Whether in person or via social media, I can’t help but hear a common refrain of late. Similar discussions all related to media pieces that focus on silly distractions and spectacle created purposefully to keep people from focusing on the real issues at hand. I want to suggest that within that very refrain, while the “real issues” vary, there is … Read More
Kris Farmen | Thoughts on Jim Rearden
Alaskan writer Jim Rearden died on February 18, 2017 at the age of 91. Read Homer News coverage here. Somewhere in the night it occurred to me that our mentors always ultimately leave us. This is more than anything a statement of simple mathematics. When you’re a baby writer and just starting to find your feet, a mentor is virtually … Read More
Guest Blogger Kris Farmen: Alma Mater
Now I am become Death, the shatterer of worlds, said Krishna to both Arjuna on the battlefield and Robert Oppenheimer of the Manhattan Project. These words, for not entirely obvious reasons, rattled around my head yesterday as I wandered the trails behind the University of Alaska, Fairbanks with a long stick. My purpose, among other things, was to knock the … Read More
Guest Blogger Kris Farmen: Desktop History
There are times when empirical approaches to history simply don’t do the job. I say this both as a novelist and as a former archaeologist and historic preservation specialist with two college degrees in the subject. For example, there is a mountain in the northern part of the Wrangells called Pingpong Mountain. Back when I was in my early twenties … Read More
Guest Blogger Kris Farmen: First Book
My fourth book is about to come out in print—the advance copies, in fact, may already be out by the time this post runs—and my mind lately has been dwelling on my first book, The Devil’s Share. It’s the story of a kid from Fairbanks named Jack who goes to work for a hunting lodge in the Nutzotin Range of … Read More
Guest Blogger Kris Farmen: Blood and Guts
April is a hard season for moose, and harder still for a calf like this one who recently died near my surf shack on the Kenai Peninsula. Of the half-dozen moose that frequent the area, this one stood out because I recognized him as a two-year-old who had just been told by his mother to hit the road. She was … Read More
Linda: 49 Writers Weekly Roundup
Juneau participants in Autogeography writing workshop with Sherry Simpson What a week it’s been, taking our Crosscurrents Southeast program of author events and creative writing classes to Juneau, Sitka, and Ketchikan and connecting with writers and lovers of books in the rainforest region of the state (yes, it has rained every single day but that hasn’t diminished our enthusiasm). The … Read More
Linda: 49 Writers Weekly Roundup
This week we launched our annual membership drive, with the goal of bringing many new supporters into the 49 Writers community. If you follow this blog and enjoy reading the wide variety of posts by regular and guest bloggers, please consider making a financial commitment to the organization. Because we are a community-based nonprofit, your contributions play a vital role … Read More
49 Writers Weekly Roundup
Tom Kizzia’s long-awaited book, Pilgrim’s Wilderness: A True Story of Faith and Madness on the Alaska Frontier, is now in bookstores! You can read an excerpt here on the Anchorage Daily News website and check out Jeremy Pataky’s July 16 interview with Tom Kizzia on this blog. There are several upcoming opportunities to learn more about the writing of the … Read More
49 Writers Weekly Roundup
The 2013 Contributions to Literacy in Alaska (CLIA) Awards were presented on July 16 as part of Tuesday’s Northern Renaissance Arts & Sciences Readings event. This year’s recipients are Alaska’s first Pulitzer Prize finalist, a village literacy advocate, and a Fairbanks historian. Honorees are novelist Eowyn Ivey of Chickaloon, author of The Snow Child; Brevig Mission reading volunteer Polly Tocktoo; … Read More
