From the monthly archives:

November 2010

This Little Light of Mine

November 29, 2010
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I picked up a tall floor lamp in my bedroom so that I could vacuum around it. As I held the base of the lamp, the light shot all over the room like water spraying out of a garden hose. Suddenly, shadows became longer and then shorter. Corners that had never been illuminated were suddenly bright. I hardly recognized my own bedroom.

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Not Far from the Maddening Lib

November 24, 2010
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Yesterday, my students and I discussed literary magazines and their role in literary culture. I think my students were surprised by the broad range of subject matter that writers cover (a poem about photographing snakes, a story about drunk girls in stilettos, another poem about a burning Christmas tree) and how a magazine exists to suit every interest.

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Blasting Blowhards of the Book

November 22, 2010
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Creative writing is often considered an elitist pursuit, mostly because the people who practice creative writing try to keep it that way. Hiding behind the excuse that “no one cares about creative writing except the people who practice it”, the creative writing clique keeps to itself.

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I Just Need Some Space

November 19, 2010
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If you can read this, you’ve probably been reading for more years than you haven’t been reading. In fact, you’ve been reading for so long that you rarely consider the process of reading. On the page, white space, or lack of white space, can immediately comfort you, overwhelm you, intrigue you, or make you hesitant.

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What You Read Can’t Hurt You

November 17, 2010
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Discussing serious fiction – with its complicated characters, heavy themes, and often intricate storylines – is sure to inspire questions like: Is this character believable? Is the character fully developed? Are the relationships between the characters fully realized?

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