Abnormal State of Writing

Submitted by jkashiwabara on

"There are two kinds of writing: One is very passionate and impulsive, and it can be extremely emotional. Then the other writing is more cool and maybe classical and more carefully shaped.” Joyce Carol Oates, whose memoir The Lost Landscape was published this month by Ecco, describes the different states of mind that have inspired her work.

Rigoberto González

Submitted by bchau on

"My father wanted me to become a boxer, my mother wanted me to become an engineer, and I think I found a way to mix those two visions together—in poetry." Rigoberto González, recipient of the 2014 Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize from the Academy of American Poets, is featured in "The Way of the Workshop" in the current issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.

How to Laugh

Submitted by bchau on

Joe Meno reads seventh grader Tasia A.'s story "How to Laugh" as part of nonprofit 826CHI's Video Project. Meno's latest novel, Marvel and a Wonder, is out this month from Akashic Books.

Television Commercial

The Time Is Now
9.24.15

This week, think of a television commercial you saw recently, or one that you recall vividly from your childhood. Write an essay exploring why this particular advertisement is still stuck in your head. Did you covet the product being sold? Was there an actress or tagline that evoked a certain feeling or emotion? Does the commercial bring you back to a familiar time or place?

Deadline Approaches for Inaugural Cave Canem Chapbook Prize

G&A: The Contest Blog
9.23.15

Submissions are currently open for the Cave Canem Foundation’s inaugural Toi Derricotte and Cornelius Eady Chapbook Prize, valued at over $2,500. The annual award will be given for a poetry chapbook by a black writer; the winner will receive $500, publication by Jai-Alai Books, a weeklong residency at the Betsy Hotel in Miami, and a featured reading at the 2016 O, Miami Poetry Festival. Ross Gay will judge.
Using the online submission system, submit a poetry manuscript of 25 to 30 pages with a $12 entry fee by Wednesday, September 30. The winner must agree to complete a residency and lead a craft talk at the Writer’s Room at the Betsy Hotel in Miami from April 10 to April 15, 2016, and to participate in the O, Miami Poetry Festival on April 14, 2016. Black poets writing in English are eligible to apply regardless of previous publication history and career status. The winner will be notified via e-mail by December 31.

Remica L. Bingham and P. Scott Cunningham will serve as preliminary judges for the prize; Ross Gay will serve as the final judge. Gay is the author of three poetry collections, most recently Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2015), which was recently longlisted for the 2015 National Book Award in Poetry.

Established in 1996 by Toi Derricotte and Cornelius Eady, the Brooklyn, New York–based Cave Canem Foundation is “committed to cultivating the artistic and professional growth of African American poets.” The foundation hosts writing retreats, craft workshops, panels, readings, and two book prizes. The foundation launched the chapbook prize in preparation for its twentieth anniversary in 2016.

Photo: Cornelius Eady, Toi Derricotte

The Wake

Submitted by wbrewer on

Before Paul Kingsnorth's debut novel became a bestseller in the U.K., he posted this book trailer on Unbound, a crowdfunding website for publishing, to ask for pledges. The Wake was longlisted for the 2014 Man Booker Prize, the first crowdfunded book to make the list, and was published by Graywolf this month.

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