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Welcome to Detectives Around the World Week (April 11-17)

April 11, 2010 by

I agree months ago to be a part of the Detectives Around the World Week, sponsored by Jen of Jen’s Book Thoughts.  It runs between April 11 through April 17.  Don’t forget to go an vote for the best detective in the world, and check out the complete schedule.

For my part, I’ll be sharing a bit about Alex Cross with you from James Patterson‘s long-running series of novels.  You may have heard of Alex Cross if you’ve watched the movies Along Came a Spider and Kiss the Girls with Morgan Freeman. LOVED THOSE MOVIES AND FREEMAN IS ALEX CROSS — at least in my mind.

Here’s a bit about the character:

Alex Cross is in his fifties and has lived on Fifth Street in southeast Washington, D.C., for a long time and has been a detective on the D.C. police force as well as a psychologist and FBI Senior Agent.  His partner on the D.C. force is a giant man named Sampson, and his current main squeeze is Bree Stone.  Cross is a busy man professionally and personally, particularly being a single father to Damon, Jannie, and little Alex and living with his feisty grandmother, Nana Mama.

As part of my introduction, I thought I would spice up the detective week with a National Poetry Month twist.

Alex Cross is on the prowl

using his mind to uncover motive,

intent, crime.

Stalking the streets with a giant,

Sampson with the blue light special

at his side and the boxing fists.

More than cops, a duo of brawn and brain

ready to take on the criminally insane.

But there are empty holes to fill

a family to protect, and wife to mourn

even as life goes on.

Here’s what you can expect from me this week:

April 14: Guest Post from Author Cara Black with a focus on France

April 15: Washington, D.C. Setting Post

April 16: Review of Cross Country by James Patterson

April 17: Review of Alex Cross’s Trial by James Patterson

I hope you have a great week checking out all the wonderful detectives from across the globe. My selection just happens to be from my part of the world, and what better place to have a detective than the hub of government.

Filed Under: Detectives Around the World 2010 Tagged With: ,

Read-a-Thon, the Updates, & Mini-Challenges

April 10, 2010 by

I have commenced reading The Lotus Eaters, which I have to post on Monday for a tour.

Hour 1: pages read 80

Mini-challenge #1:

Reading from my apartment with Anna and The Girl

Facts about me: I’ve got wet hair, I’m wearing slippers, and I am in my new favorite reading chair.

# of books 9

Goal: finish The Lotus Eaters.

Advice: read in small doses, get up and walk around with your books for exercise to keep those muscles from atrophy, and have some snacks handy…and a husband or friend to cook for you is always helpful.

Hour #2:

I just want to say that I haven’t read much between 9-10am because I went to the library sale, and boy did I buy too many books and 4 books for the Vietnam War reading challenge giveaway!  I also picked up some great poetry books for the end of month giveaway for National Poetry Month.

OK Gals and Guys, back to reading…have a great time.

Hour 3:

We have our official participants: Anna and The Girl

And we have an unofficial participant:  Anna’s Husband!

Mini-Challenge, Hour 5:

From The Lotus Eaters, page 106–

“During the main course of sauteed sole and julienned vegetables, they discussed the logistics of surviving as a Western woman in Saigon — how to find feminine products and the chronic shortage of hair spray, where to have one’s hair styled, where to buy clothes, where it was safe to go along, what kind of culture there was, how to handle the number of soldiers all around.

Demitasses of espresso and sliced mango with sticky rice were served. . .”


Are you hungry yet?

Hour 6:

Just a few notes.  I’ve read more of The Lotus Eaters and read about 30 pages of Cross Country by James Patterson.

The Girl is taking a break and napping in the bedroom, and we had some orange chicken meal, which I found wanting — frozen Chinese food is not the same as fresh made Chinese…that’s for sure.

Hour 8:

Not much progress going on.  I’ve read about 140 pages in two different books.  I haven’t finished one solid book, but I’ve eaten jelly beans, cheese, crackers, drank 2 cups of coffee, 1 cup of cranberry ginger ale, and has some really bad frozen orange chicken.

I’ve also cheered almost everyone on my list, but I will get to the blogs in letter T soon!  Ok, back to reading.

Here’s some fun for everyone in Hour 11:

If the Cover Fits Challenge:

Vibrant:

Scary:

Disturbing:

Beautiful:

Moving:

Thanks to The Girl for her contribution!
Mid-Event Survey:

1. What are you reading right now? The Lotus Eaters by Tatjana Soli
2. How many books have you read so far? I have not completed one.  I’m reading two off and on.  I’ve read 233 pages so far though…which is good for me.
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? Your Ten Favorite Words by Reb Livingston
4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day? No
5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? There were interruptions, which is why I began reading Cross Country by James Patterson because its a lighter read and I don’t have to concentrate as hard.  I also took a few breaks to walk the dog and cut up some cheese for snacks and eat lunch and dinner.
6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far? Read-a-Thon has been a flourish of activity and reading and the time just flies by.
7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? No suggestions here.  Just wish there were more mini-challenges that weren’t repeated from previous years.  And that the sentence from book titles challenge was a vote that included all the entrants.
8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year? Cheerleading is tough work, and though I signed up for only 1 hour, I’ve completed that hour and will probably do some more later on as part of a break.
9. Are you getting tired yet? Not at all surprisingly.
10. Do you have any tips for other Readers or Cheerleaders, something you think is working well for you that others may not have discovered? I love when cheerleaders visit the blog to cheer me on with their little rhymes, etc.
Hour 14:
Anna and The Girl have headed home for the evening, and I hope to finish up The Lotus Eaters.  I’ve also got an audio book on stand by should my eyes get tired.  My husband is asleep on the couch — poor guy worked this morning really early.  I hope everyone is having a great time.
I’ve been cheering, but I’ve met the one hour commitment, but you never know, I could stop by your blog to cheer you on some more.  You’ve been warned.
Pages read:  265
Hour 15:
Ok, I’m really getting sleepy, so its off to bed for sleep or maybe just a nap…we’ll see but I wanted to leave you with my parting cheer: (and a page count)
Some of you may have seen this already, but here it is in case you haven’t:
Looks like you are making great headway
Keep up the reading, don’t let that head sway
Eyes on the page and coffee in hand
You’ll be entering a new land.

GO READER!

Pages read:  331
I’m going to rest my eyes for a bit and listen to my audiobook.  Keep up the good work!

Hour # 23:
I listened to Shutter Island for a while, but feel into a nap, but I’m back now reading Cross country and The Lotus Eaters.  I’ve dropped by some blogs on my list to cheer them on in these wee hours of the read-a-thon.  Keep up the good work everyone…here’s my cheer in case you’re curious:
Don’t let those eyes droop
head out on the stoop
get some fresh air
before heading back to that chair
pick up your book
take another look
read, read, read
Ok, onto the Cliffhanger Mini-Challenge at Alicia Blade:
I think the biggest cliffhanger for me happened in Suzanne Collins Catching Fire, and I am still waiting for the resolution to the revolution!  Yes, that book ends with a big reveal of behind the scenes political activity, and I want to know what happens.  Will Katniss grasp her destiny with both hands and challenge the Capitol…what will happen to Peta, what is up with Gale, and who are these underground revoluntionaries?  I cannot wait to get the next in the series, MockingJay.
Wrap-Up:
Time read: 17 hours
Pages read: 391
Audio Chapters: 4

End-of-read-a-thon Questions:
1. Which hour was most daunting for you?
Hour 15 was a beast
2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?
The Lotus Eaters is a really absorbing read.  Cross Country isn’t a bad choice either, the chapters are nice and short.
3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
No suggestions other than some tweaks to the mini-challenges.  I think the book title sentence challenge should include all entrants in the final vote.
4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?
I really liked the cheer teams and the division of blogs to cheer for.
5. How many books did you read?
I didn’t finish 1, but I’m nearly finished with The Lotus Eaters, about halfway through Cross Country, and just at the beginning of Shutter Island on Audio.
6. What were the names of the books you read?
The Lotus Eaters, Cross Country, and Shutter Island
7. Which book did you enjoy most?
I enjoyed them all.
8. Which did you enjoy least?
None
9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders?
I think it would be fun to have some premade cheers for those unable to make up their own, but then again maybe people just want to cheer in their own way. No other advice, but I did like the shout out to National Poetry Month with the cheerleading team names.
10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?
I’ll probably read and cheer again next year, though cheering is addicting and took time away from my reading.
Have a great Sunday everyone!  Keep reading!
Filed Under: 24-hour Read-a-Thon, Events Tagged With: , ,

Reviewing Poetry

April 9, 2010 by

A recent article in Publishers Weekly examined the relevance of poetry reviews, especially in light of the dwindling review space in magazines and newspapers across the country.  (Thanks to Lisa at Online Publicist for pointing it out)   As more MFA graduates write poetry and review poetry, the article suggests that the subculture of poetry is blossoming, which I saw first hand at the Split This Rock Poetry Festival.  As poets gathered and protested the war in Iraq and the war and Afghanistan, among other things, workshops espoused the fervor surrounding new poets, their place in the canon, and their push to make waves.

Unlike book reviews, many wonder what the point of poetry reviews are.  Do they sell books or do they have another purpose — at least that’s what Craig Teicher asks in his Publishers Weekly article.  Unfortunately, I’m not attending the Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) conference in Denver this year, but for those going, they are in for a treat since Teicher has helped craft a panel on “The Practice and Purpose of Poetry Reviewing.”

However, I wanted to address the larger issue at hand:  Why review poems and poetry?

I think like fiction, reviewing poetry can demonstrate the enjoyment those lines, stanzas, and verses gave the reader, how deeply the poems affected the reader and caused them to think about the issues at hand.  Will reviews of poetry sell books or do they sell books?  I’m not sure, but I’ve often thought reviewing was purely an exercise in muddling through the text and images to find the deeper meaning of poem or prose.

As a writer, I’ve discovered that reviewing books and poetry keeps me thinking critically and learning the elements of the craft.  I hope that by examining what works and does not work in poems and prose, I can hone my own craft and writing to reach readers.

Many of my readers know that I find poetry inspiring and entertaining, and that I want to entice more people to give it a try and love it as much as I do or at least like it.  While not every poet or poem is for everyone, the same can be said for prose and authors.  It takes time to find poets and poems that speak to you, but the journey is part of the experience.

I would love to hear everyone’s thoughts about this topic, and whether they’ve ever read a poetry review that enticed them to purchase a book of poetry?

***

On another note, check out these great videos of people reading poetry all month long.

***

Also check out the next stops on the National Poetry Month Blog Tour; Rhapsody in Books features W.B. Yeats, Literate Housewife will talk about Alan Ginsburg and one of his readings.

Filed Under: national poetry month, poetry Tagged With:

Poetry Speaks Who I Am by Elise Paschen

April 8, 2010 by
Elise Paschen’s Poetry Speaks Who I Am combines written verse with audio recitation of poetry by the poets themselves on CDs spark young readers’ love of poetry and verse.  Readers between the ages of 11 and 14 will find poems in this volume that speak to their struggles with love, family, growing into adulthood, and making friends.

“[Paschen says,] For me this poetry is life altering.  It’s gritty.  It’s difficult.  And it hurts in all the ways that growing hurts.  It’s meant to be visceral and immediate.  It’s meant to be experienced.”  (Page XI)

Gritty and real are the best terms to describe the struggles within these lines of verse, from being the only white kid in school to being a Black person at a time when political correctness suggests you are African-America.  But more than that, there are poems about bra shopping — the stepping stones of becoming a woman — and the realization that the world is not perfect and that wars do exist.

Bra Shopping by Parneshia Jones (Page 16)

Mama and I enter into no man’s, and I mean no man in sight, land
of frilly lace, night gowns, grandma panties, and support everything.

A wall covered with hundreds of white bras, some with lace, ribbons,
and frills like party favors, as if bras are a cause for celebration.

Some have these dainty ditsy bows in the middle.
That’s a nice accent don’t you think? Mama says.  Isn’t that cute?
Like a dumb bow in the middle of the bra will take away some of the
attention from two looking, bulging tissues.

Full of wit and sarcasm, this poem illustrates the angst and embarrassment of the narrator as she shops for bras with her mother under the watchful eye of the sales clerk. A number of poems illustrate these feelings of awkwardness and tenderness between friends and parents.

The audio CD that comes with the book is stunning as each poem is read with emphasis and care either by the poet themselves or a contemporary counterpart.  In some cases, the poems are accompanied by ambient noise and/or nature sounds.  Some poems will garner young readers’ attentions more than others, but overall the CD works.

Used Book Shop by X.J. Kennedy (Page 108)

Stashed in attics,
stuck in cellars,
forgotten books
once big best-sellers

now hopefully sit
where folks, like cows
in grassy meadows,
stand and browse.

In a yellowed old history
of Jesse James
two earlier owners
had scrawled their names.

I even found
a book my dad
when he was in high school
had once had,

and a book I found —
this is really odd —
was twice as much fun
as my new iPod.

I always get hooked
in this dusty shop.
Like eating popcorn,
it’s hard to stop.

Poetry Speaks Who I Am is a wonderful collection of classic and contemporary poems from the likes of Langston Hughes and Lucille Clifton to the contemporary works of Billy Collins and Molly Peacock.  Each poem will reach out to young adolescents in new and exciting ways, having them nod their heads in agreement as emotions, situations, and dilemmas are unleashed in verse.  Moreover, the poems selected in this volume will not have readers scratching their heads, wondering what it all means.  These poems are straight forward and get to the heart of the adolescent matter.

FTC Disclosure: Thanks to Sourcebooks for sending me a free copy of Poetry Speaks Who I Am for review.  Clicking on title and image links will lead you to my Amazon Affiliate page; No purchase necessary, though appreciated.

***

I hope that you will take a trip over to Books and Movies because she is featuring Billy Collins as part of the National Poetry Month Blog Tour.

This is my 24nd book for the 2010 New Authors Challenge.

Despite the mix of contemporary and classic sonnets, I think there is enough in here to count for the contemporary poetry challenge, and this makes book #14.

This is my 2nd book for the Clover Bee & Reverie Poetry Challenge.

Filed Under: 2009-10 Valparaiso Poetry Review, 2010 Clover Bee and Reverie Poetry Challenge, national poetry month, New Authors Challenge, poetry, Read in 2010, review copy, reviews, sourcebooks Tagged With: ,

Welcome to National Poetry Month

April 1, 2010 by

THIS IS A STICKY POST~~

Welcome to the 2010 National Poetry Month Blog Tour!

I’ve been doing National Poetry Month events on the blog for several years from writing a poem a day to posting about new poets, but this year, I thought it was time to step it up a notch!

So I’ve corralled some great blogger buddies and poets to contribute in the first ever National Poetry Month Blog Tour.  Monica at Monniblog created some great buttons for the occasion, and you’ll see some variation of them throughout the month-long tour.

You’re probably asking yourself, what will I find on this tour.  Never fear, I will be posting a schedule of blogs, their dates, and their topics for you.  But first I want to let you know that you too can read poetry, enjoy the places it takes you, and share it with friends and family.  Like fiction or nonfiction, poetry just requires some exploration to find the poetry that speaks to you.

Nikki Giovanni says, “I’ve never ‘blogged’ before so this is new territory for me.  I do poetry though and that is always somewhere in the netherland.  I think poetry is employed by truth.  I think our job is to tell the truth as we see it.  Don’t you just hate a namby-pamby poem?  That goes all over the place saying nothing. Poets should be strong in our emotions and our words.  That might make us difficult to live with but I do believe easier to love.  Poetry is garlic.  Not for everyone but those who take it never get caught by werewolves.”

Hopefully, this blog tour will express the variety of poetry available and you will find poets and poetry that you connect with.  If not, that’s OK too, but maybe we can’t be friends (LOL).

At the end of the month, I am going to post a poll for you to decide which posts you enjoyed most, and the top three bloggers — and maybe more, depending on the donations — will receive a prize for participating.  Never fear, there will be prizes for readers as well.

Here on Savvy, I’ll be showcasing a variety of contemporary poets, the Virtual Poetry Circles will continue as scheduled, but there will be a few other fiction and nonfiction books featured for pre-scheduled tours.

OK, lets get to the National Poetry Month 2010 Blog Tour Schedule (I’m so happy with the turnout):

April 1:  Savvy Verse & Wit Welcome Post, Maw Books showcases her old poetry, Semicolon‘s Favorite Classic Poems Survey

April 2:  Diary of an Eccentric on Emily Dickinson, 32 Poems Interview with Geoffrey Brock

April 3:  Regular Rumination on poet Claudia Emerson

April 4:  Indextrious Reader interviews poetry publisher Brick Books

April 5:  Jenn’s Bookshelves reviews Tighty Whitey Spider by Kenn Nesbitt, West of Mars introduces the Roadie Poet

April 6:  Janel’s Jumble showcases Estrella Azul, The Betty and Boo Chronicles showcases Slamming Open the Door.

April 7:  Reading Frenzy features Edgar Allan Poe

April 8:  Books and Movies features Billy Collins

April 9:  Rhapsody in Books features W.B. Yeats, Literate Housewife will talk about Alan Ginsburg and one of his readings

April 10:  Booking Mama will review several children’s poetry books, Write Meg! features Kim Addonzinio

April 11:  Tea Leaves will review “Song of two worlds” by Alan Lightman

April 12:  Monniblog will highlight British Columbia, Canada, poets/poetry, Ernie Wormwood will talk about driving Lucille Clifton who did not drive.

April 13:  Life Is a Patchwork Quilt features poetry for the deaf

April 14:  SMS Book Reviews will surprise us with a poetry book review, Author Ru Freeman will talk about poetry’s cross-cultural presence, such as Palestinian poet Dharwish

April 15:  KCBooks will discuss Robert Frost’s The Outsider and how it impacted her, Author Amok will post a Wall of Shame with a list of states that do not have poet laureates.

April 16:  the life (and lies) of an inanimate flying object will review Poetry Speaks Who I Am and host a giveaway for 2 books, Evelyn Alfred will profile either Rita Dove, Marilyn Nelson, or Mari Evans.

April 17:  She Is Too Fond of Books will review Tighty Whitey Spider, A Circle of Books will review a small illustrated Poetry anthology, Wordsworth The Eternal Romantic.

April 18:  Bibliofreak will feature slam poet Regie Gibson and a technique for writing poetry that resembles that kid’s game called MASH.

April 19:  New Century Reading will review a couple of poetry books, 1330V will also post a poetry book review

April 20:  Bermudaonion will review The New Kid on the Block by Jack Prelutsky, 32 Poems Blog will interview John Poch.

April 21:  A Few More Pages will feature Lucille Clifton

April 22:  Necromancy Never Pays will feature a poem

April 23:  Everything Distils Into Reading will review a poetry book, In Bed With Books will discuss Romantic poetry, how to read it, and review Mad, Bad, and Dangerous to Know.

April 24:  the bookworm will feature Pablo Neruda

April 25:  Bookalicio.us will review How to (un)cage a Girl by Francesca Lia Block

April 26:  Peeking Between the Pages will feature a guest post from Bernadette Geyer; things mean a lot will review Mary Oliver’s Red Bird; Jen’s Book Thoughts features THE LINEUP: Poems on Crime by Reed Farrel Coleman

April 27:  Jen’s Book Thoughts follows up with more poems of Reed Farrel Coleman; Linus’s Blanket will talk about her experience reading poetry, Reb Livingston’s Your Ten Favorite Words, for That’s How I Blog show with yours truly.

April 28:  Ooh Books will post a poem for Free Verse with Mr. Linky; Estrella Azul will feature Karen Schindler.

April 29:  Online Publicist will interview me, Boston Bibliophile interviews Ellen Steinbaum

April 30: Brimful Curiosities will feature read aloud poetry: Read-Aloud Rhymes for the Very Young collected by Jack Prelutsky, All Kinds Of Families by Mary Ann Hoberman, The Wonder Book by Amy Krouse Rosenthal; Diary of an Eccentric‘s The Girl talks about Shel Silverstein and his books

Thanks in advance to everyone who is participating!

Here’s the Mr. Linky to post your full link from the tour.  If you want to hop on the tour and post about poetry during the month and snag a button, you’re more than welcome to add your links too!

Filed Under: national poetry month

Dewey’s 24-Hour Read-a-Thon is Back!

March 29, 2010 by

April 10, 2010, at 8 AM EST is the start of Dewey’s 24-hour read-a-thon!

I’m not sure how much of the 24-hour period I will be reading, but I did sign up to Cheer this year for at least an hour.  I figure that would give me a much needed break from reading.  It could end up being more than that, but I only wanted to commit to 1 hour since I’ve never done it before.

What books do I plan to read?

Poetry….lots of poetry!  Why?  Because it’s National Poetry Month!

1.  Stroke by Sidney Wade
2.  The Wrong Miracle by Liz Gallagher
3.  Your Ten Favorite Words by Reb Livingston
4.  The Guilt Gene by Diana Raab
5.  The Niagara River by Kay Ryan
6.  Questions of Fire by Gregg Mosson

And maybe these books:

1.  Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
2.  The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien
3.  Even the Dogs by Jon McGregor

I hope you will enjoy the inaugural National Poetry Month Blog Tour this year in the midst of your read-a-thoning!

What do you plan on reading?  Will you be cheering?  How do you breakdown your time?

FTC Disclosure: Clicking on title and image links will lead you to my Amazon Affiliate page; No purchase necessary, though appreciated.

© 2010, Serena Agusto-Cox of Savvy Verse & Wit. All Rights Reserved. If you’re reading this on a site other than Savvy Verse & Wit or Serena’s Feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

Copyright of Serena M. Agusto-Cox at Savvy Verse & Wit 2007-2010. This is not original content, this content is owned and copyrighted by Serena M. Agusto-Cox
Filed Under: 24-hour Read-a-Thon, announcements, Events

Call for Bloggers to Celebrate National Poetry Month in April

March 28, 2010 by

****Sticky Post****

Anyone who reads my blog knows that I pull out all the poetry stops in April, and this year is no different.

April is National Poetry Month and to celebrate this year, I’m calling on my fellow bloggers to participate. I need at least 28 of you to sign up this year and celebrate the genre.

I want to assign a different day to each blogger who signs up. On your day, I would like you to either review a poetry book, host a guest post from a poet, profile a poet, interview a poet, or any other post that highlights poetry, poems, and poets. If you want ideas, I have plenty…just ask!

It would be great if you have a topic in mind ahead of time so there aren’t any duplicates. I want this project to be as diverse as possible.

What you need to do is fill out the google form below (I added a Weblink to the form for those who can’t see the embedded form), and I will contact you with your date assignment for April, and all that I ask is that your post is up at least before Noon. Signups close on March 27. I will assign dates as I go along, so they will be doled out on a first-come-first serve basis.

Copyright of Serena M. Agusto-Cox at Savvy Verse & Wit 2007-2010. This is not original content, this content is owned and copyrighted by Serena M. Agusto-Cox
Filed Under: announcements, national poetry month

Tim O’Brien Gets to the Emotional Core at Politics and Prose

March 25, 2010 by

Yesterday, I spent a great deal of time at work reading since I was waiting for the seven o’clock hour to arrive when I would get to see the “great” Tim O’Brien speak at Politics & Prose in Washington, D.C.  Suffice to say, I’m nearly finished another book, got to eat at Chipotle — which I sorely miss from my days in downtown Bethesda — and made it to the reading for the 20th anniversary of O’Brien’s The Things They Carry with little time to spare — let’s just say there were only a couple of seats that were still empty, one of which was snatched by an older gentlemen and promptly moved to the front of the room for him to sit in.

Once there, we waited for O’Brien, who was not on time, though I would blame the D.C. traffic for that one.  But I did catch a glimpse of him in the P&P office drinking a beverage.

By this point I’m sure you’ve guessed that I purchased my copy of the new edition of the novel, which by the way was re-edited by O’Brien and reworked — something we learned during the Q&A when a teacher asked about the differences her students found in their varying editions.

O’Brien began the reading with a letter he received from “Nancy” (he changed her name) that talked about the power his books had emotionally for her family, particularly for her father, a Vietnam War Vet.  In the letter, Nancy explained how sharing the books with her father enabled him to open up to her about his time in Vietnam and ultimately it helped to repair his relationship with not only his daughter but his wife as well.  O’Brien was emotional while reading the letter and talked about how as an author, he simply wanted to tell a good story and that he had no intention of writing something that could repair families or have other emotional consequences.  He also talked about how books, particularly fiction, affect the entire human being, not just the mind.

Although he did not read from the book, he did talk a lot about his children (ages 4 and 6) and about his own trip back to Vietnam in 1994.  It was great to see the more personal side of the author, and I wonder if returning to D.C. on such a momentous literary occasion helped foster is emotional and more personal connection with the audience.

I’ll leave you with a photo my hubby took of me getting the 20th Anniversary edition signed by the author!  If you would like to see the other photos in the set, go here.

Has any author left you in awe after a reading?

***

Also check out this link from his discussion on Talk of the Nation:

FTC Disclosure: Clicking on title and image links will lead you to my Amazon Affiliate page; No purchase necessary, though appreciated.

© 2010, Serena Agusto-Cox of Savvy Verse & Wit. All Rights Reserved. If you’re reading this on a site other than Savvy Verse & Wit or Serena’s Feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

Copyright of Serena M. Agusto-Cox at Savvy Verse & Wit 2007-2010. This is not original content, this content is owned and copyrighted by Serena M. Agusto-Cox
Filed Under: Events Tagged With: ,

Tim O’Brien Returns to Washington, D.C., Tonight

March 24, 2010 by

Vietnam War literature has become more prominent on the blogs thanks to the War Through the Generations Vietnam War Reading Challenge this year, and in conjunction with that, I’m hopeful that anyone in the D.C. area will drop down to Politics and Prose this evening to see Tim O’Brien, an acclaimed writer in the genre.

Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried turns 20 years old, and to celebrate, O’Brien will be in Washington, D.C., at Politics and Prose to give a reading and celebrate the book’s place in publishing history.  The reading will begin at 7 p.m. on March 24.

O’Brien also is slated to talk about the 20th anniversary edition of his short story collection on NPR’s Talk of the Nation on March 24 as well.

FTC Disclosure: Clicking on title and image links will lead you to my Amazon Affiliate page; No purchase necessary, though appreciated.

© 2010, Serena Agusto-Cox of Savvy Verse & Wit. All Rights Reserved. If you’re reading this on a site other than Savvy Verse & Wit or Serena’s Feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

Filed Under: Events Tagged With: ,

Tim O’Brien Returns to Washington, D.C., Tonight

March 24, 2010 by

Vietnam War literature has become more prominent on the blogs thanks to the War Through the Generations Vietnam War Reading Challenge this year, and in conjunction with that, I’m hopeful that anyone in the D.C. area will drop down to Politics and Prose this evening to see Tim O’Brien, an acclaimed writer in the genre.

Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried turns 20 years old, and to celebrate, O’Brien will be in Washington, D.C., at Politics and Prose to give a reading and celebrate the book’s place in publishing history.  The reading will begin at 7 p.m. on March 24.

O’Brien also is slated to talk about the 20th anniversary edition of his short story collection on NPR’s Talk of the Nation on March 24 as well.

FTC Disclosure: Clicking on title and image links will lead you to my Amazon Affiliate page; No purchase necessary, though appreciated.

© 2010, Serena Agusto-Cox of Savvy Verse & Wit. All Rights Reserved. If you’re reading this on a site other than Savvy Verse & Wit or Serena’s Feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

Copyright of Serena M. Agusto-Cox at Savvy Verse & Wit 2007-2010. This is not original content, this content is owned and copyrighted by Serena M. Agusto-Cox
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Writing the Future Conference 2010

March 21, 2010 by

The Writer’s Center hosted the Writing the Future conference on March 20, which I attended after a kind invitation from the center.  Sorry for the poor quality of my photos; I had no idea the lighting would be so somber — I would have brought my SLR otherwise.  Unfortunately, I missed most of the first panel thanks to the Metro system and its track delays all morning, which was not fun — sitting in dark tunnels for 20-30 minutes on end without any updates.  But, I digress.

The second discussion, which started at about 10:45AM, touched upon how technology is changing and how writers can take advantage of those changes and latest tools.  The panelists included Jay Ogilvy, Lee Gutkind, Richard Nash, Sandra Beasley, Lauren Cerand, Sarah Courteau, Jack Sallay, Dan Sarewitz, and Jeff Kleinman, with jobs as literary agents, writers, poets, publishers, and academics.  These panelists talked about how to improve match-making between writers and readers by creating communities in which they find one another, which would cut out legacy publishing —  a term used to describe traditional publishers like the Random Houses and Simon and Schusters.

The traditional thought about holding a mass market inventory of books to supply to readers is fading into the distance, which is why writers need to find new ways of reaching their audiences, either through social media or their own Websites.  Social media is making it easier to highlight small presses and lesser-known authors in a sea of millions of writers.  One mistake many writers and publishers make is that they view paper as something more than a vehicle through which to express their writing, ideas, and tell stories.

One of the major highlights of the panel was the information provided by Jack Sallay about his small start-up business, Vook that combines multimedia with the written word.  He discussed a wide range of multimedia combinations from music to video embedded with the written word.  Some of the videos are done with the help of filmmakers and authors, while others are cute videos of bunnies or other items and tied to books, like The Velveteen Rabbit.  Sallay noted that the project has been more successful than expected.

One surprise at the conference was the presence of the New York Times’ Nick Bilton, who writes for the Bits Blog and has written a new book, I Live in the Future & Here’s How it Works.  He discussed the wave of the future in technology and the creation of flexible screens that will eventually replace paper books and maybe even Kindles and other devices.

I think the main takeaway from the conference is that the publishing industry continues to be in transition, especially in terms of how readers are matched to writers and how those relationships are sustained.  Writers will need to understand their writing, what audience it is best suited for, and create a platform through which they can reach out to audiences and readers alike.  Writers will have to become business people and look out for the best ways to market themselves and their work by using the latest technology.

I’m going to leave you with a bit of video from the final panel on ethics in nonfiction and memoir, which got pretty active between audience questions and discussion among the panelists.  Also if you want to see the rest of the shoddy photos I took, go here.

FTC Disclosure: Clicking on title and image links will lead you to my Amazon Affiliate page; No purchase necessary, though appreciated.

© 2010, Serena Agusto-Cox of Savvy Verse & Wit. All Rights Reserved. If you’re reading this on a site other than Savvy Verse & Wit or Serena’s Feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

Copyright of Serena M. Agusto-Cox at Savvy Verse & Wit 2007-2010. This is not original content, this content is owned and copyrighted by Serena M. Agusto-Cox
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2010 Split This Rock Poetry Festival WrapUp

March 14, 2010 by

The 2010 Split This Rock Poetry Festival in Washington, D.C., is a biennial event and is in its second year.  I was able to attend this year, and travel to a part of D.C. that is in transition and that I haven’t been to in a long while — the home of Ben’s Chili Bowl on U St.

March 10 was mainly an exercise in registration for me, but March 11 — the second day of the festival — was a whirlwind.  If you want to check out the crazy schedule, it is here.  This year, I didn’t make it to any of the evening readings, but I think at the next one, I will make a concerted effort to do so.

My first event was The Peace Shelves: Essential Books and Poems for the 21st Century, which was moderated by Fred Marchant, my former professor, fellow poet, and friend.  I’m going to age myself, but it has been about a decade since I last saw Fred.  The panel was fantastic, covering a wide range of topics dealing with the term “peace” — a term that is “static” in nature, which is why activists have to use terms like “peace-making” etc.  I took a little bit of video of Fred’s portion of the program, check it out:  (Sorry, for the horizontal nature of this vertical video)

The second panel I attended, The War is Not Over: Writing About Iraq and the Case of the Mutanabbi Street Coalition talked about a bombing event in Iraq that has blurred with many others for me and ended with a surprise for everyone — a survivor of the Mutanabbi Street bombing was in the audience and came forward during the discussion period to talk about the time before, the time during, and the time following the bombing.

Despite his rough English, the significance of Mutanabbi Street for the Iraqi people as a place of commerce and intellectual discourse shined through.  It is mostly known for its book stalls and its booksellers.  He talked about how even though street names were changed in many areas under Saddam Hussein’s reign, the streets named for poets and other writers remained the same.  The bombing created a “crisis of culture” according to the panelists.  The audience member — forgive me, I didn’t get his name down — said that the process of rebuilding Mutanabbi St. continues and is amazing to witness.

While eating lunch at Busboys & Poets with Fred and a few of his colleagues, Karen of WordWorks and Marty — who volunteered to shuttle participants of the festival from various events — a film festival began, combining poetry and video.  Some of the videos were abstract, while others were vivid in their use of images, music, and words.

The highlight of the first full day of the festival was how the poets came together to create a cento poem — a poem composed from lines of poems from other poets.  Rather than talk about it, I took a short video of some of the contributing poets, so you could hear them:

If you want to read the poem and see what line (from one of Fred Marchant‘s poems) I contributed, go to the Website (mine begins. . . “Today we shall. . . “)

March 12, my second full day of the event was a gray day, full of rain, but I attended a great morning panel — Warriors Writing: Teaching Creative Writing to War Veterans — after learning that Lovella Calica, another friend of Fred’s and founder of Warrior Writers, would be a panelist.  Wow!  That’s the first word that comes to mind after learning how well crafted these creative writing workshops are for veterans and how they are held in a variety of settings with a variety of facilitators.  From Lovella who had ties to the veteran community before beginning her workshop project and a New York University graduate Lauren McClung, who started workshops as part of a fellowship to George Kovach, an editor and publisher of Consequences and Vietnam Vet, the panel touched upon the need to create safety in the workshop space for veterans exorcising their “demons.”

The second panel I caught was Documentary Poetics with Martha Collins (another colleague of Fred’s), Mark Nowak, and Philip Metres.  From using newspapers and other documentary evidence to provide substance and anchors to a poem to using photographs and video, each poet discussed why they choose to use their source material and how it creates an alternative history for readers.  Nowak, unfortunately, had a technical malfunction with his presentation and we were unable to see the images he planned to present.

The four days of the festival were full of energy and enthusiasm, but as one who has been outside the poetry circle for some time, I felt on the fringe of the discussions during downtime.  I’m not a very social person in many instances, especially in crowds of strangers.  I liked the energy these poets have when it comes to their convictions and opinions, but I often find that many of these events are for people who already know one another to reconnect and chat within their own groups.  I did step out of my box a bit and chat with a few other poets that seemed on the fringe like I was.  One attendee traveled all the way from Tennessee for the event!  The power of poetry continues to reach out into the community, which is a positive sign that poetry is reviving.

Finally, here’s a photo of me with Fred Marchant.

© 2010, Serena Agusto-Cox of Savvy Verse & Wit. All Rights Reserved. If you’re reading this on a site other than Savvy Verse & Wit or Serena’s Feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

Copyright of Serena M. Agusto-Cox at Savvy Verse & Wit 2007-2010. This is not original content, this content is owned and copyrighted by Serena M. Agusto-Cox
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