The Wednesday Web Browser

After Deadline is back with another grab bag of items on grammar, usage, and style. (I always learn/relearn something from After Deadline, although it hasn't managed to sway me on the serial comma yet, as you can see.)

---

The latest issue of The Atlantic contains an article about one of my guilty pleasures: soap operas. Which reminds me of a review (of a soap-focused book) that I wrote several years ago that you might enjoy.

---

Congrats to Chloe' Yelena Miller, whose poem, "Estate Sale," is the current Narrative poem of the week!

---

Anne Fernald tries to figure out what's wrong with that book?

---

I'll be on vacation next week (more about that in a day or two--you have no idea how much I need a vacation!), so I'll share this job lead with you now instead of waiting for the usual Monday post: Princeton University (N.J.) is seeking Lecturers. "The Creative Writing Program at the Lewis Center for the Arts, Princeton University is seeking distinguished writers for openings in fiction, poetry, and translation. These positions are one or two semester appointments. The positions begin September 2011 and/or February 2012."

The Wednesday Web Browser

Some translation-related material to share with you this week. First: The literary journal Image recently asked contributing translators to address their craft; the resulting quotations are here. And from Hayden's Ferry Review: two poems by Yiddish writer Avrom Sutzkever, translated and introduced by Miri Koral.
==========
Looking for some writing exercises? This post on the Rutgers-Newark MFA blog will point you to several.
==========
To use the word "tweet" or not to use it? That is a question.
==========
I really wish someone had shown me something like I.J. Schecter's article, "How to Break Into Corporate Writing," before I launched a freelance writing practice. Said practice might have lasted longer had I sought to include corporate writing within it.
==========
I'm on Goodreads! Are you? Please "friend" me! And if you have any tips on how to make the most of the site (as a reader or as an author), please share!

Quotation of the Week: Umberto Eco

"Every translation is a case of negotiation."

Source: Umberto Eco, interviewed for The Paris Review

Monday Morning Markets/Jobs/Opportunities

Tin House has announced the theme for its Spring 2011 issue: The Mysterious. (What's a bit mysterious to me is the fact that a deadline of September 30 is listed; since Tin House is not open to unsolicited submissions between May 31 and September 1, I'm inferring that you can submit work for this issue EITHER before May 31 OR during September.) "We realize that it is spookily far in advance, but we wanted to get a jump on reading stories, poems, and essays about the unknown and the unknowable, from quantum physics to what lies in the depths of the soul, from unexplainable phenomenon to interpersonal mysteries." Note also that "our summer and winter issues are not themed, and Tin House considers submissions for all upcoming issues regardless of theme." See the guidelines for more info.
==========
New Young Translators' Prize: "In honour of Harvill Secker’s centenary in 2010, celebrating 100 years of publishing quality international writing, Harvill Secker and Waterstone’s have teamed up to recognise the achievements of young translators at the start of their careers. This is an annual prize, which will focus on a different language each year. To tie in with Argentina’s role as guest of honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair, the inaugural prize will centre on Argentinian writer Matías Néspolo’s short story ‘El hachazo’." The prize is open to translators between the ages of 16 and 34. There will be a £1,000 prize, and there is no entry fee. Deadline: July 31, 2010. (via Publishers Weekly)
==========
Anthology to be titled Appalachian Folklore: Dark Tales of Superstition and Old Wives' Tales seeks stories up to 2,500 words. Deadline: September 1, 2010. Pays: $.03/word plus one copy. Check the guidelines to learn more (via Duotrope)
==========
A few paid internship listings: Yakima Herald-Republic (Wash.), the Chronicle of Higher Education (D.C.), and the Center for Ecoliteracy (telecommuting and Berkeley, Calif.).
==========
Oklahoma State University is looking for a Visiting Professor in Poetry. "One year appointment or two one-semester appointments, rank open, beginning August 2010. MFA or Ph.D. in Creative Writing with significant poetry publications and teaching experience required. Teaching 2 workshops per semester. Salary competitive."
==========
F+W Media seeks a "results-driven manager to serve as Managing Editor for F+W Media's Writer's Digest brand, responsible for managing the editorial staff, allocating resources across projects as needed, and ensuring all book-related products (whether print or online based) get done on time at an acceptable quality level. Work with designers, production dept., and marketing staff as quality control from contract signing to the printer. Make sure that the finished products are what the company intended."
==========
Duke University Libraries (N.C.) is looking for a Director of Communications, Suffolk University (Mass.) seeks a Senior Writer/Editor, and the University of Notre Dame (Ind.) is looking for both a Senior Writer/Editor and a Web Content Editor.
==========
Coming soon! The next issue of our monthly newsletter, The Practicing Writer. Should go out by week's end. Don't miss it!

Friday Find: More Translation Resources

The Elegant Variation alerted me to a major expansion in PEN's online resources for literary translators. Whether you're an aspiring translator or an established one (or simply someone interested in reading books in translation), you're bound to find something useful over there. Enjoy, and have a great weekend. See you back here on Monday!

Monday Morning Markets/Jobs/Opportunities

Attention, New Hampshire writers! You have until April 9 to apply for a Literary Arts Fellowship from the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts. Up to two awards of $5,000 each will be conferred. There's no entry fee. Details here.
==========
I recently revisited the Jerseyworks site to discover an update. While the Jerseyworks contest seems to be no more, the editors are now paying on acceptance for content: "$10 minimum for short verse such as haiku, 20c/wd after 50 wds, $50 max per poem." The editors "are open to poetry or other forms that express/investigate the unique nature of New Jersey and that create a picture of our state for those not lucky enough to pay taxes here. We also want to filter a vision of the world through the consciousness of Jerseyworks. We seek poets everywhere. We will publish in translation and sometimes in original languages. We're looking for great poetry, and in that process we hope to be part of bringing people together."
==========
New literary agent David Patterson (Foundry Literary + Media) "is looking especially for the most prominent and talented journalists, scholars, and personalities in a wide variety of fields, with either outstanding narratives and/or idea-driven works of nonfiction, which can be deeply serious or terrifically entertaining, and often combine those two qualities. David will also represent fiction when he feels strongly that the author has a distinctive voice that can break out of the pack."
==========
Blogger needed to cover national community college beat.
==========
"The Scripps College (Calif.) Writing Program seeks two distinguished visiting writers for the Mary Routt Endowed Chair of Writing, one during the spring semester of 2011 and the other during the spring semester of 2012."
==========
From Bowling Green State University (Ohio): "The English Department seeks applicants for the College of Arts & Sciences Distinguished Visiting Writer. The successful candidate will be in residence spring 2011; teach one fiction writing workshop in our BFA program and one workshop in our MFA program; give a reading and a lecture; and advise theses. Qualifications: 1) MA, MFA or Ph.D. by time of employment; 2) at least one book of fiction and critical recognition consistent with a writer of national reputation; and 3) evidence of outstanding teaching."
==========
Stanford University Press (Calif.) seeks a Publicity Manager, Monmouth University (N.J.) is looking for a Web Writer, and Ithaca College (N.Y.) seeks a Web Marketing Content Editor.

The Wednesday Web Browser

Allison Amend provides "Instructions for a Do-It-Yourself Book Tour."
==========
Robert Lee Brewer describes "How to Handle Line and Stanza Breaks in Poems."
==========
Adam Kirsch and Ilya Kaminsky engage in a dialogue on poetry translations.
==========
The Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas-Austin has purchased the papers of David Foster Wallace.

The Wednesday Web Browser

I love this article on running a DIY Writers' Retreat.
==========
The Chronicle of Higher Education tells us that "Translators Struggle to Prove Their Academic Bona Fides." APOLOGIES: THE ARTICLE APPEARS TO BE LIMITED TO SUBSCRIBERS.
==========
I finally caved in and opened a Twitter account last week so I could "attend" a Twitter book club. Please feel welcome to "follow" me (there) and suggest your favorite writerly Twitter feeds in comments (here).
==========
Finally: I didn't know poet Rachel Wetzsteon other than by name, but I was deeply saddened to read about her recent death. And I think that Jennifer Michael Hecht's recent post on the Best American Poetry blog, "On Suicide," is a must-read. I don't want to risk stereotyping/generalizing, but let's face it: "writer" and "depression" are two words that too often appear in combination. Hecht's message needs to get out there, "even" if it reaches a single person who needs it.

The Wednesday Web Browser

A depressing, but true column on the sad state of pay rates for freelancers.
==========
Happy to read about the spotlight on literary translation at the latest MLA convention.
==========
Nice interview with Tayari Jones here. At one point, asked "What is the most important idea a writing teacher can teach her students?," she responds with these oh-so-true words: "Revise. Revise. Revise. Also, I try and teach them to bond with their classmates. Everybody needs a community."

The Wednesday Web Browser: NYT Edition

As usual, the NYT After Deadline blog provides useful reminders on grammar, usage, and style.
==========
How wonderful it was to open the paper a few days ago and see a big, fat article about Open Letter Books, "a small, year-old press here affiliated with the University of Rochester that publishes nothing but literature in translation."
==========
Like many of you, I suspect, I was caught up for several days this summer following the coverage of Senator Edward M. Kennedy's passing. I've been meaning to read his memoir, True Compass (and I'll do so in 2010). All of which made this piece by Jonathan Karp, the memoir's editor/publisher, compelling reading.
==========
Adam Begley's travel article on Stendhal's Parma was also quite relevant to me!
==========
Finally: The NYT asked six prominent authors to name (and read from) books they could never discard.

The Wednesday Web Browser

John Griswold ("Oronte Churm") offers a fascinating behind-the-scenes account of a day at Dalkey Archive Press, the well-known publisher of translated literature in the United States.
==========
According to Meghan Daum, "Kirkus Reviews may have been annoying, but its successors are inane."
==========
The New Yorker's fiction editor, Deborah Treisman, responds to questions about editing David Foster Wallace's work, past and posthumous present. (via The Book Bench)
==========
The new (January/February 2010) issue of Poets & Writers is out. Check out some of the online content here.

The Wednesday Web Browser

Dorothy Stephens shares her experience in self-publishing. (Check out the addendum on marketing tips linked at the bottom of the page.)
==========
Michael Idov describes the challenge of translating his own novel.
==========
Much as we might want to deny this truth, every author needs professional headshots (at least, that's what Jane Friedman says).
==========
Last week, while waiting for an out-of-office meeting to begin, I snuck in a read of the latest One Story offering, "The Restoration of the Villa Where Tibor Kálmán Once Lived," by Tamas Dobozy. It's a gripping, painful, extraordinary work of historical/war fiction. Check out the interview with the author here.

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.
==========
"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.
==========
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.
==========
StudentsOver30.com, a Web site for nontraditional students, seeks story ideas and nontraditional student essays. Pays: $15.
==========
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.
==========
"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."
==========
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.

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.

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.
==========
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.
==========
"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."
==========
"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."
==========
"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."
==========
"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)."
==========
Eastern Kentucky University's graduate programs have announced part-time faculty positions in poetry writing and literature and fiction writing and literature.
==========
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.

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?

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)

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.

TBR: Five Titles On My Nightstand

Literally, these five books are stacked on my nightstand. I'd love to say that sometime in the near future I'll have read them all, and will be able to blog about each one, but let's face it: I have no clue when I'll have read them, let alone reflected sufficiently to write about them.

So, as dubious a substitute as it may be, here's a photo of the fab five. I don't know what to think of the fact that this group represents an all-fiction feast. On the other hand, let's celebrate the presence of independent/small press titles, as well as fiction in translation (you can't see the translators' names, but the de Winter book was translated by Jeanette K. Ringold, and Rasskazy [the title means "stories" in Russian] features the work of many translators, including Keith Gessen, Ellen Litman, and Douglas Robinson).

Care to share your own current tbr list?

Monday Morning Markets/Jobs/Opportunities

New residency program: "El Gouna (Egypt) Writers’ Residency will be launched in 2010 and will host three sessions a year during the months of February, May and June. The length of each session is one month. During each session, four to six writers are invited to enjoy a full month’s complimentary stay at a beautiful villa in El Gouna, where they will enjoy an intellectual haven providing them with opportunities to interact and exchange thoughts with writers from different walks of life." Application deadline: November 30, 2009. No application fee indicated.
==========
Workers Write!, the series from Blue Cubicle Press, is looking for submissions for a volume to be titled Tales from the Courtroom, which "will contain stories and poems from the legal worker's point of view (lawyers, judges, court reporters, bailiffs, and so on). Your story should be set anywhere legal work is performed, but we are not looking for stories about court cases or whodunits." Deadline: September 1, 2010 ("or until the issue is full"). Pays: $5-$50. Will consider previously published material. Details here.
==========
From an ad in latest issue of AWP's The Writer's Chronicle: "PEN/Faulkner Foundation Award for Fiction. A prize of $15,000 is given annually to a U.S. writer to honor a work of fiction published in the previous year. Additional prizes of $5,000 each are awarded to four finalists. Rilla Askew, Kyoko Mori, & Al Young will judge. Publishers, agents, or authors may nominate novels or short story collections published in 2009 by submitting four copies of each book (or bound galleys) by Oct. 31. There is no entry fee. Visit the Web site for complete guidelines."
==========
"TWO LINES World Writing in Translation is currently accepting translations for its seventeenth volume, to be edited by award-winning translators Natasha Wimmer and Jeffrey Yang." Check the detailed guidelines at the Web site. Deadline is November 25, and "a nominal honorarium" will be offered.
==========
The University of Dayton (Ohio) offers a one-year post-graduate fellowship, with possibility of renewal for a second year. "Established in honor of the University of Dayton English Department's longest serving poet and first African-American faculty member, the Herbert W. Martin Fellowship is designed to advance inclusive excellence and creative writing in the University and community. We invite applications from creative writers who demonstrate sustained personal engagement with communities that are underrepresented in the academy and who bring this asset to their teaching and scholarship. Responsibilities include teaching 2 courses per semester, including creative writing courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels, one course in a non-dominant or non-Western literature, and possibly one course in first-year composition; giving readings on campus and in the community; contributing to the Department's biennial LitFest celebration; and serving on MA creative thesis committees." Check the faculty job listings at the university's Web site for the full announcement.
==========
Murray State University (Ky.) has advertised the "Nancy and Rayburn Watkins Endowed Professorship in Creative Writing. Department of English and Philosophy. Full-time, nine month, non-tenure track position to begin August 2010. Qualifications: M. F. A. in Creative Writing or equivalent required. Must have distinguished record of publication in creative nonfiction and fiction. Evidence of excellence in teaching required. Responsibilities: Teach two courses per semester, participate in the Reading Series and the low-residency M. F. A. in Creative Writing Program, and engage in appropriate service."
==========
Fontbonne University (Mo.) "seeks a tenure-track Assistant Professor of English to develop a program in professional writing that builds on our curricular strengths in non-fiction writing and journalism. Candidates should be grounded in the liberal arts, and possess the ability to teach courses in two or more of the following areas:professional writing, journalism, and composition."
==========
The English Department at Rhodes College "seeks a Fiction Writer to join the Department at the level of Assistant Professor (Tenure Track). We seek a published fiction writer, with specialties in American or other literatures, to teach a 2/3 load in our Creative Writing and Literature track within the English Department."
==========
Denison University "seeks a tenure-track assistant professor in fiction writing; possible secondary interests may include playwriting, screenwriting, hypertext, graphic novels, or new media. Ability to engage issues of race and ethnicity in the classroom is desired." Check the faculty job listings at the Web site for the full announcement.
==========
Princeton University (N.J.) is looking for a staff writer, Montgomery County (Penn.) Community College seeks a part-time copy writer, and the Writers Guild of America, West, (Calif.) is looking for a New Media Program Manager.