You know that friend you have from far off who always attends the same summer camp as you? That’s my friend Tonya Canada. We’ve spent the past three summers in Portland at the Tin House Writer’s Workshop. Her work is funny, fearless, and concise. She tagged me in this blog tour, where you discuss your writing, as well as the process. Read…
Everything Else
On Writing: Moonlit Mile
Last week I wrote this chapter about a friend of mine and he is dead now, but not while I was writing, because then we both lived. And in my mind we were fifteen sixteen and we were driving through the Delta, and where we were driving everything was deserted and dark. And we were…
Focus on the Fundamentalists: Mississippi Mary Miller Interviewed in the Nervous Breakdown
I met Mary Miller last fall at the Lost in the Letters Festival in Atlanta. I’d made a point of seeing her read* because my friend Alex Gallo-Brown had told me she was one of his favorite writers. When I’d heard Mary was from Mississippi like me, I’d been doubly intrigued. I interviewed Mary for the Nervous…
Pilgrimage (Yes, Look Back)
When I called my cousin to plan our trip he said “This isn’t like you. You’re homesick.” “You just think I hate Mississippi,” I teased before agreeing. He was right. Right then I wanted to be in the Delta more than anything in the world. We met up last week in Greenwood. We met up…
Jeff Jackson’s Mira Corpora
Jeff Jackson’s Mira Corpora was my favorite book of 2013. (Flavorwire, Largehearted Boy, Slate, etc. loved it too). My interview with Jeff was published by the Outlet, the blog of Electric Literature. Jeff and I discussed writing with empathy, avoiding victim lit, how music propels his punk rock coming of age novel, and more. Enjoy!
October Status Check
I co-curate the New Town Revue, an Athens, GA music and literature series, which is hosted at Athens’ Avid Bookshop. This last performance, Friday, October 11, featured Jon Davies, Killick Hinds, and Laura Solomon. It was sublime. I volunteered at the Great ARTdoors, a fundraiser for the Hambidge Foundation. They have hosted me for three different residencies; it’s…
September- So Much!
This past month has whirled by…because this lady has been busy. I returned to my job as a school librarian. I love it, though it keeps me from writing all day. I still wrote almost every day. So close! I re-read Jeff Jackson’s Mira Corpora. We are currently collaborating on an interview. Fun! I am…
Down the Rabbit Hole Audio- Delta Edition
I was one of Rabbit Box‘s storytellers in July. I spoke about discovering the unspoken history of racism in my home region, the Mississippi Delta, which is where my father’s family lived for at least seven generations. Audio is posted here.
Learning to Fly- July Recap
Ever since I left the Tin House Summer Writers Workshop, I’ve spent almost every free moment in my studio, because, while at Tin House, I figured out where Unreformed stops and starts.* I owe this revelation in part to my mentor, Jodi Angel, who read and critiqued the whole hot mess of my manuscript, Steve…
Tin House 2013
At Tin House- studying with Steve Almond. Mentored by Jodi Angel. Both the real deal in a crowd of superstars- check this roster of everyone else– rauow!The Writers Workshop is at Reed College, described last year by child tween thing as looking “like Hogwarts”- but with a lake and ducks and tall trees and hydrangeas and greenspace…