The 2018 FisherPoets Gathering in Astoria, Oregon took place this last weekend, and I’m still high on fish stories and great companionship. I’d been wanting to attend this event since it began 21 years ago—back when I was still an active fisherperson. This year I finally managed to fit it into my schedule. What is […]
Guest Blogger Nancy Lord | FisherPoets Gathering – Why did I wait so long? Read More »
49 Writers is pleased once again to join the Alaska State Council on the Arts (ASCA) and the Juneau Arts and Humanities Council (JAHC) in celebrating the statewide Alaska Poetry Out Loud Competition coming up next week in Juneau. Twelve finalists will compete this year, having progressed in competitions at the classroom, school, and regional
49 Writers | Poetry Out Loud and more in Juneau Read More »
There are so many reasons I chose to quit my full-time job, start writing fiction, earn my MFA, and complete a novel. In part, I was frustrated by inequalities I observed in the world and angry about how helpless I felt to change them. I wanted to talk about racism and sexism, ask questions, challenge
Guest Blogger Meagan Macvie | Wading Into Deeper Water Read More »
I was a teen in 1990s Soldotna, Alaska—the setting for my debut novel—so people often ask me if The Ocean in My Ears is a thinly disguised memoir. The short answer is no. Sure, I was probably every bit as frustrating, angsty, and confused as Meri, my teen protagonist. She attends a high school that
Guest Blogger Meagan Macvie | The Fabricated Truth Read More »
#GivingTuesday connects individuals, communities, and organizations around the world for one common purpose: to celebrate and encourage giving. 49 Writers sees #GivingTuesday as a chance to help equip Alaska’s current and future thinkers, writers, and citizens to be as creative, thoughtful, and skilled as they can be. Please join us in that work by renewing or
Heartfelt thanks to our members, volunteers, supporters, students, and instructors. We’re grateful to live in an amazing, authentic place peopled by caring, creative communities.
On a recent road trip to visit family in the Southeast, a rural church billboard caught my eye: “Grateful people are happy people.” I don’t generally look to church yard proclamations for advice, but this quote stayed with me. It’s far from a novel idea—myriad scientific studies support the correlative relationship between articulated gratitude
Guest Blogger Christine Byl | Thanks & Giving for the Arts Read More »
Thanksgiving’s just two days away. The calendar will flick that domino into the year’s remaining days, triggering the ol’ chain reaction. It would be easy to let time slip right by till the New Year ball drops. Don’t let it. On the cusp of the holidaze, I’m chiming in with a friendly reminder to take
Jeremy Pataky | Steam Ahead, Writers Read More »
I’m not sure what the hell I was thinking when I applied to begin the MFA program at UAA in 2013, but I seemed to ignore the “creative” half of the “creative nonfiction” box when I indicated a genre focus. My idea of nonfiction was that one began at the chronological beginning, and concluded at
Matthew Komatsu | Anything But Normal Read More »
Merton’s coming to Alaska in that beast of a year, the “year of everything horrible” as he referred to it, is a little-known, under-told story. The publication of my book, We Are All Poets Here, coincides with the 50th anniversary of Merton’s Alaska journey, which also happens to be the 50th anniversary of his death. Alaska was one of the last places on earth he saw.
