When I roast a chicken or a turkey and there's the possibility of gravy, I feel the spirit of my deceased father-in-law, Homer, hovering over my shoulder.Homer loved gravy; on meat, on potatoes, on biscuits, on anything.He was a kind man who loved deeply and he had the greatest smile you can imagine, albeit with store-bought teeth.Started out as a poor Oklahoma white/Cherokee kid who never graduated from high school, went into the public works program during the Great Depression, was a veteran of WWII who mustered out with skills as a mechanic, married a woman of such beauty that he shivered at the sight of her, provided for her two kids, became a Dad of one son and then beloved Grandpa to my kid.Anyone who thinks I fret needlessly about the gravy doesn't know what it means to me.
Here I am at the conference showing a committee member how to start a blog post. The conference is in its second day and is wonderful so far. We had an inspiring talk by Ellen Bass and tonight is the event at which Luis Rodriguez is the featured speaker.
Luis Rodriguez will speak at Cotton Auditorium in Fort Bragg, Friday, July 31, 6:30 p.m.. It's free, but tickets required.
Tickets are available at Leaves of Grass (Willits) Super Chavez Market (Ukiah), Mendocino Book Company (Ukiah) La Bamba (Fort Bragg), Cheshire Books (Fort Bragg), Gallery Bookshop (Mendocino), College of the Redwoods, (Fort Bragg) and All That Good Stuff (Boonville). Tickets will be available at the conference too. More information:http://www.mcwc.org
A Little Shout About The Los Angeles Review Stefanie Freele
Because I am the Fiction Editor of the Los Angeles Review, I choose to only mention fiction here. Because I am the NEW Fiction Editor, I am very jazzed about the forthcoming issue, the first issue with the new Los Angeles Review editorial team. And, because the issue is so amazingly full of fantastic stories, I feel compelled to shout about it before the issue is even printed.
Here is what one can expect: Lydia Davis, Ray Vukcevich, Steve Almond, Michael Czyzniejewski, Tess Holthe, Ravi Mangla, Brian Doyle, Naseem Rakha, Tania Hershman, and a bunch more amazing authors totaling 26 super pieces of fiction. 26! When? November 1. And, submissions open September 1 for the next issue that is planned to be out and available for AWP.
I’ll give the Poetry and NonFiction editor a chance to yell about their contributors, in the meantime, look out of for the forthcoming issue. It is a big fat YES.
ONLY 3 MORE DAYS TO REGISTER FOR THE MENDOCINO COAST WRITERS CONFERENCE-WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR???
The summer is the perfect time for tasting short fiction. Between a dip in the river, after an early morning hike, during a tall sweet-tea, under an umbrella, over a raft (well, maybe not with a laptop), below the fan, next to the breeze, in front of the ocean – it’s all the time to read. And, read something quick between the next run for ice cream, the next bicycle ride, the next watering of the garden. The latest issue of SmokeLong Quarterly has just been released, featuring 18 fantastic pieces of flash fiction from these authors: Cynthia Helen Beecher, Pam Bolton, Z.Z. Boone, Dan Chaon, Frank Dahai, Natalie DeClerck, Steven Gullion, Mary Hamilton, Joan Harvey, Tara Laskowski, Dorianne Laux, Amanda Nazario, Darlin’ Neal, Ryan Ridge, Gail Louise Siegel, Ray Vukcevich, Lindsay Marianna Walker, Brandon Wicks. www.smokelong.com
SmokeLong Quarterly is dedicated to bringing the best flash fiction to the web on a quarterly basis, whether written by widely published authors, or those new to the craft. The term "smoke-long" comes from the Chinese, who noted that reading a piece of flash takes about the same length of time as smoking a cigarette. All the work published in SmokeLong Quarterly is precisely that—about a smoke long. Oh, and it’s a darn good issue, this latest SmokeLong Quarterly. There is something for everyone and many places to go. Africa, rats, balloon rides, deserts, Mexico City, flying pens. What else do you need?
After each story is a brief interview with the authors with questions such as: Why this title? Why this story? Who are these characters? What are your writing habits? All that stuff we want to know when we read a darn good piece of fiction.
Enjoy the summer. Enjoy short fiction. Enjoy the breeze from the ocean. Have it all at once. Stefanie Freele is an editor with SmokeLong Quarterly.
ONLY 9 DAYS LEFT TO REGISTER--GO TO THE WEBSITE AND THE REGISTRATION PAGE. http://www.mcwc.com
Although the event sponsored by the Mendocino Music Festival featuring Ronnie Gilbert is billed as "A Radical Life with Songs"and under the aegis of the Village Chamber Concert series, this will be a largely a spoken word performance. Whenever Ronnie performs it is a special experience. Tickets may be purchased at the door or ordered online through The Mendocino Music Festival website.
Ronnie Gilbert, an esteemed member of our advisory board will present a concert as part of The Mendocino Music Festival. Ronnie will present "A Radical Life with Songs" at the Evergreen Methodist Church in Fort Bragg at 3:00 pm on Wednesday, July 22, 2009. Ronnie is a singer, actor and playwright, known as a social activist but more commonly remembered as a member of The Weavers, a folksinging group which included Pete Seeger. She has presented at the conference leading a session on reading one's own work and general public presentation.
THE CONFERENCE IS FAST APPROACHING--THERE ARE 13 DAYS REMAINING TO REGISTER. DON'T WAIT ANY LONGER--GO DIRECTLY TO OUR WEBSITE http://www.mcwc.org
I just finished John Lescroart's latest book--A Plague of Secrets. What fun to read such a well written and classy "thriller". I recommend it to everyone who enjoys exploring San Francisco, and appreciates good dialogue and complicated plots. Not only is John a member of our advisory board but has presented at past conferences and was a popular teacher.
THERE ARE STILL 14, YES, FOURTEEN DAYS, LEFT BEFORE THE TWENTIETH MENDOCINO COAST WRITERS CONFERENCE. THAT'S PLENTY OF TIME TO REGISTER. VISIT THE WEBSITE http://www.mcwc.org
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