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The Yucky Factor

Stephen King is the editor for the newest edition of Best American Short Stories. If you are not an MFA graduate, you probably don't even know that this series exists, let alone that an inclusion in the yearly collection is resume gold for a young writer trying to find an academic job.

In this NYT essay, King talks about his experience looking for the years best stories. I had to chuckle since one of my favorite games is looking for connections between the editor and the contributors. (I have found the geography is a huge factor.) Anyway, King talks about literally searching on his knees for little literary magazines. (I love the image.)

King also makes this excellent point:

What’s not so good is that writers write for whatever audience is left. In too many cases, that audience happens to consist of other writers and would-be writers who are reading the various literary magazines (and The New Yorker, of course, the holy grail of the young fiction writer) not to be entertained but to get an idea of what sells there. And this kind of reading isn’t real reading, the kind where you just can’t wait to find out what happens next (think “Youth,” by Joseph Conrad, or “Big Blonde,” by Dorothy Parker). It’s more like copping-a-feel reading. There’s something yucky about it.

Yeah, yucky, indeed.

Posted at 02:11 PM | Comments (1)
Category: Writing

By The Book

Carleen, the Empress of Pajamaland, tagged me on a book meme. So here is my attempt at being a good citizen of the internet.

Total Number of Books I Own: Don't know. I have six shelves here at the apartment. One big shelf at work. I don't know if we can count all the remaindered copies of my own novels that are stacked up in my mama's basement.

Five Meaningful Books:

Three: The third book, is Maud Martha by Gwendolyn Brooks. I hardly ever re-read this novel, but from it, I learned that a book can be quiet. More specifically, I learned that a book by a black author can be quiet. Brooks said that she wrote Maud Martha in response to Native Son. She was worried that for a book to be considered "black" it had to be about racism in an overt way, that the characters needed to struggle with some huge and dramatic crisis. She believed that writing about Maud Martha's life was a revolutionary act, that committing ordinary people's lives to the page was a kind of resistance. (On a related note: Asali Solomon, has just won my heart with this appreciation of Maud Martha.)

Knock Knock! Who's There?

Two exciting publishing opportunites!

Bring on The Rainbows and Unicorns

Mary Collins is complaining about the required reading for her 14-year old daughter. Apparently, the topics on the reading list are too heavy and the little moppet is losing sleep over it.

I know that my own literary taste tends to lean toward the devastating. When I was a kid, I read Mildred Taylor's classic Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry, which, to this day, remains one of my favorite titles. It's a hard book set in the 1950s. The family has to decide which is more important to them, preserving their plot of land or halting the lynching of a young boy. Should this be included on a 8th grade reading list, even though Mary Collins would probably pronounce it too "depressing?"

Forget the silly writing-teacher argument that good writers don't have to write about extreme events to write a good book. This is good advice to give to undergraduate writing students who can't resist ending all stories with a suicide, but when we are talking about accomplished writers, they can handle the more dramatic subject matter.

Collins is most disturbing when she gets into ideological territory:

The string of searing plot patterns has resulted in some very peculiar unintended consequences. Most of the students I spoke with from my daughter's middle school claimed that the readings made them feel inadequate because they never "experienced these horrible things."

"It becomes awkward," one student said, "because you're constantly made to feel spoiled or privileged."

I am having a hard time feeling sorry for people who feel "awkward" because their lives have been too easy. Yes, I can imagine that it must be worrisome to be made aware of your privilege as opposed to just exercising it without even thinking about it.

This, also, makes me wonder if Collins would advocate for different reading lists for kids who haven't had it as easy. Maybe only children in inner-cities should be assigned the rough stuff? Maybe only black kids should read Beloved since it won't make them feel guilty?

The more I think about this argument, the worse it gets.

(Thx, Ed, for the link. And check out how Acephalous breaks it down.)

Posted at 07:49 AM | Comments (4)
Category: Current Events

Memories of Bread Loaf

I was on flickr and found a message from Charles Rice-Gonzalez. I followed the link and discovered his photos from Bread Loaf. They make mine seem so lame and genteel. On the up side, there is nothing like looking at photos of writers in motion to cheer up a Wednesday afternoon.

Posted at 09:44 AM | Comments (0)
Category: The Writing Life

Mid-Week Links!

Girls Write Now

Girls Write Now is celebrating ten years of connecting high school girls with writing mentors. Won't you please come out to our fundraising birthday celebration on October 18? It's in NY. I'm reading and so is Janice Earlbaum. Not totally convinced? What if I told you that it we be held at the fabulous The Slipper Room on the Lower East Side? What if I told you that it is a yet another sparkly luxlotus project?

Well, if that doesn't impress you, what about this?

Girls Write Now provides at-risk high school girls with emerging writing talent the unique opportunity to be custom matched with a professional woman writer who serves as her individual mentor and writing coach, meeting with her weekly for one entire school year, and for up to four years.The year is punctuated by three public readings, college and career prep seminars, a social action series, field trips to cultural events, and endless opportunities for scholarships and publication. The magic of the program is reflected in a solid nine-year track record, a 65-percent member retention rate, a 100-percent college acceptance rate, an annual anthology of original writing, and the seven-genre portfolios each student emerges equipped with each season.

So shall I see you there?

Posted at 06:18 AM | Comments (0)
Category: The Writing Life

Linky Linky Linky

Won't Ask, Can't Tell, Won't Say, Why Ask

As any writer with a new book will tell you-- it's a rare experience to be interviewed by someone who has actually read your book. I have been asked several times to prepare five or six questions for an interviewer to ask me. I've shown up at the studio with the questions printed up. The first couple of times, I was surprised by this, but my publicist convinced me that this was a good thing. After all, if I was the one writing the questions, I would know the best way to answer them to put the book in a good light. I never quite got comfortable with this.

There are a couple of stories in the blogosphere today that have put this subject on my mind again. The first concerns the Tyra Banks Show. Apparently, after reading the essay Violet Blue published in O Magazine, Miz Banks invited her to be on the show. Imagine Violet's Blue's surprize when she found out the producers of the show had written out her answers in advance! (The whole sordid tale, here.)

I know the above is just the Tyra show and we aren't expecting any deepness there, but still.

Continue reading this entry

Posted at 08:30 AM | Comments (1)
Category: The Writing Life

Memorabilia I'd Go To Jail For

Last weekend, I was in Gulfport with Natasha T. We were there for research, but we found some time for R&R at the Hard Rock Casino. If you've ever been there, you know that place is packed with music memorabilia. I spent a full five minutes staring in awe at the quilt made entirely of panties women threw at Frank Zappa! While Natasha and I were sitting at the bar, we saw on CNN that O.J. had been arrested for trying to steal back some of his belongings in Vegas. This got us to thinking, is there much of a market for author memorabilia?

Of course we are willing to concede that our own particular belongings may be worthless, but there are other goodies that I wouldn't mind nabbing. For example:

Stephen Lance On How to Be An Artist

You absolutely need a delusional amount of courage, commitment and energy to pursue a creative path. My experience is that fall back positions are useless; you are either an artist or you're not. if you have the heart of an artist then take the risk and do it. and if you're rewarded with money then great, if not it doesn't matter. the process of being an artist is purely personal and subjective so don't weigh it down with objectivity. i once tried to deny the creative path and it really doesn't work. on the other hand, if you look deeply into your heart and see no artist, then avoid it all costs...as it's generally a kick in the pants most of the time.

Read the whole interview over at Lux.

Posted at 05:48 AM | Comments (1)
Category: Writing

Women's Prison Book Project

I just received a request for donation for the Women's Prison Book Project. Here's what they are looking for:

Here is a list of book requests we've received frequently in recent weeks. We usually have a few of these books in stock, but we're going to need more in order to fulfill the requests we're getting. If you have any books in these categories, mail it to us or bring it to our drop box at Arise Bookstore. Our address is 2441 Lyndale Ave S, Mpls, MN 55405.

cookbooks

dream interpretation

contemporary African American fiction (especially Triple Crown publishers)

books by James Patterson

Christian topics

I know we have done quite a lot of talking on this blog about so-called "street literature" and Triple Crown books fall firmly in this category. I think that if you have any Triple Crown Books that you are not using and are in good shape, you should send them on. At the same time, I really urge you to send titles that you think would nurture the spirits of incarcerated women. I plan to send copies of my own books, but also books by Eisa Ulen, Sigrid Nunez, Monique Truong, Ravi Howard, and others.

Posted at 08:44 AM | Comments (1)
Category: Current Events

Monday is Funday

(The above heading is my desperate attempt to employ the power of positive thinking.)

She's The Publicist, I'm the DJ!

Mme. Lauren is gone to the Omaha Literary Festival and I volunteered to cover her blog with some of my favorite songs. The hook: all the songs I chose were duets. Go over and lend an ear. I've got something for everybody-- Erykah Badu and The Roots to Luther Vandross and Cheryl Lynn. For the really old school there's Marvin and Tammy. For those who love the classics, there's Ella & Louis.

Remember "Very Special" by Ronnie and Deborah Laws? I got it.

So go!

Posted at 03:10 PM | Comments (0)
Category: Travels & Rambles

Growing Up Is So Hard To Do!

The Brand New Heavies are playing NYC tonight and I won't be there! It's a school night and I am a responsible adult. Well, the truth is, I am not that responsible, but my friends are, so I don't have anyone to go with me!

BNH will be in concert with Macy Gray and word on the street is that The Heavies blew Macy Gray out of the water when they performed in Louisville.

Anyhoo, here is the flickr set from my adventures in groupie-dom.

Posted at 06:52 AM | Comments (0)
Category: Current Events

Daly's Is Having A Sale!

It's no secret that I love myself a nice writing pen. I often go to pen stores and drool over the $500+ instruments, but when it comes to my personal collection, I like to keep it in the fifty dollar range. When I write, I like to have something pretty in my hand, something a little heavy, but not something that I am afraid of breaking or losing. Fountain pens are my favorite-- I have about four or five each filled with a different color ink. Each day, I choose different one for my work so I can remember what I wrote when.

Anyway, Daly's is my favorite on-line pen shop. (The brick-and-mortar location is in Milwaukee.) The prices are already pretty reasonable, but right now they having a great sale . Also, the customer service is great. When you call, you talk to a real person who will not treat you like you are crazy just because you are in tears over purchasing the wrong cartridge.

I am jonesing for a new pen, but truly, I can't say I deserve one. I have not written 100 words since returning from MacDowell. Sigh. I am not blocked or anything, I have just been ripping and running with the new job, still trying to get my apartment unpacked, recovering from a really aggressive haircut, etc..

But if I were to get a new pen, I would get a Sensa!

Posted at 06:18 AM | Comments (5)
Category: Writing

Opportunities For Writers

There are some deadlines coming up, so here's a post.

R.I.P. Madeleine L'Engle

At age 88, children's author Madeleine L'Engle has passed away. I had to read A Wrinkle in Time about five times before I really "got" it. In light of our conversation earlier in the week about Judy Blume and whether kids need to see thier own stories (apparently verbatim) in books, we really must give Madeleine L'Engle her props. Ms. L'Engle's books were not comfort food-- mashed potatoes for the mind. This was challenging reading, putting forth bold ideas.

I remember my fourth grade teacher, Miss Thomasina Gaither, reading aloud from A Wrinkle In Time. We had gotten to the part where the main characters discover that the little boy who wouldn't bounce the ball has been put in a cell. I didn't know the word non-conformity then, but I knew exactly what the scene was about. And unlike my experience with other kids' books, I didn't walk away with a lesson about being tolerant of difference-- I walked away angry and with the impulse to fight back!

(Oh, my outrage when Miss Gaither shut the book and said we would have to wait until Monday for the next chapter!)

If Judy Blume books are beloved because they are about "real" kids struggling with their need to fit it, then Madeleine L'Engle's books are about fantasy kids who represent how smart and brave if we could just find the strength to resist all that crap and be our authentic selves.

R.I.P. Madeleine L'Engle. This writer- this woman-- thanks you for your searing and beautiful work.

Posted at 07:24 AM | Comments (3)
Category: Current Events

Morning Reading

Happy Friday, y'all! This was my first week at my new job and I am happy to report that I am really digging Rutgers-Newark. Here are a few things to keep your eyes busy this morning while I go have my mid-morning nap!

Washingtonians, Listen Up!

Angela Threatt, a member of our blog community, has been included in New Stories From The South, edited this year by Edward P. Jones. Politics & Prose bookstore is hosting a reading to celebrate the publication. If you are in the area on Monday, September 10th at 7pm, stop in and support her!

more deatils here.

Posted at 12:15 PM | Comments (3)
Category: Bookshelf

Judy Blume's Updates

While on the subway yesterday, I was listening to "Wait, Wait! Don't Tell Me" on my iPod. (This is a peek into the life of the Urban Nerd.) Anyway, Judy Blume was a guest and she mentioned that she had "updated" some of her more popular novels for young people. For example, the mimeograph machines in Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing have been replaced with Xerox machines. Another change is that the archaic feminine hygiene products in Are You There God, It's Me Margaret have been made up to date. I am not sure how I feel about this.

When I read Are You There God.. in the fifth grade, the feminine hygiene products were obsolete even then. I had no idea what a belt had to do with getting your period, but it didn't interrupt my enjoyment of the story. I was surprised when I heard the author say that this detail was causing new readers not to be able to "relate".

I worry about this assumption that readers have to be able to "relate" to a story to understand or enjoy it. (I even hate that word, "relate".) I think this is just a way that people can read without having to grow. The mimeograph machines in Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing are an authentic detail of the 1970s, when the story is set.

Ms. Blume said that she didn't want kids to have to ask their parents about the details in the books. She wants them to think that she wrote the books "just for them".

This struck me because I never felt like Judy Blume had written her books "just for" me. As a little black girl, I loved loved loved Judy Blume, but I knew that I wasn't the audience for them. Quite frequently, I didn't quite "get" the issues in the stories. The names of the characters were unfamiliar to me and I sometimes didn't know how to pronounce them. (One that sticks with me is Joel. I couldn't decide is it rhymed with Noel or not.) The religious conflict in Are You There God baffled me. Margaret had to decide whether to join the YWCA or the Jewish Community Center? I had never even heard of the JCC! And who knew The Y was religious? In my community, it was just the place where you took ballet lessons. There was so ideological or spiritual dimension at all! Did this pull me out of the book? Did it make me less of a fan? No, indeed. I thought it was just fascinating. Furthermore I felt like I was Margaret-- flat chested, nonreligious, and hoping to make friends-- even though I knew I wasn't. That's what art does.

So question is whether this modernizing is dumbing down Judy Blume and if it sets a dangerous precedent.

Thoughts?

Ana Clark weighs in.

Posted at 08:27 AM | Comments (4)
Category: Writing

I Need A Favor

I am so sorry for the silence here on the blog. My new job at Rutgers-Newark just started this week. So far, so wonderful. The students are terrfic, my colleagues are top notch, but I am ripping and running trying to get my ID made, computer set up, etc. I'll be back here at my usual pace in a couple of days. I promise!

Meanwhile, please, won't you help me out? Like I said, my schedule is slammed and my dear friend, Kamiliah Aisha Moon is having a birthday today. Won't you help me wish her well in comments? (Photo by the crazy talented Rachel Eliza Griffith, and taken at the BNH concert) She is an extra-terrific wonderful sister, the kind of friend that makes you feel like you're in the fifth grade again, sharing secrets in your pajamas.

Posted at 06:41 AM | Comments (2)
Category: Travels & Rambles

Labor Day Links

Here are a few links to keep you busy on your day off!