leonard cohen
Saw Leonard Cohen last night--an amazing three-hour show.
darfur
I've got an essay, "Like a Syrupy Sweet," in this new prose anthology which benefits The Save Darfur Coalition. The book, edited by Luke and Jennifer Reynolds, is called Dedicated to the People of Darfur: Writings on Fear, Risk, and Hope. There are also essays by the late Frank McCourt, Steve Almond, Ann Hood, John Besko, and Ishmael Beah. Almond, Beah, and I will be together in a couple of weeks at the Sanibel Island Writers Conference.
and the winners are:
Our two FIU nominees for this year's Shamus Awards, Mitch Alderman and Ian Vasquez, both won the awards in their categories. Mitch for best short story, "Family Values" in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine and Ian for In the Heat, Best First Novel.
where men win glory
A link to my Globe review of Jon Krakauer's new book.
barbara robinette moss
Our friend and fellow teacher at the Taos Summer Writers Conference Barbara Robinette Moss has passed away.
the man of your dreams
Ever dream of this man? You will now.
i'm in nick carbo's latest poem
CINEMA PATHETIQUE
The leader never stops feeding
the projector--the ticka-tic-ticka-tic
is one day and the next, one ocular
meander from room to vector,
sky light, ad hock breakfast
of Scottish porridge with a dash
of Demerara sugar. We used to
eat together, perfectly aligned
colours passing through Bolex lens,
splashing light onto our white minded
condominium wall. I gave all my
Super 8 mm, 16 mm, and 35 mm's
to Johnny Dufresne when I was made
to pack up my junk after the divorce.
I said I can't take those where I'm going--
Amsterdam, Venice, Lisbon, London.
Here, in flat # 5 on Daisy Bank Road
I buy pink and purple daisies "for me self,"
make expresso coffee with an Italian vaporetti,
click off the hob unit to save electricity.
The uptake reel is devious, deliberate
in steady wind, wind, wind, dredging up
the muck I made. Banished like Cain
or Able, Adam and Eve from you know where.
Tic-ticka-tic, ticka-tic, ticka-tic, trrrrrrrrrrrrrl.
Moments of sharp focus are hardest, I've torn
my wedding vows, twisted the alignment, returned
to the dark cinema hall after the projector has died.
*********************
(Nick also gave me a couple of typewriters.)
the great state of texas
Today's short story waiting to be written comes from Pasadena, Texas.
Authorities say a Houston-area woman who was burned up at her former common-law husband fried their pet goldfish and ate some of them. Pasadena police say it's a civil matter and no charges will be filed. The seven goldfish were purchased together by the couple during happier times.
Police spokesman Vance Mitchell says the man reported on Saturday that the woman took the goldfish from his apartment.
Mitchell says the two argued earlier about some jewelry the man had given her but took back. She wanted the jewelry returned.
Officers who were dispatched to the woman's home arrived to find four fried goldfish on a plate. The woman said she already ate the other three. (thanks to Joe in Cheese, Texas)
poems out loud
Here's a link to my intro to Ellen Wehle's new book of poems.
no regrets, coyotes
Today's disturbing short story waiting to be written. "He said his father told him that day he had been told by God his son needed a sex change to become his wife."
a very early review
Bernadette Geyer offers the first review of Is Life Like This? which won't be out till February.
is life like this?
Bernadette Geyer quotes from my forthcoming book on her blog. Norton must have sent her a copy, and I'm happy they did.
the ocean liner's wake
Our friend and FIU grad, Ellen Wehle has had her first collection of poems, The Ocean Liner's Wake, published by Shearsman Books.
the good news from greensboro
Bucking a national trend and responding to its readers' desires, The Greensboro (NC) News & Record has reinstated it's Book Page! (thanks to Lynne in Miami)
cursive
For those of you who write your stories on the keyboard, here's a piece by Umberto Eco on handwriting. "The three-page article pointed out that writing by hand obliges us to compose the phrase mentally before writing it down. Thanks to the resistance of pen and paper, it does make one slow down and think. Many writers, though accustomed to writing on the computer, would sometimes prefer even to impress letters on a clay tablet, just so they could think with greater calm." The first time I heard the word cursive was when Tristan was learning the skill Mary Bethune Elementary. Cursive: "Written with a running hand, so that the characters are rapidly formed without raising the pen, and in consequence have their angles rounded, and separate strokes joined, and at length become slanted. In ancient manuscripts the cursive style, showing some of these characteristics, is distinguished from the more formal uncial writing." (OED) The nuns just called it writing as opposed to printing. We learned to write with the Palmer Method using fountain pens (Cardinal preferred--were the nuns getting a kickback?), which we called ink pens as opposed to ball point pens. The Cardinal had a levered clip on its barrel that you opened to fill the ink (dark blue, please). No mess.
love and summer
My review of William Trevor's novel in today's Globe. And the Times review. And the Washington Post's.
fiu in the news
An FIU journalism student is responsible for exposing some questionable practices at ACORN. The student's daddy runs something called the Clash Church in Aventura, close by our campus, and he's the author of a book called Raising Boys Feminists Will Hate. His own blurb: "Parent, if you have a young son and you want him to grow up to be a man, then you need to keep him away from pop culture, most public schools and a lot of Nancy Boy churches. If metrosexual pop culture, feminized public schools and the effeminate branches of evanjellycalism lay their sissy hands ... " Daddy also has a fine art gallery if you happen to think this painting is fine art.
There would be a picture here, but Squarespace is back to not allowing me to post photos--or videos. I would recommend another host. Anyone have a suggestion for me? All I get from tech support are the same unhelpful directions that I've gotten before. "I've done that; it doesn't work." "Do it again!" "Isn't that the definition of insanity?"
letter to our "educators"
Here's a letter sent by my nephew Matthew, a lawyer in Columbia, South Carolina, regarding President Obama's talk with students about school, studying hard, and other controversial subjects:
Please be advised that my children, Caroline Sullivan and Logan Sullivan, will not be in class on Tuesday September 8, 2009. It is with great sadness that I learned today that school districts across the country including, apparently, Lexington School District 1, have been thrust into an appalling controversy simply because the elected leader of our nation wishes to speak to our children about the virtues of staying in school and focusing on their education.
Let me be clear: for my wife and I there is no controversy. Mr. Obama is the duly-elected leader of our country pursuant to Article II of our Constitution, the same Constitution I swore to uphold and defend when I became a licensed attorney. Tuesday’s “speech” is not about politics. It is about the leader of our country speaking to our children about the value of our education. My wife and I expect nothing less from our President.
My children will always be fortunate whenever they are given the opportunity to hear the chief executive of our nation speak to them directly about the most important issue in their young lives: the importance of obtaining an education. This is true whether the President is a Republican, a Democrat or a member of any other political party.
Tuesday’s address is not a novel occurrence. According to a Los Angeles Times story published today, both previous President Bushes have spoken to school children. In fact, President George H.W. Bush spoke to children across the nation via teleconference about avoiding drugs…a similar non-political topic as Mr. Obama’s planned topic of discussion on Tuesday. My children would have been equally fortunate had one of their school days been spent, in part, by having President George H.W. Bush or President George W. Bush speak to them on such a topic. It is an event I would have enthusiastically supported my children attending.
Therefore, to ensure that my children do not miss this excellent educational opportunity, they will watch The President’s speech live with their parents on C-SPAN this Tuesday. Hopefully they will learn about the value of completing their formal education, and maybe they will learn a little civics as well. Regrettably, this experience will pale in comparison to the experience they would have had had they been able to watch it with their classmates and teachers and have been able to engage in an age-appropriate critical discussion afterward as intended by The President.
Sincerely,
Matthew Sullivan, Esq.