still rankled

Hey, look what I got you!

--a certificate verifying that a star has been named after you because you like space and stuff
--a hand painted Walking Liberty Dollar because you collect coins
--a "blank book" and a lovely pen for your birthday because you "like writing so much."
--the latest copy of Novel & Short story Writer's Market

You know what, that's all I'm going to say on the subject right now. Because I respect you, Mystery person. You get WiFi in that cave, right?

rank odor

organizing piles and lists reeks of desperation. I'm not saying I don't do it, but I'm not going to pretend it's useful.



Update: except when Ravi does it or Roxane does it

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Debut of "An Abbreviated Family Dictionary"

Here it is, released to the wild: Danny Collier's thoroughly enjoyable web lit object, An Abbreviated Family Dictionary

What is it? What do we call it?

It's like Joe Young and Crispin Best had a baby . . .

Secrets, shhhh

My delightful friend/colicky colleague Danny Collier--he of the chicken poems and the urban folk singing and smart-aleck ways, is working on something truly, truly cool and awesome. It'll be ready soon, so watch this space.

He let me take a peek, but I've been warned and sworn to secrecy. Damn. I said, "I'm just gonna show erin," but he said no, no, no. That said, he has granted me "first leakage" rights. So here I am, leaking.

Btw, Adam Robinson still hasn't shut off my access to the Everyday Genius site, which means I can see the future there, as well.

I think I know secrets about Tara Laskowski too, or is that out of the bag yet?

That corner looks bare. Nice place to park an elephant

I'm doing my annual activities report for the salary committee, and this year they are using a new faculty designed rubric for evaluation that rewards excellence and innovation in teaching almost exclusively. As a Term Associate Professor (as opposed to Tenured or Tenure line), research, publication, and service, are not supposed to enter into my rating unless I can draw a direct connection to success in teaching. However, in the past, these activities were recognized in an "above and beyond" kind of spirit. And I agree that sort of thing can get out of hand quickly.

So I just updated my cv. I won't go into the numbers, but I've had a pretty awesome year in publications and recognitions. My best ever. But as I put my report together, it looks like it will be my students' publications that will make the difference, not mine. I'm not complaining, it's just a different way to think about things.

Michelle Reale's Very Leeeetle Book

Just got Michelle Reale's chapbook, Natural Habitat in the mail--12 wee stories in a pretty little book, published by Burning River. My 2 yr old gosh-daughter would advise you to "buy on it!"

To prove it is a little book, these photos for scale. In the first photo, I compare the book to a string bean and an orange. In the second you can see that the book is barely big enough to cover a chihuahua's ass. Click the photos if you care that much.

I deeply love little books. More soon.

AWP in DC 2011

AWP will be in early Feb next year. I live in a suburb of DC, on the bus line that goes straight to the metro.

Should I raffle off my spare room?

Landscape

April feels weird and echo-y so far. Everyone's gone off to AWP and blog and FB traffic is sluggish. To fill the void I'm reading subs for Prick of the Spindle, which is fascinating. Most of the stories are long ones from writers I've not read before, so I have this sense of returning a familiar territory inhabited by interesting strangers. Like Las Vegas.

No writing coming out of me, lately. But I'm thinking. I'm pretty distracted by the projects I have already finished, hoping to hear about them soon.

Last night I dreamed that I got a form letter rejection and three sets of handwritten editor comments from Bunion Press (which I don't think is real). The comments were illegible except for exclamation points and the words "so sorry." I also received two clown type blouses from Web Del Sol.

chillax

Storysouth's 2009 Notables list has my attention

I must admit I've not been into the StorySouth thing for a couple of years running, for a number of reasons I won't go into here, but this year's list of notables is especially reluhvant to mah innerests:

>killauthor made best new journal
Prick of the Spindle made runner up as best novella publisher

And these fine writers made the list:

Mel Bosworth
Tara Laskowski
Scott Garson
Richard Santos
Genevieve Valentine
Roxane Gay (with like, eleventy stories on the list)
Kim Chinquee
Matt Bell

I'm thrilled about how this shook out, and even if there are some sad omissions, this is the most exciting notables list in a long while.