This Week in Writing

Photo courtesy Reuters via BBC.

• In a progressive move, the Vatican Library announced (3/22) its plans to digitize its collection of ancient handwritten manuscripts. The long-term goal of the project is to make 40 million pages of documents available online. Some of these texts contain important historical works in math, science, law and medicine.
• On the 22^nd, President Jimmy Carter sat down with Diane Rehm of NPR to discuss his new book A Call to Action: Women, Religion, Violence and Power. In the interview, Carter discusses ongoing abuse of American women and our country's fight for human rights. Carter is 89 years old.
• Alice Munro was the first Canadian woman to win a Nobel prize in literature. On the 24^th, the author was honored with a special coin inscribed with a passage from her short story Messenger.
• Strand magazine announced Tuesday (3/25) that it will feature a previously unpublished/ long lost short story written by Tennessee Williams titled “Crazy Night.” Read CNN's piece on the discovery here. Williams died in 1983.
• Editors at The American Scholar put together a list of what they claim may be the Ten Best Sentences (3/27). It's a good read – and it reminds me of this piece from last summer posted by The Atlantic, wherein some of today's most acclaimed writers list their favorite opening sentences. Jonathan Franzen lists Kafka, and other surprises.

~Sophie Opich

Desert Nights, Rising Stars Conference Winner!

Drum roll, please! The winner of the 2013 Desert Nights, Rising Stars conference giveaway is...

          Vicky Jeter!

Congratulations, Vicky! Please contact us as hfr@asu.edu for details on attending the conference.

We want to thank each of you who entered to win a place in at this year's conference. Your interest in the conference has been amazing, and while there was only one winner for this contest, we still hope to see you at DNRS!

Thanks again to all who entered!

Dreamy Authors and Unmentionable Creative Habits

The conclusion to our current roundtable discussion takes on a different tone as we chat about our dream authors and those unmentionable habits that are formed in the writing and editing process. Thanks again to all who asked questions, as well as to the editors who participated in this discussion! As our first international panel, we'd say this has been a smashing success. Don't forget to keep the questions coming through Twitter, Facebook, or email, and we'll round up another gaggle of editors to take on your queries.

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Photo adapted from: nicknich

Shelly Holder (@writinflower01) asks:

If you had the ability to publish one famous author, dead or alive, in your magazine, who would it be?

Paper Darts, Holly Harrison     Virginia Woolf, no doubt. We owe a lot to her. She helped set the stage for strong women in literature, and she inspired the name of our literary endeavor. If Virginia Woolf doesn’t come up at least once per staff meeting, we’re having an off-day.

Gulf Coast, Zachary Martin     John Williams (the author of great novels like Stoner and Butcher’s Crossing, not the Star Wars composer).

Gulf Coast, Karyna McGlynn     Frank Stanford.

The Stinging Fly, Declan Meade     Alice Munro.

Hayden’s Ferry Review, Sam Martone     The dream writer, for me, would be Gabriel Garcia Marquez. But I think you could ask everyone on staff and you'd get a different response (say, this might be a good idea for the blog), which just goes to show you how eclectic our tastes can be.

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What (if any) bizarre habits do you have while reading/writing/editing? 

Paper Darts, Holly Harrison     Pretty much every time Holly writes a sentence that she thinks is particularly clever, she instinctively puts her computer down and walks away… like a victory lap. Because Courtney [Algeo]’s vision is bad in an odd way, she reads books with one eye closed. Holly over-explains herself when editing, always terrified that someone will see an edit and deem it unnecessary. She bets this is annoying. When Courtney is stumped while writing, she’ll take a shower.

Gulf Coast, Karyna McGlynn     When writing, I like to listen to the Legendary Pink Dots and drink red wine; when editing, I like to pound coffee and listen to The Drums; and when reading, I like to drink water and listen to crickets.

Gulf Coast, Zachary Martin     I usually find something to chew on: Red Vines, vitamin gummies, pen caps, cat toys…

Paper Darts, Holly Harrison     Cat toys. That’s incredible.

The Stinging Fly, Declan Meade     Oh, they're too bizarre to admit to here, or any place else.

Paper Darts, Holly Harrison     Weak, Declan.

The Stinging Fly, Declan Meade     Most definitely.

Gulf Coast, Zachary Martin     In this day and age, Declan, isn’t caring enough about words to read, write, and edit them a bizarre habit in its own right? Seems like that’s what some people think.

Indiana Review, Katie Moulton     The IR office has been known to erupt in spontaneous dance parties. This can be a good thing or a bad thing. When stressed, some of us rewrite the lyrics of pop songs to reflect the literary journal experience. “Cull Me, Maybe,” anyone?

Hayden’s Ferry Review, Sam Martone     I don't think I have any, but after this question, I sure wish I did.

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Check out past discussions for Tweeted Questions

If you have a question about writing topics, publishing, the ins and outs of literary magazines, or anything else you might wonder about (how many editors does it take to figure out how to turn on a perfectly functioning, new coffee pot?), let us know! Tweet us, message us on Facebook, or email us at hfr@asu.edu.

Website of the Week: A Poem From Us

Have you ever had the urge to shout a poem? Well not shout, maybe just to share a poem. Perhaps it was one that made you smile and you thought of someone who would enjoy it just as much as you did. One of my favorite qualities of poetry is that sometimes it is at its best when it is heard, spoken, shouted.

Our featured website of the week offers a new twist to the found poem and presents the public with an opportunity to share their favorite poem. A Poem From Us is a website launched in honor of National Poetry Month. The goal is to use technology to help poets and listeners share their favorite poems.  A Poem From Us invites readers and listeners alike to share their love of poetry not only with friends and family, but also with the world.

You can participate in two ways. For those inclined to be the speaker, you can upload a video of yourself reciting your favorite poem onto the website. For the camera shy and lovers of FREE STICKERS, you can participate by visiting the website to request your set of free stickers. When these stickers are scanned by passers-by, a random video from the project website will play on the scanner's mobile device. Kind of a "found poem" for the digital age. And pretty cool, no?

I chose to share this recitation of I Am Offering You This Poem by Jimmy Santiago Baca, ready by Morgan Joyce Williams, because of how much enthusiasm she put into this reading.                                                                                                                                                                                                    

Fiction Dismantled

Photo by Todd McLellan
See his Disassembly collection here.

As an intern for the Piper House, I read a lot of  stories submitted to Hayden's Ferry Review. When I'm six stories deep, running on coffee fumes and chocolate-covered espresso beans, form stories ignite my curiosity and pull me in. There is something attractive about a story that looks like a list, or a series of dictionary entries, or even a water bill. Postmodern experimental fiction allows readers to experience the emotional range of the traditional narrative through a fresh perspective while allowing writers to explore and experiment in their craft with a new flexibility.

I just had to include Todd McLellan's disassembled typewriter in this post. This picture makes me think of everything writers put into a story. The elements that go unseen, the gears that move the plot along, the springs that tighten and release genius. By the time the stories are ready for reading, all of these elements are hidden; they are packed away tightly inside a smooth rectangle and only the pretty parts are visible.

When writing a story in an unusual form, it is helpful to imagine spreading all of the elements of that particular story across an open surface. I make sure to include the inner elements, the invisible ones, along with the physical ones. What would these elements look like? There would be plot, theme, character/s, tone, style, the list goes on. The intangible nature of fiction is part of its beauty and is also what makes it so difficult to execute properly. I always try to keep what the story is trying to say, its emotional resonance, in mind. The form should speak to that.

Keeping this in mind, I thought it appropriate to recommend a story that takes formal cues from a game and incorporates it into the plot. Caitlin Horrocks, former Hayden's Ferry Review editor and author of This Is Not Your City, examines the hardships of frontier life along the Oregon Trail. In her short story, On the Oregon Trail, Horrocks uses the early 80's computer game Oregon Trail as a plot form to tell her narrative. This story appeared in Hobart's January 09' issue.

Enjoy!

Fiction Dismantled

Photo by Todd McLellan
See his Disassembly collection here.

As an intern for the Piper House, I read a lot of  stories submitted to Hayden's Ferry Review. When I'm six stories deep, running on coffee fumes and chocolate-covered espresso beans, form stories ignite my curiosity and pull me in. There is something attractive about a story that looks like a list, or a series of dictionary entries, or even a water bill. Postmodern experimental fiction allows readers to experience the emotional range of the traditional narrative through a fresh perspective while allowing writers to explore and experiment in their craft with a new flexibility.



I think the process of creating a form is a bit like dismantling a clock. Essentially, you're taking elements of the story—important elements integral to the heart of the piece, such as objects or themes—and using them to communicate the story in a fresh and entertaining way. My writing teachers all tell me that everything has to be earned. That, "if I remove one element, the entire story should fall apart. If not, it hasn't earned its spot." The same is true for a clock. Each part has to work in perfect harmony with the others, or else we lose time.

Here's one:


Hannah Wood's telling of Romeo and Juliet, in Blackbird's Fall 2011 Vol. 10 No. 2 issue, is a fresh and entertaining version of the classic. The story takes the shape of a science experiment that tests the strength of love. Wood adds versatility to her version by measuring the infamous duo against several other power couples, ranging from Daisy and Gatsby to Lancelot and Guinevere. For clarity (and some color), Wood offers a Venn diagram and an ionic bonding chart to illustrate their chemical behavior in any situation.

Working on a form story? Have a favorite story that plays with form? Post them in the comments below. I'll be sharing my favorites in this regular post. Currently, I'm working on submitting applications to graduate programs, so I'm considering writing a story through a personal statement or a gratuitously long and obsessively intrusive application...

Mange, Mange / Home on the range

Website of the Week: The Sorted Books Project

I could've sworn I'd written about this website before, but as I strolled through my posting history I found nothing. The Sorted Books project is a super creative endeavor from California-based artist Nina Katchadourian where she puts together book titles to creative mini-narratives or insightful quips. Some are funny, others ominous. I like 'em all.

Website of the Week - Shakespearean Insulter

“To be or not to be” is normally what people quote from Shakespeare, but it's time to take it up a notch. Thanks to the Shakespearean Insulter, you can offend your friends the old school way. Imagine! Insulting people without their even knowing what you're talking about. It's a powerful feeling. If you're not into power - but are up for a good laugh - just take a look at some of these doozies: “You shall stifle in your own report, and smell of calumny”(From Measure for Measure). I have no clear idea what that means but there is lots more where that came from. This one goes out to someone special (you know who you are): “Thou weedy crook-pated canker-blossom!"

Chris Seidel came up with this gem of a website. He's a scientist and a literary scholar. It makes me say to myself, "Canst thou believe thy living is a life, so stinkingly depending? Go mend, go mend." Or something.

Norman Dubie vs. Ashlee Simpson Wentz

In an unexpected turn of events, recent HFR contributor and beloved ASU faculty member Norman Dubie has been pitted against Ashlee Simpson Wentz in a "Who Wore it Best?" fashion challenge on the charmingly snarky blog We Who Are About to Die. Vote for your favorite here!

Website of the Week - The Book Seer

So I saw my fellow intern, Mike, reading the Dave Eggers classic, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. Since I want to become better friends with Mike, I decided to find recommendations for his next book selection, using a little book-know-how to worm my way in. I surfed on over to The Book Seer, a service that lets you look for books that are similar to the one that you just finished reading, like a Pandora for books, and found Four Souls by Louise Erdrich and Erasure by Percival Everett to recommend to him.

Mike was filled with emotion and we are now best friends. Hooray for Book Seer!

Website of the Week - Cover Spy

The dictum says, "You can't tell a book by it's cover." CoverSpy, a blog on Tumblr, says that's a lie. The team is comprised of "publishing nerds" who swarm the streets of New York City to see exactly what people are reading. They check the subways, the streets, The Grey Dog’s Coffee on Carmine, some podiatrist’s waiting room, newsstands, parks, bars. If you're on the F Train and happen to be reading, you can't hide from these spectators. They'll call your book out, and your outfit.

While the posts border on a sort of distant stalker-type mentality (Did that sound nice enough? I'm not trying to make them sound creepy), it's a good source if you're in need of a new, popular read. If you're one of those people who browse aimlessly in Barnes & Noble, just looking for decent covers to pull you in to a new novel, this might save you some time. Or, if you frequent NYC and want to make an appearance on the blog, make sure to dress nice and smile while you're paging through chapters. Here's a recent observation: The Fortress of Solitude, Jonathan Lethem (F, 20s, blue boots & dove-gray jeans, looking v. serious, F train).

So start representing your books well, everyone. You never know who's on the lookout.
(Not creepy. Right?)

Website of the Week - Slaughterhouse 90210

“Better be without sense than misapply it as you do.”
— Jane Austen, Emma

Slaughterhouse 90210 is a tumblr blog that juxtaposes images of prominent pop culture stars with famous literary quotes. Putting the likes of Dwight Schrute, Sarah Palin, and Pee-wee Herman next to the quotes of Agatha Christie, Lorrie Moore, and David Mazzucchelli is a recipe for hilarity. It's like a Lolcats for the literary, or as the creator, Maris Kreizman, puts it "Kurt Vonnegut, meet Brenda Walsh."

Follow Maris Kreizman on Twitter

Website of the Week - Awful Library Books

If you’re a dedicated student of literature and are sometimes worried that everyone’s reading nonfiction and political books and whether fiction and poetry might have any staying power anymore, check out the site Awful Library Books. Two librarians have dedicated the site to items actually sitting on library shelves “so old, obsolete, awful or just plain stupid that we are horrified that people might be actually checking these items out and depending on the information.” Reading it makes a refreshing case for the timelessness of good literature. I would rather wade through all of Anthony Trollope and G.K. Chesterton than have to read the pictured book at left.

Novelists in particular write about their times in a very encompassing way, and readers who peruse John Updike or Jane Austen will find the times more feelingly rendered than a reference book of the era. If the writing is good there is a chance that literature becomes more significant as it ages. You can't say the same for nonfiction.

Which leads us to some very funny titles. I had to ask Beth to help me make up my mind on which title to display in this post. The best choices were between the cell-phone book above, one on the Soviet Union, and a guide book to the return of Halley's Comet (published in 1985 for it's last appearance.) I think we picked this cellular maven for her smart and capable demeanor. Although the guy from the Soviet Union had a really nice hat.

Thanks to the intrepid Olive Reader at Harper Perennial for being the first to post on this.