Chloé Caldwell's Blog, page 16

work work working

Been working heavily on my book Women……

We will have galleys some time this summer……

Katrina with my manuscript

my office today

I also color-coded my books today

Other news:

I’ll be at the workshop “The Story You Have To Tell” in Big Sur at the Esalen Institute June 29th–July 4th. If you’re going to be there too, let me know!

I’ll be hosting Aaron Burch, Colin Curtiss, and Dave Housley when they read in Hudson July 22nd

I’ll be reading with Leslie Jamison at Shelf Life Nonfiction Reading Series at Hullabaloo Books on August 5th in Brooklyn.

That’s all I got for now.

I love you.

Chloe

 

 

Myrtle Beach

I remember in high school, my friends who were in “band” got to go on a school trip to Myrtle Beach.

I wasn’t in on that because I wasn’t in band. I was in choir. I don’t know why I put band in quotes above, but I’m leaving it that way. We were freshman or sophomores in high school. The band kids all ended up getting suspended, because they were caught with alcohol.

Anyhoo, Elizabeth Ellen and I are leaving for Myrtle Beach for the weekend tomorrow. I am not in choir anymore, and I drink whatever I want, as I am 28 years old.

I have my manuscript printed out, along with a friend’s memoir and a friend’s novel.

EE and I are going to be working on my book. Gonna look something like this:.

NEW BOOK NEWS

So, I have a new book coming out.

When? October 2014.

What? Women.

With what publisher? Short Flight/Long Drive (Ann Arbor, Michigan)

 

 

Women is a semi-autobiographical novella focusing on grief, sexual confusion, female friendship and bisexuality.

So that’s fun. Yes I stole Bukowski’s title.

Hope all is well for you. Spring is springing! Oh, and there’s three more weeks to sign up for my online class: Polish and Publish Your Personal Essay.  Do it!

Love,

Chloe

 

Me with some of the important WOMEN in my life

Wanna write some essays?

Come one, come all. Please join my essay class on May 15th. More info and signup here.

After the last class I taught at LitReactor, my students placed essays in The Rumpus, The Nervous Breakdown, and Hobart.

Email me with any questions! cocomonet@gmail.com

 

 

 

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT CLASS:

There’s power in words.

A personal essay can entertain or teach, warn or admonish. It can hold the whole of your life experience, or just generate a good laugh. There’s more than one way to write an essay—­­which is what makes the discipline so fun and versatile.

But writing personally can be difficult and questions like these often come up:

What will my family and friends think?
Why would anyone care what I have to say?
Where will I publish something so personal?

In Polish & Publish Your Personal Essay, you’ll study both contemporary and timeless essays, and why personal essays are vital. Students will learn how to engage, move, and connect with their readers, by reading essays and experimenting with their own. Throughout class, students will be given prompts related to creative nonfiction publications and encouraged to submit. And there will be an ongoing conversation regarding the emotions that are often triggered when writing hyper­personally.

The instructor, Chloe Caldwell, knows a lot about writing personal essays—and placing them for publication. Her work has been published in venues like Salon, The Rumpus, Thought Catalog, Nylon, The Nervous Breakdown, xoJane, The Frisky, The Sun Magazine, SMITH, Jewcy, Mr. Beller’s Neighborhood, Vol 1. Brooklyn, Freerange Nonfiction, The Faster Times, The Fix, and Men’s Health. She also has a piece in the anthology Goodbye To All That: Writers on Loving and Leaving NYC, alongside writers like Roxane Gay and Cheryl Strayed.

In the first half of the class, you’ll study the art of the personal essay—where to start and how to make it effective. In the second half, Chloe will help you nail down your voice, and find venues that would be best suited for your work.

Along the way, Chloe will be critiquing your work and answering your questions in a collaborative, judgment-free environment. All skill levels welcome!

Oh, and in case you were wondering how effective the class is, some of Chloe’s students from the last round of this class are already placing work. Angela Giles Patel published “Drifting Beyond The Pale” at The Nervous Breakdown. Ray Shea published “Fat Guy” at Hobart. Another student got a piece picked up by TheRumpus.net. Another student is a finalist for a prestigious journal prize.

Spread the word or sign on up! I would love to have you.

Love,

Chloe

The Greatest/Literati

Save the date for March 29th–I’ll be reading at Literati Bookstore (in Ann Arbor, Michigan) for  Independent Press Day. Along with tons of independent presses and authors including Elizabeth Ellen, D. Foy, and Russ Woods.

 

 

 

The Goodbye To All That reading last weekend was super fun.

My mom and post reading at Hudson Opera House

Saw Cat Power live in Brooklyn two nights ago. Pretty beautiful.

 

One Last Reading

On Saturday, March 8th,  I’m doing my final reading for Goodbye To All That. Honored to read alongside Rebecca Wolff of Fence Books, novelist Elisa Albert, and more. It will also be a tribute night for Maggie Estep. 

Hudson—>New York

On Saturday morning in Hudson, we buried Maggie between two trees at the cemetery she liked walking her dog in. Sondra Loring, owner of Sadhana yoga studio said some words. It was snowing. We put rose petals on her casket. Afterwards, we went to Club Helsinki for the memorial.

Stephanie Monseu breathing and eating fire. Apparently Maggie had a fascination with fire-eating.

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Stephen Merritt of Magnetic Fields played “The Book of Love”

Steve Buscemi showed up and read his last email received from Maggie.

Laura The Hot Farmer

Then I had to get out of Hudson, so Matt, Cynthia, and I drove into New York City.

On Monday night I read at The Strand Bookstore for The Goodbye To All That anthology. I was honored to read with Dani Shapio and Emily Gould. Instead of reading my own essay, Sari Botton (editor of GTAT) had me read Maggie’s essay: Think Of This As  Window.

The death of Maggie

Novelist and poet Maggie Estep died unexpectedly early Tuesday morning. I had just been getting close to Maggie, and it’s safe to say I loved her. We were immediate and fast friends. We met through both yoga and writing here in Hudson, New York. (Read the NYT obituary here)

We had a reading together last Friday at Oblong Bookstore in Rhinebeck, NY, and I didn’t want to go because my acne looked bad. Here is an example of Maggie’s beautiful and Buddhist-like, dead pan funny, soul:

Maggie wasn’t old or fat or stupid. She was stick thin and smart and just 50 years old. But that’s why she was so great–she’d happily throw herself under the bus to make someone else feel better. She picked me up and we drove to the bookstore where Dana Kinstler took this photograph of us.

We had a FANTASTIC time at the reading. Laughed our heads off. Made the audience laugh. Drank coffee. Ate chocolate kisses. We were both in black jeans and black boots. In the car when I said, “What the eff” and at another point, “Biatch” Maggie said, “You know you can say ‘fuck’ and ‘bitch’ in my car.” We talked a mile a minute. About pornography, eating disorders, the various relationships in her life and mine, and how we were going to put new books out at the same time and go on book tour together. We were going to get an apartment together and it would be the Seinfeld of 2014.  I still have 2 Dominoe sugar packets in my coat pocket from when she asked me to bring her a “fuck ton” of sugar when I went into the gas station for our coffees.

Angsty Maggie

The next morning, 6 days ago, I went to her Saturday morning class at Sadhana Yoga Studio. “Long time no see,” I said when I walked in. I think I asked her if she’d gotten sleep. During class I was in Warrior 2, and she came up to me, took my hand, adjusted my pose. “Fix me,” I said. We looked into each others eyes and smiled. Later that day she texted me:

Maggie: “Am I stupid yoga jerk?”

Me: “No. What do you mean?”

Maggie: “When I teach yoga, do you think ‘what a moron’”?

Me: “No. You make people laugh, keep it real, and you’re challenging.”

Maggie: “God I love you.”

Me: “I love you too!”

On Monday afternoon I was considering going to her yoga class (when I didn’t go, I could be sure to get verbal abuse: Get your ass to class, tramp!) and my phone rang with her calling. I answered, and it was Maggie’s partner, telling me she’d just had a heart attack.

I have many more things I’d like to say but I’m going to end here for now because it hurts. And there are dozens of lovely tributes to her on the internet you can find that articulate her beauty and strength and all around amazing-ness. Here is my favorite song that played on Maggie’s yoga mix each week. If I can live my life half as full of love and light as Maggie did, I will be glad.

The impermanence of life is a scary thing. Tell your friends you love them.

winter readings

It’s freaking cold out. Maybe it will be warmer in February!?? I’ll be reading on February 7th at Oblong Books in Rhinebeck with Maggie Estep, Sari Botton, and Dana Kinstler for the book Goodbye To All That: Writers on Loving and Leaving NYC. 

On Feb 17th I’ll be reading for the same book at The Strand in NYC, with Emily Gould and Dani Shapiro. 

On Feb 18th—20th I am teaching a Creative Writing Intensive for teens at The Hudson Opera House. It’s FREE so please spread the word if you know any teenagers in upstate New York.

Feb 22nd is my FINAL reading for the Goodbye To All That at the Hudson Opera House. With Rebecca Wolff and Sari Botton.

—

Oh—I got my copy of True Tales of Lust and Love! 

That’s all for now. Hope you’re warm, where ever you are.

Chloe

Lust and Love

If you live in NYC, hope you can make it out to Book Court for this! The anthology received a great review in Publisher’s Weekly.