Midweek Notes from a Practicing Writer

Three quick things:

1. A little back-to-school gift:

Laptop on a table; binders in the background; text label announcing 75 low-residency/no-residency MFA programs.

Yes, that’s right. I don’t quite know how I’ve done it, but there’s now an updated list of 75 low-residency (or fully online) MFA programs available on this website.

I wish that I could promise you that I would soon tackle a much-needed update of a companion page (regarding funding in the low-res setting). But I honestly have no idea when that’s going to happen. However, if you’re aware of noteworthy changes in that realm, I hope that you’ll add a comment on that page.

Cover of LIFE magazine following the events of September 5-6, 1972.

2. On a somber note: Today marks a terribly sad anniversary. It was on September 5, 1972, that “eight Palestinian terrorists broke into the Olympic Village, killing two members of the Israeli team and taking nine hostages. In the ensuing battle, all nine Israeli hostages were killed, as were five of the terrorists and one policeman.”

One of the short stories in my collection Quiet Americans, “Homecomings,” unfolds against the backdrop of that searing historical event. The story itself isn’t available online, but I’ve written a bit about it in this essay. (I’ve also contributed a review of a book titled Munich 1972: Tragedy, Terror, and Triumph at the Olympic Games, to the Jewish Review of Books, but that one is paywalled.)

In any case, it’s always important to me to take some time, on this day, to think of those Israeli athletes—and the German policeman.

3. In-Progress. Typically, I check in with my “accountability buddy” on Tuesdays. So I sent her my weekly update yesterday. But since then, I’ve realized that I have even more tasks to account for  than I managed to list via email! I’d better get back to work. Pronto!

What’s new with your writing practice?

6 thoughts on “Midweek Notes from a Practicing Writer

  1. I have in hand the proof copy of my new poetry chapbook, Pounding Cobblestone, which will be published sometime this fall by Kelsay Books.
    I sent out a new essay on Monday and received two rejections already. Jeez. Did they even read it?

    1. Erika Dreifus says:

      Wonderful news about the chapbook, Barb!

      And I know what you mean about those quick rejections. They’re sometimes particularly tough to take.

  2. Sandy Soli says:

    About the Olympic athletes–I remember watching in horror as events unfolded on television. Those poor families! I aften wondered why there was so little information through the years about the final outcome.

  3. John Smistad says:

    I was a kid growing up in Texas on that horrifying day in Munich. Unspeakable.

    I’ll NEVER forget the late, great Jim McKay’s haunting words in the wake of the carnage…
    “They’re all gone.”

  4. I was in Poland and it was hard for me to fully understand terror. It was not yet popular in Europe.

  5. Walerian Domanski says:

    Rejection? I am trying to contact movies producers for my script about the Holocaust in Poland. No success. No emails, no phones and they are not taking scripts from…” outsiders”! It is not surprising that movies ate so bad.

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