I have cast my fate with Krakow, at least for the next six months. When I left the homeland in late March, everyone wished me well on my solo journey to Poland, but a few people expressed concern because of the political unrest in nearby Ukraine. The U.S. […]
Kathleen Tarr: Taking the Circum-Poland Route Read More »
Today is the deadline for early registration for Kachemak Bay Writers’ Conference: if you plan to attend, sign up now and save! Registration will remain open until June 12. Early registration is $375 and thereafter it’s $395. See below for more details or visit the conference website. This year’s keynote speaker is Alice Sebold and
Linda: 49 Writers Weekly Roundup Read More »
Until recently, I believed that writers and artists—aside from a few more self-destructive, iconic, overyhyped examples–lived more or less sane, healthy, even boring lives. Then I read Daily Rituals by Mason Currey, in which various eccentrics (and more than a few alcoholics) are profiled. Patricia Highsmith, for example, not only smuggled pet snails in her
The Island Institute’s Sitka Symposium, held each summer from 1984 to 2009, became one of the most unique literary programs in Alaska and earned acclaim nationwide. After a five-year hiatus, the Institute is reviving the program and will host the 2014 Sitka Symposium from July 20-26 on the Sheldon Jackson Campus in Sitka, marking the 30th anniversary
Carolyn Servid: The Sitka Symposium is Back Among Alaska’s Summer Literary Events Read More »
Publishing has never been easy. First, there’s writing the beast, be it a poem or a story or an essay or an entire book. A large accomplishment, pouring yourself onto the page. Let’s not lose sight of that. From there, it used to be that f you wanted readers, you had to find a way
Deb: The Way in – Where to Publish? Read More »
What happened to them now was up to Zoey. The wind and rain didn’t care. Not about the tent, not about them, not about her screwed up family. Not about the boats or the fishing nets, and certainly not about pilots like Patrick in their bargain-basement airplanes who thought they could fly around this wild
Spotlight on Alaska Books: Bristol Bay Summer, by Annie Boochever Read More »
Thank you to author and columnist Elise Patkotak, who closed our spring Reading & Craft Talk last night at Great Harvest Bread Company by sharing her wit, wisdom—and serious side, as well as talking about her experiences with self-publishing. Thank you too to the couple dozen people who forsook the sunny spring evening outisde to
Linda: 49 Writers Round-Up Read More »
This post was inspired by William Stafford’s poem, ‘A Ritual to Read to Each Other,’ on which I based the title for this musing. You can listen to Stafford read his poem here: http://williamstaffordarchives.org/browse/audio I’m entirely not sure what compelled me to undertake Beowulf with my ten year-old, Sam. Even though the
Matanuska River Viewpoint In a New Yorker article, Structure, Beyond the Picnic-table Crisis, John McPhee wrote about his struggles over decades to break away from writing about events in the order that they occurred. McPhee explained: “Developing a structure is seldom . . . simple. Almost always there is considerable tension between chronology and theme,
Katie Eberhart: Abandoning Chronology Read More »
Elise Patkotak One of the questions I face most often as a regular newspaper columnist is why. Why would anyone put themselves and their personal opinions out for everyone to read and criticize on a regular basis, especially considering how poor the pay. There is no easy answer to that question short of admitting to
Elise Patkotak: On Writing a Column Read More »
