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Wednesday’s Work-in-Progress: Is It Spring Yet?

by Erika Dreifus on
2

Public Domain photo by Karen Arnold.
Public domain photo by Karen Arnold.

When will spring get here? It’s not just the icy temps and storms that are making me impatient. I’ve got a lot to look forward to this spring, including some bylines (which, again, I’ll tell you more about when you can read the accompanying texts for yourselves). Plus, I have some fun events scheduled. Over the past week, some exciting new details became available regarding one of them: a roundtable session on “After the MFA: Constructing and Leading a Writing Life” that I’ll be leading at Grub Street’s annual “The Muse and the Marketplace” conference in Boston in early May.

I’ve certainly done my share of work providing information and resources for folks contemplating MFA programs (especially low-residency programs). But, especially as time continues to distance me from my own MFA graduation, I become more interested in what people do after the MFA. That’s why I proposed this session (official description follows):

What happens after you earn an MFA? What might you “do” with the degree? How do you transition from the structure and community of a writing program to a full-fledged life as a writer? Panel members will share their diverse stories and impart “lessons learned” along the way. Past, present, and prospective MFA students are all invited to attend!

I’m delighted to announce that we’ll have a range of perspectives on those questions provided in our roundtable, starting with offerings from my stellar co-participants: Matt Bell, Laura van den Berg, and Patricia Park. But, as Grub’s Artistic Director Chris Castellani has reminded me, this session will be even better and more instructive when the audience joins in.

And as a way to help me–would you please share some questions and/or issues that YOU think should come up in a session like this? I look forward to and appreciate any comments!

Wednesday’s WIP: Nonfiction on the Brain

by Erika Dreifus on
4

brainIf you’ve been following my bylines for the past year or so, you may have noticed something: They’re almost all for nonfictional writings. Book reviews. Arts coverage. Commentaries. Even a few personal essays.

There are likely lots of reasons behind this shift nonfiction-ward, but I’m not going to speculate on/delve into them today. Today, I simply want to take note of the change. Maybe it’s a phase. But it seems to be lasting.

One of my latest bylines appeared on The Forward‘s arts blog last week. It’s an opinion piece that encompasses art (theater) and politics. Titled “Why I’m Going to See an ‘Anti-Israel’ Play,” it’s something that I wanted (and needed) to write, but had been struggling to get started. I suspect that I would have written it eventually, but I got a helpful nudge in an online class I took earlier this month. That class, “How to Publish Op-Eds and Commentaries,” is one of several offered through The Thinking Writer. (more…)

Wednesday’s WIP: Memories, My German Passport & Me

by Erika Dreifus on
8

Grandma & Me at My Sister's College Graduation, 1994
Grandma & Me at My Sister’s College Graduation, 1994
So long as the anticipated snowstorm doesn’t shut down the city, before I head to the day job today, I’m stopping off at the German consulate, where I’m renewing my German passport. When I went online to book my appointment back in November–you need to make one, you can’t handle this by mail–I thought it was really something that the first available appointment was January 22: my German grandmother’s birthday.

As many of you already know, my grandmother–who would be 99 today–was a huge influence on the stories in my collection, Quiet Americans. Which celebrated the third anniversary of its publication a few days ago, too.

And as for my passport, it was the focus of one of my first published essays. The scan quality isn’t great, but I’ve uploaded a copy of “Passport from the Past,” which was published in the Boston Sunday Globe in 1997.

[UPDATE: The city schools (and my office) are open–but transit is dicey and non-essential travels around the city aren’t in the cards this morning. I’m going straight to work and rescheduling the consular appointment. I think that Grandma would approve!]

Wednesday’s WIP: Tips for New Book Reviewers

by Erika Dreifus on
2

booksMore than once this week, I’ve had reason to revisit an old post, one that suggests ways to locate forthcoming books for review assignments. (Note the adjective “forthcoming”; many publications plan book coverage weeks if not months ahead of time.) I’m inspired to share the post anew while adding that if I were writing it for the first time, I’d mention Edelweiss, which has become a go-to resource for me to locate publishers’ catalogs and digital review copies. I can also point you today to other resources that have crossed my radar this week: articles filled with previews of books coming in 2014. Some stretch pretty far into 2014 and may give you some new review ideas.

  • “30 Books You Need to Read in 2014”
  • Most Anticipated: The Great 2014 Book Preview”
  • JBC Bookshelf: Spring 2014 Jewish Book Preview (and don’t forget my own, much less expansive “Five Jewish Books for 2014”)

    • Any other lists you’ve seen lately that you’d recommend? Other ideas for finding books to review?

    Wednesday’s WIP: Last 2013 Article Looks Ahead to 2014

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled

    Published Monday:

    At this time of year, I’m confronted with the many books published in 2013 that I haven’t yet managed to read. It seems that every day another “best-of” list materializes to remind me of the recurrent truth: There’s just never enough time to get to all of the books that I’d like to read, not even if I limited myself to books of Jewish interest, or to novels and short-story collections. And yet, as we approach the new year, publishers’ 2014 catalogs promise a new array of tempting titles. Here are just five of the notable “Jewish books” that I’m already anticipating.

    Read the rest of this article on The Forward‘s “Arty Semite” blog. And happy new year!

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