Midweek Notes from a Practicing Writer

Newly Published Poem

I’m happy to present a poem, “A Walker in the Post-Blizzard City,” that’s now up in The Wild Word‘s “Winter”-themed issue.

Yes, this is one of the newly accepted poems I alluded to last week. (And yes, the title alludes to Alfred Kazin’s famous A Walker in the City.)

More interesting, on the level of craft, is that I first drafted this poem about a year ago in response to a prompt in Martha Silano and Kelli Agodon’s The Daily Poet: Day-by-Day Prompts for Your Writing Practice. (It was the January 11 prompt, “Surprise City.”) I continue to recommend this craft book highly!

Newly Re-published Poem

And I’m grateful that a prose poem I wrote many years ago, “Diaspora,” has been chosen for inclusion in Lagan Online‘s e-booklet “How Can Life Go On? Poems and Prose for Holocaust Memorial Day 2017.” (Holocaust Memorial Day is observed on January 27.)

You can download the e-booklet free of charge at the website.

Day-Job Dispatch

So here’s something new: I’ve finally entered the world of Facebook ads. I haven’t done so for myself—I’ve done so in my role as Media Editor for Fig Tree Books.

To prepare for the momentous act of boosting a post for the first time, I read up on Facebook advertising and related best practices. But I’m still learning! I’d love to hear any specific advice and/or see links to resources that you’ve found especially helpful in your own work with Facebook ads. Thank you!

8 thoughts on “Midweek Notes from a Practicing Writer

  1. Doug says:

    Oh,, !!! the horror is not diminished by the distance, the years, and the covering of everyday life,,,

  2. Scott Rose says:

    My advice on Facebook post boosting would depend on your budget and your goals for it.

    Facebook has great reach, but advertising on it through post-boosting is not cheap.

  3. David Cooper says:

    I just read “A Walker in the Post-Blizzard City” with Miles Davis’ “Blues by Five” playing in the background, and your poem really swings! Somehow your trimeter fits his 4/4 time really well. Brava, Erika!

    1. Erika Dreifus says:

      Oh, my! I’m so honored to be paired with Miles Davis!

  4. Judith says:

    Erika, I love your poem. Like doesn’t work. It’s crisp, it’s soft, it’s polished, it’s everything you need to know about New York. Wonderful.

    1. Erika Dreifus says:

      Aw, thank you!

  5. Hi Erica
    Why in USA Holocaust memory ceremonies are held on January 27? In Poland it is in April, in memory of Warsaw Ghetto Uprising April 1943. In July 1942 Germans began massive killing of the Jews from Warsaw by sending them to concentration camp in Treblinka, and killing them in gas chambers. So Holocaust began in July 1942.
    I wrote a manuscript, the collection of short stories about Holocaust in Poland. I am looking for publisher.

    1. Erika Dreifus says:

      As far as I’ve understood it, the January date was selected by the U.N. for International Holocaust Remembrance. See the link I embedded in the post above for more (https://www.ushmm.org/information/exhibitions/online-exhibitions/special-focus/international-holocaust-remembrance-day). The modern Jewish calendar observes Yom HaShoah (typically during April). As explained on the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum website: “Holocaust Remembrance Day (Yom Hashoah) was established in 1951 by the Israeli parliament (Knesset). The date was chosen to coincide with the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and with the liberation of the concentration camps in western Europe.” For more, see https://www.ushmm.org/remember/days-of-remembrance/faqs.

      And good luck with your collection.

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