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From My Bookshelf: THERE’S JEWS IN TEXAS? Poems by Debra L. Winegarten

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled

So here’s a tribute to the power of social media and technology.

In addition to participating in the monthly Jewish Book Carnival, I’m a member of the Carnival’s group on Goodreads. The Carnival isn’t intended for authors to promote their own books–the idea is to provide a forum for readers to share news, reviews, and/or interviews featuring (other) authors and books of Jewish interest.

But last week, our moderator created a new thread in the Goodreads group where authors can promote their own books. And when I scanned that thread, I noticed Debra L. Winegarten’s post about her poetry chapbook, There’s Jews in Texas?

There’s Jews in Texas? won Poetica Magazine’s 2011 Chapbook Contest. It comprises 13 poems, the first several of which are situated in childhood and evidently reflect aspects of Winegarten’s upbringing in Texas in the 1960s (see a sample poem on the author’s website). Winegarten’s mother is a lively voice in these early poems. Even after Ruthe Winegarten’s passing (midway through the collection, “The Three R’s” discloses that she died the same week as Ronald Reagan and Ray Charles), she remains present as the book moves forward in time. (And move forward it does: “The Price of a World,” is a response to the March 2011 massacre of the Fogel family.)

In her Goodreads post, the author helpfully noted that the book is available to Amazon Prime members as part of the Kindle Lending Library; that is how I obtained and read it (another thumbs-up for technology). The poems in There’s Jews in Texas? are both accessible and provocative, and I’m glad to have discovered and read them.

Monday Markets/Jobs/Opportunities for Writers

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled

Monday brings the weekly batch of no-fee competitions/contests, paying submission calls, and jobs for those of us who write (especially those of us who write fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction).

  • Let’s begin with this: “Apply now for the Writer-in-Service Award, which includes a two-week residency at the Lillian E. Smith Center in Clayton, Georgia in 2013, a $500 honorarium, and a $300 travel allowance. The Award is open to U.S. residents working to advance writing and the arts through public service careers or volunteer work. Eligible activities include, but are not limited to, arts education, literacy instruction, prison arts and education, arts administration, non-profit work, ESL instruction, art-related therapies, etc.” No application fee. Deadline: November 15, 2012.
  • Next: the “SAVE THE FROGS! Poetry Contest,” which I found out about from WinningWriters.com. Open to all writers of all ages and nationalities, it awards cash (and other) prizes. Deadline is October 15. “We welcome any poems that mention frogs, salamanders, newts, toads, caecilians, amphibians, savethefrogs.com, and/or SAVE THE FROGS.” No entry fee. Check the site for additional ideas and guidelines.
  • If freelancing for home and garden magazines is your thing, you may find this round-up article to be helpful.
  • Franklin & Marshall College (Penn.) seeks a Magazine Editor, the Casper Star Tribune (Wyo.) is looking for a Feature Writer, and the Saturday Evening Post (Indianapolis) is advertising for an Assistant Editor.
  • “Oregon State University-Cascades located in Bend, Oregon invites applications for a full-time (1.0 FTE), 12-month, Director to coordinate the MFA-Creative Writing low-residency academic program.”

    • And another long list of teaching opportunities. Please keep reading! (more…)

    Friday Finds for Writers

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled

    The weekly collection of writing-related resources, news, and reflections to read over the weekend.

  • First up: This Shelf Awareness piece throws a lot of light on how Leslie Brody’s new book, The Last Kiss, took form. Note the roles of bookstore events, a writing workshop, and those ever-powerful prompts.
  • And speaking of memoir: “Your Memoir Is Too Much About You,” says Ethan Gilsdorf.
  • Pretty funny piece by Shalom Auslander. Here’s a taste: “In the first place, it is true that I turned 40 this year, and it is equally true that, for the 40th time, my writing did not make it into the New Yorker’s ‘Forty Under Forty’ issue, or Granta’s ‘Forty Under Forty’ issue, or the LA Times’s ‘Forty Faces Under Forty’ issue, or the Guardian’s annual ‘Forty American Writers Under Forty to Watch’, or even McSweeney’s ‘Forty Writers Under Forty Who Live Near Us in Brooklyn and We Hang Out With Quite a Bit or At Least Would Like To’.”
  • Alas, it’s unlikely that I’ll make it to the South Dakota Festival of Books anytime soon, but David Abrams’s lovely account makes me feel almost as if I was right there with him this year.
  • Interesting account of one professor’s foray into an online creative-writing course–as a student–with the University of Phoenix.

    • Have a great weekend, all. See you back here on Monday!

    Jewish Literary Links for Shabbat

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled

    Photo Credit: Reut Miryam Cohen
    Every Friday morning My Machberet presents an assortment of Jewish literary news from around the Web.

  • First up: This week’s New Yorker features a new story by Lara Vapnyar, “Fischer vs. Spassky.” Bonus: Deborah Treisman’s Q&A with Vapnyar about the story.
  • Next: Nina Badzin reviews a new anthology titled Living Jewishly: A Snapshot of a Generation.
  • I learned about the life and work of poet Naomi Replansky this week thanks to Benjamin Ivry’s coverage for The Forward.
  • “On October 16, Leo Baeck Institute will unveil DigiBaeck – a comprehensive digital version of its collections to be made available to all for free online. DigiBaeck encompasses more than 3.5 million pages of documents from German-Jewish history.” Attend the launch (or watch streaming video online).
  • Writing a Jewish-themed YA novel? “In honor of Jewish Book Month, The Whole Megillah is hosting its second annual Write Your Own Megillah event. Think of it as the Jewish equivalent of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). From November 7 through December 7, 2012, you’ll have the opportunity to write the novel you’ve always wanted to write.”

    • Shabbat shalom.

    Wednesday’s Work-in-Progress: Helping You Publish Your Work

    by Erika Dreifus on
    3

    As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, my travels this season include a quick trip to Philadelphia on Saturday, October 13, when I’ll be the guest of Big Blue Marble Bookstore (and Apiary Magazine) for a reading at 3:30 p.m. And before the reading—starting at 2 p.m.—I’ll be leading a workshop for writers who want to learn how to publish their stories, essays, and poems in literary magazines.

    I spent a chunk of time last weekend preparing an extensive handout; we’re going to cover a lot! The handout includes an extensive list of resources, including a few notable recent items that I think will enhance the discussion we’ll be having (and perhaps even spark a debate or two). I thought I’d share those articles/posts with all of you, too.

  • “Poetry Magazine Submissions: How to Do Them Right,” by Robert Lee Brewer
  • “Rabbit Season or Duck Season: A Guide to Submissions,”  by Michael Nye
  • “Three Stories Unlikely to Make it Beyond the Slush,” by Joe Hiland
  • “The Red Flags of Writing Contests,” by C. Hope Clark
  • “The Value of Three: Writing for Non-paying Markets,” by Chris F. Holm

    • By the way, you don’t need to register for the reading, which is free and open to the public, but we are asking anyone interested in the workshop (at a bargain price of just $35!) to pre-register. Details here.