Wednesday’s WIP: An Evening with The Little Prince (and Adam Gopnik)

by Erika Dreifus on
4

Calling all writers who are fans of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s “The Little Prince”! If at all possible, you must get yourselves to the lovely Morgan Library here in New York before April 27, when an exhibit titled “The Little Prince: A New York Story” will close.

“It may come as a surprise,” the Morgan’s website tells us, “that this French tale of an interstellar traveler who comes to Earth in search of friendship and understanding was written and first published in New York City, during the two years the author spent here at the height of the Second World War.” The exhibit focuses on this period, exploring “the creative decisions Saint-Exupéry made as he crafted his beloved story that reminds us that what matters most can only be seen with the heart.” (more…)

Words of the Week: Liel Leibovitz

by Erika Dreifus on
1

To argue that only an openness to all points of view is acceptable, to claim that unless we invite our fiercest critics into our house and let them thunder we’re somehow abdicating our responsibilities as mindful and moral human beings is to adhere to the most flightless form of relativism, the kind that believes in nothing save for the fact that all values are equal, which, of course, makes all values meaningless.

Source: Liel Liebovitz, “Why Talk About Israel With People Who Want It To Disappear?” (Tablet)

Monday Markets 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).

  • Don’t forget that the March issue of The Practicing Writer went out to subscribers at the end of last week. Tons of opportunities as per usual within.

    • (more…)

    Sunday Sentence

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled

    MudAnother Sunday when I participate in David Abrams’s “Sunday Sentence” project, which asks others to share the best sentence(s) we’ve read during the past week, “out of context and without commentary.”

    It’s much muddier than a binary, and I’m not the only writer who has lived in the mud.

    Source: Leslie Jamieson, for The New Republic, on “MFA vs. NYC”

    Friday Finds for Writers

    by Erika Dreifus on
    2

    Treasure ChestWriting-related resources, news, and reflections to enjoy over the weekend.

  • Statistically speaking, it’s easier for poets and nonfiction writers to have their work accepted by Colorado Review than it is for fiction writers. But it isn’t exactly easy for anyone.
  • Some of the young ‘uns may not quite appreciate Nick Ripatrazone’s “Miss You, SASE: On Postal Submissions” as much as some of the elders among us are likely to.
  • From Publishers Lunch: “The latest VIDA statistics assessing gender representation in book reviews continue to draw comment and response. But VIDA’s lens, expanded this year to include more publications, still primarily examines periodicals and journals and overlooks the substantial body of daily and weekly book reviews in large-circulation newspapers. That’s exactly the world we have tracked for years in our Publishers Marketplace Book Reviews database (also shown via our cool Top Reviewers tool), which offers a rich data set for analysis. In examining that data over the past 5 years, there are some interesting findings that may expand on the view that VIDA has depicted.” Indeed.
  • Speaking of book reviews: I’ve always heard nice things about Laurie Hertzel, books editor for Minneapolis’s Star Tribune, so I was intrigued to discover this interview with her. (Fun fact: Hertzel is also an MFA student!)
  • And last, but absolutely not least, I recommend that you spend some time this weekend with David Gessner’s smart and thoughtful take on “The Essay’s Place.”

    • Have a great weekend, everyone. (Practicing Writer subscribers, look for your March issue to arrive shortly!)