Emerging Writers Network

Copper Canyon Press and Poets Against the War

The following is a letter being sent around, you'll probably see it in a few places today.  Dzanc Books and the EWN received it from the fine folks at Agni, who received it from the original senders from what I can tell.

Subject: Sam Hamill and Gray Foster

 

Dear friends of Sam Hamill and Gray Foster, Copper Canyon Press, and Poets Against the War:

 

You may have heard that Sam and Gray have had some financial reverses lately. Both have also have had recent hospital stays and still need treatment not covered by insurance.  Because of impaired hearing, Sam can no longer teach classes. He survives on his pension but has no room for emergency expenses.

 

We think that their friends will want to help Sam and Gray get through a difficult patch, and that's why we are raising funds in their behalf. No contribution is too small, and the names (though not the amount of donation) will be given in a few weeks to Sam and Gray, along with the total of contributions. Because of the emergency, donations must be received before the end of the month. This kind of fund doesn't qualify for tax-exempt status, so we suggest that those for whom this is a concern first determine the amount they would like to donate and then deduct from it the figure they estimate they would save if the contribution were deductible.

 

Because Alfred is in the U.S., he has set up a dollar account for the fund and checks or money orders (in dollars) should be made out in his name and sent to P.O. Box 214, Hopkinton, RI 02833 U.S.A.

 

This effort is probably best described not as charity but as compensation for unpaid labor involved in the founding and management of Copper Canyon Press and the website Poets Against the War, both extraordinary achievements for which we would like to show gratitude.

 

If you can forward this letter to those on your mailing lists, that would be great. Thank you for your interest and cooperation.

 

Sincerely,

 

Alfred Corn

Marilyn Hacker

Source of Lit - The Postman!

Once again, it's time to thank the postman for some of his recent deliveries to the EWN home offices (why he hasn't threatened to kick my ass for what he gets put through on what seems to be an every other daily occurrence at least, I still don't know).

Recent deliveries have included one from FSG. It's the forthcoming (March 2010) novel from Sam Lipsyte, The Ask.  I really enjoyed Home Land and the few stories from Lipsyte and am looking forward to this new one.

Another arrived from The Free Press.  It's the collection of essays edited by Elizabeth Benedict titled Mentors, Muses & Monsters:  30 Writers on the People Who Changed Their Lives.  As I flipped through it I realized the Samantha Hunt essay about Breece D'J Pancake I enjoyed so much in the recent P&W comes from this collection.

A package arrived from Octopus Books.  It contained the poetry collection, The Difficult Farm, written by Heather Christle, that I had recently ordered.  I had the pleasure of seeing Heather read while at AWP last year in Chicago, as she read at an offsite event.

A review copy of Jamie Iredell's Prose: Poems, a novel also arrived.  I've read a bit of this in chapbook form but look forward to seeing it all put together.

And Absinthe:  New European Writing issue 12 also arrived and looks pretty stunning with its green cover and the re-appearance of the Absinthe devil!

Plenty of great reading ahead, so once again, thanks to the postman.

Source of Lit - Hobart Online

A great interview with Victor LaValle, author of, most recently, the incredible novel, Big Machine.  This is a book I've read, loved and need to do a full review.  Just another great interview from Amy Minton.

Four great short stories on the shorter side of short stories from authors you've read about here in the past - Roxane Gay, and Chad Simpson, plus a couple from authors I've not brought up before - Brian Mihok and Justin Hamm.

All of these can be found in the November issue of Hobart online - well worth the 20 or 30 minutes you'll spend there reading.

Source of Lit - Oxford American Online

I haven't paid much attention to the fact that one of my favorite print magazines, Oxford American, had been making some serious upgrades of their website recently.

Just up in the past day or two that would be of interest to EWN readers?  The most in-depth interview of William Gay I've ever seen, an interview with Matt Baker, whose novel, Drag the Darkness Down, I'm in the middle of and can say to this point has an evil combination of humor and darkness that fits right into my reading enjoyment, and some mini-reviews of a nice group of books including Laura van den Berg's What the World Will Look Like When All the Water Leaves Us!

And December 1 has the next print issue, which is the annual Southern Music Issue, coming out - look for it!

Source of Lit - Unsaid - Cooper Esteban

So, this gets us to page 186 out of 504 in this issue of Unsaid.  Or author 29 out of 64.  Have no fear though, David and I have the next 7 author posts (which will get us to page 220) in progress and plan to keep working through this issue until we get to discuss the novella by Peter Markus that wraps the whole thing up!  For those that may have missed earlier posts, check out the full series, to date, here.

Cooper Esteban - 1563, Casa Buonarotti

I like what Esteban has done in this poem, starting with what I'll call the narrator's point of view, then shifting to what appears to be something from a text, and then jumping back to the narrator's point of view.  I like how the two different points of view have similar aspects to them without being obvious about it.  Esteban has written something that appears on the surface to be quite simple, when I'd venture to guess it took a great, great deal of effort to have done so.

David McLendon

I agree completely, Dan. Esteban's lines are eloquent and brief, but the attention he conveys displays what must have been a lot of work. His poems are ranked high on my list. There is an odd conflation of antiquity and the modern that comes across from his pages. Anyone interested in such a lasting newness should seek out his collections, Jove Protected by Geese and Mosefolket. I would gladly pay the price of admission for both books just to have in my possession the title of the former. Jove Protected by Geese. Brilliant.

Source of Lit - Unsaid - Emilia A. Phillips

Emilia A. Phillips - On Matter at Home

This poem jumped out at me as it was, and here comes the lack of understanding poetry, written in a straightforward manner.  That is, it seemed more realist to me, if that's the right term.  Or narrative?  There's a story being told within the three stanzas, one that even I was understanding upon my first read through.  This makes it sound like I found the poem might be simpler or less poetic than those we've previously discussed, but that's not my intention at all.  I thought Phillips did a great job of dropping little bits of information as the poem moved forward, hitting me with a surprise early in the third stanza that I believe was intended to be a surprise, but not one that comes so far out of left field that it makes no sense.  It fits in just fine.

As, to me at least, this poem seems to come from a different style set than many of those found earlier in this issue, I am curious as to what it was about it that had you finding it an Unsaid poem?

David McLendon

Being raised on rock albums of the 70's, I place a great deal of attention on the sequencing of the pieces that appear in Unsaid. I want each issue to be as close as possible to an orchestrated cycle of songs. It's by no coincidence that I placed the work of Phillips and Schorn side by side. There are perhaps no two writers in Unsaid who are more diametrically opposed. Yet they both present what I seek most for Unsaid: Difference.  The poem by Phillips emotes loss and longing, but with a great deal of authority.  There is nothing sentimental about her poem.  She sees her world clearly and places that clarity into words.  Hers is a plainspoken voice that demands to be heard.  She's a strong young poet, and I hope to hear more from her in the future.

Source of Lit - Poets & Writers

I'm sure most that read this blog also pick up, or subscribe to, Poets & Writers every couple of months when it comes out.  The November/December issue has hit stands recently and beyond including the first line from Laura van den Berg's story collection in the Page One Section, AND including The Collagist in the LitMag write-up, there are also a couple of great columns from long-time EWN members and favorites, Benjamin Percy and Jeremiah Chamberlin. 

Percy writes of how the main character from the movie Rocky continues to inspire him, and Chamberlin discusses how working at an independent bookstore helped him understand the industry much better.  It appears the Chamberlin column is an introduction to what will be a series of interviews with independent bookstores in future issues of the magazine.

I also really enjoyed Samantha Hunt's essay about Breece D'J Pancake as her anti-mentor.

There are also articles on Jonathan Lethem, Audrey Niffenegger, other columns and a big section on the MFA Programs that I've not dug into, but as usual, a pretty jam packed issue.

Established Writers Deserving of Wider Recognition

Part of what you can read in the upper left corner of this website, in the mission statement of the EWN is the idea of trying to garner wider audiences for 'established writers deserving of wider recognition.'

I just received two galleys this week, for a novel due in January from Knopf, by Steve yarbrough, and a short story collection due in February from Graywolf, by Alyson Hagy.  Between them they have published 6 previous short story collections, and 5 previous novels - all very well received by critics.  If only that meant they were widely read, or even widely discussed. 

I read fewer literary blogs than I used to on a regular basis, but I honestly don't believe I've seen news of these two titles on any other blogs.  And that's really just plain sad news.  PEN/Faulkner finalist, Best American Mystery Stories, Best American Short Stories and O.Henry Prize Stories are just a few places they've seen their writing.  Keep your eyes out for these two books.

One nice thing to see this past week was a title reviewed at Erik Smetana's blog, an older title that saw nothing but great reviews, but not enough of them - Steve Gillis' Temporary People:  a Fable.  YYou can see what Erik has to say here.  With two previous novels and a short story collection of his own prior to TP, Gillis fits right in with Yarbrough and Hagy as an author deserving much wider recognition.

Source of Lit - Storyglossia

The new issue of StoryGlossia is up, number 36!  It's the Music and Obsession issue and has some fine work from Tim Jones-Yelvington, Roxane Gay, Anne Valente, and 16 others.  I've not read the entire issue yet, but those that I've dipped into show the usual high level that makes Storyglossia one of my favorite regular reads.  And don't forget to stop by their blog once a week or so to catch up on great musings from editor Steven J. McDermott, interviews of Storyglossia authors by Assistant Editor, Anne Valente, and other great content.

Source of Lit - Unsaid - Brian Schorn

  Brian Schorn - Three Poems

I'm going to admit up front to not fully understanding the poems, or what Schorn was hoping to get the reader to take out of them, and am interested in finding out what it was about them that grabbed your attention. 

I think there are some great phrases and lines that sound great when read aloud, but the question I really walked away with after reading all three of these a few times apiece was - what in the world do the titles have to do with the poems?  Searching a bit further I do see how they might tie in, but it led me to wondering, for you, someone to whom words are so very obviously important, that is, specific words, and their placement within each piece, how important is the title of a piece to you? 

David McLendon

I was first introduced to Schorn's work through his collection, Strabismus. What appeals to me most in his writing is its liveliness. The poems at first glance may come across as stream of consciousness writing, but Schorn places a lot of meaning behind the structure. Regardless, it's the sensation of language created by Schorn that draws me to his work. The words appear to be living organisms on the page. Like Kira Henehn, Schorn is both smart and playful. His titles fit this category as well, and I see each matched perfectly with the text appearing below it. When referencing John Cage and Heinrich Rudolph Hertz, Schorn builds a narrative that stylistically reflects their lives. Schorn appears to me as a scientist-musicologist-historian with the soul of a poet. Each of these disciplines has a place in his work. He is curious and always learning--and he turns his knowledge into curious art.