Tuesday, September 30, 2008
The Rufus on Fire
Terry Kirts, the director of The Rufus & Louise Reiberg Reading Series at IUPUI, is working to raise the profile of the series. His latest step? Creating a Facebook group. Friend it. Or join it. Or whatever you're supposed to do on the new Facebook, which I'm still trying to figure out.
Book Choy Roadtrips: The Massacre at Fall Creek
The leaves are turning. Cider and pumpkins are available on nearly every corner. And we are reminded again that ghosts are in the air. So, it's the perfect time for an autumn weekend excursion into Indiana literary history. (I thought I'd give you a head's up and post this suggestion before the END of the week so you can fill up with gas while it's under 4 bucks).
This weekend why not head on over to Conner Prairie for a performance based on The Fall Creek Massacre. Jessamyn West's book about the first recorded case of white Americans being formally tried for the murder of Native Americans is one you can't miss. West's book is also a great example of using history as a basis for fiction. I'm sure you can buy it from Big Hat.
After you go to Conner Prairie for some historical theater (and pick up West's book at the shop), head on over to Pendleton and Markleville to see the actual spots (historical markers are at both sites and a museum with more info can be found beside the falls in Pendleton).
There you have it: theater, book, history, museum...and, if you take State Road 38, plenty of pumpkins and cider along the way.
This weekend why not head on over to Conner Prairie for a performance based on The Fall Creek Massacre. Jessamyn West's book about the first recorded case of white Americans being formally tried for the murder of Native Americans is one you can't miss. West's book is also a great example of using history as a basis for fiction. I'm sure you can buy it from Big Hat.
After you go to Conner Prairie for some historical theater (and pick up West's book at the shop), head on over to Pendleton and Markleville to see the actual spots (historical markers are at both sites and a museum with more info can be found beside the falls in Pendleton).
There you have it: theater, book, history, museum...and, if you take State Road 38, plenty of pumpkins and cider along the way.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Indiana's Poet Laureate at Central Library
Indiana's first poet laureate, Joyce Brinkman, along with Ruthelyn Burns, Joseph Heithans, Norbert Krapf and Jeannie Delter Smith, will be reading and signing copies of their new book "Rivers, Rails and Runways" at IMCPL's central branch on October 18th.
If you're wondering what, exactly, a poet laureate does, you can find out here. It's nice to remember sometimes that government can get along with the arts, especially as Indy continues to deal with some unpleasant changes in the city budget.
If you're wondering what, exactly, a poet laureate does, you can find out here. It's nice to remember sometimes that government can get along with the arts, especially as Indy continues to deal with some unpleasant changes in the city budget.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Democratic Vistas Revisited
So you might have heard, there is an election going on this year in the United States, which got me to thinking that I had not read Walt Whitman's Democratic Vistas in quite a while. If you have not read it, I highly recommend doing so. It's kind of long for an essay, and Whitman rambles a bit, but there is just so much good stuff in it, that it's worth the effort.
Among other things in the essay, Whitman calls for a truly American Literature to be created:
Among other things in the essay, Whitman calls for a truly American Literature to be created:Our fundamental want to-day in the United States, with closest, amplest reference to present conditions, and to the future, is of a class, and the clear idea of a class, of native authors, literatures, far different, far higher in grade than any yet known, sacerdotal, modern, fit to cope with our occasions, lands, permeating the whole mass of American mentality...
This was the idea behind his publishing Leaves of Grass--to create a truly American Literature. I'm sure that we could probably agree on some writers who have contributed to the effort in the last 150 years. I would be curious to know who you think has lived up to Whitman's charge in creating a new American Literature. And futhermore, do you think that the American writer today has any responsibility to shape the American psyche, and in doing so, even influence how our country is governed?
Sherman Alexie: Man, Myth, Writing Machine
Sherman Alexie Entertains, Indy.com Annoys
So, I was going to link to Indy.com’s promo piece on Sherman Alexie, but then I actually looked on Indy.com and saw their event categories. Let me see, Live Music, Recreation and Fitness, Museums . . . .
No category for Readings. No Lit Events.
Perhaps under Art and Exhibits? No. Way down at the bottom, just above Additional Categories, I found Seminars and Lectures.
Seminars and Lectures? Why not just label it Things That Will Bore You to Tears? Things to Attend With Your Grandfather Hoping He Won’t Fall Out of His Chair Asleep Again?
Oh, Indy.com. Freaking karaoke gets its own category, but not readings? You get no link.
So I turn to Porter Shreve, who, you know what? Is cooler than Indy.com anyway. Also he rules karaoke night at Cox’s Pub. That’s called crossover appeal, baby.
Here's a taste:
Over the course of a full day that included a question and answer session, an awards banquet and an evening "reading," the 40 year old author of 18 books barely discussed his new novel. But no one was disappointed. In fact, Alexie proved to be the most entertaining writer/performer I've ever seen take the stage. Combining standup comedy with brilliant storytelling he let pretty much everyone have it: privileged liberals, holier-than-thou vegans, fundamentalists of every stripe, conservative zealots, gays and straights, anyone who perpetuates the Native American myth of the land and most of all, himself ("I'm a bad Indian. I can't stand nature. For me, the outdoors is a long hallway between buildings.")
No category for Readings. No Lit Events.
Perhaps under Art and Exhibits? No. Way down at the bottom, just above Additional Categories, I found Seminars and Lectures.
Seminars and Lectures? Why not just label it Things That Will Bore You to Tears? Things to Attend With Your Grandfather Hoping He Won’t Fall Out of His Chair Asleep Again?
Oh, Indy.com. Freaking karaoke gets its own category, but not readings? You get no link.
So I turn to Porter Shreve, who, you know what? Is cooler than Indy.com anyway. Also he rules karaoke night at Cox’s Pub. That’s called crossover appeal, baby.
Here's a taste:
Over the course of a full day that included a question and answer session, an awards banquet and an evening "reading," the 40 year old author of 18 books barely discussed his new novel. But no one was disappointed. In fact, Alexie proved to be the most entertaining writer/performer I've ever seen take the stage. Combining standup comedy with brilliant storytelling he let pretty much everyone have it: privileged liberals, holier-than-thou vegans, fundamentalists of every stripe, conservative zealots, gays and straights, anyone who perpetuates the Native American myth of the land and most of all, himself ("I'm a bad Indian. I can't stand nature. For me, the outdoors is a long hallway between buildings.")
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Two Bit Interview: John McNally
Novelist and short story writer John McNally will read from his new collection Ghosts of Chicago at the inaugural Freight Stories fiction reading on Thursday, October 9 at 6:30 p.m. at the Irvington Branch of the Indianapolis Marion County Public Library (5625 East Washington Street, Indianapolis). The reading will be followed by a reception (yes!) with cash bar (someone buy me a drink!) at The Legend Classic Irvington Café, sponsor of the event.
McNally is the author of two novels, The Book of Ralph and America’s Report Card, and two short story collections, Ghosts of Chicago (forthcoming this October) and Troublemakers, among other work.
Recently, Victoria of Freight Stories asked McNally a couple of questions to pique your interest for the reading. That’s right: this is a BOOKCHOY EXCLUSIVE. Put that in your pipe and smoke it, Oprah.
Victoria: Ghosts of Chicago imagines moments in the lives of many well-known characters from the city's folklore. How did you choose the characters in Ghosts? Which ones still fascinate you after the book's publication?
McNally: In some instances, the real life characters I chose to write about were ones who have had some impact on me, in some small (or large) way, since childhood and adolescence, such as Frazier Thomas, an unlikely host of a popular children's morning show in Chicago, or John Belushi, whose obituary I wrote for my high school newspaper. I grew up watching Gene Siskel on the local news interviewing celebrities. In other instances, the characters' lives intrigued me, like Nelson Algren, who was having an affair with Simone de Beauvoir, or George Pullman, who went from being championed for his accomplishments to being reviled by the citizens of Pullman, Illinois, the town that housed his workers.
I'd made a long list of people I would have liked to have written about, but in the end, there were only so many stories I could fit into the book. My hope is that the ones I did choose give an impressionistic sense of the city's folklore.
Victoria: As a successful short story writer and novelist, how do you know when you sit down to write about a character whether you're writing a story or a novel? Did any of the characters in Ghosts tempt you into considering a longer work about them?
McNally: If I were tempted to write a novel about any of the characters in Ghosts, it would be Miss Betsy of "I See Johnny," whose story continually surprised me as I was writing it. But I suspect she'll live only in that short story. The short answer to your question is that I often let short story ideas percolate until I have a sense of their entirety in my head before I sit down to write them. I don't necessarily know what's going to happen in a story, but I have a general idea of what the story's arc is going to be. A novel, on the other hand, has to be bigger than I can hold in my head; the novel needs (for me, at least) to present a whole host of questions, large ones, before I dive into it. That said, I feel more comfortable writing short stories. They're safe; they're containable. A novel is like building a skyscraper by yourself. How am I going to lift this I-beam by myself? How am I going to put in these forty-foot windows without breaking them? It's a daunting task.
(thanks, Victoria)
McNally is the author of two novels, The Book of Ralph and America’s Report Card, and two short story collections, Ghosts of Chicago (forthcoming this October) and Troublemakers, among other work.
Recently, Victoria of Freight Stories asked McNally a couple of questions to pique your interest for the reading. That’s right: this is a BOOKCHOY EXCLUSIVE. Put that in your pipe and smoke it, Oprah.
Victoria: Ghosts of Chicago imagines moments in the lives of many well-known characters from the city's folklore. How did you choose the characters in Ghosts? Which ones still fascinate you after the book's publication?
McNally: In some instances, the real life characters I chose to write about were ones who have had some impact on me, in some small (or large) way, since childhood and adolescence, such as Frazier Thomas, an unlikely host of a popular children's morning show in Chicago, or John Belushi, whose obituary I wrote for my high school newspaper. I grew up watching Gene Siskel on the local news interviewing celebrities. In other instances, the characters' lives intrigued me, like Nelson Algren, who was having an affair with Simone de Beauvoir, or George Pullman, who went from being championed for his accomplishments to being reviled by the citizens of Pullman, Illinois, the town that housed his workers.
I'd made a long list of people I would have liked to have written about, but in the end, there were only so many stories I could fit into the book. My hope is that the ones I did choose give an impressionistic sense of the city's folklore.
Victoria: As a successful short story writer and novelist, how do you know when you sit down to write about a character whether you're writing a story or a novel? Did any of the characters in Ghosts tempt you into considering a longer work about them?
McNally: If I were tempted to write a novel about any of the characters in Ghosts, it would be Miss Betsy of "I See Johnny," whose story continually surprised me as I was writing it. But I suspect she'll live only in that short story. The short answer to your question is that I often let short story ideas percolate until I have a sense of their entirety in my head before I sit down to write them. I don't necessarily know what's going to happen in a story, but I have a general idea of what the story's arc is going to be. A novel, on the other hand, has to be bigger than I can hold in my head; the novel needs (for me, at least) to present a whole host of questions, large ones, before I dive into it. That said, I feel more comfortable writing short stories. They're safe; they're containable. A novel is like building a skyscraper by yourself. How am I going to lift this I-beam by myself? How am I going to put in these forty-foot windows without breaking them? It's a daunting task.
(thanks, Victoria)
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Frank Bidart Reads My Poem
Frank Bidart spent several day at Butler University giving readings, and meeting with students to discuss poetry. He spent three hours with the students in Butler’s new MFA program a week ago and even workshopped some poems written by the MFA students. 
My poem happened to be one of them. I was floored by the way he read my poem aloud. I had practiced reading the poem all afternoon, thinking that I would have to read it during class. But I didn’t read it. He did. And he put my own reading of the poem to shame. I heard things in the way he read my poem that I didn’t know were even there. Then, he led a classroom discussion of my poem, and again, I learned things about the poem that I did not know.
When I got home that night, I was looking through the copies of my poem returned to me with the comments from my classmates and professor in the workshop, and there was an extra poem with comments on it. It was the copy that Frank Bidart had read. How cool is that?
My poem happened to be one of them. I was floored by the way he read my poem aloud. I had practiced reading the poem all afternoon, thinking that I would have to read it during class. But I didn’t read it. He did. And he put my own reading of the poem to shame. I heard things in the way he read my poem that I didn’t know were even there. Then, he led a classroom discussion of my poem, and again, I learned things about the poem that I did not know.When I got home that night, I was looking through the copies of my poem returned to me with the comments from my classmates and professor in the workshop, and there was an extra poem with comments on it. It was the copy that Frank Bidart had read. How cool is that?
Later in the week, I was telling my father-in-law about the experience, and I tried to explain to him what it feels like to have Frank Bidart read your poem and give you suggestions on how to improve it. As a retired engineer and VP of sales, this is a world that he is not familiar with. The best metaphor I could come up with is that it’s like having Tiger Woods come out to the driving range and help you with your golf swing, but even that seems to fall short.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Art vs. Art
Call me sentimental, but there's nothing like the sound of chainsaw on canvas to fill me with warm fuzzies. Art Vs. Art is back, and the voting has already begun online.
I don't know if you're anything like me, but I've always been a little jealous of the visual arts, so while this isn't strictly a literary event per se, it's damn good catharsis. Check it out September 26th at the Vogue in Broad Ripple.
I don't know if you're anything like me, but I've always been a little jealous of the visual arts, so while this isn't strictly a literary event per se, it's damn good catharsis. Check it out September 26th at the Vogue in Broad Ripple.
Indy Rocks 'n' Reads
So, it's Saturday night and your mind is totally looped from Minnick's writing marathon, or from Masterpiece in a Day. "Boy," you say to yourself, "I love all this writing stuff, but what I really need right now is a party. If only there was a way to get my drink on and still be literary!" You're in luck.
Sound my Barbaric AWP
Just wanted to give you a heads-up that the 2009 AWP (Association of Writers & Writing Programs) conference is coming up in February in Chicago. I know that probably seems far off in the future, but you're going to want to book a hotel room and start hydrating real soon.
So I've heard, anyway. This conference will be my first one. I'm told to hit as many seminars as I can, and not to miss the bookfair, where watching a bunch of writers awkwardly attempt to network should be worth the price of admission by itself.
So I've heard, anyway. This conference will be my first one. I'm told to hit as many seminars as I can, and not to miss the bookfair, where watching a bunch of writers awkwardly attempt to network should be worth the price of admission by itself.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Haven Kimmel's Book Tour
Indiana author Haven Kimmel, who very recently passed through town on her book tour, has an interesting post on her blog right now celebrating the people and bookstores that have supported her. Her enthusiasm is wonderful:
"I unqualifiedly and unabashedly love independent bookstores. I’m fortunate enough to live in an area where I have three to choose from, including my hometown store, The Regulator Bookshop (and honestly, there is no reason not to order a book online from a local store – you’ll get it the same way you’d get it from a giant retailer). I’m one of those non-famous writers who has been greatly supported by independents from the very beginning of my career, so I owe them all a debt of gratitude. Really, I’ve been supported by booksellers, including at the two major chains, so thanks to them as well, especially for handselling those books of mine that fell under the radar . . . by which I mean all but the first one."
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Norman Minnick Will Run You Down
I mean, not with his car or anything. But his marathon workshop at the Indiana Writers' Center aims to run your brain down until your best ideas are exposed to air. Using exercises and prompts from Natalie Goldberg's "Writing Down the Bones", Minnick will be leading his Writing Marathon Saturday, September 27, beginning at 10 am.
Minnick is the author of the poetry collection "To Taste the Water". You can read an interview he did with the Southeast Review here, where he says all kinds of useful things, like this:
Minnick is the author of the poetry collection "To Taste the Water". You can read an interview he did with the Southeast Review here, where he says all kinds of useful things, like this:
MINNICK: None of this comes easy to me. The most difficult experience with the book was finding an order to the poems so they could each vibrate and experience some kind of electrical charge as they rubbed against each another. I especially suffered the waiting. I try to impose a habit, a structure, for writing and nothing comes. And I stress over it. I would like to be able to give in to the impulses that come at their own will... perhaps they would come more often.
SR: Do you have a writerly habit you'd like to break?
MINNICK: Let me follow the thought above, "I try to impose a habit, a structure, for writing and nothing comes. And I stress over it. I would like to be able to give in to the impulses that come at their own will... perhaps they would come more often." I would like to break the habit of expecting something from imposing a habit.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Masterpiece in a Day
Dr. Egon Spengler: I'm worried, Ray. All my readings point to something big on the horizon.
Winston Zeddemore: What do you mean, big?
Dr. Egon Spengler: Well, let's say this Twinkie represents the normal amount of artistic energy in the Indianapolis area. Based on this morning's reading, it would be a Twinkie thirty-five feet long, weighing approximately six hundred pounds.
Winston Zeddemore: That's a big Twinkie.
Winston Zeddemore: What do you mean, big?
Dr. Egon Spengler: Well, let's say this Twinkie represents the normal amount of artistic energy in the Indianapolis area. Based on this morning's reading, it would be a Twinkie thirty-five feet long, weighing approximately six hundred pounds.
Winston Zeddemore: That's a big Twinkie.
Riley Days
The annual Riley Festival in Greenfield celebrates the life and work of poet James Whitcomb Riley by featuring . . . almost no poetry at all!
Ah, there's a little poetry, if you get tired of eating fried snickers while looking at giant pumpkins. Check the calendar for details.
Ah, there's a little poetry, if you get tired of eating fried snickers while looking at giant pumpkins. Check the calendar for details.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Hoosier Storytelling Festival
I'm not sure if the title means they'll be telling stories ABOUT hoosiers, or merely TO hoosiers. I guess you'll have to go to find out. Tickets are on sale now.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Neville Sails Ghost Ship Through Inland Seas
Butler University's Susan Neville talks about her book, Sailing the Inland Sea, that recently won Indiana's highest book honor:
"As the inland sea that is my Midwest is covered by more layers of history, it's my hope that one copy of this book might remain in some library and be found, years down the road, by someone who might say here's a tree rung, a bit of exposed ocean, a ghost ship, the record of what some writers said while sailing through this land, trying to make sense of it.”
"Tree rung" is probably a typo of "tree ring," but I like it. Tree rung makes me think of those giant, shelf-life mushrooms that sometimes grow out of trunks of old trees.
"As the inland sea that is my Midwest is covered by more layers of history, it's my hope that one copy of this book might remain in some library and be found, years down the road, by someone who might say here's a tree rung, a bit of exposed ocean, a ghost ship, the record of what some writers said while sailing through this land, trying to make sense of it.”
"Tree rung" is probably a typo of "tree ring," but I like it. Tree rung makes me think of those giant, shelf-life mushrooms that sometimes grow out of trunks of old trees.
Second Story Looking for Volunteers
The Second Story, a writing outreach program for kids, is looking for help to help them kick off Phase 1.
"Phase 1 involves taking a team of Second Story tutors to IPS School 15 on the Near Eastside to work with a class of 4th graders once per week on Friday mornings from October 3 until spring. Each week, this team — which we'd like to be fairly consistent from week to week — will help students better enjoy creative writing by working with them in group and one-on-one settings. The time commitment will be from 9 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. each Friday (except when school is closed for holidays, etc.). We'll prep in the hour before the class session, work with the students for an hour and then talk together about the session at the end."
Jim Walker, Director, is looking to assemble his team pretty quickly. Contact him if you're interested in helping.
"Phase 1 involves taking a team of Second Story tutors to IPS School 15 on the Near Eastside to work with a class of 4th graders once per week on Friday mornings from October 3 until spring. Each week, this team — which we'd like to be fairly consistent from week to week — will help students better enjoy creative writing by working with them in group and one-on-one settings. The time commitment will be from 9 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. each Friday (except when school is closed for holidays, etc.). We'll prep in the hour before the class session, work with the students for an hour and then talk together about the session at the end."
Jim Walker, Director, is looking to assemble his team pretty quickly. Contact him if you're interested in helping.
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