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My God, What Have We Done? by Susan V. Weiss

September 28, 2011 by

Normally, I’ll write up my own summary for a book, but this week has been hectic, so I’ll provide you with summary from Amazon:

“In a world afflicted with war, toxicity, and hunger, does what we do in our private lives really matter? Fifty years after the creation of the atomic bomb at Los Alamos, newlyweds Pauline and Clifford visit that once-secret city on their honeymoon, compelled by Pauline’s fascination with Oppenheimer, the soulful scientist. The two stories emerging from this visit reverberate back and forth between the loneliness of a new mother at home in Boston and the isolation of an entire community dedicated to the development of the bomb. While Pauline struggles with unforeseen challenges of family life, Oppenheimer and his crew reckon with forces beyond all imagining. Finally the years of frantic research on the bomb culminate in a stunning test explosion that echoes a rupture in the couple’s marriage. Against the backdrop of a civilization that’s out of control, Pauline begins to understand the complex, potentially explosive physics of personal relationships. At once funny and dead serious, My God, What Have We Done? sifts through the ruins left by the bomb in search of a more worthy human achievement.”

My God, What Have We Done? by Susan V. Weiss combines two seemingly divergent topics under one roof — a marriage and the making of the atomic bomb — and readers get to watch it build to a crescendo and explode.  Told in first person point of view, readers get a real taste for how obsessed Pauline is with Oppenheimer, so much so that her honeymoon with Clifford is spent in Los Alamos where the atomic bomb was created.  This is where readers first meet them, and may be stunned by the emotional distance between the newlyweds.  As the story begins unfolding, Pauline continues to exhibit emotional distance, as if she is disconnected from her feelings and every moment of her life must be plotted and thought out thoroughly before she acts.

The stories of Pauline and Clifford’s marriage and how it builds is in parallel to the third person POV tale about the building of Los Alamos and the atomic bomb.  While Weiss uses an interesting premise, particularly the bomb itself to signify the creation of relationships and families and their destruction, the first person POV of Pauline’s life is more captivating.  She’s pulled between her desires to be a wife and mother and her old life, feeling a disconnect from her friends and life in Philadelphia, but there is a greater desperation within her.

“Although I envied his serenity, I sometimes wished I could get him to grab onto some of my challenges, to declare himself, to fight back.”  (page 12)

While Clifford is often compared to Oppenheimer by Pauline for his angular facial features and his bookish intelligence, she acts more like the scientists as she parents her son.  Like the atom bomb they created to end the war — all wars — Jasper is an experiment to be tinkered with and nurtured.  Readers will often question Pauline’s emotional state and whether she has the depth necessary to care for a child, herself, and her husband.  She’s an enigma, much like Oppenheimer was.  Readers easily find the parallels in this narrative, but Weiss’s characters appear to be more like caricatures of people, rather than complex human beings.

My God, What Have We Done? by Susan V. Weiss is an attempt to draw wider conclusions about logically minded people, and will prompt readers to self examine.  However, the struggle through the shifting points of view and story lines may bog down some readers’ enjoyment of her tale.  Ultimately, the premise was unique, and the struggle of a new housewife was interesting, but the Oppenheimer sections were a bit dry and read like a laundry list of encounters rather than a fictionalized account of true events.

 

 

Please check out the rest of the stops on the TLC Book Tour by clicking the tour host icon at the left.

 

 

About the Author:

Susan V. Weiss is a writer and a teacher who lives in Burlington, Vermont. Her stories have appeared in literary magazines and anthologies. In addition to teaching adult literacy and expository and creative writing, she has initiated community-outreach writing projects for offenders, refugees, and homeless people.

 

 

This is my 56th book for the 2011 New Authors Reading Challenge.

Filed Under: challenges, fiction, New Authors Challenge, Publishers/Publicists, Read in 2011, review copy, reviews, tlc book tours Tagged With: , ,

Guest Post: Navigating a Flexible Writing Space by Joan Leegant

September 27, 2011 by

Joan Leegant, author of Wherever You Go, will be sharing her writing space with us shortly, but I wanted to share a bit about this book and offer a giveaway to my U.S. readers (sorry, the publisher is sponsoring it).

From the publisher:

“In this sweeping and beautifully written novel, Joan Leegant weaves together three lives caught in the grip of a volatile and uncompromising faith. Yona Stern has traveled to Jerusalem from New York to make amends with her sister, a stoic mother of five dedicated to the hard-line settlement cause. Mark Greenglass, a gifted Talmud teacher and former drug dealer saved by religion, has lost his passion and wonders if he’s done with God. Enter Aaron Blinder, an unstable college dropout with a history of failure who finds a home on the radical fringe of Israeli society. Emotionally gripping and unmistakably timely, Wherever You Go tells the story of three Americans in Israel and the attractions–and dangers– of Jewish extremism, its effect on families, and its threat to the modern democratic state.”

Doesn’t this sound like a great book club selection; there’s so much to discuss.  Check out reviews of this book from Unabridged Chick, Life in the Thumb, Among Stories, the TLC Book Tour stops, Caribousmom, and For Book’s Sake.

Please welcome Joan:

The novelist Kent Haruf writes his first drafts with a stocking cap pulled over his face so he can’t see what he’s producing and second-guess every word and comma, and thereby lose the thread of his story. John Steinbeck required the noise of a washing machine in the background in order to compose The Grapes of Wrath. Once, during a residency at the MacDowell Colony in New Hampshire—an artist retreat on hundreds of secluded acres where painters, writers, composers and other creative types are given their own studios and abundant solitude—a newly-arrived novelist appeared at dinner flush with excitement after her first day’s work. What had she accomplished? we all asked. She’d covered every soaring window in her assigned space, a handsome stone structure abutting picture-postcard fields dotted with the occasional deer—and where, 60 years earlier, Aaron Copland wrote the music for the ballet Billy the Kid—with black construction paper. The view, she said, was too distracting.

Joan's writing room

Writers do all kinds of strange things to create the necessary conditions for writing. Perhaps because I began writing fiction when my children were very young, my sons then 3 and 5, I’ve cultivated a certain useful flexibility. For a time, I wrote in a small overheated room next to the one my boys shared. When they began staying up later into the evening (my peak writing hours), I decamped to the basement. This was next to the laundry, which was both convenient and conducive; getting up to change the wash was often precisely what was needed to clear my head and solve a thorny problem. When my younger son took up the drums, he and his instruments migrated downstairs and I went up a level and took over an enclosed porch.

I didn’t mind moving around and I didn’t care, and still don’t, about the furnishings; in fact, my preferred working surface is a folding table. Outfitting whatever space is mine with a proper desk or other items meant to bring to mind the word “writerly” feels pressured or forced. It reminds me of a visit to a clothing shop before my first book tour. I owned mainly jeans and a few dresses more appropriate for funerals and weddings than book talks. I told the saleswoman I was a writer and needed a couple of things I could quickly pack into a suitcase and just as quickly unpack. After dramatically draping me in black, she then layered on all manner of elaborately tied scarves and chunky necklaces and bohemian-ish silver bracelets and belts because, she said, “this is how authors are supposed to look.” Problem was, I didn’t know how to put any of the stuff on by myself. I would have had to pack her in the suitcase too.

Joan writing at her friend's apartment

These days I do most of my writing in a rented room attached to someone else’s house a fifteen minute walk from my own. It’s part of a former dental office—the house’s owners think it was the original waiting room—which seems fitting. I often feel like I’m waiting for someone, mostly my characters, who sometimes seem as eager to be hanging out with me as I would be to hang out with the person about to give me a root canal. And there are certainly days in that room when I feel like I’m pulling teeth.

During the final revisions of my novel Wherever You Go, I added pages and pages of hand-written prose, and heavily marked up the manuscript. For months, this was my only working copy. I wouldn’t let it out of my sight. I brought it home from my writing room every night and carried it back there the next day. When I flew to Tel Aviv to teach for a semester, the manuscript took up all the space in my carry-on. Among the many pleasures of emailing the final version to the publisher was that I could stop lugging around all that weight. Until I began the next project, of course. But that is—I hope—another story.

Thanks, Joan, for sharing your writing space with us. I wish you great success with your book.  Please check out these interesting videos about her work and the book.

About the Author:

Joan Leegant is also the author of a story collection, An Hour In Paradise, winner of the 2004 PEN/L.L. Winship Award for outstanding book by a New England author and the Edward Lewis Wallant Award, as well as a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award and selection for the Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Series. Formerly a lawyer, for eight years she taught writing at Harvard University. The mother of two adult sons, she divides her time between Newton, Massachusetts and Tel Aviv, where she teaches at Bar-Ilan University.

To Enter the giveaway for 1 copy of Wherever You Go by Joan Leegant, you must be a U.S. resident or have someone in the U.S. willing to accept the book for you.

1. Leave a comment about why you want to read this book.
2. Facebook, Tweet, or otherwise spread the word about the giveaway and leave a link (up to 3 additional entries).
3. Follow this blog for another entry.

Deadline is Oct. 4, 2011, at 11:59PM EST.

Filed Under: giveaway, guest post Tagged With: , ,

A Weekend of Firsts at the 2011 National Book Festival

September 26, 2011 by

It was a weekend of firsts for the National Book Festival and “Wiggles.”

For the first time, Wiggles rode on an escalator, the subway, went to Washington D.C., saw the Washington Monument, the Vietnam Wall Memorial, the National Mall, the National Book Festival, and Jill from Rhapsody in Books and her husband (forgive me I cannot remember his name — having a sleepy brain moment).  She also met the Cat in the Hat, a Honker from Sesame Street, and got her own first free books from a publisher, Penguin.

That leads me to the firsts for the festival.  For the first time in its 11-year history, it was held over two days. And both days were chock full of authors and activities, which made it even more worthwhile to go since one day was no better than the other, depending on your author preferences.

Additionally, while they have generously offered Library of Congress programs, bags, bookmarks, and audio samplers from classics, publishers do not frequent the festival and offer free books.  Imagine our surprise when Penguin was there offering giveaways of children’s books — which may be related to this year’s theme of reading aloud — in addition to all of their other fun activities for kids.  Wiggles was too young for the activities, but The Girl from Diary of an Eccentric had some fun making bookmarks.

Kelly Cherry--VA Poet Laureate

Another first for the festival was a tent on Sunday dedicated to the States’ Poets Laureate, though they only had poet laureates from Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D.C, California, and Maine.  They did indicate at the beginning of the program that it was an experiment to see how popular it would be.  It had a decent crowd for the poets we saw, Kelly Cherry (pictured above) and Stanley Plumly, (pictured below) who was introduced by the Architect of the Capitol — a big fan of his poetry. Unfortunately, we only heard bits and pieces from these two poets because Wiggles was in need of a diaper change, but I’ve read Plumly’s work before and Cherry’s presence gave me another poet to check out.

Stanley Plumly -- MD Poet Laureate

Most of the poetry I experienced was on Sunday, rather than Saturday, which we spent mostly wandering around with “Wiggles” to places like the Washington Monument to check out the cracks from the earthquake and the Vietnam Wall memorial. The only poet we heard read was Kimiko Hahn, who was a boring speaker. I haven’t read much of her poetry, but I have a feeling that its more academic than most and you’d have to spend time reading it on the page, rather than listening to it being read. I missed Rita Dove earlier in the day on Saturday, thanks to the lovely Metro track work.

Please check out the slideshow of the photos I took:

Sunday was the day I looked forward to all month — meeting Yusef Komunyakaa for the first time; I consider him a rock star of poetry to be honest. I did actually speak to him about my Vietnam Veteran uncle and writing for a bit, and learned there is an anthology being worked on with poetry from family members of Vietnam veterans, which would be incredibly interesting.

Yes, I picked up his new book. Yes, I was tongue-tied talking to him, and yes, I was in awe. So in awe, that I forgot to give him a business card for both Savvy Verse & Wit and War Through the Generations. Beyond that, hearing him read his poems in his own voice is just what I imagined it to be — each has a soul and a rhythm that you can imagine, but it is SO MUCH better to hear from the source.

Hence, my YouTube video for you of his recitation of Grenade:

I did upload another of his poems being read, but I didn’t catch the name of it and someone walked through my video, so you’ll have to ignore that if you check it out. The crowd to hear Yusef gives me hope that poetry has a wide audience that only has room to grow further. It was a packed audience, no empty chairs, and standing room only.

How was your experience?

Filed Under: announcements, Events Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Mailbox Monday #145 and Library Loot #7

September 26, 2011 by

Mailbox Mondays (click the icon to check out the new blog) has gone on tour since Marcia at A Girl and Her Books, formerly The Printed Page passed the torch.  This month our host is Amused by Books.  Kristi of The Story Siren continues to sponsor her In My Mailbox meme.  Both of these memes allow bloggers to share what books they receive in the mail or through other means over the past week.

Just be warned that these posts can increase your TBR piles and wish lists.

Here’s what I received this week:

1.  To Join the Lost by Seth Steinzor for a TLC Book Tour in November.

2.  The Time in Between by Maria Duenas from Shelf Awareness.

3. Kill Me If You Can by James Patterson and Marshall Karp from my mother.

4. I Curse the River of Time by Per Petterson, which I won from Caribousmom during BBAW.

5. Tracks by Eric D. Goodman, which I received for review from the author.

6. Ladybug Girl Dresses Up! by David Soman and Jacky Davis, which I picked up from Penguin at the National Book Festival — first time books were given away for free.

7. Skippyjon Jones by Judy Schachner, which I also picked up from Penguin for “Wiggles.”

8. Stagecoach Sal by Deborah Hopkinson, illustrated by Carson Ellis, which is signed by the author and given away to 100 attendees at the Penguin tent.

9. The Chameleon Couch by Yusef Komunyakaa, which I purchased at the National Book Festival and got signed by one of my favorite poets.

Library Loot:

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire and Marg that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries!

1.  Does the Noise in my Head Bother You? by Steven Tyler

What did you get this week?

Filed Under: Library Loot, mailbox monday, meme Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Winner of Safe From the Sea by Peter Geye

September 25, 2011 by

The winner of Safe From the Sea by Peter Geye is:

Sabina

I hope you enjoy the book as much as I did when I read it in hardcover.  (my review)

Congrats!

Filed Under: unbridled books, winners Tagged With: ,

116th Virtual Poetry Circle

September 24, 2011 by

Today’s poem is from Saul Williams’ She (page 72-3) (read my review):

I simply want to be
the love song
dangling from her lips
unfiltered
ever burning at the end
the beginning forever
at her lips
my dreams
on the tip of her tongue

she breathes
clouds of mystery
once mine
smoke signals
another lifetime
now dissolved
into thin air

and when
the mystery is gone
so is the fire

maybe if I came in packs
(like wolves)
but there’d still be the warning
for pregnant women
love’s suffering addiction
can turn hearts yellow

I want to be
the one she calls
on her cigarette break
not the cause of it

Welcome to the 116th Virtual Poetry Circle!

Remember, this is just for fun and is not meant to be stressful.

Keep in mind what Molly Peacock’s books suggested. Look at a line, a stanza, sentences, and images; describe what you like or don’t like; and offer an opinion. If you missed my review of her book, check it out here.

Also, sign up for the 2011 Fearless Poetry Reading Challenge because its simple; you only need to read 1 book of poetry. Please contribute to the growing list of 2011 Indie Lit Award Poetry Suggestions, visit the stops on the National Poetry Month Blog Tour from April.

So what did you think?

Filed Under: virtual poetry circle Tagged With: ,

11th Annual National Book Festival

September 23, 2011 by

For the first time ever, the National Book Festival will be over TWO days!

Yes, you heard me right; TWO DAYS!  This Saturday and Sunday, the National Mall in Washington, D.C., will be buzzing with book lovers, authors, and more.

Did you know that the Library of Congress has its own YouTube channel?  You should check out some of these great videos with authors and musicians.

If you are going to be in town early for the festivities, please check out the other special events book-ending the festival, here.  There will be a combination outdoor and reading event with former NFL linebacker Chris Draft on Sunday, Sept. 25.  I love events where books are read aloud.

I was getting excited about the festival because it will be the longest amount of time I’ve been out of the house with “Wiggles,” our daughter.  Rhapsody in Books will be there, and she’ll get to meet “Wiggles” in person, so that should be fun.  I have plans to go again on Sunday, which may be a solo trip since football is on, to meet one of my favorite poets, Yusef Komunyakaa, in person — whom I’ve missed out on meeting several times and I consider on the level with rock stars.  Yes, you heard that right, and I’ll probably be tongue tied when I see him.

The festival theme this year is the joy of reading books aloud, and I’d like to take that a step further by having you read this poem aloud.

Facing It
by Yusef Komunyakaa

My black face fades,
hiding inside the black granite.
I said I wouldn't,
dammit: No tears.
I'm stone. I'm flesh.
My clouded reflection eyes me
like a bird of prey, the profile of night
slanted against morning. I turn
this way--the stone lets me go.
I turn that way--I'm inside
the Vietnam Veterans Memorial
again, depending on the light
to make a difference.
I go down the 58,022 names,
half-expecting to find
my own in letters like smoke.
I touch the name Andrew Johnson;
I see the booby trap's white flash.
Names shimmer on a woman's blouse
but when she walks away
the names stay on the wall.
Brushstrokes flash, a red bird's
wings cutting across my stare.
The sky. A plane in the sky.
A white vet's image floats
closer to me, then his pale eyes
look through mine. I'm a window.
He's lost his right arm
inside the stone. In the black mirror
a woman's trying to erase names:
No, she's brushing a boy's hair.

In honor of this poem, I’ll likely head down to the Vietnam War Wall at some point to take photos since I promised myself to do it this year and get some bookmark material for our War Through the Generations participants.  I had also hoped to go with my uncle, who to my knowledge has never been, for the first time, but that’s not going to happen this year…maybe some time in the near future.

If you’d like to get together, while I’m there, I’ll likely be in the poetry/prose tent more often than not.  But I could be at the wall.  We might just run into each other, don’t hesitate to say hi.  I’d love to hear about your experiences at the festival.

Also, if you want to learn more about what’s going on with the festival and more, check out my DC Literature Examiner article.

Filed Under: Events Tagged With:

To the Moon and Back by Jill Mansell

September 22, 2011 by

To the Moon and Back by Jill Mansell tackles relationships on a whole new level and looks at what it means to love someone for better and for worse and in sickness and in health.  While the novel is infused with Mansell’s humorous style, it is more serious than her other novels.

Ellie Kendall, the main protagonist, finds that losing the love of one’s life is not the end of the world, though it is devastating.  She finds a way to move on with her life, though she’s cut herself off from all of her friends and family to do it and feels as though she’s drowning in sympathy.  Meanwhile, Zach McLaren is a workaholic with no idea what his life is missing until Ellie literally walks through and into it.

“It was starting to concern her, just slightly, that it wasn’t quite normal to be doing what she’d been doing for the last year.  Because Jamie wasn’t here anymore.  And he wasn’t a ghost either.  All she did was conjure up a mental image of him in her mind, talk to him and have him talk back as if he were real.”  (page 18 of ARC)

In addition to the two main leads, there are some great side characters who are fleshed out really well, including the U.S. actor/father-in-law Tony Weston and the former girl band bad girl Roo.  Todd, who was one of Ellie’s good friends before her husband died, is not as well fleshed out as the others — at least initially — but readers won’t mind because he’s sort of a stand in for Ellie’s deceased husband much of the time.  Roo is a delight with all of her antics and her selfish nature, which as always gets turned on its ear when she realizes that the man she’s dating is a cheater.

Mansell’s got a wit about her unlike other authors in her genre, she’s connected to her characters in a way that makes readers feel like they are hanging out with friends, even if those friends are formerly famous. Ellie has a great deal of grief to deal with, while Zack must navigate his relationship with her very carefully and wait for her to be ready to begin again.  Readers will enjoy the realistic way in which their relationship blossoms and their tentative interactions as they become friends and more.  Todd and Tony round out the narrative, showing how events can change relationships in unexpected ways.

Readers seeking happy endings at the end of an evolutionary road will adore To the Moon and Back by Jill Mansell.  When you need a pick me up, her books are there to cheer you up, provide a spot of romance, and tug at your heart strings.

Filed Under: chicklit, Publishers/Publicists, Read in 2011, review copy, reviews, sourcebooks Tagged With: ,

Guest Post & Giveaway: Liza Gyllenhaal’s Move to Rural Inspiration

September 21, 2011 by

Today’s guest is Liza Gyllenhaal, author of So Near, and she’s going to share with us her writing space.

But first, let’s take a look at her book.  According to Amazon.com’s synopsis, “In the aftermath of a devastating loss, Cal and Jenny Horigan’s marriage is unraveling.  Both are plagued by guilt, unable to seek comfort from one another.  Burdened by remorse, they begin to lose sight of the love that once anchored them-together with their sense of right and wrong.  As the Horigans try different ways to deal with their pain, a new acquaintance seems to offer the support they desperately need-though at times they are unsure whether his guidance is leading them back to each other or further apart.”

Look at that cover, those big flowers are just so eye-catching and remind me of spring and renewal.  Let’s hope the same renewal can happen for Gyllenhaal’s characters, which you can find out if you win the giveaway. 

For some reviews of So Near, please check out Life in the Thumb and 5 Minutes for Books.

Without further ado, please welcome Liza Gyllenhaal:

Where Liza works in the winter

During the years I worked in advertising in New York City, I would try to fit in an hour or two of writing every morning in my cramped apartment. I used to dream of one day having my own writing studio. If Henry James thought “summer afternoon” were the two most beautiful words in the English language, I began to feel that “writing studio” took a close second. I imagined it in the woods somewhere with a fireplace or wood-burning stove — rustic and musty and so quiet you could hear the mice scrabbling around in the walls.

Writing studio in the Berkshires

Fifteen years ago, I was able to sell my advertising agency and buy my dream — a place in the country — or, more specifically, the beautiful Berkshire Hills of Western Massachusetts. It included a small farmhouse and an old horse stable which became my “writing studio.” It still has the old iron stall feeders and leather harnesses on the walls. It remains permeated by a wonderful smell of animal and old hay. It’s where I wrote most of my first novel Local Knowledge and my just published new novel called So Near — both set in the Berkshire area.

Liza inside the studio — on the laptop

I wake up early and reread and rewrite on my laptop in the house, but in the afternoon I go out to the studio, bolt the door, and start the hard work of writing the next new word, sentence, paragraph, chapter. In the winter I have a fire going in the Jotul stove, in the summer I have all the windows open and can hear the seasonal brook and birdsong. This summer, I watched a family of wild turkeys — 17 in all — parading up and down in the old paddock. Other sightings: woodchuck, coyote, fox, and early last spring, when the trees were just greening out, a big black bear. It was a breathtaking moment when this wall of darkness lumbered right past me — so close that, if the window had been open, I could have reached out and run my hand through the bear’s ink-black fur.

Thanks so much for sharing your writing space with us, Liza.

Sounds like a place I’d love to visit just for some down time and relaxation, though I do more writing in public places where there are lots of people to watch!

About the Author:

She was raised in a small town in Pennsylvania which, at the time she was growing up, was fairly rural and very lovely—much like the area of the Berkshire Hills in Massachusetts where she now live part of the time with her husband.

She studied poetry at University of Iowa Writing Workshop before moving to New York City and began a career in publishing and advertising.  She tried to continue writing poetry, but gradually moved to romance and other genres before her first novel.

In addition to writing, she works on behalf of various non-profits in New York City and the Berkshires. She also is the past chairperson of The Academy of American Poets and currently serves on its executive committee. (– excellent news to me since I just love that organization, am a card-carrying member, and blog about it all the time — funny how small the world is sometimes).

Please follow her on Twitter and Facebook, and check out her blog.

Now for the giveaway.  I have 2 copies So Near for US/Canadian readers.

1.  To Enter, leave a comment about where you do your blogging or reading and why.

2.  Facebook, Tweet, or blog about the giveaway for additional entries. (for up to 3 other entries).

3.  Follow this blog for another 2 entries. If you already follow, let me know.

Deadline for the giveaway is Sept. 30, 2011, at 11:59PM EST.

Filed Under: giveaway, guest post, Penguin, Publishers/Publicists Tagged With: , ,

Interview With Poet Jessica Piazza

September 20, 2011 by

Poet Jessica Piazza

Last week an interview with Poet Jessica Piazza posted on 32 Poems.

Please check out a part of the interview below, and give her a warm welcome.

How would you introduce yourself to a crowded room eager to hang on your every word? Are you just a poet, what else should people know about you?

Usually I just tell people that I’m a word-nerd and that I’m generally ridiculous. I like getting that out there early. I also probably pipe in that I’m from Brooklyn, New York pretty early on, because I’m really proud of where I come from. Brooklyn has definitely become the trendy place to be for artists and hipsters of all ilk, but growing up deep in South (read: uncool) Brooklyn is a completely different story, and a very particular story at that. Other than that, I’m more likely to talk about my dog than myself. His name is Special and he’s seriously….special.

Do you have any obsessions that you would like to share?

Ha! Obsessions are my obsession. A quick Googling of me reveals that my entire writing life for the past few years focused almost primarily on ruminations about clinical phobias and clinical philias. I wrote poem after poem inspired by these weird obsessive fears and obsessive loves, and my entire manuscript is anchored by them. For me, that was subject was a natural one, since I get addicted to ideas or projects themselves and have to play them out until I’ve killed them in some emotional way. I mean, I *only* write poems in projects, and that’s beginning to bite me in the ass as I try to create a second manuscript. For example, how do you fit together a dozen strange ekphrastic poems with erasure poems made from news articles and tiny, technical poems about bridges? It ain’t easy, kids. That’s all I’m saying..

Most writers will read inspirational/how-to manuals, take workshops, or belong to writing groups. Did you subscribe to any of these aids and if so which did you find most helpful? Please feel free to name any “writing” books you enjoyed most (i.e. Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott).

I’m not much a reader of books on writing, but one did move me, years ago. It’s not specifically writing focused, even! It’s called “Art & Fear: Observations On the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking” by David Bayles and Ted Orland. It contains this astonishing tidbit: “If ninety-eight percent of our medical students were no longer practicing medicine five year after graduation, there would be a Senate investigation, yet that proportion of art majors are routinely consigned to an early professional death. Not many people continue making art when – abruptly – their work is no longer seen, no longer exhibited, no longer commented upon, no longer encouraged. Could you?”

Reading that only articulated my already steadfast determination to provide artistic communities: spaces for the sharing and appreciation of poetry, in person and on the page. A year interning with Robert Pinsky (and Maggie Dietz!) at “The Favorite Poem Project” in Boston—an endeavor that set out to prove poetry touched ordinary Americans—was the perfect groundwork for me. As hundreds and hundreds of love letters to poetry poured in that first year, I realized that the power of great literature is not esoteric—it’s visceral, vibrant and necessary. It was right there…proof that poetry could have power as a pop-cultural force, not just an academic byproduct. I wanted to find a way to work with this idea, both expanding poetry’s place (and scope) in education, and simultaneously ensuring its recognition as a viable source of popular entertainment and inspiration.

To that end, over the years I helped to found a popular reading series (Speakeasy Poetry Series in NYC), a successful national literary journal (Bat City Review) and a small university press (Gold Line Press). Funny, though…it’s ironic that, at first, I never thought of teaching as a way to advocate poetry in the community. But when I started as a Teaching Assistant in 2003, I saw the impression that well-made literature could make on generally unimpressed students, and I’m proud to say that I’ve helped create many new poetry lovers over the last eight years of teaching at a college level. No wonder teaching became a passion—it doesn’t get much more inspiring than that.

Thanks, Jessica, for answering my questions. For the rest of the interview, visit 32 Poems.

About the Poet:

Jessica Piazza was born in Brooklyn, has a B.S. in Journalism from Boston University, an M.A. in English and Creative Writing from the University of Texas at Austin and is currently a Ph.D. candidate in English Literature and Creative Writing at the University of Southern California. She is a co-founder of Bat City Review, an editor at Gold Line Press, a contributing editor at The Offending Adam and has blogged for The Best American Poetry and Barrelhouse. Among other places, her poems have appeared or are forthcoming in 32 Poems, The National Poetry Review, The Missouri Review, Agni, Indiana Review, Mid-American Review, Rattle, 42 Opus and Forklift, Ohio. Her dissertation focuses on the intersection between literary analysis and neuroscience, which means she reads a lot of science articles, which also means she’s constantly tempted to shuffle around like a zombie screaming “BRAINS!!!!” at random poets and writers.

Check out a sample poem:

Eisoptrophilia
           Love of mirrors
                               Impression pressed upon the glass perfects
                               even the grossest forgeries.  Reject
                               the sea.  Reject the turning tide.
                               Just below clear water, I reside
                               as duplication of the lake.  Take me
                               away, another underneath again.
                               What mirrors cannot ditto isn’t sin.

Eisoptrophobia
        Fear of mirrors
                                What mirrors cannot ditto isn’t sin
                                simply performed behind the glass.  Within
                                the frame of windowpane, negated dark.
                                Those fleeting squares reveal our darkness back.
                                Aloof, the rain plays taps.  Above, the trees
                                are inimitable.  Distinct, thus blessed.
                                Reflected, I am never at my best.

--Originally published in Mid-American Review, Volume XXX, Numbers 1 & 2 Fall 2009/Spring 2010
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Around Germantown (MD) Then & Now by Margaret Coleman

September 19, 2011 by

Around Germantown (MD) Then & Now by Margaret Coleman takes a look at what Germantown was like before 1980 and what it was like after the Maryland-Nation Capital Park and Planning Commission adopted the area.  Coming from Massachusetts where many of the towns are older than the actual state and older than the United States, I had no idea that towns/cities were actually planned out ahead of time.  I really thought that they just came about when people started settling into an area and the businesses just cropped up naturally to service those people.  Silly, me.

Germantown, Md., is made up of six villages and the heart of the city has been moved a couple of times as populations and transit projects changed.  My husband and I looked at this book together and I told him we must have been destined to move here, since some of the founding families have the same last name as those of the town we grew up in.  The town also was settled by German farmers in addition to the English farmers already here.

We really enjoyed the photos of places that were and what they came to be, though it saddened us that so many of the original historic structures in the town had burned (on purpose or accidentally) and were not restored and of those that were restored were moved to other locations.  Unfortunately, progress seems to be the mainstay of this town as historic homes have been replaced by gas stations and other signs of commerce.  The tone of the book doesn’t seem as maudlin as I do about it, however.

Around Germantown (MD) Then & Now by Margaret Coleman is an interesting peak into the history of this town, its people, and its growth over the years.  I’d recommend it to locals interested in the area they have moved to or to those who have lived here but know little of its history.  I’ve always enjoyed these types of books even if I don’t live in the areas discussed.  The inclusion of photos of places then and now rounds out the story.

This is my 55th book for the 2011 New Authors Reading Challenge.

Filed Under: challenges, New Authors Challenge, nonfiction, purchased, Read in 2011, reviews Tagged With: , ,

Mailbox Monday #144

September 19, 2011 by

Mailbox Mondays (click the icon to check out the new blog) has gone on tour since Marcia at A Girl and Her Books, formerly The Printed Page passed the torch.  This month our host is Amused by Books.  Kristi of The Story Siren continues to sponsor her In My Mailbox meme.  Both of these memes allow bloggers to share what books they receive in the mail or through other means over the past week.

Just be warned that these posts can increase your TBR piles and wish lists.

Here’s what I picked up from a library sale a weekend or two ago:

1.  American Sublime by Elizabeth Alexander

2.  Barefoot by Elin Hilderbrand

3.  Exercises for the Everyday Writer by Lex Runchiman and Francine Weinberg; there are new versions of this reference.

4.  The Penguin Book of First World War Poetry edited by Jon Silkin; I have an older version from 1979.

5.  The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White for “Wiggles”; the version I picked up for her has the blue cover with the drawing of the boy and the swan by a pond; the same version I had as a kid.

These are books I picked up at the 90% off sale at my Borders in its final days:

6.  Under Fishbone Clouds by Sam Meekings

7.  The Wolves of Andover by Kathleen Kent; though looks like this book has been reissued with a different title.

8.  Lady Vernon and Her Daughter by Jane Rubino and Caitlen Rubino Bradway

9.  Red April by Santiago Roncagliolo, translated by Edith Grossman, which is part of my effort to read more translated works.

10.  The Kitchen Boy by Robert Alexander

11.  Tethered by Amy MacKinnon

12.  From the Land of the Moon by Milena Agus, translated by Ann Goldstein

13.  Blue Nude by Elizabeth Rosner

14.  These Things Hidden by Heather Gudenkauf

15. Around Germantown (MD) (Then and Now) by Margaret Coleman, which I purchased at my new bookstore Novel Places.

What did you receive this week?

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