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Write a scene from a story set at the Thanksgiving day table. During dinner have one of your character's reveal a secret or news that doesn't go over well among his or her family or dinner hosts. Consider why he or she decides to reveal the news on this day among this company. What happens next?
Novelist Steve Almond writes of the actions of law enforcement officers at UC Davis and elsewhere; a doll-sized manuscript handwritten by Charlotte Brontë has been discovered; the best literature of family dysfunction; and other news.
In the latest installment of his Failed Writer series, Yuvi Zalkow talks about his love affair with failure and how it serves him as a writer. "If you haven't already, give it a try," he says. "Be a hell of a failure. See what you learn from it."
Beginning next fall the childhood home of author and humorist James Thurber will open its doors annually to one writer for a monthlong retreat.
The John E. Nance Writer-in-Residence of Thurber House, located in Columbus, Ohio, will receive a stipend of four thousand dollars and a private, two-room apartment in which to develop a work-in-progress.
The inaugural residency will be offered to a nonfiction writer, in honor of the prize's namesake, the late author John E. Nance, whose work in the genre includes books on the Tasaday people of the Philippines, where he was an Associated Press bureau chief, and the biography of a master potter. In subsequent years, the award will be given in other genres.
Eligible writers for the 2012 award must have published one book of nonfiction (including creative nonfiction) within the past three years or have a book under contract. The most recent book or manuscript, as well as a brief application, must be submitted to Thurber House by March 15. Complete guidelines are available on the Thurber House website.
The New York Times has listed its 100 Notable Books of 2011; Consumer Reports compares a few of the latest e-readers; the Literary Review's annual Bad Sex in Literature Award has been announced; and other news.
In this short film by Alessandro Novelli, each letter of the alphabet is illustrated based on the first letter of a font name.
P&W-supported poet/activist Kelly Harris, community outreach chair for the New Orleans chapter of the Women's National Book Association, blogs about her love for New Orleans.
Before moving to New Orleans for love in 2008, I was a writer who required complete silence to write. Often I'd find a corner of a library, pull my hoody over my head, and dig in. Sometimes I'd plug my ears with headphones without any music. I know, I know, weird, but I needed to tell myself (and show everyone around me) I was occupied.
New Orleans is not a quiet place. It occupies you. Since moving from the Midwest (Cleveland, Ohio) to the South, I've had to adjust how I write. Some family members have wondered how I could be a candidate for marriage because I seemed eerily comfortable as a loner. My husband is always amazed at how often I leave my phone at home on purpose. There's a reason... I'm easily distracted. With so many stimuli, I wonder how poets find useful silence.
By now you're asking, "Kelly, where is there a quiet place in New Orleans?" I don't know, but, strangely, I have found the daily commotion in New Orleans to be useful.
New Orleans Streetcars: Maybe it's the nostalgic wooden seats and clicks of the metal wheels against the metal tracks that inspire me as a writer. Riding a streetcar allows me the opportunity to sightsee, and overhear some of the most interesting conversations.
Rue De La Course on Oak Street: The café is an old, two-story bank with high ceilings. The way voices bounce off the walls create the feel of an old movie where two lovers reunite.
The Moonwalk: This paved sidewalk beside the Mississippi River has nothing to do with Michael Jackson. It's called the Moonwalk in honor of former mayor Maurice "Moon" Landrieu. From here you see the Crescent City Connection Bridge connect the east and west banks of the city. Café Du Monde is steps away.
The combination of music, history, and culture makes this a place where a poem waits to happen.
Photo: (top) Kelly Harris; (bottom) Marching band. Credit: L. Kasimu Harris.
Support for Readings/Workshops events in New Orleans, is provided by an endowment established with generous contributions from the Poets & Writers Board of Directors and others. Additional support comes from the Friends of Poets & Writers.
Former United States Poet Laureate Robert Hass writes of his experience confronting police at Occupy protests on Berkeley's campus; Granta has animated an imaginary zombie movie mentioned in a Roberto Bolaño story; the harshest author rejection letters of all time; and other news.
Christie Ann Reynolds reads "Revenge for the Shark Death I Deserve," the first poem from Revenge Poems, published by Supermachine in 2010. Sadly, Supermachine editors recently announced that they will be ending the small press and literary magazine at the end of the year.
Use Google translator (translate.google.com) to experiment with the text of an existing poem (yours or someone else's). Translate the text from English into another language, such as Finnish, Urdu, or Korean, and then translate the foreign-language text back to English again. Observe the metamorphosis of syntax and diction as the poem travels through the filter of another language. Then look for a particularly striking phrase, an odd construction or image, and use it to begin a new poem.
