So, Borders is pulling out of its South Anchorage location and shuttering about 200 stores nationwide over the next few weeks. It’s not unexpected, and for years, I felt torn between the big-box bookstores and our smaller indies, but not so torn that I failed to spend hundreds of dollars in the conveniently located store, […]
Andromeda: Pull-outs, Pilot Bread, a party and a panel Read More »
49 Writers is spreading its wings beyond the Anchorage area! Last Tuesday’s ‘Resolve To Write’ event in Homer, co-ordinated by Miranda Weiss, had a great attendance of around 15. Writers of all stripes connected over burger and brew at Alice’s Champagne Palace, received an insider preview and some background stories about Nancy Lord’s new book,
Ela: 49 Writers Weekly Round-up Read More »
Two weeks ago precisely, I mentioned that I was busy getting my husband and 12-year-old daughter out the door for a winter camping trip — one they were doing for school-related reasons. (In other words, this was not my husband’s idea of fun, nor was the timing ideal.) Blogging is not like methodical essay-writing. Hurrying
Andromeda: The problem with faulty metaphors — on avalanches and editing Read More »
Andromeda Romano-Lax and Deb Vanasse will be talking about the 49 Alaska Writing Center at the next Alaska Professional Communicators’ Luncheon, Thursday November 4 at 11:30, at Kinley’s Restaurant. Lunch is $19 for guests, $25 for members. The APC website has details. If you read us regularly, you may recognize our upcoming courses: Flash Fiction
Ela: 49 Writers Weekly Round-up Read More »
So much 49 Alaska Writing Center news each week: Only 10 days until the start of Bill Sherwonit’s class, “Adventures in Creative Nonfiction: The Art of the Personal Essay” (Monday nights 7 to 9:30 pm, Oct. 4 to Nov. 22) (see his recent guest post here for some ideas as to his approach) and only
Ela: 49 Writers Weekly Round-up Read More »
Why do we write? Many answers to that question, but today’s focus: healing. I credit my writing group (hi Doug!) for sending this to my attention, and many newspaper readers will recognize it as well. This week, David Brooks wrote an NYT op-ed about Fanny Burney’s ghastly account of her 1811 mastectomy without anesthesia. What
Andromeda: Writing as healing Read More »
I just dropped off my two children, ages 15 and 12, for their very first day at school. This is something most parents start doing when their children reach the age of scissors and paste. Up until now, we homeschooled, so even though my son shaves and my daughter wears eyeliner, it’s just like we’re
Andromeda: First day of school and lessons from children Read More »
I returned from my first MFA residency two weeks ago, but haven’t blogged about it: in part because we have so many great contributors who fill our pages; in part because I’m still processing what I experienced; in part because too much happened to cover in a single blogpost of reasonable length. (So she explained,
A third and final postcard to 49w friends from my recent research trip to Italy and Germany. I planned my recent Europe trip as a one-way journey from Rome to Munich, with plans to visit the concentration camp at Dachau just before flying home to Alaska. To be honest, I dreaded ending the trip on
The details matter: Postcard from Dachau, Germany Read More »
It’s disappointing – even a little chilling — to realize that a passion for literature and art does not guarantee the creation of a healthy intellect or the blossoming of a gentle spirit. Consider Hitler. An avid reader, he had 16,000 titles in his private library. Even at the end, when Soviet soldiers invaded his
Postcard from Rome: The Discus Thrower Read More »
