For me it is a big one.
This link will take you there. It’s very interesting to read!
For consideration: how do you know if your writing is good? I’d reckon no - I mean it’s probably dangerous to be too sure about it because it’s so easy to be self-indulgent… but for me, if I [...]
Entries Tagged as 'Musings'
Salon Article Considers the Place Bad Writing Holds In Our Lives
May 12th, 2010 3 Comments
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Humor in Ulysses
May 3rd, 2010 7 Comments
I’m reading Ulysses by James Joyce. Some of you might have read the recent guest post on the novel. So far I’ve found it enjoyable, a barrel of laughs even, though of course there are one or two sections that are as pleasurable as running up and down stairs (which could be VERY pleasurable, [...]
Tags: Brooks · language usage · literary taste
On “Themes”
April 30th, 2010 1 Comment
There’s a running joke in my writing group that I only write stories about ambiguous relationships — though calling it a joke is a little misleading, as it sort of implies there’s no element of truth to it when in fact ambiguous relationships crop up in my fiction all the time. It’s something I’ve long [...]
Tags: Andrew · writers' habits · writing
GRS Preview!
April 27th, 2010 1 Comment
This Friday marks the last GRS reading of the semester. That means you’d better eat your fill of those rice crispy treats because it’s a long summer ahead. Up at the podium we’ve got Wes Hazard and Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich in the company of:
Sarah Banse, first year Fiction MFA. She will, however, be reading non-fiction at [...]
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John Scalzi on Lionel Shriver and teacher guilt
April 22nd, 2010 2 Comments
Well? Are MFAs “unwholesome” or aren’t they? (For those of you teaching college comp, the question is more, “Am I, through this MFA, providing these students with an essential skill? Is it enough?”)
This tends to come up more often than it should–I’ll admit to overthinking it, asking people with Ph,D.’s about it who don’t know [...]
Tags: Dead Horse · MFA · Shriver · Whatever
Better Living Through Chemistry
April 20th, 2010 2 Comments
I went to AWP in Denver. I unpacked one of my bags yesterday. Here is what was inside:
Tags: AWP · Brooks · literary magazines
Exactly How Far Your MFA Experience Gets You: Guest Post by Danielle Monroe
April 19th, 2010 5 Comments
Danielle sent this to me last week. I’m just now putting it up because I powered down Thursday night-Saturday morning and watched 14 episodes of Lost. Sorry, Danielle. That show sucks. -Peter
The past few days in Denver served as a reboot both creatively and professionally. For me, it was a violent reminder that talent [...]
Momentum: Notes on AWP
April 13th, 2010 1 Comment
I’ve just returned from my third AWP. With thirds come charms, crowds, punchlines, and for me at least a satisfying sort of arc, grounding me back into the reality of writing as a career. For God’s sake, just look at how many attendees there were at this conference. Somehow, they managed to [...]
Tags: AWP Conference · Bridget · literary magazines · writing
Guest Post: Using the Lives of Others by Hairee Lee
April 13th, 2010 1 Comment
Reporting from AWP Conference in Denver: Panel Discussion “That’s Private!” with Antonya Nelson, Steven Schwartz, Ann Cummings, and Sylvia Brownrigg
Writers write from their lives and this includes the people in their lives. But what’s permissible? Aesthetically desirable?
Graham Greene said that there exists a “splinter of ice in the heart of a writer,” that is, [...]
Note about Current and Forthcoming AWP posts
April 12th, 2010 3 Comments
As Andrew’s said, several Vernacular writers attended AWP, and have things to say about it/Denver/9000 writers’ descending upon an unsuspecting town/five-people-in-one-double-at-the-Grand-Hyatt. Since free Internet was difficult for some to find ($13/day in the convention center, but free at McDonald’s?), these posts will be going up over the next week or so, some about AWP directly, [...]
Tags: AWP · Denver · inappropriate solicitations · indecent suggestions · unseemly proposals