I’m gonna be straight, having a tenure track job as a writer/academic is different than I’d imagined it being. It’s impossible to imagine how busy you’ll be, but as a baby-faced academic, I have so many meetings to go to now: department meetings, BFA curricular revision meetings, MFA program meetings, first-year faculty fellowship meetings . . .
Read MoreHearing Michael Martone Read from His Book, Michael Martone, Doublewide +
Fort Wayne is 7th on Hitler's List, The Blue Guide to Indiana, Alive + Dead in Indiana, Pensées of Dan Quayle, + others.
Today LB and i drove down to hear Michael Martone read at Notre Dame, and as usual, he was funny, entertaining, clever, the whole 4-movement symphony. i sent him a text (he asked all of us in the audience to) that said:
This is your mother.
Drink your water.
Which he did, though, not because he'd read my text.
While i was there, i chatted with Steve about science fiction, who i still call tom sometimes, i talked with William about his pile of slush from last year that he is only now sending rejection letters for, i talked about binary translation fallacies with Joyelle, being a mom, her 2 books coming out with fence and tarpaulin sky press, then i ran into Valerie, and i gave her a short update, later i ran into Megan the ndlf organizer extraordinaire, and Laura Fox, who is probably one of the most impressive, put together (and cute) undergrads i've met in years--we talked about Simon + Schuster and i think she knows Ginny Smith. que pequeño es el mundo, cabrón.
::
I have to say, it felt so good running into these people. they reminded me of what i love the most about my experience at notre dame, and it filled a small void in me to be able to talk books for a few hours, something i complained about ad nauseum last year, but that i can appreciate in bursts like today.
I hope i get to have coffee with Valerie, Steve, and William in chicago in the near future, and as Michael Martone requested, i'm definitely going to email him and pick his brain about writing. maybe, just maybe inshallah, if i'm really lucky, Michael Martone will actually read defiance of objects, the manuscript i submitted for the FC2 innovative fiction prize, but that's probably wishful thinking. on verra. . .
Today LB and i drove down to hear Michael Martone read at Notre Dame, and as usual, he was funny, entertaining, clever, the whole 4-movement symphony. i sent him a text (he asked all of us in the audience to) that said:
This is your mother.
Drink your water.
Which he did, though, not because he'd read my text.
While i was there, i chatted with Steve about science fiction, who i still call tom sometimes, i talked with William about his pile of slush from last year that he is only now sending rejection letters for, i talked about binary translation fallacies with Joyelle, being a mom, her 2 books coming out with fence and tarpaulin sky press, then i ran into Valerie, and i gave her a short update, later i ran into Megan the ndlf organizer extraordinaire, and Laura Fox, who is probably one of the most impressive, put together (and cute) undergrads i've met in years--we talked about Simon + Schuster and i think she knows Ginny Smith. que pequeño es el mundo, cabrón.
::
I have to say, it felt so good running into these people. they reminded me of what i love the most about my experience at notre dame, and it filled a small void in me to be able to talk books for a few hours, something i complained about ad nauseum last year, but that i can appreciate in bursts like today.
I hope i get to have coffee with Valerie, Steve, and William in chicago in the near future, and as Michael Martone requested, i'm definitely going to email him and pick his brain about writing. maybe, just maybe inshallah, if i'm really lucky, Michael Martone will actually read defiance of objects, the manuscript i submitted for the FC2 innovative fiction prize, but that's probably wishful thinking. on verra. . .
25 Things I Totally Didn't Need to Number But Did Anyway, because It Looks Cleaner
Wow, the world really is coming to an end:
1. kpg and d split up--well, for now anyway--and i'm still in shock and disbelief about it.
2. hassan, one of my fave novel characters, is about to be killed. yes, it's capital punishment time at the bliss house. sad times.
3. i think about erika alot, and i've only gone on one date with her and i'm trying to understand what that means, especially in light of the fact that em and i are so magical together, and kelly and i hit it off so well. i have my theories about this, but i'll think about them more first before i syndicate them to the world.
4. ND lost to fucking WINTHROP in the first round of the NCAA tournament. ah, like i really care.
5. i haven't gotten a single new story published in 2007 and i'm starting to freak out a little bit. i mean, 2006 was pretty good for me: blazevox, syntax, right hand pointing, the pittsburgh review, 3:am magazine, soma literary review, the taj majal review--i think, writer advice, ink collective. . . but so far, for 2007: nothing, zilp, zilch, nada, rien, nanimo! man, i hope that changes soon. I'd like to add to my meagre publishing history. i mean, as far as i'm concerned, i haven't done shit yet.
6. in two months, i'm pretty much on my own again, and i'm headed either to chicago, atlanta, new york, japan, or possibily to a free-love cult where you do nothing but smoke pot and sleep with hippy twins all day.
7. after seeing kelly's 2 new tattoos, i'm fucking envious. i want another tattoo.
8. i haven't had sex since october. . . at the end of march--if i have to wait that long--it will be 5 months. god, how depressing.
9. related to #8, i'm absolutely, positively, dreadfully sick of porn.
10. part of me wants to move to morocco and work at an orphanage. not joking.
but, i do have faith that ONE or more of the following things will work out:
1. dave eggers will pick up one of my stories, or at least write me one nice sentence i can hang on the wall, right above my bed. hey, look at that, i'll say to my next lover, dave eggers wrote that, i'll say, it says "sorry," she says, i know that, i say, but dave eggers wrote that, i'll explain
2. blood lotus, contrary magazine, tarpaulin sky, wordiot, diagram, narrative, quickfiction, pindeldyboz, the new yorker, miranda literary review, void and lost magazine, hayden's ferry review, greensboro review, indiana review, nimrod, another chicago magazine, puerto del sol, smokelong quarterly, verbsap or the furnace review could pick up one or more of my stories, which would make me feel alot better about the world at large
3. 9th letter might pick up my memoir, if jms likes my story, and that would be awesome
4. 1/4 after 8 could pick up "blank sheet of paper." i mean, it could happen
5. april might be the month that i find out i won the playboy, atlantic or vanity fair contests. . . well, i'm just saying, you never know
6. one of many of my other fave lit journals could surpirse me and pick up a story i just assumed they'd lost, or used as surrogate plates for their annual spring barbecue
7. michael martone could surprise me and say, jackson, this story is so good, i think i've found a home for it. hey, it could happen
8. i could either win the sparks prize, get the colgate writer-in-residence fellowship, get the emory fiction fellowship, or move to japan, maybe osaka, and that would be something to write in my blog.
9. i might get a new tattoo
10. i could get a yaddo fellowship
11. lynn nesbit could finally put me out of my misery and take me on as her agent.
12. i could be getting laid a month from now, or be madly in love.
13. kpg could be getting laid a month from now, or be madly in love, this time, with a gorgeous woman.
14. kpg and i could be roomates, possibly, if we both moved to chicago.
15. the weather will get warmer
Yes, it occurs to me that maybe only #9, #13and #15 will happen, but i still have faith in the other numbers, in my life, and in this universe. even so: come on other numbers! you can do it! every number gets a fair chance in my book, you hear me? i want EVERY number to be a winner!
1. kpg and d split up--well, for now anyway--and i'm still in shock and disbelief about it.
2. hassan, one of my fave novel characters, is about to be killed. yes, it's capital punishment time at the bliss house. sad times.
3. i think about erika alot, and i've only gone on one date with her and i'm trying to understand what that means, especially in light of the fact that em and i are so magical together, and kelly and i hit it off so well. i have my theories about this, but i'll think about them more first before i syndicate them to the world.
4. ND lost to fucking WINTHROP in the first round of the NCAA tournament. ah, like i really care.
5. i haven't gotten a single new story published in 2007 and i'm starting to freak out a little bit. i mean, 2006 was pretty good for me: blazevox, syntax, right hand pointing, the pittsburgh review, 3:am magazine, soma literary review, the taj majal review--i think, writer advice, ink collective. . . but so far, for 2007: nothing, zilp, zilch, nada, rien, nanimo! man, i hope that changes soon. I'd like to add to my meagre publishing history. i mean, as far as i'm concerned, i haven't done shit yet.
6. in two months, i'm pretty much on my own again, and i'm headed either to chicago, atlanta, new york, japan, or possibily to a free-love cult where you do nothing but smoke pot and sleep with hippy twins all day.
7. after seeing kelly's 2 new tattoos, i'm fucking envious. i want another tattoo.
8. i haven't had sex since october. . . at the end of march--if i have to wait that long--it will be 5 months. god, how depressing.
9. related to #8, i'm absolutely, positively, dreadfully sick of porn.
10. part of me wants to move to morocco and work at an orphanage. not joking.
but, i do have faith that ONE or more of the following things will work out:
1. dave eggers will pick up one of my stories, or at least write me one nice sentence i can hang on the wall, right above my bed. hey, look at that, i'll say to my next lover, dave eggers wrote that, i'll say, it says "sorry," she says, i know that, i say, but dave eggers wrote that, i'll explain
2. blood lotus, contrary magazine, tarpaulin sky, wordiot, diagram, narrative, quickfiction, pindeldyboz, the new yorker, miranda literary review, void and lost magazine, hayden's ferry review, greensboro review, indiana review, nimrod, another chicago magazine, puerto del sol, smokelong quarterly, verbsap or the furnace review could pick up one or more of my stories, which would make me feel alot better about the world at large
3. 9th letter might pick up my memoir, if jms likes my story, and that would be awesome
4. 1/4 after 8 could pick up "blank sheet of paper." i mean, it could happen
5. april might be the month that i find out i won the playboy, atlantic or vanity fair contests. . . well, i'm just saying, you never know
6. one of many of my other fave lit journals could surpirse me and pick up a story i just assumed they'd lost, or used as surrogate plates for their annual spring barbecue
7. michael martone could surprise me and say, jackson, this story is so good, i think i've found a home for it. hey, it could happen
8. i could either win the sparks prize, get the colgate writer-in-residence fellowship, get the emory fiction fellowship, or move to japan, maybe osaka, and that would be something to write in my blog.
9. i might get a new tattoo
10. i could get a yaddo fellowship
11. lynn nesbit could finally put me out of my misery and take me on as her agent.
12. i could be getting laid a month from now, or be madly in love.
13. kpg could be getting laid a month from now, or be madly in love, this time, with a gorgeous woman.
14. kpg and i could be roomates, possibly, if we both moved to chicago.
15. the weather will get warmer
Yes, it occurs to me that maybe only #9, #13and #15 will happen, but i still have faith in the other numbers, in my life, and in this universe. even so: come on other numbers! you can do it! every number gets a fair chance in my book, you hear me? i want EVERY number to be a winner!
AWP Conference in Atlanta + Cave Canem
Busy week, man.
I spent 3 days in Atlanta for the AWP convention where i also:
Became friends with the editors at one story, one of my fave lit journals
Became friends with the non-fiction editor at 9th letter
Became friends with the crew at newpages.com where i might become their online journal critic
Hung out with Tony d'Souza who i admire for his Chicago connections, his impressive work ethic, even if he IS a complete and absolute hustler
Talked to the editors of at least 10 different journals that i have pending submissions at
Became friends with some of the mfa students at alabama
Went and heard Robert Olen Butler read
Met utahna faith in a flash fiction panel discussion, the editor that published my story, "City Lunch" in the fantastic international online journal, 3:AM Magazine
Listened to Lily and the other Chiasmus Press writers (including Lance Olsen) give an awesome joint reading (+ free mimosas, a def bribe for such an early morning reading).
Went to michael martone and john barth's reading in the crystal ballroom of the Hilton Hotel--mm stole the show, man. I bought 2 of mm's novels and chatted with him at the book signing. he even sent me 2-3 emails in the past week. He's a good guy that way.
Talked to one of the poetry editors at Tin House--jc was his name, i think
Played air hockey and won (Holla!) against Pei-Lin Lue, the Managing Editor at One Story
Met Atina, one of the fiction editors at red hen press, one of the better indie presses, this one, out of LA
Met fred ramney, one of the publisher's at unbridled press, who gave me his card after i told him about my novel and the interest that publishing luminaries like Lynn Nesbit has shown the manuscript so far.
--And we take agented and unagented fiction, he explained.
Picked up something like 25 free lit journals from the AWP Book Fair
Smoked 3 cigarettes (bad Jackson!) and drank lots of Heineken--all of which tasted fantastic
I submitted stories to:
agni
Michael Martone
quick fiction
the greensboro review
mid-american review
missouri review
9th letter
nimrod
mcsweeney's
dave eggers
cream city review
tarpaulin sky
colorado review
smokelong quarterly
blood lotus
miranda literary review
blackbird
narrrative
word riot
Also, i went and heard Cornelius and Yusef Komunyakaa read tonight at the Cave Canem conference reading.
I spent 3 days in Atlanta for the AWP convention where i also:
Became friends with the editors at one story, one of my fave lit journals
Became friends with the non-fiction editor at 9th letter
Became friends with the crew at newpages.com where i might become their online journal critic
Hung out with Tony d'Souza who i admire for his Chicago connections, his impressive work ethic, even if he IS a complete and absolute hustler
Talked to the editors of at least 10 different journals that i have pending submissions at
Became friends with some of the mfa students at alabama
Went and heard Robert Olen Butler read
Met utahna faith in a flash fiction panel discussion, the editor that published my story, "City Lunch" in the fantastic international online journal, 3:AM Magazine
Listened to Lily and the other Chiasmus Press writers (including Lance Olsen) give an awesome joint reading (+ free mimosas, a def bribe for such an early morning reading).
Went to michael martone and john barth's reading in the crystal ballroom of the Hilton Hotel--mm stole the show, man. I bought 2 of mm's novels and chatted with him at the book signing. he even sent me 2-3 emails in the past week. He's a good guy that way.
Talked to one of the poetry editors at Tin House--jc was his name, i think
Played air hockey and won (Holla!) against Pei-Lin Lue, the Managing Editor at One Story
Met Atina, one of the fiction editors at red hen press, one of the better indie presses, this one, out of LA
Met fred ramney, one of the publisher's at unbridled press, who gave me his card after i told him about my novel and the interest that publishing luminaries like Lynn Nesbit has shown the manuscript so far.
--And we take agented and unagented fiction, he explained.
Picked up something like 25 free lit journals from the AWP Book Fair
Smoked 3 cigarettes (bad Jackson!) and drank lots of Heineken--all of which tasted fantastic
I submitted stories to:
agni
Michael Martone
quick fiction
the greensboro review
mid-american review
missouri review
9th letter
nimrod
mcsweeney's
dave eggers
cream city review
tarpaulin sky
colorado review
smokelong quarterly
blood lotus
miranda literary review
blackbird
narrrative
word riot
Also, i went and heard Cornelius and Yusef Komunyakaa read tonight at the Cave Canem conference reading.