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Friday Find: Essay Symposium Proceedings from Welcome Table Press

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled

Some of you may have caught my short article in The Writer magazine some months back that described a spring event here in New York: a symposium convened by Welcome Table Press titled “In Praise of the Essay: Practice & Form.” In that article, I called Jerald Walker’s presentation–which included an account of one editor’s pre-publication request to confer with Walker’s 73-year-old mother before going ahead with a particular piece–“a conference standout.”

Well, now you can read Walker’s presentation for yourself. Thanks to Lisa Romeo’s blog, I recently learned that Welcome Table Press has made some of the symposium proceedings available for download (link updated April 2021: click “In Praise of the Essay: Symposia Proceedings” and scroll to Walker’s essay). (You can download this material for free, or you can purchase them in pamphlet form to benefit Welcome Table Press.)

Enjoy the find, and have a wonderful weekend. See you back here on Monday.

The Wednesday Web Browser

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled
  • All of us who participate on the Poets & Writers Speakeasy discussion boards are immensely proud of Rebecca Makkai (aka “kismacko”), a three-time Best American Short Stories (BASS) author whose first novel is forthcoming in June. This weekend, we had the pleasure of hearing Rebecca read from her story on NPR, in a feature in which Richard Russo, who edited this year’s BASS volume, talks about some of his choices.
  • Also on the subject of the Russo-edited BASS volume–but far less celebratory–is Roxane Gay’s HTMLGIANT post, “A Profound Sense of Absence.”
  • The Writer brings you writing-book recommendations from several of the magazine’s book reviewers (including yours truly).
  • I’ve just begun reading Ellen Meeropol’s debut novel, House Arrest, which will be out on February 1 (look for an interview in the March Practicing Writer). I am especially taken with the author’s recent blog post on the subject of what the book’s early readers have taught her about her own work.
  • Finally, Bill Roorbach’s blog post on “reference season” is something every student, teacher, and potential student/potential teacher should read. Especially students and teachers of creative writing.

    • The Wednesday Web Browser

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled
  • The After Deadline blog deals with numbers in the news.
  • Tayari Jones shares the trauma and ultimate triumph of changing the title of her forthcoming novel.
  • Nova Ren Suma recalls six fateful paragraphs.
  • Book-reviewing advice from Sarah Weinman, Jane Litte, and another Sarah (last name not included).
  • Speaking of book reviewing, here’s my brief take on Mr. Rosenblum Dreams in English, a novel by Natasha Solomons.

    • The Practicing Writing blog is grateful for its readership! We’ll be taking a few days off for the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday. Warm wishes to all, and see you back here on Monday.

    The Wednesday Web Browser

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled
  • Some advice on running a great book event.
  • Tomorrow would have been Kurt Vonnegut’s 88th birthday. Just in time, Ninth Letter takes note, with a “sly tribute” and mention of Friday’s “sneak peek” of the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library in Indianapolis.
  • An item that reminds us of the power of poetry.
  • The latest After Deadline column opens with a focus on some especially “inviting” lead paragraphs.
  • A new blog from The Chronicle of Higher Education, Arts & Academe, presents “news and features on campus creativity,” and seems to post a new poem every Monday.

    • Monday Morning Markets/Jobs/Opportunities

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled
  • Dalkey Archive Press is currently accepting applications for paid internships in its Dublin and London offices. “The expectation is that one or both of these internships will become full-time positions within a year.” Applicants must be EU residents or legally permitted to work in the EU, among other requirements.
  • Words and Images has posted its 2011 submission guidelines: “Words and Images is accepting submissions for the 2011 issue. We are pretty eclectic (erratic?) in our tastes, and will therefore consider pretty much anything. Genre fiction, experimental work, Literature (with a capital L): whatever you have that you’d like to throw our way, just so long as it’s unpublished. We are also looking for two dimensional representation of all forms of visual art. For submissions across all genres we would prefer works that in some way highlights this year’s theme: Resurgam, a latin word that means ‘I will rise again’.” Pays: “We pay contributors in one copy, and $20 per poem and/or printed page of prose. We pay visual contributors $30 per piece.” (via Duotrope.com)
  • From the latest WritersMarket.com newsletter: “Songwriter’s Market has a new editor—actually two editors at the moment, and they’re looking for your submissions to the 2012 Songwriter’s Market! Send pitches for articles on the craft and business of songwriting to Adria Haley between now and November 30. E-mail pitches to adria(dot)haley(at)fwmedia(dot)com with the subject line: 2012 Songwriter’s Market Submission. Remember: Start your pitches with your article idea (or ideas). Don’t start off talking about yourself—unless you’re a famous songwriter like Willie Nelson or Lady Gaga.
  • WritersWeekly.com is looking for feature articles (pays: $60) and success stories (pays: $40).
  • Plenty of submission calls (from paying journals) and no-fee contest/competition info in our latest newsletter, which went out to subscribers at the end of last month and is now online for everyone to read.
  • Weber State University (Utah) “invites applications for one tenure-track position [assistant professor] in fiction writing, to begin August of 2011, depending on funding.”
  • “The Department of English at Christopher Newport University [Va.] invites applications for a full-time, tenure-track [assistant professor] faculty position in creative writing, effective August 2011.”
  • “The Department of English at Rollins College [Fla.] invites applications for a one-year visiting assistant professor position, beginning August 2011, to replace faculty on sabbatical leave. The teaching load is three (3) courses per semester for two semesters, including Introduction to Creative Writing (covering fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry) and Advanced Fiction Workshop; one or two courses in composition or literature possible.”
  • The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International (N.Y.) is looking for a Science Writer/Editor, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (D.C.) seeks a Development Writer, and Earth Island Journal (Calif.) invites applications for Managing Editor position.