Our Stories Literary Journal

Cathy N. Davidson "Strangers on a Train" Academe Online (Magazine of the AAUP)

noreply@blogger.com (justin nicholes) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 07:08:00 +0000

Cathy N. Davidson's essay "Strangers on a Train" appears in Academe Online (magazine of the American Association of University Professors--AAUP) and recalls a five-hour ride on a train with the dean of her College of Arts and Sciences, who had been the dean of the department when Davidson was first hired.

Amid recollections, Davidson forwards a call to action: "humanities departments [. . .] could and would be central to higher education if we took our role in society and as educators more seriously."

This is a highly topical issue that will affect anyone going through or working in academics.

Check it out.

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正义

www.justinnicholes.com

Sandra Allen "Plow" Hayden's Ferry Review

noreply@blogger.com (justin nicholes) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 06:53:00 +0000

Appearing in Hayden's Ferry Review, Sandra Allen's essay "Plow" details with captivating clarity and insight a series of memories and thoughts that occur to the narrator, and patterns the narrator beholds, while listening to the radio, and while reflecting on one of her old teachers, Cecily, who calls to say she's ending her marriage.

Throughout the essay, as the writer reflects on a friend's long-planned suicide, wonderful explorations of narratives occur, as well as the people in the world who seem to live lives worthy of stories.

"I read once about how much, as a species, we rely on patterns. The world is full of too much and without patterns we wouldn't see, say, a leopard face in the fauna, or a bullet, or an oncoming train. People who see more patterns than others we might call spiritual, or schizophrenic, or writers."

The final lines of the essay, in which the writer turns inward and explores, are among some of the best I've read.

Read this essay.

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正义

www.justinnicholes.com

Sascha Feinstein "Children of Paradise"

noreply@blogger.com (justin nicholes) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 04:25:00 +0000

Appearing in Hunger Mountain, Sascha Feinstein's work of creative nonfiction "Children of Paradise" details a childhood viewing of the Marcel Carné-directed movie Children of Paradise. Boredom soon overcomes the writer, and the movie seems intolerable: "I don't know how old one needs to be to embrace metaphor and theme over linear plot, but I couldn't do that at eight, nor did I find ancient footage of amorous desire the least bit enticing."

With honed prose and masterful pacing, the essay made me laugh out loud, as well as nod my head in empathy, as Feinstein goes on to describe other movies viewed at the drive-in and exchanges during the movie with his parents.

A gut-splitting summary of a final movie experience punctuates this wonderful essay.

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www.justinnicholes.com

Ian Bassingthwaighte "The Cardboard Dress" TriQuarterly

noreply@blogger.com (justin nicholes) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 04:32:00 +0000

Ian Bassingthwaighte's story "The Cardboard Dress" appears in TriQuarterly and presents the first-person point of view of Charlie, who goes with his wife Adelle to dinner with another couple, Marcus and Dary.

Charlie hates Marcus, and though at first he tells us he might be imagining the way Marcus gawks lustfully at Charlie's wife, later Marcus brings up wanting to swap lovers, and Charlie wants murder.

Instead, however, the story progresses with dreamlike momentum until, as Charlie says, "slowly we ruin each other."

Piercing, fervent prose. Check it out at TriQuarterly.

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正义

Ash Dogs, a novel

www.justinnicholes.com

Michael Schulze "Cover Letter for The Cabin" ~ Xenith

noreply@blogger.com (justin nicholes) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 03:16:00 +0000

Michael Schulze's story "Cover Letter for The Cabin" appears in Xenith and presents the worst possible cover letter an author could ever append to his novel submission.

The cover letter tells a strange--in a good way--absurd tale in which the narrative tone of voice feels real and honest enough to allow readers to slip into the fictive dream. Quirky, funny paragraphs abound, such as one that concerns rewriting in which the author tells the editors that there are exactly one hundred words.

At times, it's possible to get lost in passages concerning the current action, only to be reminded that, in fact, this is a cover letter for an obviously awful novel.

I've never read anything like it; check it out.

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正义

Ash Dogs, a novel

www.justinnicholes.com

Jonathan Ames ~ forthcoming interview here at Our Stories!

noreply@blogger.com (justin nicholes) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 04:57:00 +0000

Hello, fellow members of the Our Stories writing community.

We're extremely happy and excited to announce our upcoming interview with Jonathan Ames, whom Publisher's Weekly has called "a winning storyteller and a consummate, albeit exceedingly eccentric, entertainer."

Ames's novels include I Pass Like Night (for which Philip Roth praised Ames's "authentic voice of youthful suffering"), The Extra Man (now a major motion picture), and Wake Up, Sir!.

In addition to a number of other publications, including essay collections and comic memoirs, Ames was the creator and writer of the HBO-aired comedy series Bored to Death.

We'll have more on Jonathan Ames to come; until then, we highly recommend checking out the work of this very talented artist.

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www.justinnicholes.com

U.S. Officially Ends Its Mission in Iraq ~ New York Times

noreply@blogger.com (justin nicholes) — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 12:32:00 +0000

U.S. Officially Ends Its Mission in Iraq

Finally.

Peter D. Kramer "Permutations" ~ The Summerset Review

noreply@blogger.com (justin nicholes) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 05:30:00 +0000

Peter D. Kramer's story "Permutations" appears in The Summerset Review and gives of the story of a mentally ill guy who's trying to get better. He visits Vassar to dwell on a life he might've had before dropping out, and to find a date.

Both the narrator (who introduces himself as Alex) and his girlfriend, Libby, have mental issues--chiefly depression, it seems, and OCD. Alex goes with Amanda, a woman he met at Vassar, for brunch, where he applies his shrink's advice for successful social interaction. Here, he articulates insight about his illness: "My trouble started there, in my insistence that the best fiction comes from stolen vignettes." Also obsession-laden descriptions of he and Amanda having sex masterfully convey character.

The story reads as vivid character analysis as well as meaningful social commentary.

Check it out.

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正义

Ash Dogs, a novel

www.justinnicholes.com

Q&A with J. Caleb Winters, a new Fiction Reader here at Our Stories

noreply@blogger.com (justin nicholes) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 01:05:00 +0000

J. Caleb Winters has work published or forthcoming in Camera Obscura, the Humanist, Gulf Stream, and Fiction Writers Review, and an interview with him can be found at Dark Sky Magazine. He earned his MFA in Fiction Writing from Boise State University and was Assistant Editor of the Idaho Review. He teaches Humanities at West Virginia University.

Besides teaching, J. Caleb Winters has worked as an apprentice electrician, a landscaper, a framing carpenter, and a house-painter, and he officiated three marriages during his time as a minister. He occasionally travels to Greece and frequently travels to Idaho. Along with Literary Fiction, he is deeply interested in Hellenistic Philosophy.

Here's a Q & A we had with J. Caleb Winters. Enjoy!

OS: Could you tell everyone a little about your writing process? When, if ever, is a draft "done"?

J. Caleb Winters: I tend to write in bursts--an hour here or there, and I find that if I'm diciplined enough to take advantage of my "free" time, I can get quite a bit of writing done. I revise the same story over and over until I feel like it's done. Then, I put that draft aside for a few months, so I can look at it again, with fresh eyes. Issues with the story, that I couldn't see before, tend to become apparent to me if I give myself that distance from my work. I repeat the process of revision and storing the draft away, and when I can return to a story, after months of not reading it, and the story doesn't reveal any flaws, then I start to get excited, because the story is getting close to "done."

OS: Could you share some thoughts about what you tend to look for in a work of fiction?

J. Caleb Winters: I love stories that take risks--that fight against expectations and knock readers out of their comfort zones. In a story, this can be accomplished in many ways. Beautiful language, stylized dialogue, or an imaginative plot structure are all examples of ways a story can push boundaries.

OS: What's next for you and your writing?

J. Caleb Winters: I'm begining to experiment with shorter peices. I've been really influenced by Airships by Barry Hannah, and I love many of the shorter peices in that collection and how "big" they feel. At the same time, I'm also expanding and pushing myself by working through the first draft of my novel. It's a story about an absentee dad who falls in love with a married woman, whose husband is dying of liver disease.

Thanks for the interview. We're happy to have another dedicated writer here at Our Stories.

noreply@blogger.com (mmdevoe) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 16:48:00 +0000

Everyone!!

I was just made aware of this award -- go ahead, nominate your favorite workshop teacher! Or anyone--you must have a writer in your heart who helped you over a hump or who you think deserves some recognition. It's super-easy to nominate, just send an email.

here's the whole scoop:

Beyond The Margins

1st Annual

ABOVE & BEYOND AWARD

"I saw her rarely over the years, but each time our paths crossed she

threw her arms around me as if I were exactly the person she was

hoping would round the corner. I'm sure there are hundreds of people

who felt that way because her attention to each of us was so special,

so individual, so generous!"

Elizabeth Winthrop on Grace Paley

By Kathy Crowley

Tayari Jones calls Judy Blume her fairy godmother.

Stephen King chucked his manuscript for Carrie in the trash; his

writer-wife Tabitha King plucked it out.

Harper Lee traveled to Kansas with Truman Capote, playing a crucial

role in his research for In Cold Blood.

When Raymond Carver was young, poor and unknown, John Gardner gave him

the keys to his office so that Carver could write (and sleep) there on

weekends....

We have all benefited immeasurably from the generosity of other

writers, people who have given their time, labor, money and care to

further the work of fellow writers.  As we approach the second

anniversary of Beyond the Margins' first post, we'd like to

acknowledge this important part of our writing lives.

So, we're inviting your nominations for Beyond The Margins' 1st Annual ABOVE AND BEYOND AWARD!

Sponsored by: BEYONDTHEMARGINS.com

THE RULES

Who can be nominated?

Any writer who has gone above and beyond the call of duty to help

fellow writers. Extra editing, mentoring, putting writers in touch

with each other, putting writers in touch with agents and editors,

running classes for young people and seniors, organizing readings: If

there¹s someone you know who has done one or more or all of these

things, we want to hear about it.  Workshop leaders or class

instructors are eligible, but no formal teaching position is required.

(BTM authors and family members are ineligible, though their family

members certainly deserve an award.)

Who can nominate?

You! And any other writer out there who feels inspired to do so. The

only people who cannot send in nominations are BTM members. (And their

mothers.)

How to nominate?

Send an email to: aboveandbeyond@beyondthemargins.com.  Please include

your name and contact information, the name and contact information of

the nominee (email address is fine), any formal affiliations or

publications of that person, plus a brief (250 words) description of

how you know this person and what makes him/her such an exceptional

contributor to other writers. (Please do not send books, articles or

other publications belonging to you or the nominee.)

When?

Any time between December 1st and December 31st, 2011. Winners will be

announced in mid-January 2012.

Prize?

Though kindness is its own reward, we'll garnish it with a glowing

Beyond The Margins write-up on the winner, plus a beautiful

paperweight-type Above & Beyond award of some yet-to-be-determined

size, weight and design.

So: who made the difference for you?

A Novel Idea

noreply@blogger.com (Kate G) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 13:13:00 +0000

This summer, inspired by a nonfiction essay I read, an idea for a novel-length story came to me. I'm really excited about the idea and it's been percolating for months, waiting for me to DO something about it and start getting it down on the page. But it's a big project that will involve a lot of research involving topics of which I currently know very little.

The whole thing scares the hell out of me because:

1. I've never written anything that required library time to do well/correctly.
2. I've never written a novel.

There's not much I can do about the first point but dive in and start reading the relevant books I've found and take notes.

To give me some confidence about the second point, I've been engaged in National Novel Writing Month.

Because you're all literary folks, you've probably heard of NaNoWriMo. If not, it's a month-long effort to whip out a 50,000 word manuscript. No going back, no editing, no fixing. Just write approx. 1666 words a day, full speed ahead. I am loving it. Not since I wrote my MFA thesis have I *made* the time to write every single day, and this time, there's no pressure to produce anything great. The editing and rehashing comes later. (And shouldn't it always?)

I'm having fun with my silly novel and learning that there's less to be afraid of with something of this length than I thought. My concerns about how to plot and structure a book and where all of the characters come from are working themselves out. Don't get me wrong: some days it's a truly awful process and I have to force myself to sit down at the keyboard. But on the days when I have more ideas than time to get them down, it's like flying.

When I'm done, I'll know that I have the stuff to attempt the novel I *really* want to write.

Are any of you attempting NaNoWriMo this year, or have you in past years? If so, what did you learn about your writing?

Q&A with Katey Schultz, a new Fiction Reader here at Our Stories!

noreply@blogger.com (justin nicholes) — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 03:11:00 +0000

Katey Schultz graduated from Pacific University with an MFA in Creative Writing. Her fiction has received numerous awards, including the Press 53 Award for Short Story and the Linda Flowers Literary Prize. She is author of the nonfiction chapbook Lost Crossings; editor of TRACHODON Magazine; Advisory Board Member for Memoir (and) Journal; and editor of two fiction anthologies, Dots on a Map and Coming Home (Main Street Rag). Currently, Katey is touring the United States from 2010-2012 as Writer-in-Residence and Fellow for organizations such at Interlochen Center for the Arts, Jentel Foundation, Fishtrap, and Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. Since the tour's kickoff, Katey has snowshoed across a frozen lake, inadvertently charged a bull moose while looking for the Northern Lights, taken Iditarod sled dogs on a training run, lived in a haunted Southern mansion, coached hundreds of teen writers in flash fiction, watched bald eagles soar above Wyoming's high desert, been caught in an Eastern Oregon cattle drive, and seen the first signs of spring in the deepest canyon on the North American continent. Katey journeys from place to place in her epic, undying 1989 Volvo station wagon affectionately called THE CLAW, more of which can be seen at www.kateyschultz.com

Here's a Q & A we had with Katey. Enjoy!

OS: So, what made you sure you wanted to become a writer? (Or, did writing choose you?)

Katey: My love for writing actually began before I knew that's what I was falling for. Junior year of high school, a wonderful English teacher introduced me to Thoreau and, by extension, to the worlds of philosophy and nature. Ever since that moment, I understood that I could use writing to explore and make sense of the world around me--just as Thoreau wrote his way to new insight in Walden. In college, I read Joan Didion's The White Album and Slouching Towards Bethlehem. Didion showed me how this same kind of exploratory writing could be applied to contemporary society, utilizing the landscape of people rather than the natural world, to yield insight. Of course, this "exploratory writing" has a name, and that is the tried and true essay--still my go-to form of writing whenever I have something I really need to figure out.

It wasn't until after graduate school that fiction really took hold of my heart. Out there in "the real world," I encountered so many unanswered questions. I couldn't travel all over the globe investigating answers for myself, and I couldn't literally be inside the mind of another person...not in real life, at least. But I could in fiction, and once I realized that, I also realized that fiction yields just as much insight as nonfiction. The same kind of explorations I'd been enamored with through writing essays, suddenly became possible through fiction. Using research to make my stories realistic (my current collection involves military and civilian characters in and around the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, two countries I've never visited and two subcultures of a war zone I've never personally experienced), I tend to write my way into a story with enough facts to make something believable, but I always let my imagination take over in the end.

In fiction, I can still get that "ah-hah" moment that any good essay affords, only it's a lot more fun! Now, I write actively in both genres depending on whatever I'm exploring at the time. I've been delighted to find that there are deep insights to be discovered no matter which genre I'm writing in. Realizing how many "tools" I had at my disposal as a writer in both genres, it was easy to imagine myself dedicating my life to this art. Who wouldn't want to spend time exploring and understanding their surroundings--literally and figuratively--through art? It's a tough career to make a living at, though, so I'm grateful that I find it so rewarding.

OS: Could you share some thoughts about what you tend to look for in a work of fiction?

Katey: It's hard to beat a story that has a unique voice or perspective. But of course, voice doesn't always mean five syllable words and perspective doesn't always mean point of view. What I'm talking about here is a narrator or character's particular way of seeing the world. Do they notice the fingerprints on the window, or the majestic view on the other side? Do they hear the clock's incessant second hand, or laughter coming from across the street? I look for stories with that kind of attention to detail, because details after all, lead to insight.

I also look for stories of smart surprise. Smart surprise works best when a writer can create a world or character so thoroughly, that readers go along for the ride without question. The surprise comes into play when that thoroughness is disrupted or confirmed in a crafted manner that enhances story. I think this is done most successfully by tying up loose ends, presenting a convincing shift in mood, or (my personal favorite) a particularly fitting metaphor.

OS: What's next for you and your writing?

Katey: Over the next year, I'd like to finish my collection of war stories, tentatively titled Flashes of War. After that, I envision a collection of personal essays based on my current travels across the United States. That said, I'm obsessed with flash fiction--writing it, teaching it, reading it--and wouldn't mind a side project of an anthology or textbook of some sort. Did I just say that? Yeesh. I'd better stay focused. Back to the desk...

To type or not to type

noreply@blogger.com (Kate G) — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 13:11:00 +0000

I am old enough that when I took typing in junior high school, I learned on a typewriter. (Generation X fistbump!)

And so when I saw this yesterday, I got a little excited:

A Remington USB Typewriter!

Of course, now that I've been writing on computers rather than manual typewriters for a good twenty-five years (Another high five for Generation X? Anyone?) the clip showing how slow typing on one of these babies really goes sinks my boat a bit.

Are you a pen-and-paper writer? Or do you do most of your work on a computer? I wonder if I would write more carefully if my brain-to-hand-computer-mind-meld thing wasn't at play. If I had to deliberately push every key on a typewriter again, would I choose my words deliberately?

I suppose only $800 or so stands in the way of finding out...

Joe Bonomo "Live Nude Essay!" ~ Gulf Coast

noreply@blogger.com (justin nicholes) — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 07:17:00 +0000

Joe Bonomo's work of nonfiction "Live Nude Essay!" appears in Gulf Coast and contemplates aspects of nudity, and the author's discovery of sex and nakedness, as as way to urge us to value the wonders of the "clothed essay."

"I'm thinking of the clothed essay versus the nude essay. The clothed essay prizes craft and subtlety, evocation and song."

This essay captivates with its form: section breaks juxtapose the clothed beside the nude, with one section hinting at how "nude" an essay the writer could very well write if he were to so choose, and the reader winces, agreeing.

A thought-provoking, socially relevant read.

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正义

Ash Dogs, a novel

www.justinnicholes.com

After 9 years, thousands of soldiers and civilians killed and injured, and a trillion dollars ...

noreply@blogger.com (justin nicholes) — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 01:00:00 +0000

U.S. Troops to Leave Iraq by Year's End, Obama Says

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/22/world/middleeast/president-obama-announces-end-of-war-in-iraq.html?_r=1&hp

Finally.

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正义

Ash Dogs, a novel

www.justinnicholes.com

Q&A with Jenny Halper, 2011 Emerging Writer Award Winner

noreply@blogger.com (justin nicholes) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 00:10:00 +0000

Jenny Halper's fiction has appeared in journals including Smokelong Quarterly, PANK, Frigg, Wigleaf Top 50 Very Short Stories 2009, and is forthcoming in an anthology from Persea books. Jenny has written for the Boston Phoenix and Nylon Magazine, among others, and recently co-wrote a script with Susan Seidelman and adapted a novel for Pretty Pictures. She currently serves as Development Executive at Maven Pictures, and was previously Development Executive on films The Kids Are All Right and The Whistleblower. She lives in Brooklyn with her turtle, Herbert, plus lots of stray books picked up on Park Slope stoops, a ten-year-old VCR, and lots of Jolly Time Healthy Pop Kettle Corn.

Here's a short interview we conducted with Jenny recently about "Cyclone," her award-winning story, as well as her writing in general.

Congratulations to Jenny, and to all our blog readers, enjoy! ...

Q: Can you give everyone a few words about "Cyclone," your contest-winning submission? How did this story come about?

Well, the characters are from a terrible novella I was trying to write

a while ago. I tend to start a lot more than I can finish and when I

get stuck with one thing am unstuck about another. I wrote a draft of

this, I think, when I was trying to finish a story I was halfway

through and couldn't, so I went back to these characters and started

with the hot dog eating contest. Also, one of my best friends growing

up lived next to the train tracks and I was always kind of jealous and

wanted to imagine what it felt like to live there.

Q: What made you decide to become a writer?

I'm not sure -- probably the authors I loved in 7th, 8th, 9th grade -

Alice Hoffman, Anne Tyler, Pat Conroy, also Rosellen Brown, who I was

lucky enough to have as a professor and is amazing and I think one of

the things that keeps me working is getting to learn from authors I

really admire -- and of course the (very infrequent) feeling of

finally getting something intangible right. The first thing I remember

writing is an adaptation of Peter Pan when I was seven, but that was

only because I wanted something short enough that my friends could

perform at my birthday party, and that was only because I wanted to

play Wendy and wasn't a good enough actress to get cast in an actual

production. But that's not really a moment of decision - I don't

remember making a conscious decision. Sometimes I find it incredibly

difficult and sometimes I love it. Lately I've been thinking of

writing as putting together a puzzle and you have to create the

pieces, then make them fit. I have a very long way to go.

Q: What's next for you and your work?

I'm a little more than halfway through a collection of short stories

-- mostly I have a lot of revising to do on those. And I'm two thirds

of the way through what I'll call a longer work that will hopefully be

the first draft of a novel by 2012. I'm about to go back into a script

I sat on for a while, that I thought was done but I realized isn't.

That and there are a lot, a lot of books that are piled up around my

bed that I want to read.

Andrew D. Cohen "Boys School" ~ Colorado Review

noreply@blogger.com (justin nicholes) — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 07:37:00 +0000

A work of nonfiction, Andrew D. Cohen's "Boys School" is published in Colorado Review and explores the writer's being moved by his parents into a private school in New York, "one of the oldest, most competitive schools in the country, dating back some three hundred years to a time when its founders had to petition the London-based Society for the Propagation of the Gospel for funding."

At the school, the writer is made aware of his "Jewishness," and a number of thoughtful examples bring the place alive as well as help communicate dimensions of life and of the writer himself.

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正义

Ash Dogs, a novel

www.justinnicholes.com

Caroline Arden "Yolo County" ~ Colorado Review

noreply@blogger.com (justin nicholes) — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 07:17:00 +0000

"She thought of calling the guests to explain but couldn't bear doing it, and so she turned off the lights, drew the shades, and lay on the couch while guests rang the doorbell, understanding that she was outside society now and might as well grow hard."

Caroline Arden's story "Yolo County" appears in Colorado Review and begins with a horrific event. The tone of voice contributes to the tension and conveyance of Miriam's character--a girl who shows up early to a baby shower and accidentally allows a child to choke.

Afterward, Miriam goes with her boyfriend Orin to Yolo County to watch an artist couple's farmhouse.

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正义

Ash Dogs, a novel

www.justinnicholes.com

Nico Alvarado "A Hunger Artist" ~ Witness

noreply@blogger.com (justin nicholes) — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 01:14:00 +0000

"Then he came over and opened the jar of bees in my face."

A work of nonfiction, "A Hunger Artist" by Nico Alvarado appears in Witness and starts off with evocative descriptions of a boy. The narrative continues by explaining more about the boy, Rico, and anecdotes further (vividly and thoughtfully) clarify his character. The narrative concludes with a tense confrontation with Rico, who has to bathe, and final images of the bees he has stunned.

This is a very worthwhile, thought-provoking read about the trials of social workers and one afflicted young man.

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正义

Ash Dogs, a novel

www.justinnicholes.com

LIVE LECTURE! Right now! Noam Chomsky "Responsibility of Intellectuals for the 21st Century" (4:30-6 p.m. Thursday)

noreply@blogger.com (justin nicholes) — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 21:04:00 +0000

http://bostonreview.net/live

Thank you Boston Review for announcing this!

Noam Chomsky "The Responsibility of Intellectuals, Redux" ~ The Boston Review

noreply@blogger.com (justin nicholes) — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 03:28:00 +0000

"If the responsibility of intellectuals refers to their moral responsibility as decent human beings in a position to use their privilege and status to advance the cause of freedom, justice, mercy, and peace—and to speak out not simply about the abuses of our enemies, but, far more significantly, about the crimes in which we are implicated and can ameliorate or terminate if we choose—how should we think of 9/11?"

Noam Chomsky, revisiting some themes from his earlier works, explores collective memory and perceived enemies in this intriguing, in-depth essay.

Check it out at Boston Review.

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正义

Ash Dogs, a novel

www.justinnicholes.com

Seth Abramson "Six Myths about the MFA Program in Creative Writing" ~ Huffington Post

noreply@blogger.com (justin nicholes) — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 03:42:00 +0000

Seth Abramson's article "Six myths about the MFA program in creative writing" is a very valuable, brief article anyone thinking about an MFA should take a look at.

It's also a fine article to help debunk some misconceptions. The attitude out there, sometimes from writers without MFAs, is that people with one are somehow "elite."

Fact is, you don't need an MFA to write and write well, but for people with the time and desire, it's the ideal program to attend.

Anyway, take a look.

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正义

Ash Dogs, a novel

www.justinnicholes.com

Back from a Fiction Desert

noreply@blogger.com (Ross Carper) — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 07:31:00 +0000

Over the past year, I have heard more than one NPR report on “food deserts”: low-income neighborhoods where decently nutritious food choices are not available within a reasonable distance and/or for manageable prices. So out of convenience, residents eat processed garbage from, well, convenience stores.

What about fiction deserts—has anyone else experienced this?

Two years ago, after finishing a fiction MFA in the midst of a great community of writers, I exiled myself southward from Spokane for the sake of gainful, meaningful, student-loan-repaying employment. I landed in a place that turned out to be a fiction desert.

It was also an actual desert. Or at least a steppe climate. In place of crisp pine needles descending in their soft twirl, I found menacing tumbleweeds—possibly radioactive—darting in front of my car and congregating downwind against a chain-link prison fence, where they bobbed like lottery balls in the recurring gusts.

More forlorn tumbleweeds would crawl through a dinner party in the silence that ensued after a miscalculated Louise Erdrich reference. To be fair, nobody likes a namedropper. But to be fair to literary fiction namedroppers, there should be an appropriate time and place. I didn’t find either.

The place I lived has a lot going for it. I met great and interesting friends, and the Columbia Valley is second only to Napa when it comes to wine. But culturally, the Tri Cities, Washington has that built-in problem: there are three of them. Three not-much-happening downtowns to go along with the suburban sprawl, rather than one vibrant urban center for live music, arts, and literary events. As I write this, I can hear the diehard voices saying, “If you don’t like it, leave.”

Two weeks before we did leave, my wife elbowed me at our neighbor’s end-of-summer barbecue. She pointed with her chin at two women in lawn chairs and whispered, “You should talk to them. I just heard one of them say ‘Iowa Writer’s Workshop’.” Autumn knows and loves me to the extent that she instinctively listens for fiction oases.

Later, in the kitchen, I had a chance to begin a conversation with one of them. A tall, elegant woman a decade or so older than me, she hesitated for a moment when I mentioned I'd overheard her talking about creative writing.

"Are you a writer?" I asked.

"No, I'm just a reader," she said. This almost intrigued me more. I wish I could approach stories more purely, without a thief's agenda.

Several minutes later, after we had traded meta-stories of our respective relationships with short fiction (and practically recited the end of Tobias Wolff's "Bullet in the Brain" together) I returned to my lawn chair feeling refreshed. And while I'm glad we moved away, the chance occurrence confirmed a suspicion I'd been having—that I'd probably missed out on literary community simply because it wasn't convenient to me, and my perceived fiction desert was at least partially a product of my own laziness/busyness.

In addition to the tumbleweeds, the big Columbia crawls silently through those cities, and it is good if you take some time and go down to the water.

Jo Scott-Coe "Domestic Order Suite" ~ turnrow

noreply@blogger.com (justin nicholes) — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 03:31:00 +0000

"Domestic Order Suite" appears in turnrow and is a work of art.

Part 1 of the story features the story's wonderfully appropriate second person point of view, in which the narrator accosts herself for failing to "come forward" after witnessing a girl being assaulted in a school parking lot.

The story goes on in Part 2 to detail, with moving metaphors, the life of a teacher in a run down school. The tone is again spot on.

Part 3 employs a brilliant method to convey the narrator's ennui and anxious melancholy while also stimulating a number of questions about standardized teaching.

My kind of story; definitely worth the read, and the re-read.

Check this fabulous work out at turnrow.

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正义

Ash Dogs, a novel

www.justinnicholes.com

Whaddyacallit

noreply@blogger.com (Cheri) — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 15:32:00 +0000

Until a teacher told me I ought to hire someone to title my stories, I didn’t think I was particularly good or bad at it, but after that comment, my titles got significantly worse. Perhaps even more than the story itself, a great title requires an extraordinary amount of confidence and even bravado, especially if you’re going to go the straightforward route (Death in Venice) rather than the ironic (A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius). If anyone were to ridicule the latter, Dave Eggers could simply laugh it off, but a critic could drive a sword straight through the soft spot that is the fact that Thomas Mann’s title would also work beautifully for a paperback crime novel. If some cynical or silly or simply cruel little snit chose to ridicule the title of Eggers’ magnificent and soulful What is the What, with a snide reference to Dr. Seuss or even to that high school cheer I like so much, Eggers would not be able to simply snigger back at his not-so-hip detractor, but would have to somberly explain himself.

What am I going to call the late revision of a novel I just finished? The title is so important, and yet I can’t think of anything. I have a working title, but it’s nothing I’m willing to say out loud, much less post on the Internet. My best titles I’ve simply lifted from songs by Robert Johnson and Billie Holiday, and the title I like best of all, which it took me six years to come up with, the name of a frost-blooming camellia, now titles a novel manuscript I’m beginning to admit I’m no longer interested in.

I tried for a while to figure out a way to justify using this title for the newest novel manuscript, but of course I couldn’t make it work. Because the best titles are so intrinsically tied to the book they represent, in myriad complex as well as surface ways, that a fake title, stuck on just because it sounds good, will only detract from the book and won’t satisfy even the most forgiving reader. But you can’t call something “Untitled,” either. That move only shows that you have no idea what you’ve got.

How I wish I had some advice to give on the subject! Any wisdom would be much appreciated!