Literary World at a Glance: 10/28/20

By Hannah Paige

News

The New England Review’s Vermont Reading Series was held on October 10th. It featured four new poets: Sarah Wolfson, Sara London, Rahat Huda, and Emily Arnason Casey. The NER hosts many different reading series throughout the year and is proud to showcase new and established writers alike. Portions of the readings can be seen on their YouTube channel.

NER Announces their 2020 Award Winners

https://www.nereview.com/best-american-pushcart-and-more/

The Sun Journal recently released this interview with one of their authors: https://thesunmagazine.org/news/best-thing-about-fiction-john-holman

It is a celebration of fiction.

They are also open to submissions, so send this New England journal your work for consideration!

Meet Me at 5 a.m. (A rotating list of resources for the dedicated writers)

This week we’re introducing a new section to The Literary World at a Glance just for writers. No, you do not have to write at 5 a.m. to read this section, but being a writer is about being disciplined. Anyone can say they want to write a (insert here your chosen genre i.e novel, chapbook, book of essays, the next great Blockbuster screenplay, etc.) but to be a writer takes dedication. It takes drive and a willingness to work, constantly, and to learn always. You must come to the page every day. You must always be aware of the world around you. You must be adapting to the creative industry, and that means developing the kinds of skills that will help you along in your career as a writer. This new section aims to guide you (yes, you, the 5 a.m. writer, the 9 p.m. while your children sleep writer, the I-have-twenty-minutes-between-clients-writer) in becoming the best writer you can be. There will be technical resources and creative resources, articles, videos, prompts; as is always the rule with creating—nothing is off limits.

https://www.writermag.com/improve-your-writing/fiction/front-lines-emotional-white-space/

This fantastic essay featured recently in Writer’s Magazine emphasizes an age-old lesson of writers: an oldie but a goodie. Just because you’ve heard the “show don’t tell” advice for writing better fiction doesn’t mean it’s not something writers should always be aware of working on their craft.

Need some inspiration in hitting the page every day? Playing with writing prompts is a great way to flex those creative muscles. Poets & Writers posts new prompts regularly.

Here are their latest fiction and nonfiction prompts to get you back to the page:

Fiction

 “[Dad] pronounced the word ‘nudity’ as though a fruit fly had just flown into his mouth—he spat as he said it. The word mainly made me think of the potatoes whose jackets my mother peeled off every evening before she dropped them into the water,” writes Marieke Lucas Rijneveld in her debut novel, The Discomfort of Evening, translated from the Dutch by Michele Hutchison, which won the 2020 International Booker Prize.

The observations of the young narrator couple a unique perspective, one that actively accrues knowledge, with the power of setting the tone for and foreshadowing the novel’s eventual tragedy, threading through it a wire of tension and grief. As a character study, write a chapter through the eyes of a child. What is most urgent to this young mind, and how can the reader sense through the subtext what is to come?

—Poets & Writers

Nonfiction

In Ten Meter Tower, a short film by Maximilien Van Aertryck and Axel Danielson featured in the New York Times, participants climb a ladder to a ten-meter-high diving board at a public pool, calculating their risks and fears before they decide to jump into the water or head back down to safety. The tight shot of the diving board, the self-motivating monologues, and the slow-motion recordings of the jumps are captivating.

“Our objective in making this film was something of a psychology experiment: We sought to capture people facing a difficult situation, to make a portrait of humans in doubt,” say the filmmakers.

Write a poem that imagines what thoughts and feelings would run through your head (and body) before and after a leap from the board into the water.”

—Poets & Writers

Hit the Road (Literary Travel Spots)

What better way to celebrate the Halloween season than taking a literary road trip to a place of particular inspiration for one of literature’s favorite spooky authors?

Salem, MA is perhaps the best city in the United States to celebrate this season of falling leaves, crisp days and supernatural stories. Nathanial Hawthorne is a leading writer in all-things-spooky, championing the kind of literature that was made for this time of year. He lived and worked in Salem, MA. The House of the Seven Gables, though never a home for Hawthorne himself, was frequented by him when he came to the house to visit his cousin. The home would come to be the inspiration and backdrop for his acclaimed novel The House of the Seven Gables. The site is still in existence today and is appreciated by Halloween and literature enthusiasts alike.

The Gables, as it’s fondly referred to, was built in 1668. Over the years, it has been owned by several different families, operating as a home, varying businesses, a school, and a home for immigrant education, inspired by Jane Addams’s Hull House. Now, the Gables has been converted into a well-known museum and seaside gardens. Throughout the year, it hosts events, lectures, and school programs.

The Gables can be visited virtually or in-person, as long as you purchase your tickets in advance.

https://7gables.org/visit/plan-your-visit/

There are plenty of other literary sites in Salem to see while you’re there. The city is teeming with bookshops and history. Stop in at one of the historic independent bookstores while you’re there! This editorial assistant is a fan of Colum McCann, in case anyone was wondering.

For a More Rewarding Children's Storytime, Read Aloud From a Physical Book

A new study, recently published in the journal Pediatrics, suggests that children engage with their parents more often when being read to from a physical children’s book, rather than when being read to from an electronic tablet. Although ebooks sell well, are less expensive, and take up less shelf space, the child’s overall experience is different from the physically page-turned, hand-held storybook.

Positive interactions, such as discussing images and content, and pointing to the characters in the story were observed between parents and their children during storytime with a real book. Non-verbal signs of bonding were also observed to have occurred more often than the electronic experience. Distractions that accompany ebook reading such as screen swiping, touching/clicking, and in some instances, sound effects, replaced opportunities where a parent and child might interact directly with each other and the book’s content, during the reading period observed.

According to Dr. Tiffany Munzer, a fellow in development behavioral pediatrics at the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, “The print book is a really beautiful object in that each parent and child interacts differently over a print book. Parents know their children well and have to make it come alive for their child to create that magic.”

— from ABC News online: March 25, 2019

Find an engaging and entertaining real, physical children’s book by a New England author. Click on RECOMMENDED POETS/WRITERS: CHILDREN.

League of Vermont Writers fall program

The recent League of Vermont Writers fall program, held on October 6th, was a great success! Each of the three keynote speakers -- Sonja Hakala, Ed Vincent, and Bill Schubart, gave excellent and informative presentations. It was clear from the very positive audience response that each presenter delivered vital information.

Ed spoke from his great experience as a publisher of mystery novels, and demonstrated his expertise, with many stories of how his publishing company works. Sonja detailed the various author choices currently available, from traditional publishing, to self-publishing, to ebooks. She outlined the steps to take, and paths to avoid, drawing on her experience and research used to author her book, Your Book, Your Way. Also, she reviewed publishing vocabulary and which companies could help with the various choices.

Bill Schubart also spoke from decades of personal experience that included numbers to make his point. For example, after outlining the steps to publish, he suggested that for an author to develop a book, pricing could run as much as $2,800 to $3,200. This included the necessary costs to pay critical readers, a copy editor, a literary editor, etc. He also mentioned professional ways to approach bookstores, outlined steps preliminary to printing and promoting a book, and covered royalties from traditional publishers.

The program also included genre break out sessions to help members get to know each other while working on writing as creative groups. The group overall agreed the day was very successful.

On October 8th, Vermont Poet Laureate, Chard DeNiord, conducted a workshop sponsored by Sundog Poetry. His command of the history of poetry was inspiring as he responded to questions. In his critiques of attendees’ poems, he gave examples of specific poets’ solutions to similar issues, along with his own suggestions. It is very apparent that he is an outstanding teacher, and after the session, he read from his own poems.

Welcome to Brilliant Light Publishing

We are excited to launch Brilliant Light Publishing/Media, L3C as a celebration of excellent writing and poetry in New England. We are honored to have Jean Connor as our first featured poet. Her poetry emphasizes a frank beauty that handsomely articulates details, as well as the grand picture. 

Welcome! 

It is instructive to learn about poets’ ideation process. Ruth Stone said that poems floated toward her from the universe. Her job was to grab them and write them down. If she didn’t snag them soon enough, they would float by and disappear forever! Being quick is part of success.

Chard DeNiord in his poem, "The Gift" memorializes Ruth Stone's process.

The Gift

In memory of Ruth Stone (June 8th, 1915—November 19th, 2011)

“All I did was write them down

wherever I was at the time,

hanging laundry, baking bread, driving to Illinois.”

Mary Oliver wrote a two line poem, “Humility.” 

 Poems arrive ready to begin.

      Poets are only the transportation.

Begin is the operative word. The arrival is an exhilarating moment. But after the poem arrives, there is still much to do. Revision ideas arrive as improvements, and they are an equally creative and important part of the process. 

We appreciate these extraordinary poets’ results, as well as how they arrived:

Poet Showcase edited by Alice B. Fogel and Sidney Hall, Jr. and published by Hobblebush Books is an anthology of New Hampshire poets. The editors ask the question, “Why do we have so many poets in New Hampshire?”  The poems themselves offer a wide range of answers. 

Roads Taken: Contemporary Vermont Poetry, edited by Sydney Lea and Chard DeNiord, and published by Green Writers Press states, “With its mystical landscape and fiercely self-reliant citizenry, Vermont has inspired poets from its earliest days.” This certainly resonates. Vermont is an inspiring state to live in and to write in.