Andrew's Book Club

Andrew has made two excellent selections for Andrew's Book Club for September. The university press selection is Anne Sanow's Triple Time, which won the Drue Heinz Prize for Literature. (I've known Anne's work since I was a reader for Shenandoah and was lucky enough to find one of her stories in the slush pile and did my small part in getting it published by the magazine.) And the big house pick is Girl Trouble by Holly Goddard Jones. Holly I know from Sewanee and her book is attracting a good bit of attention.

Good work Andrew!

Get Lit!

Check out the new blog, Get Lit!, and, in particular, this review of Women Up On Blocks by Mary Akers.

Sign

This is the week. The push begins. My book arrives this week. The pre-orders will be shipped out (after I've inscribed the copies) and my very first event takes place this coming Saturday, September 5, from 10:00AM to 1:00PM at The Sacred Circle, where I'll be signing copies of my book. There's a lot going on in Staunton that day--come on down and visit the store, and be among the first to own a copy!

The New Yorker: "Fountain House" by Ludmilla Petrushevskaya

“There once lived a girl who was killed, then brought back to life.” That’s a fairly stunning opening sentence, it seems to me. And I was drawn into the story of the grieving father who takes extraordinary measures to get treatment for his daughter who has been killed in a terrorist bombing.

At least I was until this: “The father slept, and in his dream he met his daughter . . .” And thereafter, I am forced to doubt everything that happens. Is it all a dream? The father isn’t sure, and neither am I. Does the doctor succeed in reviving her? I don’t know. And, furthermore, even if the dream ends and the narrative returns to reality, I find dreams in fiction to be terribly manipulative, and I mistrust stories that employ them. In this particular dream, the father feeds a sandwich to his daughter, but when he discovers that the sandwich is made of a raw human heart, he eats it himself. And this incident takes place in a “paradisiacal spot”—“In the fields, amid soft green hills, he found an enormous gray house . . . and there . . . he saw a fountain, as tall as the house, with one tight jet of water that cascaded at the top into a glistening crown.” So, the fountain house represents what, exactly? And why should the story depend on this heavy-handed dream?

If in fact the father returns from the dream, it appears that the daughter is getting a transfusion from him. But we’ve been told that there was no doubt—she’s dead. (The doctor knows she’s dead, but needs the money the father has offered.)

And so the girl revives. The father knows it’s because he ate a human heart so that she wouldn’t have to. Here’s the story’s final line: “But then that had happened in a dream, and dreams don’t count.” Exactly so.

August 31, 2009: “The Fountain House” by Ludmilla Petrushevskaya

Collection Evolution

I have a guest post up today at Flash Fiction Chronicles: Collection Evolution. Check it out for a little taste of how my book, In an Uncharted Country, came about.

Shya Scanlon Serialized

Here's an interesting development. Shya Scanlon's novel Forecast is being serialized across 42 blogs, websites, and journals. I happened to stumble upon Chapter 12, but the links are at Scanlon's website so you can go back to the beginning and read forward.

I would love to have participated in this if I had known. Cool idea.

"Writing the Literary Short Story" -- Writers.com

Beginning Monday, August 24, I'm teaching an online class through Writers.com: Writing the Literary Short Story. It's a ten-week class for intermediate and advanced writers in which we will deepen understanding of elements of the short story, and students will have a short story draft critiqued by the workshop, including a revision. If you're looking for a writing workshop, this online format may work for you. Take a look at the course description and contact Writers.com as soon as possible if you are interested. There are only a couple of places left in the class.

New Issue: Vestal Review #36

Vestal Review #36 has just gone live. Among other things, check out this Interview with Stuart Dybek by MaryAnne McCollister.

The New Yorker: "Max at Sea" by Dave Eggers

This is an excerpt from Eggers’s new book, due out in October. It’s based on his screenplay, which is based on Maurice Sendak’s “Where the Wild Things Are.” I dislike it on multiple levels. It’s an excerpt. It’s doubly derivative. And although the writing is fine and fluid, the story is . . . not. Max is a kid with a wolf costume who argues with his sister, his mother, and his mother’s boyfriend. He runs out of the house, into the night and into a different world: “The air and the moon together sang a furious and wonderful song: Come with us, wolf-boy!” He finds a boat and sets sail, but instead of heading to sea he goes across the bay to the city where his father lives. But he can’t get there and ends up in the open sea after all. To pass the time, he recalls everything and everyone he knows. Eventually, he comes to an island, still wearing his wolf suit. As he makes his way on the island, he discovers animals, large beasts he doesn’t recognize. He tries to hide from them, but he overhears them talking, and learns their names: Carol, Douglas, Judith, Ira, Alexander, Bull. Carol, the leader, wants help to finish the job of destroying some nests the beasts have found. So Max volunteers and together he and Carol do the work. But it turns out they’re destroying their own nests. And the beasts turn on him. But he slows them down by telling them a story . . . declares himself king. Still, it isn’t clear that they aren’t going to eat him.

Waste of time, waste of New Yorker ink. In my opinion.

August 24, 2009: “Max at Sea” by Dave Eggers

New Stories from the South

My copy of this year's edition of New Stories from the South, edited by Madison Smartt Bell, arrived today. I wish I could say I had a story in it, but I can say that there are some terrific stories by other people: Pinckney Benedict is there with a story from Image; Kevin Wilson's story from Tin House is there; Jill McCorkle's story from Narrative is also there. And a bunch more. It looks like very good reading.

Recommended Reading

I make an appearance today at Ravi Mangla's Recommended Reading. Come take a look at what I'm reading, and then browse the visits with other writers.

In an Uncharted Country

Have I mentioned lately that my book, IN AN UNCHARTED COUNTRY, is available for pre-order at Press 53? Order now to reserve an autographed copy that will be shipped as soon as the books roll off the presses (and travel to my dining room table where I'll be doing the signing). Pre-ordering is nice, but don't panic if you forget to do that, as there will be other opportunities to get a signed copy of the book.

I'm posting my appearances in support of the book on my website and I'll mention them here from time to time as well.

For example, on September 5, from 10:00am to 1:00pm I'll be at The Sacred Circle bookstore in Staunton, VA.

On September 10, from 5:00pm to 7:00pm, I'll be at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL at the Northwestern University Alumni Association Leadership Symposium signing books.

On September 25 at Noon, I'll read from the book at New Dominion Bookshop in Charlottesville, VA, along with Josh Weil, author of The New Valley.

And on the evening of September 25, from 6:00 on, I'll be celebrating the publication of the book at the Darjeeling Cafe in Staunton.

New Issue: NOÖ

NOÖ Issue [10] is up and lookin' good.

Interview with Curtis Smith

Hey! Check out Meg Porkrass's interview with Curtis Smith in Smokelong Quarterly (there's a bunch of other good stuff there to check out, too). Curtis has a couple of books published by Press 53. While you're checking those out, you could, ahem, also check out MY book, which is also published by Press 53.

Books and Bookshelves

You buy books, so you probably need bookshelves, too, right? How about a store that sells both? What a great idea! Meet Books & Bookshelves, the San Francisco store that has what you need.

The reason they came to my attention is that they specialize in small press books, which makes them TRULY unique:

We specialize in small press books by local authors and publishers, and take great pride in our poetry section, which we think is one of the best around. We also have smaller sections for fiction, criticism, cookbooks, art, nature, spirituality, and a few other categories. We don’t try to stock all sorts of books, and tend to avoid mainstream thrillers and anything on the best-seller lists.

We like to stock books that you may not find elsewhere.

If you're in San Francisco, check the place out! It's at 99 Sanchez St. And be sure and check their website for events -- it looks like they've got a reading series going.

New Issue: Bound Off

It's the 15th of the month, which means it's time for a new issue of Bound Off, and this month Ann and Kelly give us a taste of their own work (excerpt from "The Book of Joanie" by Kelly Shriver and excerpt from "The Bartender's Daughter by Ann Rushton), as well as music from Mark Rushton and work by Dave Robinson. Give a listen! (My iPod Touch might arrive today. Could this be my first download?)

New Magazine: Cerise Press

It seems to be a good month to launch new online magazines. On the same day that The Collagist opens its doors comes word of another new journal: Cerise Press: A Journal of Literature, Arts and Culture. I'm impressed.

New Magazine: The Collagist

The Collagist, a new online magazine from Dzanc Books, debuts today, with some great prose and poetry from an all-star cast.

Ploughshares Redesign

Ploughshares is probably the best literary magazine in America. It certainly has received more than its fair share of accolades this decade. (It is way ahead of all other magazines in my ranking of literary journals: The Pushcart Prize Rankings.) I can't remember when it last changed its look, and I've been a subscriber for many years.

But the image at left is the Fall 2009 cover, a departure from the previous issue. Of course, the magazine has a new editor for the first time in a very long time, and so perhaps she wanted to put her mark on the magazine, and she's certainly done that. When I first unwrapped the package this afternoon, I didn't like it. I liked the old serif font of the title, and the glossy cover. But now that it's been sitting on my desk for a few hours, I think it has grown on me. The header is clean, the big P in the upper left corner is eye-catching. (Here's another change: the cover PRICE is now $14 as opposed to $10.95, and the annual rate has gone up as well. It's still worth it, especially if you subscribe.)

But wait! What's on the inside? I almost forgot. I haven't read any of the pieces yet, but I note that the issue is all nonfiction edited by Kathryn Harrison. And there are very few contributors whose names I even recognize. When I've had a chance to do some reading, I'll revisit the issue.

Guest Blogger: Ron Riekki

(Perpetual Folly note: Yesterday, I featured the novel U.P. by Ron Riekki (go here to read all about it) and suggested to Ron that if he wanted to do a guest post he might write about something we have in common, the Sewanee Writers' Conference. Which he has done. Thanks, Ron!)




Cliff asked me to write about Sewanee for a guest blog. At first, I had no idea what to write about. Then, at second, I still had no idea what to write about. So I figured I'd just start writing and see what came out. And so here it is. What I'm writing right now. Maybe I should start with saying what the heck Sewanee is. It's a, well, I guess it's a lot of things, but what I know it as is a summer conference. It's more than that, but for my life that's all it is, a summer conference, but it's one hell of a summer conference. I got to study there with Lee Blessing. For those of you who don't know Lee Blessing, he's a Pulitzer Prize winner. Which means he has no more worries for the rest of his life. Or so I like to falsely believe. You see, once I thought that if I got a book published, I'd be set for life. Not in the ways of book touring and million dollar royalty checks, but more along the lines of, "I'll be able to get a creative writing job and do better than the poverty that the writing life can be in the early stages of the writerly life (see Frederick Exley, Charles Bukowski, Jim Carroll, Jack Kerouac, Iceberg Slim, Clarence Cooper Jr., Philip K. Dick, etc., etc.) . . . come to think of it, even in the middle stages of the writerly life . . . and beyond. So to have a book out, and for it to be my press's bestseller in fiction for 24 weeks straight, I thought at this point in time I would be set for life. And maybe I am. Maybe I need to keep that biblical quote about birds and lilies being watched over by God so we should feel like we are too, or however that quote goes. But the reality is a lot like being on the end of a bluff and wondering if you're going to love the view or perhaps fall off. Because there's a big difference--between enjoying a sunset and plummeting to your death. What am I talking about? I forget. I'm exhausted. I worked from 1 p.m. to 11 p.m. today doing a job that leaves one feeling at the end of the day like Charles Bukowski. Tan and exhausted, your whole body hurting, especially your legs, a postman job, but minimum wage allows one to survive paycheck to paycheck. And I'm surviving. Waiting to see if all of the things that are falling in line and could hold promise will explode or implode, come to fruition or just get your hopes up. What's in line? Ghost Road's talking about a four book deal. Another publisher in New York is looking at a possible two-book deal. A literary manager has shown interest in representing me. A producer in L.A. has shown interest in U.P. as a film. But where am I now? I had a job teaching, got laid off, and so now I'm in this wonderful post-Bush economy, and am finding myself relying on writing. That's not something you want to depend on for your livelihood. So I'm wondering if I should have become a fireman or a nurse or a welder, except those jobs I've seen on worst job lists. And "mathematician," which I saw as the best job may be problematic, because I know a mathematician who was just laid off. So here I am, fingers crossed, hoping it'll all work out. And the reality is that I just had a book signing in Bakersfield, California, and only one person showed up. And that person was a young teenager who had a copy of the Disney-Pixar movie Up, which has nothing to do with my novel U.P. And, yes, I had that title before they did. The bookstore's owner was amazing, did a lot of publicity for the event--put me on a stage, with two rows of empty seats in front of me. Instead of doing the reading as planned, I just gabbed with the store owner. Well, a lady came over with her grandchild and asked me to move, interrupting our conversation. Apparently I was blocking a Harry Potter book that she wanted to look at. J.K. Rowling. That's the fantasy. The fantasy isn't being told to get out of the way when you're onstage for a reading. That's definitely not the fantasy of the writing life. J.K.'s the fantasy. And what's not the fantasy is my job right now. My job right now, in conjunction with the writing, is going door to door for a political activist organization. It's important, exhaustive, low-paying, did I mention important?, work. But it's minimum wage. Which you can survive on when you're a college student doing summer work, but not when it's your whole income. And what makes it have more of a sting to it is that the houses I go to are mansions with Malibu views of beaches and palm trees and children and activity and fountains and swimming pools and this whole world of family and wealth that I don't have. Because I wanted to be a writer. Which is a stupid, brilliant, frustrating, odd, commendable, underappreciated--did I mention stupid?--thing to want to be. And that reading that I just gave, even with a producer interested in turning my book into a film, even with 24 weeks of supported purchases mostly by music fans who are interested in the metal and punk and hip-hop that I layered throughout my novel, even with National Book Award winner John Casey nominating U.P. for the Sewanee Writers' Series and blurbing my book saying, "I wish Kurt Vonnegut were alive to read U.P. He'd love it. He'd love it as much as he loved Breece Pancake and Deborah Eisenberg. I'm not just guessing. On my own hook I can say that R.A. Riekki's novel is a brilliant fierce rush--sometimes harsh, sometimes funny, always so immediate you can hear it. This book is alive." Even with all that and having done 70 interviews to support the book, no one showed up. At least no one except a girl who looked sad when she found out who I was. That's humility. And I wouldn't have been ready for it if I hadn't already gone through a contract for U.P. being given to me by being selected for publication with the Sewanee Writers' Series, only to have them a few months later pull out of the deal. You see, after John Casey nominated my novel, it won publication with Overlook Press. I got the call from a Sewanee representative, got promised a very nice contract with a substantial figure, especially as I was only making about $6000 that year as poorly paid adjunct faculty in a community college. So I thought I had everything and then that rug got pulled out, and nearly killed me. The collapse that I went through after having a book contract and then not having one was, well, as the French say terrible. Come to think of it, that's how the English say it as well. I hope any up-coming potential writers keep that in mind, that a contract isn't a contract until you've been paid, so don't count your chickens even after they've hatched. I've found it amusing--the people who've been warning me about the film industry, as if I'm not already prepped for the possibilities of disappointment. But you know what--that's part of the job. Disappointment to a writer is quotidian. I dedicated my entire life to this, so there's no backing out now--an MFA in Theater Arts/Playwriting at Brandeis University, an MFA in Creative Writing at the University of Virginia, a Ph.D. in Literature & Creative Writing at Western Michigan University, that's just too many years put to one thing to go in any other direction. Anyway, there's nothing else I want to do. There's nothing else I'm trained to do. So when the Sewanee Writers' Series and Overlook Press pulled out from publishing U.P., I tried to keep going. Lost a girlfriend I wanted to marry in the process. (If anyone ever invents a time machine, I want in.) Had so many dark nights of the soul that it was really dark years of the soul. And then I reemerged. And did an interesting thing. I applied to the Sewanee Writers' Conference. I thought going to that conference would be healing for me. Allow me to put behind the painful loss of their pulling out of publishing U.P. And I also found out Romulus Linney was going to be teaching there. I was excited to meet him, because I had talked with him on the phone when I was accepted into Columbia University for Playwriting, except I found out I couldn't afford to go to that program so went to Brandeis instead because they offered me a much more substantial scholarship of tuition reduction. Well, Sewanee accepted me for the conference. As a Tennessee Williams Fellow, which meant I could afford it. Romulus Linney ended up pulling out of going last minute. But I got to study with Lee Blessing and Arlene Hutton and had an amazing time. One of the highlights was being invited to go with two people from Sewanee and John Casey for a ride out into nowhere in Tennessee. Snaking roads and a bright, bright moon. The trees hovering over the road like going through a haunted tunnel. We pulled up to a meadow, got out, hurdled a fence, and there in this wooded area was a boat. No water around, but this great boat being made by someone. I've never read Casey's award-winning Spartina, but I knew of his love of the nautical. And to have him there in awe of this ship, circling it, touching it, seeing his passion for what this stood for, craftsmanship and effort--that was a beautiful, teary moment for me. And one that was a strong step on healing the loss I'd felt. A loss that had been magnified by my inability to handle it, to spiral out and create more loss that still reverberates in me to this day. But to a lesser degree. Thank God that pain lessens with time. Well, Sewanee gave me that striking, cinematographic moment. And it also gave me an audience. What I mean by that is . . . I stumbled upon Perpetual Folly after doing a google search on my own name. I was looking at some of the interviews I'd done, noting them on my web site, and then I saw Cliff talking about my Sewanee reading, saying how memorable it was. At the conference, in a room full of fellow writers, probably seventy people, maybe a hundred, I cried while reading a segment from my short story "War." It's available at http://www.cameron.edu/okreview/vol5_2/fiction/riekki.html if you want to read it. But I was so overwhelmed. I'd lost just everything before Sewanee. I had only two dreams at that time--to marry that girlfriend and to have my novel published and suddenly both were gone, so I felt off-balance, liminal, nothing steady. And here I was reading this story that was fictionalized moments from my own miltary service combined with anecdotes and stories from the soldiers and sailors I'd known while stationed in Diego Garcia during DesertStorm and I selected a passage that I knew would be hard for me to read, a real private, painful passage because I wanted to push myself as an author, this attempt to purged myself of past, and the tears came like a shaking. And I guess Cliff appreciated that and mentioned it on his blog and that's how I discovered his site. But what stands out to me was the audience. How present they were. You see, bookstores, when I've given readings, can have some poor turnouts. And radio interviews that I've done, a lot of times the DJ hasn't read your novel. They don't really know who you are. There's this odd feeling of being honored and at the same time ignored, humbled. But I remember Sewanee gave me a packed room. Where you can feel the audience laughing. Where you sense when they're interested, that they're truly listening. And that feeling for an author is a buzz. It makes you want to perform well, to read well, to open up, to give your best words, your innermost thoughts, your own writing that you love and wouldn't read for an inattentive audience, an absent audience. But Sewanee had this ineffable connection and concentration. Audience is a blessing. It's the ability to be heard. Sewanee's audience was one of the best ones I've ever had in my life. That's what I remember about Sewanee. Cliff wanted me to write about Sewanee. And I didn't know what I was going to write about. But here it is.

U.P. by R.A. Riekki

I just heard about a recent novel by a Sewanee Writers' Conference friend, Ron Riekki. The book is U.P., from Ghost Road Press

Here's the publisher's description:

From a bold new novelist comes a complex tale of friendship and brutality. Set in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, U.P. is the story of four teens immersed in an ugly world, one whose threat of violence is always simmering beneath the surface. R.A. Riekki's distinctive characters and their poignant quest for freedom is a swan song to lost youth, redefining the traditional coming-of-age story. Four boys, four distinct narratives that converge into a harrowing and heartbreaking whole.

And, here's a fresh Interview with Ron Riekki at Just Your Typical Book Blog. So, there you have it. Check out Ron, the interview with Ron, Ron's Book, and Ron's publisher!

New Acquisition: Inherent Vice by Thomas Pynchon

Apparently, this is Thomas Pynchon himself doing the narration on the book trailer. I'm looking forward to reading this one.

In an Uncharted Country available for pre-order

My collection of linked short stories is now available for pre-order from Press 53 or at my website, CliffordGarstang.com.

Here is Press 53's press release:

New Press 53 Collection Draws Critical Praise

Winston-Salem, NC, July 23, 2009 — The award-winning stories that make up the linked collection IN AN UNCHARTED COUNTRY by Clifford Garstang showcase ordinary men and women in and around Rugglesville, Virginia. But according to National Book Award winner Tim O’Brien and recent Pulitzer Prize winner Elizabeth Strout there is nothing ordinary about Garstang’s new collection of stories from Press 53.

“IN AN UNCHARTED COUNTRY is an impeccably written, sumptuously imagined, and completely enchanting book of stories,” says Tim O’Brien. “Clifford Garstang is the real thing—a writer loaded with talent. And this book is a reminder of the delightful miracles a good story can perform in a reader's heart.”

Elizabeth Strout, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Olive Kitteridge, says, “This collection delivers on its title: each story takes us into an area—emotional and geographic—where we may not have been before. There is an impressive variety here, and Garstang's ability as a storyteller is on display each time.”

“Great story collections continue to find their way to us,” says Press 53 founder and publisher Kevin Watson. “This collection, IN AN UNCHARTED COUNTRY, will be right at home.”

Press 53 is an independent literary publishing company dedicated to finding new markets for short stories, part of which involves Watson acting as an advisor for short story adaptation to the School of Filmmaking faculty at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.

IN AN UNCHARTED COUNTRY will debut on September 9, 2009. Garstang, an international lawyer turned fiction writer, lives in Staunton, Virginia. His stories and book reviews have appeared in numerous publications. A regional book tour is set to kick off on September 9.

Paperback, 8.5 x 5.5, 200 pages
Publisher: Press 53
Publication Date: September 9, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-9824416-7-1
Price: $14.00

Pictures of Staunton

I attended a wonderful gallery opening this evening for Peter Aalestad's Pictures of Staunton at the Newtown Bakery in Staunton. I haven't "borrowed" an image for this blog post because the pictures are too wonderful, but please visit Peter's website to look at his work.

The New Yorker: "War Dances" by Sherman Alexie

Fragmentation suits this story, and is the perfect vehicle for Alexie’s use of humor to explore serious topics. Here we have a narrator—like many of Alexie’s narrators, this one may or may not bear an uncanny resemblance to Alexie—who goes through a medical scare. He’s suffering from hearing loss, which he initially attributes to allergies, and discovers that he actually may have a small tumor. His foray into the medical facility raises a certain amount of anxiety, and also recollections about his father.

On a previous visit to the hospital with his father, the narrator had an encounter with another Native American in which the two eventually touch on one of Alexie’s favorite topics—stereotypes. In this case, the stereotype involved Indian blankets, which the narrator needed for his father, and it turned out that the other Native American did, in fact, have a supply of Pendleton blankets. (I liked that especially because very nearly got one of these great blankets at an outlet store during a recent stay in Nebraska, but they weigh a ton and getting it home would have been problematic.)

Each of the fragments here is its own story as the narrator builds up to the punch line of his medical condition: “There was a rumor that I’d grown a tumor, but I killed it with humor.” And in fact he’s fine. But the real point here is the narrator’s relationship with his father: “I wanted to call my father and tell him that a white man thought my brain was beautiful. But I couldn’t tell him anything. He was dead.”

Nice story. It’s a little too odd to be in contention for story of the year, probably, but it’s a good one anyway.

August 10 & 17, 2009: “War Dances” by Sherman Alexie

Rain Taxi

Rain Taxi has for a while now been updating its online edition weekly. Check out the Summer 2009 edition, with this week's updates.

New Issue: College Hill Review #3

The Summer 2009 issue of College Hill Review is live and wanting to be read.

New Issue: Hobart #10

Okay, one more "new issue" post for the day and that's it. And this isn't a new issue so much as a new . . . supplement. The always clever Hobart has posted Hobart #10 bonus materials online. Let's assume it still works if you don't have the print issue, but you can solve that problem by ordering a copy!

New Issue: Gently Read Literature

Here comes another new issue. This time it's Gently Read Literature, which has a bunch of new reviews. Go ahead, browse, take all the time you need.

New Issue: The Short Review

If you like short stories (for some reason that's all writers and few civilians), you should be reading The Short Review, the online magazine dedicated to reviewing short story collections.

This month's reviews include an anthology, a magazine, and collections by Michael J. Farrell, Anthony Cropper, Chris Beckett, Alan McMonagle, Erin Pringle, Petina Gappah, and Wendy Marcus.

Andrew's Book Club - August Selections

It's the beginning of a new month and Andrew has announced his picks for August. Check out Andrew's Book Club. This month's "big house" pick is Drift by Victoria Patterson. And Andrew adds a new feature, ABC Rewind, in which he spotlights a collection that may have been overlooked when it came out. The first Rewind pick: Michael Parker's Don't Make Me Stop Now.

I'll be looking for both of these . . .