The call has gone out, and we’ve heard from a nice selection of writers ready to be our 2012 monthly featured authors– but three or four spots remain. If you’re interested, please contact Andromeda at lax@alaska.net by December 9. One question that arises, of course, is “What should I blog about?” To answer that, and to make good use of some of the great writing and community-building that’s already happened here over the last three years, I’m sharing a few links from past guest-posters. These are just a very small taste, running the gamut from the professorial to the personal:
Poet Tom Sexton on the meaning of place and how he started to write distinctly Alaskan poems.
Alaska state writer Peggy Shumaker, in her role as experienced teacher and mentor, sharing the stories of five Alaskans who decided to pursue the MFA.
Don Rearden, ready to make us laugh as always, imagining an interview between an Alaska screenwriter and a Hollywood executive.
Joan Kane on top writing places, tools, and prompts: inspiration for a day when you just don’t know how to get started.
Storyteller Brett Dillingham on a trip to a village north of the Arctic Circle.
Dana Stabenow confessing that’s she a sci-fi geek (with the specifics on her favorite inspirations).
Susanna Mishler sharing a deliberately disobedient writing exercise called “negative inversion.”
Marybeth Holleman remembering the Exxon Valdez oil spill, twenty years later.
Bill Sherwonit musing on the essays, and critiquing essay collections (with lots of suggestions for recommended readings).
Thanks to everyone who has shared their ideas and experiences with 49 writers. We hope to hear from you again, and we also hope to widen our circle to include the voices of new writers and readers.
Post-script: Thanks to everyone who responded — we have lots of new voices as well as familiar friends planning to join us in 2012. With the featured author slots now filled, we can still use individual blogposts at any time. Send to lax@alaska.net or 49writers@gmail.com.