Clifford Garstang's Blog, page 130

Get Published!

My next class on Writers.com begins on Monday, June 13, and runs for 8 weeks: Get Published! -- Publishing the Short Story or Essay. Take a look at the course description and think about joining us.

When I got my MFA, we learned very little, if anything, about the business of getting published. Sure, there was a panel discussion near the end of the program about literary magazines and agents, but no real discussion of how to go about getting published. As it turns out, our program wasn't unique, as I've heard from many MFA program graduates.

So, after years of experience of sending out stories to magazines, then writing query letters to agents and small presses, and eventually getting published--both stories and a story collection--I decided to put together the course I wish I'd been able to take. And that's what this course is. We'll talk about preparing manuscripts for submission, cover letters, researching markets, and much, much more. As a magazine editor now, I can tell you that all this stuff matters.

Consider the class. I think you'll find it worthwhile.

Short Story Month 2011: Wrap-up (#ssm2011)

Unless I get around to reading the latest New Yorker story today, this will be final post for Short Story Month 2011. I started out strong, but there was that Blogger outage mid-month, and then I went to a conference, and . . . So I didn't manage to post every day as I'd originally planned. I didn't get through all the literary magazines I'd hoped to. And, I didn't dip into the many short story collections I've picked up recently that I'm looking forward to reading.
So, in this final post, let me at least mention some of those.
Burning Man by Ed Falco. I heard Falco read from this collection at the Virginia Festival of the Book this year and I have no doubt the rest of the book is as good as the piece he read. I'll get to it soon, and I'll report back.
Right of Way by Andrew Wingfield. Wingfield was sitting next to Falco at that Festival of the Book reading and I'm also really looking forward to digging into this one.
Greetings From Below by David Philip Mullins. David and I were on a panel together at AWP this year, and this collection has been sitting on my credenza since then.
I started Richard Bausch's new collection—not new anymore—last year after Sewanee. Something is Out There is terrific. I need to finish that one.
The Prospect of Magic by M.O. Walsh. We were fellows together at Sewanee last summer and I'm embarrassed that I haven't read this yet. He read from it and it was terrific. Must get to it soon!
I recently picked up a collection by a friend, Rarely Well-Behaved by Phyllis Anne Duncan. I've heard her read a few pieces from that and I'd really like to read the rest of it.
Then there's The Universe in Miniature in Miniature by Patrick Somerville. Must read that.
And let us not forget A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan, which may or may not be stories.
And How to Predict the Weather by Aaron Burch. And The Weather Stations by Ryan Call.
I've also recently acquired story collections by T.C. Boyle, Yiyun Li, Aryn Kyle (also a fellow with us at Sewanee last summer), Ann Packer, Steve Yarbrough, Pinckney Benedict, Rick Bass, Justin Cronin . . .
You see the problem. I'll read them all eventually, I swear. And then I'll report back.

Short Story Month 2011: Boomtown -- Fred Leebron (#ssm2011)

I've been browsing through Boomtown: Explosive Writing From Ten Years of the Queens University of Charlotte MFA Program. I've got a story in the anthology ("Justice, Inc.," which first appeared in the Los Angeles Review) and I picked up a copy during the 10th Anniversary Celebration at Queens last weekend.

Because Fred Leebron is such a great teacher and writer, one of the first stories in the anthology I read was his.

"Two Germanys" is a flash piece that first appeared in Digital Americana, a magazine--actually, it's an iPad App--that I hadn't heard of before. (You can read the story and an interview with Leebron here.)

The point of view character is 46 and "his liver hurt." He thinks it's because of the drinking--he's been drinking since the summer after 8th grade, and now his liver throbs. He's looking for something to hold onto--if he could just clutch his baby, everything would be okay. Or he'll be thirteen again--the summer he began drinking--and he'll make a different decision. That was in Germany. But he then thinks of his sister, "carried off in a liver coma," and that, too, was in Germany.

Books for Soldiers

Books for Soldiers

Again this year, Press 53 is running its popular Books for Soldiers program. Buy any book from Press 53 (for yourself or as a gift) between Memorial Day (May 30) and Flag Day (June 14), and Press 53 will send a book to a soldier in YOUR NAME, at no additional cost to you. You get a book. A soldier gets a book.

Press 53 is a small independent press that publishes short story collections, novels, non-fiction books, and poetry collections--in other words, something for everyone. Need a recommendation? Well, there's the book I wrote, In an Uncharted Country. It's a linked story collection and it's won some awards, so I guess it's pretty good. There's also Mary Akers's Women Up On Blocks, another story collection, also a prize winner. It's also very good. Or Marjorie Hudson's Accidental Birds of the Carolinas, which I'm told is very good but it's so new I haven't read it yet. If you prefer a novel, there's Val Nieman's Blood Clay, which just came out also. Or maybe Anthologies? There are lots of those to choose from, too.

Whatever you like, you'll find it at Press 53, and you'll also be doing a good deed.

Gardening 2011

This year's garden still isn't fully planted, but I'm getting there. So far I've got 2 kinds of eggplant, 4 kinds of peppers, yellow and green zucchini, crook-necked squash, melon, cucumber, corn, okra, bush beans, Swiss chard, and several herbs: basil, rosemary, sage, chives. Still to come (I started some seeds): acorn squash, pumpkin, sunflowers, broccoli (probably doomed, given my track record), and more varieties of peppers (but the pepper seeds have been slow to germinate, so may not work out). And that will probably be it for this year. If it produces decently, I'll have a ton, so I expect to share. On the other hand, I haven't been too successful in the past, mostly because I've let the weeds take control. I'm determined to do a better job of that this year, although I will be away for some periods in June and July, so the same thing may happen that has happened before.

But you'll note the landscape fabric in the second picture, and that gives me some hope that at least the weeds won't overwhelm the plants. Now, the seed beds are not so well-protected, so I'll have to work harder to save the corn, beans, okra, and broccoli. But I'm optimistic!

Short Story Month 2011: The New Yorker -- Kate Walbert (#ssm2011)

May, 30, 2011: "M&M World" by Kate Walbert
The good news is that this story is available for free. No pay wall. The bad news is that you might not like it much. I can't say that I did. It's pretty typical for Kate Walbert, in that the one man in the story, who isn't even in the story except in flashback, is a cliché (which is the character Ginny's word for him, not mine: he left the marriage because he fell in love with an intern at the hospital where he works). But, frankly, I don't blame the guy. This Ginny isn't exactly blameless.
Before their daughters were born, they went on a trip to Patagonia and went whale watching. Because she was trying to stay out of the sun, she stayed on the shady side of the boat, while everyone else was on the sunny side, where the crew expected the whales to be. So she got some time alone with a whale—a female, naturally—and they exchanged meaningful glances. Why are we here?
But in the present time of the story, the man (whom Ginny thinks of as "the girls' father" and not her husband or ex-husband) is gone, and Ginny is dealing with the girls. She's overly protective of them, which predates the split with her husband, and so the meltdown that occurs when they visit the Times Square M&M World is no surprise. The smaller of the girls disappears in the store and Ginny panics. When she is finally found, she says she was afraid Ginny had left, "too," which Ginny puzzles over, but surely that refers to the fact that the father left.
It's tough being a single mom in the city, and men suck. That's what it seems to be saying. That and the fact that Ginny needs therapy . . .
I suppose I should mention what I DID like about the story. Ginny is interested in animals, a trait that has been passed on to Maggie (who carries her pre-historic stuffed critter around with her). It isn't exactly clear to me WHY she has this connection, though, and if anyone has comments on that I'd be happy to hear them.

Queens University of Charlotte MFA Program Alumni Weekend

This weekend marked the 10th Anniversary of the Low Residency MFA Program of Queens University of Charlotte. To celebrate, the Program held it's 4th Alumni Workshop in conjunction with a Gala. As a graduate of that very first class, I went and participated in everything. It was a great weekend.

Most of us arrived on Thursday and attended a very nice reception, reminiscent of the receptions that opened all of our Residencies during out program. After that, three alums with books out or forthcoming gave readings, and then--no surprise here--we adjourned to the bar. On Friday we had a day full of seminars and panels: Narrative Time, The Canon, The Impact of Technology on the Industry and Academia; The Publishing Industry; Sound and Syntax; CV Writing. And then there was another reception, this time with the faculty for the weekend's workshops. That was followed by an open mic reading, which was followed by another trip to the bar.

Saturday was in many ways the main event. First we had a panel on literary magazines with Willing Davidson from The New Yorker and Rob Spillman from Tin House. Then we had workshops. Some people worked with faculty from the Queens program. Others worked with agents. Others (including me) worked with editors. In the afternoon we had a craft lecture on Risk Taking, more workshops, and a final panel with the agents and editors.

The evening began with a program honoring the 8 original faculty members--still with the program--each of whom gave short readings: Elissa Schappel, Jenny Offil, Susan Perabo, Jonathan Dee, Robert Polito, Cathy Smith Bowers, David Payne, and Elizabeth Strout. Quite a group. We then hurried over to the party for food and drink and music and books, including the debut of Boomtown: Explosive Writing from Ten Years of the Queens University of Charlotte MFA Program.  Kevin Watson of Press 53 was on hand and sold out the 100 copies of the book he brought.

When things finally wound down we made one more visit to the hotel bar. This morning we had conferences with our workshop leaders and then a farewell brunch. Great way to spend a weekend!

Boomtown: Explosive Writing From Ten Years of the Queens University of Charlotte MFA Program

This weekend marks the 10th Anniversary of the Queens University of Charlotte MFA Program. Ten years ago this month, I made my first of many visits to the Charlotte, NC campus--then called Queens College--to develop my writing skills and to join a writing community that has far exceeded my expectations. 


Naturally, there's a party. And more than a party, there are workshops and seminars for alums, because the learning never stops. I'll be workshopping a piece of a new novel, listening to lectures and panels, and did I mention the parties?


One of the highlights of the long weekend will be the launch of Boomtown: Explosive Writing From Ten Years of the Queens University of Charlotte MFA Program. 

Short Story Month 2011: The New Yorker -- Ron Rash (#ssm2011)

May 23, 2011: "The Trusty" by Ron Rash
On the downside, you can't read this new story by Ron Rash online unless you have a subscription. The upside is that there is a mini-interview with him in which he talks a little about the story and his method.
As Deborah Treisman mentions in the interview, the story has a nice twist at the end, reminiscent of O. Henry. It's about a convict named Sinkler who is working on a chain gang near Ashville, NC. It's the Depression, apparently, and times are hard—although that's not why Sinkler's in jail. He's a grafter and stole money from the bank where he worked—a job he took for the sole purpose of stealing. But by talking up the guards and bribing them with cigarettes, he's managed to become a trusty, which means he has a little more freedom than some. He still has to work, though, and his job at the moment is fetching water from a nearby farmhouse.He carries his two buckets to get water from a well and he meets young Lucy Sorrels, married to farmer Chet, whom Sinkler can see out in the fields. She's pretty, Sinkler wants her, and he also hatches a plot to escape, taking Lucy along with him, at least for a while.
Trust is an important theme here. Sinkler's a trusty, but he's untrustworthy. He "trusts" to luck, but luck is also untrustworthy. And can he trust this Lucy not to turn him in.
It's an enjoyable story, largely because of the ending. Along the way, the dialogue is great—wonderful unknown words that Rash has uncovered in his research on the period. It's worth reading just for that.

Louis L'Amour -- on NPR and in Prime Number Magazine

Did you hear the NPR piece by Elizabeth Cobbs Hoffman about Louis L'Amour today? (Saddle up for a Wild Western Ride, L'Amour Style)

What struck me about the piece was its similarity to an essay by Joseph Mills in Prime Number Magazine: Reading Back the Way I Came.  But then I suppose there are millions of L'Amour fans, and many came about their devotion in similar ways . . .