On April 9, I was sitting in my sunny but still chilly yard, reading an engaging thriller, Angie Kim’s Miracle Creek, and thinking, “Ah, finally. I haven’t checked the news or answered texts for…an hour or more?” Back in the house, I had work and chores to do, but I didn’t want to budge from […]
Andromeda Romano-Lax: Lost in a book (and staying hopeful about all of our stories) Read More »
The Covid 19 pandemic continues to diminish opportunities for Alaska writers to get the word out about their work, The Alaskan Writers Series is an effort to help. Today, board member Dan Branch shares a profile of Doug Pope. Cirque Press recently published his memoir, The Way to Gaamaak Cove. On August 25th at 6 P.M AST Cirque will
Alaska Writers Series: Doug Pope Read More »
To celebrate its 10th Anniversary, 49 Writers is revisiting a blog post on the first Friday of each month. For August, we’ve brought back an interview of author and editor Brian Doyle. The post first appeared on April 19, 2016, a month before Doyle served as keynote speaker for Skagway’s North Words symposium. Even though
Reposting: Brian Doyle Interview Read More »
(Photo, Dan Branch) I first met Bob Armstrong on a sodden day in May. My dog and I were thirty miles north of Downtown Juneau on a tidal meadow that borders Eagle River. Low clouds obscured the surrounding mountains. The buds of early blooming wildflowers were clamped shut. Even the resident Canada geese were absent.
Mini-Profile: Bob Armstrong Read More »
Marie Tozier’s new book, Open the Dark, is a lyrical guide to the life in Northwest Alaska experienced by the Iñupiaq poet and her family. It touches on themes that can be universally understood by the careful reader and on others that need the cultural context that Tozier’s poetry provides to be understood. Like most
Review: Open the Dark by Marie Tozier. Read More »
Systems Instead of Goals: Applying one of James Clear’s “Atomic Habits” rules to writing By Andromeda Romano-Lax I’ve been a goal junkie my entire life. I credit my goal-setting (so many words per day, so many pages per week) for my consistent publishing record. But James Clear, author of the bestselling Atomic Habits, recently made
Andromeda Romano-Lax: Forget goals. What?! Read More »
The Covid 19 pandemic continues to diminish opportunities for Alaska writers to get the word out about their work, The Alaskan Writers Series is an effort to help. Today, board member Dan Branch shares a profile of Clifton Bates, author of Like Painted Kites & Collected Work, published last year by Cirque Press. (This Bethel house
Alaskan Writers Series: Clifton Bates Read More »
In 2018, Vered Mares and partners opened the Writer’s Block bookstore and café’ in Anchorage, Alaska. It quickly became a vital gathering space for writers and artists. Also since 2018, Katie Bausler has hosted this 49 Writers forum for exploration and discussion with writers and artists in these challenging and changing times. We’ve reached a last straw in
AVP 14: Vered Mares, Writers Block Bookstore and Cafe’ Read More »
For the past three months, 49 Writers members have posted creative work written in reaction to the Corvid 19 pandemic. Some writers lifted the mood with humor, others wrote honestly about fears or sadness at being separated from family or friends. Today, John Kooistra sends us home with a poem reminding us that life will
The Final Writing the Distance Post: John Kooistra Read More »
The Covid 19 pandemic is isolating Alaskan writers. We can no longer attend workshops or public readings. The coffee bars where we met with other writers are closed. To bridge these physical gaps, 49 Writers is providing this on-line forum for Alaskans writing the distance. Today’s poem and photograph are from Susan Soule. Time I used
Writing the Distance: Susan Soule Read More »
