Midweek Notes from a Practicing Writer

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checklist-1316848_1280I Did It!

It doesn’t feel as though I’ve “accomplished” much, writing-wise, over this past week, but in the spirit of Lisa Romeo’s annual “I Did It!” lists, I’ll share a few things that I have managed to do over the past seven days.

  • Finished reading Robin Black’s wonderful Crash Course: Essays from Where Writing and Life Collide.
  • Began editing the Q&A (with Rachel Hall, author of Heirlooms) that will appear in the next issue of The Practicing Writer.
  • Began reading an advance copy of Alexandra Zapruder’s Twenty-Six Seconds, in preparation for a future Q&A.
  • Had a phone call with a program manager who might—might!—report back soon with good news about a way for a rejected AWP panel to find new life offsite next February in Washington.
  • Filed my August stats and updates for Poetry Has Value. (Not sure when they’ll be posted, though.)
  • Kept to the day-job’s blogging schedule and posted a new installment in our series of features spotlighting books that have won the Edward Lewis Wallant Award. (Up this month: Eileen Pollack’s In the Mouth: Stories and Novellas.)
  • Drafted some remarks about Quiet Americans and practiced them for a panel event taking place tomorrow.

    • Something Definitely Not “Done”

    This tweet sums up the writing I attempted over the long weekend.

    But I haven’t given up. Yet.

    Out of the Archives

    Last Thursday marked the 70th anniversary of a notable date in my family history, one I’ve commemorated in poetry. So if you missed my #TBT mentions on social media, please feel welcome to revisit “September 1, 1946” for a moment now.