Monday Morning Markets/Jobs/Opportunities

"The Literary Awards Committee of the Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA) is now accepting submissions for the annual BCALA Literary Awards. The Committee will present three prizes of $500.00 each for adult books written by African American authors: a First Novelist Award, a Fiction Award and a Nonfiction Award. The First Novelist Awardis given to recognize an outstanding work by a first time African American fiction writer. Honor Book citations are also awarded in fiction and nonfiction without any accompanying monetary remuneration. Additionally, an Outstanding Contribution to Publishing citation is provided to an author and/or publishing company for unique books that offer a positive depiction of African Americans." There is no entry fee. Deadline: December 18, 2009. Books forwarded for review must have been published January 2009-December 2009.
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"The Florence Gould Foundation and the French-American Foundation are currently accepting submissions for their Annual Translation Prizes. This year the foundation will present a $10,000 cash award for the best English translation of French in both fiction and non-fiction. Translations for consideration must have been published for the first time in the United States between January 1 and December 31, 2009 and must be submitted, accompanied by the French original work and submission form by December 31, 2009 (one French copy and one English copy). All categories of work are eligible in fiction and non fiction, with the exception of technical, scientific and reference works, and children's literature. The prizes will be announced and presented in the spring of 2010." No entry fee.
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The Merton Prize for Poetry of the Sacred recognizes "poetry that expresses, directly or indirectly, a sense of the holy or that, by its mode of expression, evokes the sacred. The tone may be religious, prophetic, or contemplative." Prizes include a $500 first prize and three honorable mentions ($100 each). "Winning Poems will be published in The Merton Seasonal, a publication of scholarly articles about noted spiritual leader Thomas Merton and will be posted on the Merton Institute web site: www.mertoninstitute.org." Deadline: December 31, 2009. No entry fee.
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StudentsOver30.com, a Web site for nontraditional students, seeks story ideas and nontraditional student essays. Pays: $15.
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The Southern Review seeks its next Resident Scholar. "This is a two-year non-renewable twelve-month appointment & carries a salary of $32,000 and benefits (Pending final administrative approval). Preferred start date is August 1, 2010. The Scholar will commit 20 hours per week to editorial duties at The Southern Review and teach one class per regular semester in the English Department (courses assigned by departmental need and/or Fellow's expertise)." Deadline: January 4, 2010 ("or until a candidate is selected"). No application fee.
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"Quinnipiac University invites applications for an Assistant Professor position beginning in Fall 2010. This is a full-time, non-tenure track renewable term appointment. Applicants must have an MFA or appropriate terminal degree in hand by August 2010, with a specialization in creative writing, fiction writing preferred. We seek candidates with a demonstrated commitment to undergraduate teaching and an established publishing history."
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Savannah College of Art and Design (Ga.) seeks a Senior Writer, Franklin and Marshall College (Penn.) is looking for a Director of Advancement Communications, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute invites applications for an Executive Speechwriter.

Friday Find: New Low-Residency MFA Program at Western State College of Colorado

Earlier this week I received an e-mail telling me about a new low-residency MFA in creative writing, to be offered by Western State College of Colorado. There doesn't seem to be a whole lot of information available yet (the program will launch in July 2010), but you can take a look at some descriptive material online, including the following:

"The program will use a “low-residency” format — i.e., master’s candidates will spend only two weeks for three consecutive summers on campus, and during the four academic semesters (fall-spring-fall-spring) between these summer sessions, the candidates will work 1-2-1 with professional writer-mentors online. That means candidates in the program can live and work anywhere during the academic year while pursuing the degree. The program will have three concentrations:

* Commercial/Genre Writing
* Poetry with an Emphasis on Formal Verse
* Screenwriting

The program will also offer a one-year Certificate in Publishing, to help make writers more savvy about the publishing industry."

I've added it to our ever-popular program list.

Have a great weekend, everyone. See you back here on Monday!

Quotation of the Week: Nadine Gordimer

"Writing is making sense of life. You work your whole life and perhaps you've made sense of one small area."

Source: Nadine Gordimer, interview with Jannika Hurwitt, The Paris Review, Summer 1983

The Wednesday Web Browser

The current issue of New York magazine indulges in some political fiction--and invites you to play along for a prize.
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Maybe this news will affect your holiday shopping: "Random House has pushed up the paperback publication of last week's National Book Award winner for fiction, Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann. The trade paperback edition was originally slated for next spring but will now go on sale December 4 with a 100,000-copy first printing."
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Since one of the projects I'm trying to make happen is a collaborative endeavor with another practicing writer, Betsy Lerner's "Ten Commandments of Collaboration" caught my eye.
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And since I love lists, I also fell for Nathan Bransford's take on "The Top 10 Myths About E-books."
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If you missed Jessica Handler's My Machberet guest post, on her visit to a Jewish Book Festival, you can catch it now.
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And for those of you planning to celebrate Thanksgiving tomorrow, here's a holiday-themed poetry compilation. Have a wonderful day!

Help Wanted: A Prospective Student Seeks Advice

Recently, I received an e-mail from a self-described "frequent reader" of this blog. This person gave me permission to share his/her request for advice with the full blog community.

Basically, our fellow practicing writer is "trying to figure out what is the difference between a Master's in Professional Writing and a M.F.A in Creative Writing with a focus on Creative Non-Fiction."

Anyone have insights to share on this? My own first guess is that it might depend on the program(s) in question, that there's surely some variation among MPW programs just as there can be among MFAs. Beyond that, I'm suspecting that the MPW (generally speaking) might have a more forthright focus on publishing and a broader commercial outlook, and that MFA programs (again, generally speaking) may require more reading and critical writing.

But let's please hear from all of you.

Monday Morning Markets/Jobs/Opportunities

Anthology call: "First published in 1895, The Time Machine by Herbert George (H.G.) Wells is a blueprint for science fiction and horror that persists to this day: underneath the science and the theories that attract a reader's mind, there is an underlying story of a person who struggles with the question that burns in the heart of every man: what does it all mean? Well, now we have a chance to find out. Northern Frights Publishing is looking for stories inspired by The Time Machine. Stories that delicately reach into our past. Stories that boldly stride into the future. And everything in between. Send us your stories of paradoxes and contradictions, show us what happens when we mess with our timelines or create new ones. Take us to the edge of the dying earth millions of years in the future. Show us its birth. Most importantly, though, show us the people affected when we rip through the walls of the fourth dimension." Deadline: December 31, 2009. Prefers unpublished work. Pays: "$0.01US (One Cent) per word up to $50.00, and one contributor copy, paid on publication through Paypal." Update: Thanks to practicing writer Lawrence Schimel for pointing out to me that the publisher's guidelines show a call for a second Wells-related anthology, too.
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Richmond Family Magazine, a monthly magazine "for expectant, new, and veteran parents in Greater Richmond" (Va.), will consider essays and opinion. "We are interested in humorous, touching, or serious pieces that help Richmond parents build healthy families. Topics might include a child's first haircut, sending your oldest off to college, or wrestling with the decision to go back to work." Previously unpublished work only. "We buy exclusive periodical rights and electronic rights." Pays: on acceptance, "based on experience and quality of work." (via Wooden Horse Magazine News)
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From the Kentucky Literary Newsletter: "Lexington's Carnegie Center is currently seeking applicants from all over Kentucky for the Young Women Writers Project, an empowering program with intensive workshops focused on self-expression through writing. Thanks to support from the Kentucky Foundation for Women, this program is free to participants. E-mail jmattox(at)carnegieliteracy(dot)org."
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From Gettysburg College (Penn.): (Emerging Writer Lecturership) "One-year appointment, beginning August 2010, for a creative writer who plans a career that involves college-level teaching, to teach three courses per semester, including Introduction to Creative Writing and an advanced course in the writer's genre, as well as to assist with departmental writing activities. Mentorship for teaching and assistance in professional development provided. M.A., with a concentration in creative writing, M.F.A., or Ph.D. with creative dissertation, required. Teaching experience and literary magazine publications are essential. Competitive salary."
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From City College of New York-CUNY: "The Department of English seeks a senior faculty member who is a dually accomplished Creative Writer and an Americanist."
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From Columbia University (New York): "The Writing Program seeks to fill a position either as Assistant or Associate Professor (tenure-track research faculty) or as Assistant or Associate Professor of Professional Practice (practice faculty) specializing in fiction to teach graduate and undergraduate writing workshops and seminars, and to advise on graduate theses, effective July 1, 2010."
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California State Univesity-Fresno seeks a tenure-track Assistant Professor (fiction writing).
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From the University of Tampa (Fla.): "The Department of English and Writing in the College of Arts and Letters seeks a candidate for an Assistant Professor of English, tenure track, in creative writing (poetry) to begin August 2010."
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From Rosemont College (Penn.): "The Undergraduate College of Rosemont College invites applications for an adjunct instructor to teach Creative Writing Poetry in the spring 2010 semester. Qualified applicants will possess at least an M.F.A. in Creative Writing; additionally, applicants must have prior experience teaching this or a similar course. Course times are set at Tuesday/Thursday, 3:10 to 4:40."
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From Bennington College (Vt.): "Bennington College seeks two published writers of distinguished literary accomplishment to teach literature and writing to highly motivated undergraduates. In keeping with our commitment to the teacher-practitioner model, we seek writers of poetry, fiction, drama or nonfiction whose own interests and abilities as teachers will shape our future curriculum. We are committed to teaching major works in the history of literature, and likely candidates will demonstrate the ability to teach a broad spectrum of essential works."
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Bemidji State University (Minn.) seeks an Assistant Professor of English (creative nonfiction).
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Seton Hall University (N.J.) is looking for a Legal Media Officer, the University of South Flordia seeks a Communications and Media Officer; and Stanford University (Calif.) invites applications for a Director of Stewardship/Associate Director of Communications.
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And last, but definitely not least: December's Practicing Writer newsletter will go out to subscribers next weekend. Not yet a subscriber? Please join us! There's no cost to subscribe, we post only paying opportunities (and those that DO NOT charge fees), and we'll keep your e-mail address confidential.

Friday Find: Nancy Rawlinson's MFA Links

Thanks to the MFA Chronicles blog for pointing us to Nancy Rawlinson's compilation of MFA links. Plenty to read over the weekend, if you're so inclined.

Have a great couple of days. See you back here on Monday!

Quotation of the Week: Anton Chekhov

"I saw everything, so it is not a question of what I saw, but how I saw."

Source: Letter from Anton Chekhov to Alexei Suvorin, September 11, 1890, excerpted in How to Write Like Chekhov: Advice and Inspiration, Straight from His Own Letters and Work, edited and introduced by Piero Brunello and Lena Lencek, and translated by Lena Lencek.

The Wednesday Web Browser

Big congrats to Tayari Jones, whose third novel, The Silver Girl, has been accepted for publication by Algonquin Books.
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Diane Lockward reviews The Working Poet: 75 Exercises and a Poetry Anthology.
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Thanks to Anne-Marie Nichols's article on blog analytics, I'm learning more about you, dear readers!
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Please tune in tomorrow over on My Machberet for a guest post from memoirist Jessica Handler on her recent visit to a Jewish book festival.

Guest Post: Lisa Romeo on Crafting A Contest Winner

As promised, I present to you guest commentary from Lisa Romeo on the craft decisions that went into "43 Lies About My Child," a recent winner in Masha Hamilton's 31 Hours Parents' Intuition Contest. Thank you so much, Lisa, for sharing this with us.

I actually still don't know what to properly call this piece. It's definitely creative nonfiction, and in my mind, a type of personal essay, though the form is unusual. It requires some visual assistance via the regular and italics fonts to distinguish the two voices on the page. Some have called it "fragmented memoir," others a prose poem, and that's fine with me.

About three years ago, an essay I wrote about having a child who clearly had developmental difficulties but for which there was no specific diagnosis, was included in an essay collection and, in an adapted shorter form, in The New York Times.

I had a lot of left over material, including a list of things people had said to me over the years, beginning when my son was a baby and continuing until he was an adolescent. It was, I suppose, "advice" offered in a well-meaning way, but which struck me as judgmental, and infuriated me because I couldn't at the time summon the confidence to reply.

I knew I wanted to write something that addressed these voices that were still in my head, but it didn't seem to fit in to the form of a traditional personal essay. I didn't want to be whiny on the page either. So I played with it as a prose poem for a while, and then as a humor piece; neither really worked, so I put it aside.

Meanwhile, Ann Hood referred me to a nonfiction piece she'd written for Tin House's special issue about lies and is now part of her memoir, Comfort. In the essay, she addressed all the trite and generic things people said to her about grief, in the period after she had lost her young daughter.

I realized something similar could work for me, with some changes. In Ann's piece, she lays out the standard lines, such as, "time heals," and then through short narratives, shows them to all be lies -- how passing time has not eased her pain when she sees spring dresses in Target even a year after the girl's death. She doesn't really talk back to the crowd so much as takes the reader inside the narrator's experience with each "lie."

I wanted to do something less narrative, more satirically "prescriptive" and I began to play with the idea of a parody of the type of articles in parenting magazines – 12 ways to help your shy child. I knew whatever I did had to be voice-driven, really all about three distinct voices: The annoying voice of the nosy outsider; the narrator's I'm-the-Mama-Bear-Don't-Cross-Me voice I knew was inside me somewhere, but had never been in evidence when I needed it; and a third voice which lurks behind – that voice inside every mother's head telling her she knows what's true about her child. Eventually, I put the first two voices directly on the page in opposition to one another, and the third exists more or less in the background.

Originally, there were 81 "lies," then 76, but one of my writing friends pointed out that the piece loses its urgency over the long stretch in such a contrived format. So I trimmed down to 50, but I was still trying to cover every base, every facet of his and my journey over about 12 years.

I submitted it for an essay collection, and the editor rejected it, but gave me excellent advice about improving the pacing, and cutting to the bone so that the piece would really bleed on the page, instead of just hinting at distress. I stopped trying to cover it all, and got more selective about which "lies" to include.

That took me to 43 lies and by then the "advice" proffered, and the narrator's responses – were all shorter and more sharply focused, and much less tactful. I had been trying to protect even the people who had said awful things to me, and was still trying to make the narrator seem nice! Another writer friend who I asked to read it noticed that the best lines were the ones where I was allowing the mother's voice to really lash out.

Finally I gave myself permission to "answer" in the way I never would have in my own skin back then. That's when the piece began to have an edge; it was no longer tentative. I allowed my narrator to be someone who doesn't give a fig what anyone else thinks, which is not necessarily how I am in life. In that sense, maybe there's a bit of fiction at play – the narrator as she wishes she could have been; then again, I suppose that's the creative part of the nonfiction.

Monday Morning Markets/Jobs/Opportunities

Arts Residency Cairo (ARC) "is open to visual artists, writers, artists working in mixed media, sculptors, dancers and performance artists. We are an international arts residency where artists may stay from 2 nights to one month (an extension of one month can be possible)." Offers "two full stipends per year. Due to the high number of applicants for these two places the deadline for proposals is brought forward to December 1st. These two artists will receive free accommodation & food for the duration of their stay (up to one month). Travel and other expenses are not covered." No application fee indicated.
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Attention, Maine fiction writers: This is your year to apply for the Dibner Fellowship (poets, you'll have your chance next year). "The Martin Dibner Fellowship is given to promising Maine writers who have not published a full-length book. Fellowships are meant to help further writing skills and experience. Attendance at writing workshops is the primary purpose for support; assistance with living expenses while finishing a writing project will also be considered." Grant size ranges from $500 to $1,000. No application fee. Deadline: January 15, 2010.
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"The PEN Translation Fund provides grants to support the translation of book-length works of fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, or drama that have not previously appeared in English or have appeared only in an egregiously flawed translation. There are no restrictions on the nationality or citizenship of the translator, but the works must be translated into English." Past grants have run $2,000-$3,000, and there is no application fee. Deadline: January 14, 2010. NB: "The PEN Translation Fund is very pleased to announce that candidates who submit eligible poetry translation projects to the PEN Translation Fund may now also be considered for the National Poetry Series' new Robert Fagles Translation Prize for the translator of a book of contemporary poetry written by a living poet. The Fagles Prize is awarded every other year, and will next be awarded in 2010. The winner of the Fagles Prize receives a $2,000 cash award and publication of the project by an esteemed literary publisher. The translated poet receives a $500 honorarium."
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"Phillips Academy [Mass.] seeks a writer-in-residence to fill the Roger F. Murray Chair in Creative Writing beginning in the academic year 2010-11. The term of appointment is two years with a possible renewal. The writer-in-residence is expected to teach two seminar classes (maximum 15 students per class) in creative writing per term. Minimum requirements include at least one published book and experience in the teaching of creative writing at the university or secondary level."
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"The Department of English at the University of Massachusetts Lowell seeks an energetic and collaborative colleague for a full-time, tenure-track Assistant Professorship in Creative Writing-Poetry."
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"The University of Michigan-Flint invites applications for a tenure-track position in Creative Writing at the Assistant Professor level beginning in Fall 2010. The appointment carries a 3-3 teaching load divided between undergraduate and M.A. courses in Creative Writing and introductory and/or advanced courses in a second field. Expertise in fiction or narrative forms preferred. Desirable secondary areas include a literary area (including American literature before 1900, British before 1800, Queer Theory, Feminist Theory, or Genre Studies, esp. in drama), pedagogy in English Studies, Digital Humanities (esp. in conjunction with a literary or writing area), or Composition/Rhetoric (esp. in postcolonial rhetoric or the rhetoric of gender, race, and class)."
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Eastern Kentucky University's graduate programs have announced part-time faculty positions in poetry writing and literature and fiction writing and literature.
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Temple University (Penn.) is looking for a Public Affairs Communications Manager, Savannah College of Art and Design (Ga.) seeks a Writer/Editor, and San Jacinto College (Texas) is looking for a Social Media Coordinator/Web Writer.

Friday Find: Podcast of Recent Billy Collins Reading

Take some time this weekend to enjoy this podcast of a recent Billy Collins reading at the Center for Worker Education at The City University of New York. ("The Lanyard" never fails to get me!) And I appreciate here the many comments Collins offers about the practice of writing poetry.

I hope that you all have a great weekend. See you back here on Monday.

Five Things That Make Me A Happy Practicing Writer

I'm trying to be positive here. Rather than rant away about certain aspects of our writing culture that tick me off all too often (and, ahem, all too recently), I'm going to praise a few aspects of the 21st-century writing life that invariably make me grateful, happy, and otherwise at peace:

1) Writing-focused Listservs and writing organization blogs that stay on-topic.

2) Writing-focused Listservs and writing organization blogs that remain free of ad hominem attacks (see above).

3) Seeing translators credited for the invaluable work that they do bringing us writing we'd otherwise be unable to read.

4) Seeing writer-researchers credited for bringing quotations, resources, and opportunities to their communities when others pass the information along.

5) Auto-responders that confirm receipt of a manuscript, explain that the correspondent is away until such-and-such time and isn't likely to respond until after that date, or otherwise reduce one's anxiety level.

That's not my complete list, but it's a start. What would you add? What elements of contemporary writing life and culture do you most appreciate?

The Wednesday Web Browser

Our chum Churm presents guest blogger Sandra Beasley, posting on taking the step of leaving her staff job (at The American Scholar) to write full-time.
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Linda Formichelli inspires freelancers to plant seeds.
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The NYT After Deadline blog lists more "words that might deserve a rest."
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Over on the Hayden's Ferry Review blog, the journal's editors preview issue #45. (Having recently helped a writer pal come up with a title for some new work, I particularly appreciated the comments on titles within this post.)

Quotation of the Week: Mario Vargas Llosa (trans. Natasha Wimmer)

The definining characteristic of the literary vocation may be that those who possess it experience the exercise of their craft as its own best reward, much superior to anything they might gain from the fruits of their labors. That is one thing I am sure of amid my many uncertainties regarding the literary vocation: deep inside, a writer feels that writing is the best thing that ever happened to him, or could ever happen to him, because as far as he is concerned, writing is the best possible way of life, never mind the social, political, or financial rewards of what he might achieve through it.

--Mario Vargas Llosa, Letters to a Young Novelist (translated by Natasha Wimmer)

Monday Morning Markets/Jobs/Opportunities

From Amy Paturel, who teaches The Renegade Writer's e-class on "Essay Writing: How to Find the Story in You--And Sell It: "[I]n the spirit of gratitude and creating abundance, I'm calling on YOU...to share what Thanksgiving means to you. The person who tugs at my heart strings the most will get a free essay writing class (Premium version) when the new session starts up on January 11." You must submit your entry by Thanksgiving. No entry fee.
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Sampad's international writing competition "for aspiring writers from or connected to the South Asian diaspora around the world" administers two categories: one for writers between the ages of 8 and 15, and the other for writers aged 16 or over. "Entries can be poetry, short stories, [or] reportage, and writers can submit as many pieces of work as they choose, maximum length 250 words, using the theme of Journeys as a starting point." Prizes include cash awards to the "best writer": £200 for the 8 to 15 group and £300 for the over 16 group, plus publication. No entry fee. Deadline: January 31, 2010.
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Attention, writers in the metropolitan Detroit area: "Kresge Arts in Detroit provides significant financial support for 18 Kresge Artist Fellowships annually, each consisting of a $25,000 award and customized professional development opportunities for emerging and established metropolitan Detroit artists in the Literary, Performing and Visual Arts." Literary Arts include "art criticism in all disciplines (including literary, performing and visual arts), creative non-fiction, fiction, poetry, playwriting and interdisciplinary work within the above arts disciplines." No application fee indicated. Deadline: February 26, 2010.
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From Chuck Sambuchino, editor of Guide to Literary Agents: "You want to write for me and be in the next edition of Guide to Literary Agents? Well here's your chance. For the rest of November, I will be accepting queries for articles for the 2011 edition." Check the link for lots more information/guidelines. Pays: "Payment varies."
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"errant parent seeks well-written, original, parenting-oriented humor. The magazine is partial to anything offbeat, gritty, sardonic, and clever -- more so than the cutesy and anecdotal. Above all else, it must tickle the funny bone." Pays: $50 ("typically"). Note: Look for details on the 2009 Holiday Contest on the site, too. (via Duotrope.com)
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From the University of Northern Colorado: Looking for "tenure-track assistant professor of English, Creative Writing- Fiction. Teaching experience and a record of publication in fiction required. 3/3 teaching load. Position will offer the opportunity to teach a broad range of undergraduate and graduate courses in literature and writing. Standard workload also includes advising, committee work, and the supervision of MA theses. We are especially interested in hiring someone with secondary expertise in one or more of the following areas: African-American literature, contemporary literature, editing, new media, rhetoric and composition."
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West Chester University is seeking applicants for Director, Poetry Center and Creative Writing Faculty: Poetry. "This tenure-track position, which may be filled at Assistant or Associate rank, will be split between six credits of administrative duties as director of the WCU Poetry Center and Poetry Conference, and six credits of teaching (two courses) per semester, with the courses including poetry workshops, poetry seminars, poetic forms, introductory creative writing, and general education. The candidate will also supervise M.A. theses, and serve (as needed) as advisor to Daedalus, WCU's literary magazine. We are searching for a colleague with established arts management and fund-raising experience, a strong commitment to teaching, and an ability to mentor the developing writer inside and outside the university community."
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The State University of New York-Oswego is looking for an Assistant Professor of English and Creative Writing (creative nonfiction specialist).
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"Creative Writing (Poetry) Instructor--The English Department at Missouri State University in Springfield, MO anticipates an August 16, 2010 opening for a 9-month, non-tenure-track Instructor. For a full description of the position see http://www.missouristate.edu/academicopenings."
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Villanova University (Penn.) is looking for a Staff Writer, Boston College (Mass.) seeks a Writer/Editor, and Pratt Institute (New York) invites applications for an Editorial Manager.

Friday Find: ASJA's Contracts Watch

This week, I received an e-mail from the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA) which read, in part:

If you've missed Contracts Watch during its hiatus, good news: it's back!

If you're not familiar with Contracts Watch, take a look. The American Society of Journalists and Authors' Contracts Committee reviews writing contracts and answers questions for both ASJA members and non-members, and the most interesting contract issues and trends are posted in a blog format on ASJA's Contracts Watch.

Find the blog and RSS feed here:
http://www.ContractsWatch.org

You will find instructions for submitting your own thorny contract issues there as well.

I'm sorry to say that I hadn't quite noticed the hiatus--but I am glad that the feature is back.

Hope you all have a nice weekend. See you back here on Monday!

Introducing "Quotation of the Week"

This new blog feature stems from my sense of inadequacy when a friend contacted me last week hoping/expecting that I'd be able to help her out with a writing-related quotation. Despite my great love for bite-sized morsels of writing wit and wisdom, I was unable to do so.

So partially as a task of self-education, and partially as an effort to inspire all of you, I'm launching a new "Quotation of the Week" feature here on Practicing Writing. Please look for it on Tuesdays or Thursdays.

To kick things off, let's turn to this gem from Paul Auster, which pretty much sums up how I feel about literary translation:

Dostoevsky, Heraclitus, Dante, Virgil, Homer, Cervantes, Kafka, Kierkegaard, Tolstoy, Hölderlin, and scores of other poets and writers who have marked me forever - I, an American, whose only foreign language is French - have all been revealed to me, read by me, digested by me, in translation. Translators are the shadow heroes of literature, the often forgotten instruments that make it possible for different cultures to talk to one another, who have enabled us to understand that we all, from every part of the world, live in one world.

Source: Foreword to To Be Translated or Not to Be: PEN/IRL Report on the International Situation of Literary Translation, edited by Esther Allen, available at www.centerforliterarytranslation.org.

The Wednesday Web Browser

An interview with a writer whose fiction has won a number of contests.
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Much more of Kenyon Review editor David Lynn's aforementioned reflections on "Print Vs. Internet."
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If you're interested in news from/about the Jewish literary world, please don't forget to check in with my other blog. Here's one recent, info-packed post.
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Remember our recent discussion on "how old is too old" to begin the quest for an MFA? It's as if the virtual gods heard the question, too, and sent from the heavens Barb Johnson's essay, "On Getting a Late Start," in response.

Just for Emphasis

I've been thinking a lot lately about what makes memoiristic nonfiction (whether in poetry or prose) relevant to anyone beyond the writer. (Let's just say that last week I was reading a very me, me, me essay--a published one--and subsequently was consumed with the wish to figure out how to avoid afflicting readers with similar unpleasantness in my own work.)

Then I recalled Lisa Romeo's sage advice: "I constantly try to remind myself that people don't read creative nonfiction because they care about what happened to me, but because they care about whether what happened to me might have some meaning for them." I was marveling over that wisdom once again when I discovered Philip Graham's new post offering some equally memorable commentary.

Take a moment to reread Lisa's post, and to read Philip's. Judging by the material I was reading last week, these craft points simply cannot be overemphasized.

Monday Morning Markets/Jobs/Opportunities

CV2, "the Canadian journal of poetry and critical writing," plans a winter 2010 issue themed "At the Root of Voice": "Where does today’s poetry come from? What influence do our past expectations continue to have on popular verse? Is rhyme really dead or merely resting? Is the current fascination with traditional forms pushing poetic innovation into new creative territory or are today’s poets simply repurposing the past? Where might poetry be headed in the future? These are just a few of the questions CV2 attempts to plumb in this issue. Submissions of essays and articles on the issue’s theme are welcome. CV2 invites submissions of poetry from traditional perspectives as well as those which subvert accepted forms, language, subject, lyric or whatever conventions get in a poet’s way." Deadline: November 20, 2009. Pay rates here.
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The 2009 Franklin-Christoph Free Poetry Contest "will award $2500 in total prizes, including the $1000 cash grand prize. 10 Merit Award Winners will receive $150 Franklin-Christoph writing instruments." There's no entry fee, and you can submit original, unpublished poems of any theme (limit 2 poems per contestant, 100 lines per poem). Deadline: November 30, 2009.
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The W.Y. Boyd Literary Award, for which young adult and adult novels are eligible, honors "the best fiction set in a period when the United States was at war." Award includes a $5,000 prize. Submitted book must have been published during the year prior to the award. No entry fee. Deadline: December 1.
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Lilith magazine has extended the deadline for its annual fiction contest to January 1, 2010. This competition seeks "unpublished original stories with heart, soul and chutzpah illuminating issues in the lives of Jewish women" and awards $250 plus publication. No entry fee.
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The University of Dubuque (Iowa) is looking for an Assistant Professor of English: "The University of Dubuque invites applications for a full-time, tenure-track position in the Department of English, beginning in August, 2010. The department seeks a generalist with ability to teach creative writing; desirable secondary specializations include the literature of women, environmental literature, poetry, composition and rhetoric, and linguistics. Teaching load of four courses per semester includes upper level and introductory literature and writing courses plus courses in the general education core. The successful candidate will have a commitment to excellence in undergraduate teaching, a record of success in teaching general education courses, and a desire to integrate faith and learning. Ph.D. or MFA is preferred, but ABDs or strong candidates who are willing to complete a doctorate may be considered."
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From Warren Wilson College (N.C.): "The Undergraduate Writing Program of Warren Wilson College seeks a fiction writer to join our faculty and assist us in shaping our growing program. The Writing Program, which exists alongside and shares faculty and courses with the English Department, offers a creative writing major and minor with tracks in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. In addition, the Writing Program houses first-year writing and a Writing Center, supports a literary journal, and hosts a reading series and twice-a-year Writer-in-Residence. A current grant proposal plans a four-year writing and learning portfolio and a more active role for creative nonfiction as a bridge across disciplines and a connector to the College's strong environmental studies programs."
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NewsBios.com is "seeking freelance reporters/researchers to work as needed reporting and writing profiles of influential journalists for online biographical service. This is a perfect assignment for a stay-at-home parent, retired journalist or anyone with flexible hours just wanting to add some extra income. Located in proximity to Denver, Colorado. (Work from home in the area.) We will provide training, but seek self-starters and sharp journalists. Start immediately." Pays: "Expect to earn between $18 and $25 an hour, depending upon the complexity of the assignment. We pay weekly."
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Fisk University (Tenn.) seeks a Development Writer, the State University of New York-Oswego is looking for a Writer/Editor, and Lehman College of The City University of New York seeks a Communications and College Relations Manager.