Author, Professor, Blogger, and Huffington Post writer
Check out this post about a conference on teaching creative writing in Ireland. Looks like they’re beginning to put the subject under the lens as well.
I mentioned I was working on a project I was keeping under wraps for the time being; looks like I’ll have more news on that front on Friday. Check back here late in the day or Saturday for the latest news.
Bye y’all,
SV
So this finally came in the mail.
Perhaps one of the most eagerly anticipated packages in a long time. Needless to say, I began reading it immediately.
At first, I was a little underwhelmed, perhaps because the lead up to this book by game-changing author Brian Selznick was so great. More lovely writing than The Invention of Hugo Cabret, I was told. A stunning achievement.
I loved The Invention of Hugo Cabret; I thought the writing was fine the story absolutely enchanting, transfixing. In other words, Wonderstruck had some pretty big shoes to fill and at first, it wasn’t happening.
Sure, the stories, the textual story about a boy in search of his father, the illustrated story about the girl, fifty years earlier, in search of a her mother, were interesting enough but there were no fireworks. Until. . .
The stories began to merge. The Museum of Natural History came into play in a big way with cabinets of oddities and allusions to the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, Then there were the references to he 1964 World’s Fair, the Queens Museum and the panoramic replica of New York City that is housed there (I’ve stood before it in awe myself) and finally, the New York City blackout of 1977.
A children’s book, yes, but also a Generation X book if there ever was one, right up there with Rebecca Stead’s When You Reach Me, about growing up in New York City in the ’70’s.
One smile of recognition after another.
People lost and people found. Yes, a beautiful symphony.
Read it, y’all.
SV
I read six books this summer. I wish I had read more, but there it is. And here they are:
Quiet Americans by Erika Dreifus
I absolutely loved this book, about the long shadow cast on twenty and twenty-first century Jews by the Holocaust. I think what I loved most, beyond the writing, were the different human angles to this tragedy that the stories take. I even convinced my book club to read it and they seemed to enjoy it too. So go read it; you’ll not regret it. I promise.
Reality is Broken: Why Games Make us Better and How They Can Change the World by Jane McGonigal The whole family listened raptly to this book on our summer travels; in fact, our older son was so enamored of it that when we dropped him off at an academic camp in North Carolina for three weeks, we had to promise not to listen to it again until we picked him back up so he wouldn’t miss anything. It is unquestionably a game changer (pun intended, I guess) and I highly recommend it.
The Wilder Life: My Adventures in the Lost World of Little House on the Prairie by Wendy McClure Thoughtful, fun and a must- read for anyone who loved the book series.
Composing Ourselves as Writer Teacher Writers Starting With Wendy Bishop Edited by Patrick Bizzaro, Devan Cook and Alys Culhane A wonderful tribute, overflowing with insightful looks at Wendy’s life and work from every conceivable angle. Emotional too, though; (I’m tearing up just writing this) as I re-considered the indelible impact she had on our field I couldn’t help but wonder what would have happened if she hadn’t been taken from us so young. It made me ache with missing her; missing her work, really, since I didn’t know her that well.
Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel
This is a graphic memoir about growing up with a closeted gay father who committed suicide when the author was in college and was coming out herself. I’d heard about it for years and finally got around to reading it. Needless to say, it has only increased my admiration for the power of the graphic novel–the marriage of word and image–to tell these kinds of intense stories.
Alligators, Old Mink and New Money: One Woman’s Adventures in Vintage Clothing by Allison Houtte
Knowing I’d be without web access while on Nantucket, I downloaded a pile of books to my nook to ensure I wouldn’t run out of reading material. I forgot about the Nantucket Library, though, and how much I love visiting their stacks; I always find books there my library doesn’t have. This was one of them and it was a fun beach read.
The Architect of Flowers by William Lychack
I’m cheating a little because I finished reading this last April, and while I’ve talked about it a couple of times here I’ve never gotten to say how much I enjoyed it–it’s a truly incandescent (and I invoke that phrase rarely) and diverse group of stories. Read them to see how it’s done.
Okay, so technically that’s seven if you don’t mind counting April as sort of the beginning of summer. By the time you read this, though, I plan to be deep in a hotly anticipated new read, Brian Selznick’s Wonderstruck. The Invention of Huo Cabret changed everything in children’s literature about four years back; based on the reviews I’m reading, we should get ready for it to happen again.
According to UPS tracking, it’s in Hodgkins, IL and will arrive Tuesday. Tuesday!!! Argggh!
Bye y’all,
SV
Yay! My essay, “What I Did On My Summer Vacation: A Writing Teacher at a Writer’s Colony,” is now up on the Fiction Writer’s Review.
Editor Jeremiah Chamberlin worked hard with me to get it ready and it looks like the efforts paid off. And as always, FWR makes it look lovely with the photos and links. The photos of Dairy Hollow, however, inside and out, come from my camera.
Enjoy and let me know what you think.
Bye ya’ll,
SV
To borrow a phrase from another blogger, Wordamour has fallen off the blogging wagon big time and will now attempt to scramble back on. I’ve got a cache of posts I’m working on so hopefully I’ll be able to keep up.
It’s been a busy summer. I finished the third draft of the novel at Dairy Hollow Writer’s Colony–you’ll get to read about my incredible week there soon when the essay comes out on Fiction Writers Review.
I wrote two more essays for upcoming collections and a forward for Joe Rein, David Yost and Chris Dew’s Dispatches From the Classroom: Graduate Students on Creative Writing Pedagogy, which is coming out from Continuum in November. More when it comes out but it’s a great book, these three have got it going on.
Led the Great Bear Writing Project summer institute with Mike Rush, Jane Carpenter, Pam Bagby and Bri Spicer. And got to take a two week vacation that included my family on Nantucket and featured the wonder twins–my godchildren Jake and Jessica–turning one in all their adorableness and my husband’s family in Cobb Island, Maryland.
Also, recently an electric utility power cord brushed up against our house, caused a near fire and fried every appliance large and small in the house except the computers (thank God) which were hooked up to power strips. Fun times.
And now we’re back. School has started, I have some amazing students and have started working on a project I’ll be able to tell you more about at the end of October. Poet’s and Writer’s has published their MFA ranking lists and everyone is getting all riled up again, as they’ve done ever September for the past three years (or whenever the rankings started). Pundits have started talking about the MFA degree again, briefly, but it will probably all die down again until next year.
My two cents: ranking, I’m not sure about. I’m not a big rankings person–I’m not sure US News, Poet’s and Writer’s or anyone else has found a really fair way to do it. I’m not sure a fair way exists. But information–that’s what I do care about and a lot of programs aren’t providing enough information–or weren’t until Poet’s and Writers and Seth Abramson started the list. They still don’t like to do it. Why? Because the information they have doesn’t always make their programs look good. Or, they’re just lazy. Either way, they could do better.
Which I talk about extensively in my book, Rethinking Creative Writing, which came out in library ebook form in May (it costs a small fortune this way, if you want an individual copy wait until the hardcover comes out). We’re looking at January ’12 for the hardcover, with a possible early edition coming out in the UK in the fall (once again, my book is in the UK and I’m not; but that’s ok, as long as it’s having a good time).
Hopefully when it comes out in the US this winter, I can ruffle enough feathers to get the MFA conversation going again.
Bye y’all just for now, really,
SV
Wordamour is pleased to announce that today’s blog post is actually over at Erika Dreifus’ blog/newsletter/website Practicing Writing.
It’s fitting that Wordamour’s first interview about the book would appear on this site, as she has admired Dreifus’ work and her site for years and has been admonishing her readers to make it part of their regular reading. It’s a great resource. And her book of stories, Quiet Americans, has been making all kinds of best lists.
Erika asked some wonderfully in-depth questions and Wordamour had a great time answering them. It’s a terrific way to find out more about the book.
So what are you waiting for? Get thee over to Practicing Writing and check it out!
By y’all!
SV
The Great Bear Writing Project had its annual writing marathon in Little Rock today, reminding Wordamour what a great town this is for word/book lovers. First, there’s the sumptuous Main Branch of the Central Arkansas Library, a lovely building with a fantastic collection and a new fifth floor holding the nonfiction, a new cafe and panoramic views of downtown Little Rock. Then there’s the Arkansas Studies Institute. And the piece de resistance, the multistoried Rivermarket Books which features three floors of beautiful gently used books. . .and a huge range of bibliophile gifts.
We’ll let the photos below tell the rest of the story. . .
Bye y’all,
SV
The library edition of Rethinking Creative Writing, actually the ebook being made available to libraries worldwide, is out!
And your library wants to order it, right? Right! Information on ordering is available here.
If you just want to see the link to the e-reader edition on the Sony e-store, that’s here. And for more general information about the book, check here.
Word has been pretty positive so far, so I’m pumped. My friend Erika Dreifus over at one of my favorite writing blogs, Practicing Writing, has read it and sent along kind words. And she wants to interview me about it for Practicing Writing; more on that as it develops. . .
My friend Anna Leahy, who administers the Creative Writing Pedagogy facebook page, was kind enough to put word out there and the response was good! And when I put a link to the book in my own status, the response was truly encouraging. I am lucky to have such friends.
Anthony Haynes, my brilliant editor at Professional and Higher says we’re taking the John the Baptist approach with the book, announcing the e-reader/library edition first, drumming up buzz. Next will be the hardcover.
All in all very exciting stuff. . .with more to come!
Bye for now y’all!
SV
For some serious antiquing. I’ll be out of town for Bargains Galore on 64 this year, so consider this post a substitute.
This is Mr. Wordamour’s birthday weekend and as a present from the kids he wanted them to go hiking with him to the top of Pinnacle Mountain outside Little Rock. Normally I like hiking around Pinnacle but he knew I’d been looking forward to the first-ever Antiques Fair in Conway, Antiques Alley, for months and so he excused me from going along.
Yes, Mr. Wordamour gives me an entire day on my own for antiquing on HIS birthday weekend. That’s just the kind of husband I have. I’m darn lucky and I know it. Nonetheless, he is being feted all day today.
Anyway, all I can say is it was an amazing! fair and I hope the sponsors holds lots more of them. Then I’ll be less jealous when I open the pages of my favorite magazines and read about all the amazing fairs in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and California but nowhere near ME!!
Enjoy the photos. Lots of eye candy. My absolute favorite booth was Willownest–click for her gorgeous blog/store near Round Top, TX (another antiques mecca). If it’s silver and white and glittery it came from Willownest.
As usual, Wordamour’s summer vacation to do list is filling up with stuff; the Great Bear Writing Project, meetings about some new projects, writing a couple of articles, reading for the 4C’s and the Norman Mailer Nonfiction awards. Also looking forward to some good books and family time.
Another thing Wordamour is looking forward to is a week at the Writer’s Colony at Dairy Hollow in Eureka Springs, where Wordamour plans to whip a third draft of the novel into shape. Working on the second right now and relatively pleased with how it’s going–we’re getting closer, folks. The day before Wordamour’s residency starts she is doing a publishing workshop at the Eureka Springs library under the Dairy Hollow auspices as well (more on that as it develops), which not only sounds fun but is also paying for the entire week. Don’t you just love it when bartering works out!
Anyway, this weekend, in her garage sale travels, Wordamour actually came upon the following, for cheap, and it was actually signed by the author and legendary foodie, Crescent Dragonwagon (also children’s lit royalty, she is a children’s writer and daughter of famous editor/doyenne Charlotte Zolotow) who ran Dairy Hollow when it was a bed and breakfast.
Reading the book was great fun but the recipe Wordamour was most interested in trying out first was the Dairy Hollow Oatmeal Bread Supreme. And oh man, was it supreme–or rather sublime. Which is why it’s being posted here:
Dairy Hollow Oatmeal Bread Supreme
Place in a large bowl:
3 cups oatmeal, 1 tablespoon salt, 1/3 cup mild honey
Heat together until the butter melts:
1 3/4 cups heavy cream, 1/4 cup water, 1/4 buttter
Pour the hot mixture over the oatmeal and let stand till lukewarm. Meanwhile, combine in a small bowl:
1/3 cup lukewarm water, 2 tablespoons yeast, 2 tablespoons honey
By the time the oatmeal-milk mixture has reached lukewarm, the yeast honey-mixture should be bubbling exuberantly. Combine the two and stir in, a cup at a time
2 cups unbleached white flour
Continue adding unbleached white flour till dough is stiff enough to knead and do so, for 5 or 6 minutes, on a floured surface,until dough is smooth and elastic. Place in a clean greased bowl and let rise until doubled in bulk–about an hour. Punch down dough, shape into two loaves and place the loaves into greased bread pans to rise a second time. Let rise again, this time about 45 minutes and bake for about 50 minutes at 375. This last bit is what the recipe calls for, but I find I have to be sure to put the loaves on the bottom rack and start checking them at 40 minutes to make sure they don’t burn. Ovens must run hotter than they did 25 years ago, when the cookbook was published.
The smell while it’s baking is absolutely heavenly and the bread itself divine. This one is definitely a keeper.
Hoping to have more time to check in now that summer’s here.
Enjoy, y’all,
SV
Author, Professor, Blogger, and Huffington Post writer. Stephanie Vanderslice aims to write what she likes to read: fiction and nonfiction that spins a web to lure the reader in. Read More…