The Doctor and the Diva by Adrienne McDonnell

The Doctor and the Diva by Adrienne McDonnell was officially released this week. It's the story of an opera singer and her husband to consult a doctor in Boston who specializes in fertility matters, somewhat surprising as the novel is set in the early 20th Century.

From there, it's pure romance. And fans of historical romance might like this very much.

Free Short Story Contest at Circalit

Circalit is having a free short story competition--2500 word maximum, deadline September 15. See the website for more information, and you might want to explore the site to see what else they have to offer. Here's what their contest press release has to say about Circalit:

Circalit is the world’s premier social networking site for writers. The site was launched in February 2010 as a site where screenwriters can showcase their work to film studios, and is now also home to novelists, playwrights and short story writers across the globe. Its free service allows writers to have their work reviewed by peers and industry professionals, enter into free competitions, create a fan base for their work and network with industry contacts. Circalit’s mission is to digitize and democratize the way that good literature is discovered by industry professionals.

The New Yorker: "The Dredgeman's Revelation" by Karen Russell

Because the ending of this fiction is so odd, I was under the impression that it must be an excerpt from Russell’s forthcoming novel Swamplandia! (what’s with exclamation points in titles, these days?), but in discussing her inspiration for this piece (see Q&A with Karen Russell) she makes it sound more like an outtake than an excerpt:

What was the inspiration for the piece included in the “20 Under 40” series?

I was working on a novel draft for what felt like the thousandth year, doing some pretty heavy research into Florida history and the Army Corps Dredge and Fill campaign, and this little story within the story opened up. I wanted to try a sort of fantastical-historical story—Hitchcock meets the swamp.

So, I don’t know. I don’t think it works very well as a short story, but I do think Russell has a winner in the character of Louis Thanksgiving, the too-cheerful boy who was born dead but who has managed nonetheless to become a teenage dredgeman in the Florida swamps during the Depression. Louis is first hired onto a boat with a crew he comes to love. But when that contract ends, his new situation is less wonderful. He’s still cheerful and happy to be working (and not to be with his awful foster father), but the conditions deep in the swamp on this boat are grim, and his co-workers view him suspiciously.

There’s an accident—it’s an old boat—and then . . . what happens? He’s off duty, watching a pair of otters when a roar erupts from the engine room just 25 feet away. Whatever has happened, his brain is in a fog and he’s not seeing too well. He discovers he’s bleeding, and now he’s pitched forward onto the railing. But then he makes it to the engine room and sees Gideon, who seems dead but then isn’t. Then, almost immediately, the buzzards arrive by the dozens—but this isn’t the behavior of any buzzards I know, and so I’m beginning to think something else is afoot here. The crew is familiar with turkey vultures, but these birds are different—they look to Louis like “funeral umbrellas.” And then: “In a scene that seemed as plausible and as horrifying as Louis’s worst dreams, the birds descended on Gideon and hooked the prongs of their talons into his skin; perhaps a dozen of them lifted him into the sky. Gid’s body shrank into the cloudless expanse.” Gideon. Taken by dark angels. Hmm.

And then the birds come back—hundreds of them. Uh oh. But Theodore, another crewman, says they’re all safe because they’re alive, and the birds are just filthy buzzards. You sure about that, Theodore?

I feel sorry for Louis, though.

July 26, 2010: “The Dredgeman’s Revelation” by Karen Russell

Longlist announced for Man Booker Prize 2010: Man Booker Prize news

Longlist announced for Man Booker Prize 2010: Man Booker Prize news

The longlist includes:

Peter Carey Parrot and Olivier in America (Faber and Faber)

Emma Donoghue Room (Pan MacMillan - Picador)

Helen Dunmore The Betrayal (Penguin - Fig Tree)

Damon Galgut In a Strange Room (Grove Atlantic - Atlantic Books)

Howard Jacobson The Finkler Question (Bloomsbury)

Andrea Levy The Long Song
(Headline Publishing Group - Headline Review)

Tom McCarthy C (Random House - Jonathan Cape)

David Mitchell The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet (Hodder & Stoughton - Sceptre)

Lisa Moore February (Random House - Chatto & Windus)

Paul Murray Skippy Dies (Penguin - Hamish Hamilton)

Rose Tremain Trespass (Random House - Chatto & Windus)

Christos Tsiolkas The Slap (Grove Atlantic - Tuskar Rock)

Alan Warner The Stars in the Bright Sky
(Random House - Jonathan Cape)

William Faulkner at UVA

In the late 1950s, William Faulkner was Writer in Residence at the University of Virginia. UVA has just put an archive of recordings online in which Faulkner talks about his writing and reads from his work. Go to Faulkner at Virginia: an Audio Archive.

Sewanee Writers' Conference -- Day 12

This is it. I head home early in the morning, and so there will be no more posts about Sewanee 2010. It's been a strange day, beginning with a free-form, final workshop session, for which our faculty had nothing planned. So I brought a couple of things to discuss, including Mark Twain's essay about Fenimore Cooper, and a list of opening lines from novels. Another workshop member brought a recording of Flannery O'Connor reading "A Good Man is Hard to Find."

That done, there was time to hit the bookstore one last time and get some packing and loading over with. Then I made it back to the Women's Center for Wyatt Prunty's reading. Immediately after that I had my conference with Padgett Powell--talk about the last minute!--and then there was dinner.

The final reading of the conference was by Tony Earley from a work in progress.

And now, as I write this, the final party is beginning. I'll head over there shortly, although I hate the goodbyes. At some point I'll slip away to come home to sleep, and I'll look forward to getting on the road in the morning.

So ends Sewanee 2010.

Sewanee Writers' Conference -- Day 11

Friday was a great day. We started with the last Fellows' reading. First, Jehanne Dubrow read from her book Stateside. Then Cheryl Strayed read from her forthcoming memoir, Wild. And last, M.O. (Neal) Walsh read from his story collection, The Prospect of Magic.

We then were treated to Robert Hass's craft lecture, which began with a plug for Riverofwords.org, an organization that raises awareness of the environment while also promoting child literacy. The subject of the lecture was "One-ness" (with a promise of Two-ness, Three-ness, and Four-ness to follow), by which he meant he would look at the building blocks of the units of poetry--the line, the couplet, etc., but also the rhythm that these basic combinations generate. He even applied his talk to fiction by commenting that a story arc is a sentence: "We're verbs until we die, and then we're nouns." It was quite interesting and is derived from a book he's working on about form.

During workshop time after lunch, my fellow workshop fellow, Cheryl Strayed, and I met with a number of the workshop participants to give them an opportunity to ask about publishing, agents, etc. I was glad for this opportunity because, although I've met with some of the participants privately, it doesn't seem as though I've been as helpful to people as I could be.

Then we had the final staff reading, with poems by Caki Wilkinson and fiction by Kevin Wilson. Kevin read one very short story and a longer story that cracked everyone up. Typical Kevin. (This week, Kevin also published a story in Prime Number Magazine, which you definitely should take a look at.)

The evening's entertainment was a reading by Mark Strand. Some very playful stuff.

One final day to come . . .

Sewanee Writers' Conference -- Day 10

On Thursday, the first event was Jill McCorkle's craft lecture in which she employed an extended anatomical metaphor for writing fiction--using the heart and brain working together to create and the lungs to breathe life into the result. (It went on from there: imagine food for thought--the stomach--and the intestines as editors, etc. The bottom line: "Don't keep anything you can live without."

There was an editors' panel after that, but I had work to do and have heard the panel before, so I excused myself. Our workshop gathered and we discussed two stories--with less than our usual efficiency. I think our concentration is failing us as we near the end of the Conference.

I went to Rachel Hadas's reading later in the afternoon and we all attended the Conference reception at the French House before dinner--I took a bunch of pictures, ate, drank, etc.

The final event of the day was Randall Kenan's amazing reading. He read from the prologue of a book he's been working on for a long time. I hope it's finished soon so we can read the whole thing!

Sewanee Writers' Conference -- Day 9

Incredibly, we're nearing the end of the conference. Wednesday morning, though, was as full as could be, with wonderful readings and lectures.

First we were treated to Staff readings, featuring the poetry of Hastings Hensel and Adam Vines, fiction by Jonathan Heinen, and a short play by David Roby. Wonderful stuff--I have to say I was especially moved by Hastings's poems--but the Fellows reading that followed was also outstanding.

James Magruder read from his novel Sugarless; Matthew Pitt read from his story collection Attention Please Now, and Catherine Wing read poems, including some from her book Enter Invisible. Such wonderful, terrific readings--I continue to be blown away by my fellow fellows.

Next was Padgett Powell's reluctant craft lecture. Like Richard Bausch, Powell seems to be bothered with the very idea of craft books, and craft lectures are, it seems, simply a variety of the craft book. He hesitates to give advice to writers, but he did it anyway ('cause that's his job?). He made some excellent points--in his own, peculiar way--but the thing that I was excited to take away from the talk was his reference to Mark Twain's Rules for Writing, which I have now located: Mark Twain's Rules for Writers, or Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offenses. Two that Powell drew attention to were:

#13 - Use the right word, not its second cousin

and

#14 - Eschew surplusage

These strike me as excellent rules, even for the advice-phobic. The other rules are pretty good, too, and I commend them to you.

I had stories to critique in the afternoon but came back for Mary Jo Salter's reading before dinner. She read mostly new work, which was wonderful to hear.

The evening reading was fantastic. Seriously, it was not only my favorite event of the conference so far, but one of the best stories I've ever heard. Steve Yarbrough read an amazing piece that was not only a great story, but it was about writing the story--a perfect reading for a literary conference, it seems to me.

There was an open mic then in one of the dorms and I confess that I stayed for just a very short time--it's getting to the point in the conference when something has to give--no one can do everything.

Sewanee Writers' Conference -- Day 8

Tuesday: time after breakfast to get a little work done on the stories for the afternoon workshop, but then:

The next fellows' reading featured fiction writer Dylan Landis, playwright Julie Tosh, and poet Will Wells. All terrific stuff. Yay, Fellows!

After that we were treated to Diane Johnson's craft lecture, in which she focused on finding the subject of your writing, by which she really means what she and I both apparently call "aboutness"--the deeper meaning beyond the story. It was an enjoyable talk, with some very useful reminders.

My workshop met in the afternoon and we had lively discussions about three stories. Only two more to go, which is hard to believe.

Back at the Women's Center we heard Greg Williamson read his poetry, including his "Yard of Constant Sorrow" which I've heard him do before. He's a riot.

After the reading the fellows headed off campus for dinner. We were all there at Mi Casa in Monteagle and had a fun time. It's really a good group.

The evening reading was Dan O'Brien who has written a show about Paul Watson. Very dark and disturbing stuff.

And as if that wasn't exhausting we were treated to some wonderful very short readings by the Scholars at their "open mic."

A very full day.

Sewanee Writers' Conference -- Day 7

We're past the halfway point, sadly. But Monday was a busy day. We started with a publishers' panel, featuring Kathy Pories from Algonquin, Tod Bottorff from Turner, and Liz Van Hoose from Viking/Penguin. Mostly they talked about their processes and the state of the publishing industry. But they hadn't addressed the issue of short stories and so I asked the inevitable question--what's the state of the story collection market? They confirmed what I knew--and what I thought others needed to hear--which is that larger publishers for the most part are interested mostly in novels and will take collections as part of a multi-book deal where they can try to build a readership for the writer. Later I spoke privately with Pories about the fact that smaller presses are actively seeking story collections and she seemed to think that this was a great way for writers to go.

Next was an editors' panel with David Barber from The Atlantic, Don Share from Poetry, Philip Terzian from The Weekly Standard, and David Yezzi from the New Criterion. The discussion was mostly about poetry and the point was being made that there isn't enough of a critical discussion these days--it seems that there's a real hunger in some magazines for critical essays.

There was a discussion with agent Georges Borchardt after that and I confess that I missed it--too much to do! During workshop time in the afternoon I made a dent in the stories I needed to critique for Tuesday, and then in the late afternoon we had the reading by Richard Bausch. He read the story "Sixty-Five Million Years" from his new story collection, Something is Out There. Good stuff--I love the character of the boy in the story.

Immediately after the reading we had a "conference reception" on the lawn of the Women's Center. A "conference reception" is one with a bar and great food--and this food was exceptional. But after a few minutes the rain came and everything had to be moved inside. It was still fun, but a little damp. (The pictures in this post are of the staff tending bar in the rain. I think there's irony in this, but I can't be sure.)

The evening reading was by Alan Shapiro, primarily reading new poetry in a sequence based on the Iliad. Fascinating stuff. As much as I would have liked to join the after party, I had work to do and so called it an early night. Tomorrow is another day.

IN AN UNCHARTED COUNTRY wins Maria Thomas Fiction Award

I'm very pleased to say that my book, In an Uncharted Country, has won the 2010 Maria Thomas Fiction Award from Peace Corps Writers!

Sewanee Writers' Conference -- Day 6

Sundays at the Sewanee Writers' Conference begin slowly. I got up a little later than usual--after the Saturday night Pub dance--and took a long walk. Breakfast was later by an hour. And nothing else was scheduled until 11:00 when Richard Bausch gave a craft lecture. His primary topic was the Art of Exposition in which he elaborated on the concept that the rule of creative writing that we've all heard should not be "show, don't tell," but "show AND tell" because it is crucial to include exposition in fiction. (I recalled advice I heard years ago from Grace Paley along the same lines.) He also read his essay from this summer's Atlantic Fiction Issue: How to Write in 700 Easy Lessons.

The next event, after lunch, was the second Fellows reading. First up was the delightful poet Beth Bachmann, who read from her book Temper. I was up next, and I swear we didn't coordinate, but Beth's last poem, "Elegy" makes mention of both a nymph and a fawn, and I read my from my story "The Nymph and the Woodsman" (from the book In an Uncharted Country) in which a deer is featured prominently. I enjoyed reading in front of this amazing audience. Then Jim Murphy read from Heaven Overland and Jillian Weise read from her novel Colony--two great readings. We really do have a talented bunch of fellows.

Ben Howard read his poetry a little later in the afternoon--I enjoyed and was surprised by the Zen influences there--and then we all shifted to the bookstore for the book signing party.

In the evening we listened to Padgett Powell read from The Interrogative Mood, one of the most unusual books I've ever read.

That was enough for me--a long day!

Prime Number Magazine is now live!

Check out Issue No. 2 -- the first issue of Prime Number Magazine!

Sewanee Writers' Conference -- Day 5

Suddenly, Sunday. Yesterday was a packed day. Some people went out on a bird-watching hike led by Jim Peters. I'd love to do that, but I had preparation work for my workshop and couldn't go. But after breakfast there was a terrific staff reading featuring Erica Dawson, Juliana Gray, and Dan Groves--all wonderful poets.

I also stayed on for Charles Martin's craft lecture which dealt with issues in translation. I found that very interesting and we went through several translations of an ode by Horace--metaphrase (or more or less exact translation), paraphrase (translation with some latitude), and imitation. Since I've done a little translation of Chinese poetry, and have read the book Nineteen Ways of Looking at Wang Wei, I enjoyed Martin's talk a lot.

I did NOT stay for Gail Hochman's talk, only because I've heard her here three times before. She seems like an amazing agent--full of energy, very well connected, and among the fastest talkers you'll meet anywhere. I'm sure the people hearing her for the first time got a lot out of it.

The Powell/Schutt workshop met in the afternoon and I thought we had very good discussions about the three pieces under consideration. But following that we had the reading by poet Daniel Anderson, and then "cocktails on the lawn" (and, yes, there were cocktails, but the food was not as wonderful as I remember from previous events of that kind) where we were given our first opportunity to buy t-shirts.

The evening reading was Jill McCorkle, who read a story from her newest collection, and after that we had the mid-conference "dance" at the pub. It's a good thing we get a little later start on Sunday . . .

Sewanee Writers' Conference -- Day 4

The staff at Sewanee do a great job and I'm always happy to see the conference participants show up to hear them read--because they're also such wonderful writers. The first staff reading was Friday morning, with Isabel Galbraith, Carrie Jerrell, and Jake Ricafrente. I don't think they planned this, but there was a religious theme that ran through the poems all three read.

And then we had Beth Henley's craft lecture which was all about how to begin a play, which she accomplished by looking at the beginnings of several plays. First, for example, she looked at Tennessee Williams's A Streetcar Named Desire--noticing and deconstructing the title, then the epigraphs and the cast list, the way the author described the set, and then the first action and dialogue of the play.

Then we had a panel with Robert Wilson from The American Scholar, Mary Flinn from Blackbird, and Wyatt Prunty, who is an advisory editor for the Hopkins Review. Although I've attended such panels in the past, it's always interesting to hear how magazines are evolving. The American Scholar, for example, will be putting more fiction online beginning soon. Blackbird is interested in (but so far only soliciting) video essays.

The faculty and fellows photo session was next. We did one with just the fellows--I'm sitting on the ground--and another with both faculty and fellows in which I'm in the back row next to Robert Hass.

My workshop didn't meet so I had a chance to get caught up on reading manuscripts, but then -- just as the skies opened up -- we had one of the highlights of the conference so far, Christine Schutt's reading. She read from a novel in progress and then also read a short story from a collection that she's working on. I really enjoyed both, despite the presence of unfortunate dogs.

In the evening, after dinner, we first had Charles Martin's reading and then an "open mic" for the Scholars, which was very well attended despite the late hour.

And then I had planned to go back to my room to work but was tempted to go out to the French House for others for just one drink. Uh huh.

Interview with . . . me -- Eclectica

Mary Akers interviews me in Eclectica

Sewanee Writers' Conference -- Day 3

I'm a little late posting this because there's a problem with the internet connection in the dorm, so I had to wait until I could run over to the library to this. Just as well, I suppose. Meanwhile, I'm also blogging about the conference on the official website, which you can read about here: Sewanee Writers' Conference Blog.

Thursday seemed to start off casually, since the first event wasn't until 10:00am--a panel discussion with Speer Morgan, editor of the Missouri Review, George Core, editor of the Sewanee Review, and Rob Griffith and Paul Bone, editors of Measure. It was a good opportunity to get a sense of each of the magazines, especially for conference attendees who might not have heard these editors talk before. After that we had Mark Strand's craft lecture, in which he talked about every writer's struggle with doubt. It's somehow reassuring to hear a writer of Strand's standing speak so frankly about this subject.

In the afternoon, my workshop began. I'll have more to say about this as the conference goes on, but we had a good discussion about the work of three of the participants. Our group is led by Padgett Powell and Christine Schutt.

After that we had a beautiful reading by Claudia Emerson who, as she did here the last time I was at Sewanee, concluded her reading with a song, accompanied by her husband, Kent. And, finally, after dinner we had a reading from Diane Johnson.

But not finally, as it turned out, because then I went to the open mic reading at Humphreys Dorm, where about 20 conference participants got to give very short readings -- just 3 minutes each. Good stuff--some of it very funny. And there was beer involved.

More later!

Sewanee Writers Conference -- Day 2

Even though I was up pretty late last night, I got up early to take a walk. The path I have taken in years past is Tennessee Avenue out toward "The Cross"--an overlook that makes our altitude up here on the plateau pretty evident. It was a muggy morning, but cool enough, and I had a nice hour's walk.

Then, after breakfast and a little free time for those of us who opted out of the campus tour, we had the first Fellows' reading, featuring Dorothy Fortenberry (playwright), Aryn Kyle (fiction writer), and Cody Walker (poet). They were all great and set a very high standard for all the rest of the readings!

Then came a craft talk by Wyatt Prunty, director of the conference. Wyatt, using a chapter from his forthcoming book, spoke about the poet and fiction writer Philip Larkin, and his "tough guy poesy." Among other things, Wyatt talked about the poem This Be The Verse.

After lunch the first workshops began, but since my workshop doesn't start until Wednesday I had time to work on critiquing the first batch of stories. (My dorm has a great little study room that most people don't know about and I got a lot done there.)

But then it was time for a reading by Elizabeth Spencer, who was also a visitor here four years ago. To an enthusiastic crowd she read a story from her book Marilee, "A Southern Landscape." This was a fantastic story that originally appeared in The New Yorker and when she was done she got a standing ovation. But she wasn't done! Then she read a more recent story called "Sightings." A very memorable reading.

We then adjourned to Chen Hall, the home of the Vice Chancellor of the University of the South for a very nice reception in a lovely setting. It was nice to meet the new Vice Chancellor--we welcomed him and he welcomed us.

Then, after dinner, another reading! This time we heard Beth Henley read from three plays, including her best known work, The Miss Firecracker Contest.

Busy day. And my workshop hasn't even met yet!

Sewanee Writers' Conference -- Day 1

I had to drive through torrential rains to get here, but I did get here and it's been kind of non-stop ever since. There was a reception for fellows and faculty at the French House before dinner, then the first reading after dinner, followed by a reception and more fun at the French House. We're off to a great start.

I keep running into people I know, which is a blast.

And the reading tonight, by Robert Hass, was fantastic. He read a lot from his newest book, The Apple Trees at Olema, and it was great to connect his voice to the work. And then he read from some newer work, more experimental, which I also loved.

After the reading a number of us went back to the French House and it was terrific to meet more people and see some more old friends.

This is just the first day, and only a short day at that.

More tomorrow.

Book Review: Visit Me in California by Cooley Windsor

Check out my review of Cooley Windsor's fine short story collection Visit Me in California in Examiner.com.

The New Yorker: "An Honest Exit" by Dinaw Mengestu

Here’s another installment in The New Yorker’s 20 Under 40 series, and yet again it isn’t a story. It’s an excerpt from Mengestu’s new novel—or at least that’s how I read the Q&A with Dinaw Mengestu and that’s also the only explanation for this piece of work. The frame of the story is the story of an Ethiopian who is teaching English in New York, and he’s telling the story of his father’s escape from Ethiopia, through Sudan. 

He’s telling the story to his students instead of presenting the lesson’s he’s supposed to be doing, and that at least is interesting. He’s doing it because his father has recently died and because his father is speaking to him.

But the father’s story, although harrowing, is at such a distance from the reader that it lacks any kind of power or tension. We know what’s coming. The experience will be awful. But the way the story is told it’s hard to feel anything toward the father. What we feel—just as the young students feel—is about the son, the one telling the story, and in this excerpt we get practically nothing of him. Perhaps that’s in the book.

July 12 & 19, 2010: “An Honest Exit” by Dinaw Mengestu

An Interview with Prime Number’s Editor Clifford Garstang - The Subversive Copy Editor Blog

An Interview with Prime Number’s Editor Clifford Garstang - The Subversive Copy Editor Blog

Dzanc Books: You Buy and We'll Donate

We've talked about the Tin House news -- they're now insisting on a receipt for a book purchased in a bookstore accompanying submissions to the press and the magazine, for a limited time. It's caused a stir, if not a stink.

Here's one response. Dzanc books is now saying that if you send them a receipt for a book purchased in a bookstore (during July) they will donate a book to the library of your choosing. Buy a book (must be literary fiction). Send Dzanc a receipt and tell them where you want the book to go. They take care of the rest.

Go here for full details: Dzanc Books: You Buy and We'll Donate

Sewanee is coming

Actually, Sewanee (the Sewanee Writers Conference) is staying right where it is. But I'm going to it in a little over a week. It's going to be a fun time and I'm looking forward to it. I'm even looking forward to the 8-hour drive and hoping I (and the old car) get there in one piece. I plan to blog about the conference while I'm there, and might do some tweeting, also, and in preparation for that I created the hash tag #Sewaneewriters. I'm hoping that catches on with others who might be tweeting from the conference . . .

Lots to do between now and then.

We got the workshop manuscripts last week and I need to read (parts of) them before I hit the road. I won't be able to do detailed critiques, but I think it will make the critiquing easier when the real work starts.

Prime Number Magazine will debut while I'm away. So I need to make sure everything is in place for that -- we're getting close. But we want to be sure we can send out an email (plus Twitter and Facebook) to our lists on the 19th when we go live. And submissions should start to come in shortly after that, which is exciting. The first thing we're going to be looking for is flash and short poetry for the Prime Decimal that will appear on August 1. Not much time!

My lawnmower broke in the middle of the mowing chore on Friday afternoon. I had done the whole front yard--the biggest part of the job--and stopped to open the gate to get into the back. When I restarted the thing wouldn't move--no resistance on the gas pedal. So I need to arrange to get that fixed ASAP. Fortunately (?) we're having a real dry spell so the grass isn't growing much.

Lots of garden work to do. I have to hope not too much ripens while I'm away. But I have to eat a bunch of veggies between now and then!

The New Yorker: "The Erlking" by Sarah Shun-lien Bynum

We know from the Q&A with Sarah Shun-lien Bynum that this story is based in some way on Goethe’s The Erlking. We have Kate and her daughter Ruthie (whose name is really Ondine, which in European folklore is a fairy-like creature) on their way to the Elves’ Faire, some sort of Renaissance festival at the local Waldorf School. As Kate admires the grounds, she regrets that she hasn’t enrolled Ruthie her, and also ponders the other option, the Jewish Montessori school, that had rejected their application. The story is about Kate’s parenting, it seems—is she too demanding, too controlling? Or is she too generous and is Ruthie being spoiled.

At the same time, though, it’s evident that Kate is self-indulgent in her regard for faeries and other impossible creatures (not that a giraffe is really impossible, and Kate loves her giraffes, but have you seen one lately?). She even named her daughter Ondine, and Ruthie/Ondine is indulging her own mother’s desires in a bit of enlightened self-interest. So Ruthie is capable of her tantrums—learned behavior, I’m thinking—and also apparently has a history of peeing in her pants. Uh oh. I think you know what’s coming—one of each.

What’s fun about this though is the appearance of the Erlking—or King of the Elves—even though he isn’t named as such in the story. Ruthie sees him; Kate does not, just as in the Goethe poem the father doesn’t see the Erlking. But what risk is there when Kate is always holding onto Ruthie’s hand?

Read the story to find out.

It’s a fun story, flipping back and forth between the points of view of Kate and Ruthie, both nicely done. And the Erlking is creepy, as he should be.

I liked it.

July 5, 2010: “The Erlking” by Sarah Shun-lien Bynum

Rerun: In the Palace of Cortés

I just had a chance to revisit my story In the Palace of Cortés which appeared in Per Contra some time ago, and thought I'd just post a link here in case anyone else wants to do the same.

Tin House to Require Bookstore Receipt for Unsolicited Manuscripts - mediabistro.com: GalleyCat

Tin House to Require Bookstore Receipt for Unsolicited Manuscripts - mediabistro.com: GalleyCat

You want to submit to Tin House (Books or Magazine), you gotta buy a book and send them your receipt. I'm not too upset about this, frankly. I buy books all the time, usually once a week and usually in a bookstore. This won't be hardship for me. In fact, I've offered to sell receipts (or scanned copies thereof) to people who desperately want to submit to the press or the magazine but can't be bothered to go to a bookstore and shell out a few bucks for a book. Tin House gets their receipt, you get to make a submission without buying a book, I make a few bucks. Win win win.

But apparently some people are upset about this policy. I don't really understand why, particularly because there are ways around the policy. Okay, if you're pleading poverty, they've got you covered: "Writers who cannot afford to buy a book or cannot get to an actual bookstore are encouraged to explain why in haiku or one sentence (100 words or fewer)." If you're into eBooks, ditto: "Tin House Books and Tin House magazine will consider the purchase of e-books as a substitute only if the writer explains: why he or she cannot go to his or her neighborhood bookstore, why he or she prefers digital reads, what device, and why."

Here's my real take. Tin House isn't going to publish me anyway. I've tried. I got ink once because I addressed my submission to the editor and he knows me, but that was an exception. Usually I get nothing. My agent submitted my book to the press (I wonder how this applies to agents?) and we got a nice rejection, but obviously they didn't take it. So if this new rule bothers you, don't submit to Tin House. It probably won't make a difference, because they weren't going to accept your work anyway.

The New Yorker: "The Young Painters" by Nicole Krauss

I liked this “story” a lot. It’s not a short story, of course. It’s an excerpt from Krauss’s forthcoming novel. I wonder if all these excerpts mean that the editors of The New Yorker believe the short story is a dead art form. But then I thought the novel was supposed to be dead, so maybe the new new thing is the novel excerpt—neither story nor novel, but a digestible hunk of fiction.

Still, I liked this. The narrator (Nadia, according to the Q&A with Nicole Krauss, but not so identified in this excerpt) is speaking, or perhaps testifying, to a judge (or, as Krauss coyly says, someone whom she refers to as “Your Honor”).  She’s telling two stories to the judge, both of which are examples of her use of the lives of others in her fiction. She’s published a story she’s rather proud of that’s based on a horrifying anecdote a dancer friend has told her about the origins of a painting Nadia admired in the dancer’s apartment. And she’s written a novel in which her father features prominently. “Had he been able to read it,” she says, “I have little doubt that he would have felt betrayed.” Indeed. And that seems to be the dancer’s reaction, also, but he conveys his feelings in a mysterious gesture that the narrator doesn’t fully understand.

And after that, the anecdote that the dancer had told her seems to be haunting her.

Because this is an excerpt, I don’t see much point in analyzing this piece as a story, but I do like what it must contribute to a novel. Nadia, apparently, is one of four voices in the novel. Here she seems almost to be defending herself against, perhaps a charge of theft, and of course this raises questions that any writer can relate to—what, among the countless bits of information that our friends and relatives and, for that matter, total strangers tell us is usable in our fiction? It’s a tough question that this excerpt doesn’t answer, but it does intrigue me. I’m also intrigued by the dancer’s gesture—or what feels like a curse.

Should be a good book.

June 28, 2010: “The Young Painters” by Nicole Krauss