https://images.app.goo.gl/YrEbzqUVGKMtNN8R8 (phab photo of comedian Phyllis Diller by Lee Cerano) Friends -- I've been asking myself this alot these days. Brilliant poet Judy Kronenfeld warned that at a certain stage in life, creativity comes less easily, and I am certainly experiencing that. But I also feel a certain futility about a lot of what I … Continue reading why bother?
me and Peter Handke
Friends -- This is a rough, inelegant attempt at a bundle of issues that I'm trying to grapple with vis a vis this author. I wish I could say what I want to say better. But here it is. Long before I became a creative writer, in another life I was a comparative literature scholar … Continue reading me and Peter Handke
We cry because we laughed and vice versa – thoughts about the unreal in performance
What is moving us now in this strange historical moment of lies and spectacle? What art speaks when kids are caged at the border and families get shot as they shop for back-to-school supplies at a Walmart? An American resident who is a journalist who gets murdered and dismembered in an embassy? What can get … Continue reading We cry because we laughed and vice versa – thoughts about the unreal in performance
New Story up at Isthmus Review
Friends -- did you ever start writing a story, that seemed to go swimmingly until.... the end? That's what happened with this short story that I kept on tweaking but couldn't find the right closure for, until .... i could. Enjoy. And then please take a look at the beautiful pieces in this issue. … Continue reading New Story up at Isthmus Review
Too real: Bergdorf’s, New York, East Coast private schools and the sexual threat from E. Jean Carroll to Christine Blasey Ford (it really is as bad as it sounds)
Friends -- this is not my usual kind of post, but these are some thoughts I'd like to share nonetheless. This past Friday night, I watched E. Jean Carroll tell Lawrence O’Donnell her story of how Donald Trump raped her in a dressing room at Bergdorf Goodman. That story – like the story of Christine … Continue reading Too real: Bergdorf’s, New York, East Coast private schools and the sexual threat from E. Jean Carroll to Christine Blasey Ford (it really is as bad as it sounds)
Our Sansa
What does it mean to be proud of a fictional character? What does it mean when we not only embrace them, not just follow their progress, but make them a family member as though we knew them intimately, and then not just applaud them, but in the Yiddish parlance of my family, kvell for them? … Continue reading Our Sansa
Protected: MT SAC — Culturama Weekend Magical Realism/Writing short Obsession prompt
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Protected: MT SAC — Culturama Weekend/Writing short: “Their unfortunate transformation” prompt
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
What we found at the beach — a magical realism writing exercise
Hi writing friends and welcome to the end of the month! For the last week of April, I'm offering a popular writing exercise from my little how to write magical realism manual, Delicious Strangeness. I've used this prompt in most of my writing classes, because it just about always yields something interesting and usable. It's … Continue reading What we found at the beach — a magical realism writing exercise
Story Time Sunday returns — Ajar
Dear friends -- a while back (a few years ago), I launched a madly ambitious plan to post a new little story every week. I burned out. I liked the idea though, so I'm going to try to post a new little story once a month, on the last Sunday of every month. Well, I … Continue reading Story Time Sunday returns — Ajar
Stephanie Barbé Hammer Writing (Un) Real 