Online Study

As I’ve stated elsewhere, while there are certainly some arguments for getting an MFA (particularly if you wish to pursue teaching), I myself prefer my cobbled-together, custom MFA–comprising mainly courses through the UCLA Extension Writers Program, and the Tin House Summer Writers Workshop. I’ve further spiced up my program of study with other classes, some online.

When I first began taking classes at the UCLA Extension Writers Program, they were all of the in-person variety. I approached their online classes skeptically, but have been pleasantly surprised. Some things are lost, but others are gained: the ability to study with teachers and fellow students from anywhere; the freedom to follow up on and extend certain discussions; the ease of posting documents and links. Furthermore, it’s encouraged me to branch out outside my comfort zone and take classes in poetry and screenwriting. (Classes run year-round.)

A relatively new addition to the workshop scene are online classes offered by literary journals. The student gets feedback from a working editor as opposed to a teacher; the journal uses the income to subsidize the largely losing proposition of running a literary magazine. I’ve taken a workshop given by Mid-American Review, and later one by American Short Fiction. Both were worthwhile and reasonably priced. MAR offers a three-year subscription along with the class, and very generously has set up an ‘alumni’ site so students can stay in touch and continuing trading stories and notes. (They’re currently mid-workshop; inquire at the website about the next round.) I’d probably give the nod to the ASF workshop, mainly because their sensibility is closer to mine, and because they offer a 30-minute chat with an editor that I found invaluable. (Classes at both the introductory and advanced level begin July 15.)

A different option is that offered by Dzanc Books–a non-profit independent press that through its various imprints is doing great things to promote both the short story form and emerging writers. They are offering one-on-one, flexibly structured Creative Writing Sessions with some of the most exciting young writers out there. Many have donated their time, and all funds go toward supporting another great Dzanc initiative: free literary and writing classes for students grades 4 – 12.

Other classes I’m less familiar with include: the Stanford Online Writer’s Studio, and an array of classes through the Gotham Writers Workshop, some in conjunction with the literary magazine Zoetrope.

Literary LA July ‘09

• the Hammer at UCLA presents: Wed 7/1 7pm, Wells Tower with Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned; Wed 7/22 7pm, this year’s PEN Emerging Voices Fellows; Tues 7/28 7pm, Francisco Goldman

• at Skylight Books in Los Feliz: Fri 7/10 7:30pm, Richard Lange (whose story collection Dead Boys drew a lot of praise), with his novel This Wicked World; Sat 7/18 4pm, the monthly Skylight Literary Salon (a taste of small press, along with wine & cheese), which this month includes Rose Metal Press (flash and prose poetry); Thurs 7/30 7:30pm, Santa Monica Review founder Jim Krusoe with his novel Erased on Tin House Books

• at Echo Park’s bookstore/cafe Stories: Fri 7/3 8pm, the Wandering Uterus Tour, an all-female performance poetry troupe; Wed 7/22 7pm, Roberta Munroe’s How NOT to Make a Short Film: Secrets from a Sundance Programmer

• Fri 7/10 8pm, the New Short Fiction Series presents “The Agoraphobic’s Holiday & other stories” by Jill Glass; read the title story here

• a busy month at the Central Library’s ALOUD series, including: Wed 7/8 7pm, Richard Rayner’s A Bright & Guilty Place (a history of LA in the 20’s; in conversation with David Ulin); Wed 7/15 7pm, Jim Krusoe in conversation with Michael Silverblatt

• at Book Soup in West Hollywood: Tues 7/7 8pm, Dark Night of the Soul, David Lynch’s collaboration with Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse; Sat 7/18 5pm, Twenty Thousand Roads, David Meyer’s book about the great Gram Parsons

• and at Vromans in Pasadena: Thurs 7/23 7pm, Telex From Cuba by Rachel Kushner, who impressed me at the LA Times BookFest

Tonight: Wells Tower at Hammer

I’m putting together my July literary listings, but wanted to get this out right away: Wells Tower, author of the collection Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned (which has created more talk than any collection in a while) is at the Hammer tonight, July 1, at 7pm.

Alice Hoffman Loses It

I have tried to keep this blog positive (the internet has enough snarkiness and wise-cracking), but this ugly bit of business deserves some airing. On Sunday the Boston Globe printed a rather critical review of Alice Hoffman’s latest novel, The Story Sisters. (The reviewer does express admiration for Hoffman’s earlier work, and even parts of this book.) Hoffman was particularly incensed at how much of the plot the review revealed–a valid concern for a writer (and one I try to consider in my own reviews). But Hoffman (via her Twitter account) just lost it, and launched a personal attack on the reviewer, Roberta Silman: calling her a “moron,” listing her phone number and e-mail, and encouraging fans to “tell her off.” (This article on Gawker reproduces some of Hoffman’s tweets–her Twitter account has since been discontinued.)

Happily, the posted phone number was incorrect. Silman diplomatically referred to Hoffman’s outburst as “perplexing.” Before publicly asking, ‘Who [the hell] is Roberta Silman?’ Hoffman should have taken the time to find out herself. Had she done so, she would have found out that Silman has been publishing fiction and criticism steadily for 35 years (in the New Yorker and Atlantic Monthly among other places), and that her work has been recognized by a number of prizes and nominations.

Today, Hoffman issued an apology, albeit tepid and defensive: the issue had been “completely blown out of proportion;” she “didn’t mean to hurt anyone.”

p.s. The plot thickens…  It turns out that Hoffman herself once wrote a review that famously enraged a fellow writer:  her 1986 review of Richard Ford’s The Sportswriter prompted Ford to shoot a hole through Hoffman’s latest and send it to her.  Hoffman’s review (requires NYTimes registration) stands out in two respects:  Ford describes it as “nasty” (it isn’t–much as in the latest incident, it expresses great admiration for Ford and his work); and it reveals a number of critical plot-points, Hoffman’s big bone of contention about the review of her own book!

Three words:  thick skin; graciousness.

Book Party

I discovered a new reading series last night (new to me, relatively new to LA) called Book Party, that (mostly) convenes on the 2nd Sunday of the month, at Mandrake, an easy-to-miss bar at 2692 South La Cienega in Culver City. Started in October of last year, the series has already welcomed writers like Aimee Bender, Chris Abani and Rob Roberge. Last night’s show featured J. Ryan Stradal and poet Patty Seyburn (who was so good I bought her latest, Hilarity).

The bar is small but does a nice job with the show. They have a separate room for such events behind the bar, with plenty of seating, and a small outdoor patio beyond that. One minute it’s loud and everyone’s drinking; then they cut the music, pretty much everyone files in and takes a seat, and the reading begins. A dj spins tunes during a short break. It was a good crowd–nearly 30 people.

They’re taking the summer off, but will be back in style in September with Richard Lange (whose story collection Dead Boys wowed critics and helped win him a Guggenheim) with his first novel, This Wicked World.

Random Notes

• Sunday 6/21 7pm, writing group mate J. Ryan Stradal reads at Book Party–a reading series I’m unfamiliar with, at the Mandrake Bar (2692 La Cienega in Culver City).

• Sunday 6/28, the New Short Fiction Series (LA’s ‘live literary magazine’) and Other Voices (formerly a top-notch literary journal, and now, as part of the Dzanc family, publisher of fine books) co-sponsor an evening of readings from Billy Lombardo’s How To Hold a Woman and Gina Frangello’s Slut Lullabies–wine & hors d’oeuvres at 7pm, readings at 7:30–at LIME Studios, 1528 20th Street, Santa Monica.

• Theatre 68 in Hollywood rolls on with their 13 By Shanley series, an ambitious rotation of 13 plays by Pulitzer- and Oscar-winning writer John Patrick Shanley (don’t be put off if you were, as I was, disappointed with the film version of Doubt), now extended through Aug. 16: I can personally vouch for the Deborah Geffner-directed Beggars in the House of Plenty, Shanley’s most autobiographical play. Check out this don’t vote-style promo on YouTube.

• The PEN Center Emerging Voices fellowship program is accepting applications through Aug. 14–the program provides supportive but rigorous mentoring for emerging voices from a culturally diverse background.

• Friend and Pushcart Prize-winner Sage Marsters (a writer to watch out for) has a new story online at Open Letters (a new journal to me) called Yellow–aspiring writers would do well to observe how Sage adeptly packs her stories with telling details.

• Long-time mentor and popular UCLA Writer’s Program instructor Lou Mathews has a new story, “At the DMV,” in the most recent issue of Short Story, one of my favorite literary journals.

Kate Milliken

Kate is a Los Angeles writer whose stories will be featured this Friday, June 12 in the New Short Fiction Series, LA’s “live literary magazine.” Beverly Hills Public Library, 444 N. Rexford Drive, Beverly Hills. Doors at 7:30pm, show at 8. $10 admission, free parking.

Kate has been published in a number of fine literary magazines, including Other Voices, Cream City Review, Santa Monica Review, and Meridian. I had an opportunity recently to read some of those stories and to interview her, and I am more than a little impressed: her stories are mysterious and carefully constructed, and she’s extremely thoughtful about her craft. Read the interview here.

Available online are her stories The Whole World and Man Down Below.

Literary LA June ‘09

• Echo Park’s new bookstore/cafe Stories kicks off the month with Mark Blake’s The Wit & Wisdom of Keith Richards on Fri 6/5 8pm (complete w/ dj’s spinning Stones tunes); and on Sat 6/6 8pm, also in a musical vein, Gooseberries, photographer Sterling Andrews’ trippy photos of Silverlake/Echo Park bands like the Silversun Pickups; Sat 6/13 8pm, live bluegrass on the back patio; poetry on the 2nd & 4th Friday, 8pm; sign up for the Stories newsletter for more happenings

• Another packed month at Skylight Books in Los Feliz: noted short story writer Mary Yukari Waters (who’s garnered just about every honor a short story can get–Pushcart, O. Henry, two Best American collections) presents The Favorites, her first novel, Sat 6/6 5pm; on Sun 6/7 5pm, Francesca Lia Block with her newest; Ron Carlson on Sat 6/13 7:30pm with The Signal; on Wed 6/17 7:30pm, graphic novelists Adriane Tomine & Seth; and on Sun 6/21 5pm, Luna frontman Dean Wareham with Black Postcards

• June’s New Short Fiction Series show (Fri 6/12 8pm) features the stories of Kate Milliken–a finalist for both the Katherine Anne Porter Award and the Other Voices Prize. I spent the weekend reading some of her stories and she is excellent. (In the first version of this post I wrote, incorrectly, that none of her stories are available online.  Go here for links to a couple, and for my interview with her.)

• Book Soup on the Sunset Strip has Dennis Cooper (Ugly Man) on Tues 6/2 7pm; on Mon 6/15 7pm Tin House Editor Rob Spillman, along with Laila Lalami and Chris Abani, present Gods & Soldiers, an anthology of new African writing; and on Sun 6/28 5pm, Carol Ruiz Zafron with his latest, The Angel’s Game

More Short Story News

You may not have realized it, but the month just ending as I type this has been National Short Story Month. Yet another initiative from Dan Wickett of the Emerging Writers Network, and in only its third year, the month is designed to generate interest in a form too often relegated to the margins–much as the more established National Poetry Month has done in April. Though I’m late in stepping in to plug it, this is the internet: so follow the link and spend some time reading some of the (literally) dozens of posts from the last month, some from Dan, others from guest bloggers, profiling both collections and individual stories. There are also a number of links to various websites that, unlike LS, participated vigorously. Tania Hershman also did a great job of promoting the month, both at her own blog and at The Short Review. (I promise to do better next year.)

As previously noted, the online journal storySouth is the engineer of what they call the Million Writers Award, an effort to recognize the most notable online short stories of the previous year. Dozens of stories were deemed notable (find them here, complete with links). Of these, ten finalists have been named–follow the link to read them and vote for the top prizes.  (Voting runs through June 17.)

Have Your Cake…

This afternoon I picked up the Dave Eggers-edited Best American Nonrequired Reading 2008. It includes Patrick Tobin’s “Cake,” the title story of his New Short Fiction Series show taking place tomorrow night, 8pm at the Beverly Hills Public Library.

I just finished reading it, and wish I’d got to it sooner. It’s a helluva story, walking a tightrope between dark and comic that’s hard to pull off, and which I surely have never managed myself. It will be performed by the amazing actress Deborah Geffner (All That Jazz and many other things), along with several other of Patrick’s stories.

Plus, Patrick is bringing a homemade cake… so yeah, you’ll be able to have your cake…