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Friday Find: Tess Gallagher’s Commencement Address to Whidbey Writers Workshop MFA Graduates, August 2009

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled

Last month, Tess Gallagher – self-described poet, essayist, short story writer, scriptwriter, and nonfiction writer – addressed the newest graduates of the Whidbey Writers Workshop MFA program. Her speech, titled “The Writers’ Life: A Few Observations,” is now online, and I recommend that you all take some time this weekend to read it. As many of you probably know, Gallagher is the widow of Raymond Carver, and her reflections in this speech include a judicious sprinkling of Carver-related anecdotes.

Enjoy, and see you back here next Tuesday (I’ll be observing the Jewish Holy Day of Yom Kippur on Monday–no blogging!).

The Writer’s Block: Midge Raymond’s Blog on Living a Writer’s Life

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled

Just a quick note to share that Midge Raymond, author of Forgetting English, which I reviewed earlier this year, is blogging about writing for the Seattle P-I. Although some of the content is clearly directed toward Seattle-area writers, much of it is targeted to a broader audience. I think that the blog, titled “The Writer’s Block: Living a Writer’s Life,” is well worth your time. Check it out!

Fearless Confessions: An Interview with Sue William Silverman

by Erika Dreifus on
9

Remember when I told you I’d read Fearless Confessions: A Writer’s Guide to Memoir while I was on vacation? Well, that reading helped me frame interview questions for the book’s author, Sue William Silverman, who joins us on the blog today for some Q&A.

Sue is a faculty advisor at the Vermont College of Fine Arts and the associate editor of the journal Fourth Genre: Explorations in Nonfiction. Her first book, Because I Remember Terror, Father, I Remember You, received the AWP Award in Creative Nonfiction. She is also the author of Love Sick: One Woman’s Journey through Sexual Addiction (made into a Lifetime TV movie), and Hieroglyphics in Neon, a collection of poems.

Please welcome Sue William Silverman.

ERIKA DREIFUS (ED): In this book, you offer what may be most appropriately described as a “fearless” defense of memoir, taking on several of the criticisms that have been leveled at the genre in recent years. Which criticism distresses you most, and why? Which do you think may, in fact, hold at least some validity for memoir writers to consider as they craft their work?

SUE WILLIAM SILVERMAN (SWS): What most distresses me is when memoirs, especially those written by women, are labeled “confessional.” In effect, these critics are implying that women’s memoirs are nothing more than navel gazing, that they have no literary merit. I deliberately use the word “confessional” in my title, however, in order to redeem it from the media’s disparaging use of it. Women’s memoirs are just as important from a literary standpoint as memoirs written by men…and are as worthwhile as any other literary form for that matter, such as poetry and fiction.

In other words, when I write about recovering from incest or sexual addiction, I’m also writing about loss, alienation, identity. Aren’t these universal themes to which most anyone can relate? Aren’t these also social issues, part of what society struggles with on a daily basis—so not navel gazing at all. By casting light on my story, I’m hopefully helping others better understand their own.

But, is there some validity to this attack, you ask? Well, granted, if a memoir isn’t artistically crafted, isn’t metaphoric, yes, the book might not be universal. So that’s why Fearless Confessions focuses on how to craft your life narrative into art!

ED: In the book’s first appendix, you provide a terrific overview of subgenres of creative nonfiction: biography, autobiography, immersion, memoir, personal essay, meditative essay, and lyric essay. When I was an MFA student (in fiction), it seemed that virtually all the creative nonfiction students in my program were concentrating on memoir and personal essay. Why do you think creative nonfiction courses and programs tend to be dominated by these subgenres rather than others? As a teacher, how do you ensure that creative nonfiction students attend to multiple forms of the genre in their writing (and reading)?

SWS: I’m pleased you found that article, “The Meandering River,” helpful. Thank you.

I agree that most writing programs focus on memoir and personal essay. Why? Perhaps because the faculty itself feels more comfortable with those forms.

At Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA), where I teach in the low-residency MFA in Writing program, we recently hired a terrific writer, Robert Vivian, who published an amazing collection of meditative essays, Cold Snap as Yearning. So now we have a faculty member well equipped to teach the less narrative-driven—more image-drive—form of creative nonfiction. In short, when seeking out a writing program, it helps to look for one that has an aesthetically diverse faculty, one able to teach a range of creative nonfiction.

I also assign my students books that are representative of the various subgenres. Fearless Confessions, by the way, has a long creative nonfiction reading list. This list is also available on my Web site.

ED: Writing exercises appear often in this book. Please tell us about any other resources–books, Web sites, etc.–that you would recommend specifically for the exercises they offer memoir writers.

SWS: Sure, some Web sites that I think are particularly helpful are writingitreal.com; absolutewrite.com; writedirections.com; writersdigest.com; writing-world.com; writermag.com; bylinemag.com (ed. note: according to a note on its Web site, ByLine is ceasing publication). Another book that I find helpful is Tell it Slant, by Suzanne Paola and Brenda Miller.

ED: Your book takes the perspective that everyone has a story to tell. But we all know that publishing one’s told story can prove to be challenging. Your chapter on “Marketing Your Memoir” provides some wonderful overall advice and resources for those seeking publication. But you must also have some very specific insights grounded in your editorial responsibilities for the journal Fourth Genre. Could you please share with us a bit about how work is ultimately chosen for publication in Fourth Genre?

SWS: What I specifically like about Fourth Genre: Explorations in Nonfiction is the wide range of voices that we publish. We like to publish all the subgenres of creative nonfiction (mentioned above), and include as many different voices as possible.

But before you send out your work, be sure it’s really finished. Ask yourself: does every sentence sing? Is every sentence as beautifully written as possible? Have I developed my work metaphorically? Am I doing more than “merely” telling the story of what happened to me; am I also reflecting upon the past, so that, as a writer, I am now seeing the past in a new light? Proofread, of course, before submitting, and be sure there are no spelling or grammatical errors. It is difficult to get published. That’s why you want to submit your best possible work, a piece that has undergone multiple revisions.

But if you get rejected, keep trying! Don’t get discouraged. I still get rejection letters. Art is incredibly subjective. I’ve had an essay rejected by one journal, only to have it win a contest in another one! So never stop trying! Believe in yourself as a writer, as an artist.

ED: Anything else you’d like us to know?

SWS: I teach, as I mentioned, at the low-residency MFA in Writing program at the Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA). In addition to this two-year writing program, every summer, VCFA has a Postgraduate Writers’ Conference that lasts five days—and it’s five days of very intensive study in all the genres: creative nonfiction, fiction, poetry, and young adult literature. Just something to keep in mind. The conference is also a lot of fun! I wish all of you the very best as you pursue the writing of your own life narrative. Remember: all our voices are important!

For more information about Fearless Confessions, please visit the author’s Web site and/or view the video book trailer.

After the Retreat: A Guest Post by Chloé Yelena Miller

by Erika Dreifus on
3

AROHO Retreat: Digestion
Second of two guest posts by Chloé Yelena Miller

AROHO, pronounced as one word, is the acronym for A Room of Her Own.

Oneness was the unofficial theme of this year’s retreat. A group of 80 or so women gathered in the red desert to share ideas, challenge each other, and form one community.

I wanted to write this blog post at the weeklong retreat. In my creaky bed, I tried to summarize what was happening. But even at the airport returning home, I was overwhelmed.

So I asked AROHO friends on Facebook what their favorite moments were:

Barb Johnson, Gift of Freedom Award Winner and author of More of This World or Maybe Another, wrote, “Rita Dove. Transcendent readings. Wonderful conversations. Dancing. Discovering that hummingbirds chitter.”

Jennifer Mattson, NPR contributor and instructor, added, “Rita Dove, twice. Conversations with Barb Johson, hiking and the Georgia O’Keeffe tours…. and of course late nights with the roomie.”

“Two moments: The first evening, one of the women explained the perseids (she goes somewhere each year to see them), which was a first clue this would be an interesting, informed group. Also, Meredith [Hall]’s exercises for memoir writing” were oral historian Abbie Reese’s favorite memories.

Summer Wood, Gift of Freedom Award Winner and author of Arroyo, shared: “Ellen [McLaughlin]’s phenomenal monologue following Rita [Dove]’s lovely, generous reading. I thought I was going to explode out of my skin.”

I filled up a notebook. I wanted to remember Mary Rose Betton teaching us about reading our work aloud, starting with our natural voice (which can be found by simply saying, “uh huh”). I wanted to remember Rita Dove saying: “After a project, I promise myself to do something completely different. Something that scares me.” On writing for public radio said, Jennifer Mattson said: “Always mumble when you write. Read and write at the same time.” I keep thumbing through the notebook.

Many women arrived planning to write throughout the days. Since I work alone from home, I wanted to meet people and attend classes. I tried not to sit in my room, but rather talk with other writers who were up for conversation.

I mentioned in the previous post that I attended Smith College, an all-women’s school. Perhaps because I’d already experienced being part of a supportive, all-women’s network, I was particularly interested in finding honest critiques of my writing.

Luckily, author Laura Fraser’s workshop on creative nonfiction did just that. She was firm and clear. I’d read her book An Italian Affair before leaving. I knew she was successful in her freelance career. She was candid in class, shared tips with us and encouraged us to be precise. She noted the “one rule.” Every piece, paragraph, and even sentence should have one point. She recommended On Writing Well by William Zinsser, and as I reread the book on the plane, it reverberated with Laura’s points and her writing. She helped the students in the class trust each other, ourselves and our writing enough to want it to be as good as possible.

There were moments the setting distracted me from the writing. It turns out that I am as afraid of coyotes’ howling as I am of sleeping in a room with an unlocked door that opens up to the outside. This retreat caught me a little off guard with how rural it was. This Jersey girl needs a tougher skin.

That said, I’ve never been anywhere where the stars shone as brightly as they did at night. I’d also never felt as safe and as challenged as I did there.

As soon as I got back home, I took a long, hot shower and then logged into Facebook to find my new friends. I trust that some of us will be sharing writing for years to come and prompting each other not only to write, but to write well.

Thank you to everyone who worked to organize this wonderful retreat.

What Are We Doing?

by Erika Dreifus on
5

Late last week, Lisa Romeo posted a fantastic post that began with these lines: “When it seems as if I’m busy, busy but getting nowhere, I write a DOING List. Not a TO DO list, but a look-what-I’m-doing/accomplishing/what-I-have-in-the-works list. Sort of like a motivation-approbation-affirmation rolled into one.”

Lisa then shared her latest “doing list,” and it was (not surprisingly, if you follow Lisa and her work) quite impressive. I loved the thinking that inspired it, so over the weekend, I decided to try drawing up a doing list of my own. Here goes:

…finishing a book review for a favorite site…submitting an essay to another couple of journals (and thinking of more possibilities to try once the September submissions floodgates open)…preparing the September issue of The Practicing Writer, which will include an interview with author John Griswold…preparing another author interview for the Practicing Writing blog…reading a review copy that arrived last week…preparing more items for both my blogs…reminding myself of the September 15 deadline to submit a poem for a themed journal issue and challenging myself to just write the thing already…

My list actually doesn’t make me feel as much approbation or affirmation as I think the project is intended to. Instead, it points out to me the paucity of “creative” work I am doing. At the same time, I have to remind myself that I do hold a full-time, 9-5 job. (If I had another 40 hours each week to focus on writing, I do believe that I’d get a lot more writing done!) And while the writing-related work that I am doing at the moment may not necessarily be advancing my own “corpus” all that much, I do take a great deal of satisfaction in advancing the work of others and engaging with the literary community through my newsletter and blogs.

The list does, however, motivate me: to do more. Right after I finished it, I stopped reminding myself of that September 15 deadline and just sat down to continue writing the damned thing. However the piece eventually turns out, I am just glad to be engaged in it.

What about you? What does your own “doing” list reveal? What’s on it, and what does the act of writing it out tell you?