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…
Everything Else
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…
Down the Rabbit Hole- Mississippi Delta Edition
I’ve been prepping for Rabbit Box Storytelling at the Melting Point tomorrow night- I have eight minutes to tell about a rabbit hole I went down. The decision is difficult- ever since I was a kid I’ve loved to immerse myself in history- I’m still obsessed with the Holocaust. Forced exercise, Arbeit Macht Frei, Eichmann…
2013 Hambidge Residency Recap
Arrived home yesterday from my third residency at the Hambidge Center for the Creative Arts. It’s located in the foothills of the Appalachians- the birds would sing and the sun stream green through dense trees and I’d write- hiking the trails or running or reading* whenever I got stuck. The conversations and work shared by…