February 07, 2017
After 7 or 8 AWPs, I thought it might be fun to see if I've learned anything that could help someone else. I'm one of those strange people who like AWP a lot, and the reason is simple: I see people at AWP whom I often don't get to see the rest of the year. I've made AWP more enjoyable for myself over the years by, I guess, being economical about this: maximizing the time I get to see people and minimizing the things that ...
January 27, 2017
This is a continuation of the first part of this series, found here. If you're interested in contributing a guest post, you can reach me at m [dot] salesses [at gmail etc.]. - 11. These are not only craft considerations. They are not only aesthetic. To wonder about what forces have shaped what we think of as a literary realist plot is to wonder about what forces have shaped what we think of as reality, and to wonder ...
January 18, 2017
The latest book is out from Pleiades Press! It's a collection of essays by Robert Long Foreman. Buy it here. Praise for Among Other Things: “This is a most strange and sensational collection of essays! Robert Long Foreman writes a prose so deceptively clear that the reader has no idea of being led to the still water’s edge, where all is deepening mystery, the harder one looks.” -Richard ...
January 10, 2017
Since it's time for syllabus creation, I've been thinking about the texts we choose, especially as models for students in creative writing courses. It's always the case that early texts, especially, become for some students a sort of standard to shoot for and a way for them to figure out the aesthetics and position of the instructor. I've kept this in mind for years in what I teach first, trying to pick something that will ...