Midweek Notes from a Practicing Writer

by Erika Dreifus on
3

New Essay Online
New publication alert: Last Friday my essay titled “Five Ways for Writers to Avoid Oversharing” went live on The Missouri Review‘s blog. I’m grateful to TMR for giving the piece a home, and grateful that the responses I’ve received so far on Twitter and Facebook have been so encouraging.

As you’ll note if you read the piece, I was prompted to write the essay when another writer directed a casual comment my way on Twitter. The essay thus illustrates another instance in which a remark I couldn’t have anticipated or predicted has produced an entirely new piece of writing. (Another example: My online-poetry-course-instructor’s comment via email alluding to how promptly—”nay, early!”–I tended to submit my assignments produced this poem, which, as of now, has been published three times.) So, please, talk/write to me! 😉 (more…)

Midweek Notes from a Practicing Writer

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled

Rejections, Redux
Remember the new poem I mentioned last week? Well, it continued to glean rejections this week. (I’m mildly irked by one editor’s feedback, but I’ll be discreet and let that go un-amplified for the moment.)

I’ve been tweaking the piece and am still holding out hope for it. And if the one publication I’ve yet to hear back from right now also says “no,” that’s okay, because I think that after that, I’ll bite the bullet and send it somewhere that doesn’t take simultaneous submissions. (That’s something I normally hate to do, but every so often, I’ll yield.)

Jewish Lit at the Museum of Jewish Heritage
Last Wednesday evening, I had the pleasure of attending a public forum featuring the 2015 Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature authors at the Museum of Jewish Heritage here in New York. 2015 Sami Rohr Prize Winner Ayelet Tsabari, Choice Award recipient Kenneth Bonert, and finalists Yelena Akhtiorskaya, Molly Antopol, and Boris Fishman all participated in a discussion moderated by Austin Ratner. (I was not present at the following evening’s award ceremony/reception, but luckily, Ayelet Tsabari’s acceptance speech can be viewed on YouTube.)

My Creative Cousin
Finally, I’d like to honor some special songwriting that I encountered this week. (more…)