to self-publishing. She will also sign copies of her book, What You Need to Know to Be a Pro: the Start-Up Business Guide for Publishers.

Debbie Feldman’s play, “Leaving Shore,” will be produced in the Minnesota Shorts play festival, in Mankato, Minnesota, on Sept 11.

The Festival of Musicians, run by Inked-In member Richard Shelnutt, hits Alabama’s Gulf Coast on Oct 30 - Nov 1, celebrating bands, singers and songwriters. Stay tuned for an exclusive ticket giveaway!

The Benefactor, a novel of suspense by Margaret Reyes Dempsey, hits shelves both cyber and real on Nov 13.

It’s official: Jazz On Edge Vol2 hits the Garden Theatre stage in Winter Garden, FL, on Feb 5-6, 2010. The music festival, produced by Joseph Hayes, will feature pianist Edward Simon and the Tiptons Sax Quartet, and a host of other musicians playing their own music, making the event unique in the ever-dwindling live jazz scene.

We need more events! Send your notice today!

Latest News:

Debbie Feldman tell us that since February, her works have been read and performed in Bethesda, MD, Provincetown, MA, New York and Northfield, MN. Good work, Debbie!

Jon Adams has his third poetry chapbook, “love notes and other insolence” available for free download on his website.

Mary Jo Campbell won first place in the 100 Words or Fewer Fiction Writing Contest with her story, “In Father Brannigan’s Room”.

Samantha Priestly was interviewed on the Confessions of a Fashion Editor blog.

Joseph Hayes took a lion’s share of the July Orlando Magazine with two features in his role as Dining Critic, plus a five-page article on jazz giant Sam Rivers.

Jeffrey James Ircink’s ‘dirty little play’, “Pass the Salt, Please” will be published by Heuer Publishing this fall.

Pamela Ross’ performance at the Hudson School with her group, Two Chicks and a Cello, is up on YouTube (Pamela’s the one with her back to the audience!).

Janet Elaine Smith’s 20th book (!), Maiden Rock Mistress, is now available.

Michael Ehart has a flashy piece about writing flash fiction on the Flash Fiction Blog. Enough flash?

Julie Compton is happy to report that the Spanish translation of her legal thriller, Tell No Lies, was released this May in Spain by Circulo de Lectores, a division of Random House. Her second novel, Rescuing Olivia, will be released in the US in Feb 2010.

Send us your news

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Inked-In and The Burry Man are all about community. It sometimes means that we have to think about other people from within our secluded, hectic lives.

Keep writing, and Do The Work!

Best,

Joseph and Jennifer

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Keepin' On

All Burry-things considered