Clifford Garstang's Blog, page 168
February 19, 2010
Dave Beck
Check out the sculptures by Dave Beck. Dave was at the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts at the same time I was last summer and he was working on these, running around town with his GPS. It's very cool to see the results!And take a look at his award-winning jellyfish burger.[image error]
February 18, 2010
Writers.com: Publishing the Short Story
A new section of Publishing the Short Story, an eight-week course I teach through Writers.com, begins March 22. The course covers the nuts and bolts of document preparation, market research, and the mechanics of submission. If you've got stories that you want to get published but you've hesitated because you don't know how to go about it, this is the class for you![image error]
Book Tour: Chicago
Next week I'm off to Chicago for several events to promote In an Uncharted Country. I hope my Chicago friends (those who haven't fled to warmer climes) will join me for one (or all)!On Thursday, February 25, at 6:00pm, I'll be at 57th St. Books in Hyde Park for a reading and signing.
On Saturday, February 27, at 2:00pm, I'll be at The Book Stall at Chestnut Court in Winnetka for a reading and signing.
On Sunday, February 28, at 3:30pm, I'll be at Northwestern University for a fireside chat with...
February 15, 2010
Work in Progress: Report
I recently finished a draft of my novel. It's 320 pages and 83,000 words long. And as soon as I finished it I made a list of things I know I want to do to it before I send it to my agent. (My agent doesn't know what she's in for. I've told her the title and a very rough idea of what it's about. I have no idea how she's going to react.) I also sent the novel to my friend Mary to get her reaction, because it has been sooo long since anyone has read any part of this book, and I've lost perspecti...
February 13, 2010
The New Yorker: "Foster" by Claire Keegan
I don't know the work of the Irish writer Claire Keegan, but I like this story very much. Although the precise conflict isn't immediately clear, from the first paragraph, questions arise. Why is the father driving the narrator to her "mother's people" instead of taking her home? And where is the mother. As it turns out, the girl's parents are strapped for money. One thing they have in abundance is children: the narrator, her two younger sisters, a baby brother, and another child on the way. H...
Press53 Cruise from New York
Press53 Cruise from New York is a unique opportunity--take a beautiful, scenic cruise while exploring the world of writing with Press 53 and several of its authors, including me. Join us!
February 12, 2010
ASC: The Alchemist by Ben Jonson
Although this is the American Shakespeare Center, the company likes to shake things up a little each season and do some non-Shakespeare, usually a play by one of Will's contemporaries. This season (the Actors' Renaissance Season, in which the actors stage productions without benefit of directors, costumers, or much rehearsal time), we get two. The Roman Actor by Phillip Massinger opens March 10, and The Alchemist by Ben Jonson opened last week.The Jonson play is hilarious. It features a trio ...
February 10, 2010
Harper's: "Once an Empire" by Rivka Galchen
I remember the excerpt from Galchen's Atmospheric Disturbances that was in The New Yorker awhile ago. It was quirky and interesting, and so that's what I was expecting from this new story in Harper's (which you can only read the first paragraph online unless you're a subscriber). I guess that's what I got. But it's a tough story to crack. What's it all about? I struggled to come up with any kind of an interpretation (some of my readers, one in particular, may say that there's no need to inter...
Book Tour
I remembered today that I needed to update the Events page on my website because I've recently scheduled a lot of appearances in the coming weeks to promote In an Uncharted Country. And when I finished, I realized that March is going to be a heck of a busy month. Check out my Book Tour Events on my website. [Courtesy of BookTour.com, most of these events are also listed in the sidebar to the right here on Perpetual Folly.] If you're near one of these events, I hope you can join me.
