State of Nature, State of Mind Pt II -- A guest-post by Barry Zellen

Our second post in a three-part series from March featured author Barry Zellen.

Many years ago, I lived in Inuvik, wearing the hat of a small town journalist, with the coolest job in the world, publishing a bilingual newspaper serving the Inuvialuit villages of the Western Arctic, with half the page in English and the other half in Inuvialuktun, trying to balance two worlds, two traditions, at a fascinating but uneasy crossroads. By day I was a journalist, but by night I was fast becoming an amateur historian, learning as much about the grand sweep of northern history so I would understand the issues of the day with greater depth and clarity.

In the course of being a journalist, from time to time I would report on what might be viewed by political elites as bad news, the kind they hoped might never be written – stories of local corruption, land claims money wrongly spent, placed into the pockets of a few board members and not the people for whom it was meant. The more I read and the more I learned, though, the more I came to understand that these setbacks were temporary, that these early scandals in the post-land claim era appear to be a common growing pain across the entire North, and reflect a common vulnerability for all societies new to capitalism, where democracy and accountability have yet to mature, so when the windfall comes, temptation soon follows, and before you know it corruption sets in. But if you wait around long enough, that corruption is eventually unmasked, as newer, wiser leaders step up to fix what's broken, to reboot a system that is not irreparably damaged, but merely off course.

This happened in Alaska in those first post-land claim days, and sadly recurred in the Mackenzie Delta after its claim was settled in the mid 1980s, and followed in turn to Nunavut and Nunavik further east. It’s not that the North is inherently corrupt; in fact, it is one of the most honest, wholesome places on the Earth, a place with no secrets. It’s just that the rapid introduction of capitalism and with it economic modernization, in a culture where subsistence reigned supreme for untold millennia, is at heart a traumatic change to undertake in a single generation. Heck, on Wall Street, the ground zero of modern capitalism, two centuries of experience has not yet been enough to purge the system of a recurring greed that rises up anew each generation, resulting in a crisis of trust and confidence in the system itself.

Indeed it was not much more than a year ago that we all appeared to be poised at the very edge of a global systemic collapse on a scale comparable to that which destroyed world communism. Only one generation later and nearly on the eve of the Berlin Wall’s remarkable fall, the globalizing system of world capitalism nearly imploded, taking with it the wealth of an entire generation. This, in the very nerve center of our global economy, where a deep and festering fraud set in, exacerbated by the complacency of regulators and fueled by the greed not just of the elites but those who aspired to join them. It will be some time before the mess that we created is sorted out, and while the crisis seems to have subsided, a total collapse of a system that is rooted ultimately in fallible humanity seems to be inevitable, some day. Few systems endure so long; even the template of endurance, the Roman Empire, would prove to be as mortal as the rest, collapsing in the end after a millennium of rule.

So what does this mean for us? First, it means that when we watch capitalism, modernization, and globalization take root in the Far North we should not forget how new modernity itself is here, how young remains the very presence of the modern state. It was not that long ago that the Age of Empire brought Europeans to the North, from both the East and from the West. It was not that long ago that colonization quietly surrendered to self-government of a sort, albeit one from afar; that Alaska ceased to be Russian and Canada ceased to be British, all within a single day in 1867. Fast forward only a century and we see territorial status give way on our side to a state, and on the Canadian side to a process of northern balkanization resulting in three distinct territories north of sixty, one overwhelmingly non-Native, but still partly indigenous; one about half non-indigenous and half indigenous; and the newest, Nunavut, still 95 percent indigenous. Three snapshots of northern demographic evolution, one taken after the Klondike gold rush; one taken after World War II; and one taken just a decade ago. Each has had its own unique relationship with the southern world, its own level of economic integration and modernization. And each retains its own connection with its indigenous past, to varying degrees. Each, as well, has experienced the land claims process, the shift of investment capital to new Native elites, that first generation of growing pains before the new system takes root, and in the end, a new balance between the forces of tradition and modernization.

But just as the modernity of land claims eventually affected the entire Arctic rim of North America, the persistence of indigenous subsistence also unites the Far North. And it is this endurance that I believe is the greatest lesson the North can teach the South. When the world economic order looked like it was on the edge of an abyss, as if a great depression might once again restore poverty to the most modern of the world’s nations, as retirement nest eggs evaporated, housing prices collapsed, and banks collapsed like dominos, nearly taking the world economic order with it, the places that proved most resilient were those where subsistence economics, subsistence values, subsistence culture, remained. And some newly modernizing corners of the North, like the island-state of Iceland, saw their new and shiny modern economies collapse entirely, realizing at the end that their humble yet self-sufficient roots as fishermen were what would get them through their cascading economic collapse, as their currency quickly became worthless, their stock market a field of dreams that in the end did not come true. Their banks went under, taking into oblivion the investments of countless millions, from not just Iceland’s 300,000 citizens, but from many more citizens of the UK and mainland Europe, drawn to the icy waters by high (and in the end unsustainable) interest rates. The shiny office towers, not so different from those that sprouted up in Anchorage or Inuvik or Yellowknife with new land claims money, emptied out, the fishing boats were once again full, and subsistence proved to be Iceland’s constant, its connection to a more natural temporal flow.

Sometimes the villages of the Far North are called a “Fourth World” and the lack of cash economies perceived to be a failure in economic development. But the absence of a vibrant cash economy masks the presence of something more enduring, a subsistence economy well suited to the land, one that is self-sufficient, whose values tie humanity to the land from which we evolved, and upon which we still depend. The hunters and the trappers of the world possess a wealth and a power that investment bankers and hedge fund managers will never know, something enduring, something spiritual, something that is more essentially human than any modern artifice. The same is true of fishermen and farmers, who live on a more harmonious plain. Many post-apocalyptic and sci-fi stories speculate that the future world, after a great calamity, whether by alien invasion or some Armageddon-like event induced by fallible man, will be one where subsistence once again is essential, whether the surviving humans waging war against the machines as in the Terminator saga, or in another more recent James Cameron tale, the idyllic people of Pandora, the Na’vi, who are hunters still, and who live in perfect harmony.

Their collision with modern, corporatized, invading humanity, while simplified for the sake of the big screen, captures an essential truth: that there is much of beauty worth preserving in the traditional life, a beauty we can still find here, amongst ourselves. And that much of our modern world, for all its many advantages, should never entirely replace that which came before. Just as there is wisdom in the elders and their stories, there is something sacred in the values that they’ve carried across history to us. Even as we continue on the path of modernization, we should therefore maintain our connection not only with the past, but with the land in its most natural form – something we in the North can still do with relative ease, the footprint of modernity being still just a tiny part of our world.

Barry S. Zellen is an author and political theorist. After riding his 250cc Honda Rebel up the Alaska Highway in 1988, he settled down in the Western Arctic region, living in Whitehorse, Inuvik and Yellowknife, working in the field of indigenous language media. Since 2004, he's been with the Naval Postgraduate School where he directs the Arctic Security Project, edits journals, and writes books on various subjects including Arctic political and cultural history, political philosophy, and strategic studies.

4.9 things writing teaches: a guest post by Erin Hollowell

Erin Coughlin Hollowell is a writer, editor, teacher, and poet who lives in Alaska. She has been most recently published in Terrain.org, Crab Creek Review, Alaska Quarterly Review, Weber Studies, and Blue Earth Review and was commissioned by the University of Alaska to write poems for the play Bed Sheets. She received her MFA from the Rainier Writing Workshop at Pacific Lutheran University.

1. Read what you write. Write what you read. Read what you enjoy. It always amuses me to meet poets that don’t read poetry. A quick way to weed out the poseurs is to ask, “Who are you reading lately?” If they can’t come up with a poet’s name, I know that they aren’t really writing poetry.

I’m also amused when I meet someone who is writing “literary” fiction but what they really enjoy reading are thrillers, or horror, or fantasy. Why not write what you enjoy reading? First of all, you’ll have the knowledge base and secondly, won’t it be more fun to write something that you’d actually want to read when you’re done?

Finally, it pains me to talk with people who are forcing themselves to read the entire list of winners of the Booker Prize or the National Book Award because they need to be exposed to “good literature.” I’m all for good literature, but heck, if you’re not enjoying it, life is short. I don’t read a lot of language poetry because I don’t particularly enjoy it. Every genre goes through phases, I don’t have to embrace each of them. This isn’t high school, I can be a good poet and not hang with the cool kids.

2. Don’t be afraid to fail. (The corollary here is “Fall down seven times. Get up eight.”) People tend to stick with what’s comfortable; it’s probably a biological imperative so we’re not the antelope that gets eaten at the new watering hole. However, in writing, your comfort zone is deadly. My best poems are the ones that I’ve shimmied furthest out on the branch to capture. Sure, I might break my neck, but I also might write something that makes part of the world look new to you.

3. Go deeper. Like Deb said, don’t be afraid to get to the place it really hurts. I’ll echo Jim Heyen who suggested, “Go to the deeper side of yourself when you revise, go to your personal relationship with the material.” I think that we all carry a motivating force inside ourselves and it is usually a secret pain. When I write a poem, no matter what the subject, I try to make it a little reliquary for my secret pain, whatever that happens to be at the moment. Li-Young Lee said, “What is the secret that you are keeping even from yourself? That is where the poem originates.” I whole-heartedly agree.

4. Don’t get too attached. Joseph Campbell said, “We must be willing to get rid of the life we’ve planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us.” This applies to writing as well. It’s better if you don’t go into a piece knowing where you’ll end up. And that brilliant line that you repeated to yourself as you drove to work so you wouldn’t forget it? Go ahead, write it down, but be prepared to cross it out later when it turns out you were really just priming the pump.

4.9 Show up. I can’t tell you how many people tell me that they are writers, but in reality, they don’t make the time to write. If I only wrote when I was inspired, I’d write about one poem a year. One really bad poem – because I’d be incredibly rusty. So I write dozens of crappy poems for the one good one that I show other people. But if I didn’t make myself sit down and write the crappy ones, I wouldn’t have paved the way for the good one.

Remind yourself to write. Set aside some time for it. Commit to it. Brendan Galvin said, “It’s a chance to give yourself an authentic life instead of an excuse.” And if you are really stubborn, you can commit like I did – get a tattoo that reminds you that you ARE a poet, or a novelist, or writer of any stripe. It sounds cheesy, but all I have to do is look at my arm to remember that I have committed a part of my life to my art.

Deb: On Agents

I’ve been thinking a lot about agents lately. After nine published books, I’ve decided I need one. Backstory: I’ve had two agents before, but neither placed any of my work. Like much I’ve done with my writing (caution: don’t try this at home), I acquired my first agent without putting much thought into it. My thinking: I placed two books myself. I lived a long way from New York. My career would skyrocket with an advocate in the Big City. Any would do.

Any didn’t do. After a year, I realized grabbing the first agent I queried was a big mistake. Neither of us was taking a considered look at my work to perfect a match. Within weeks of severing our relationship, I’d found a great home for my third book. I bumped along like that for several more years, punctuated by what we agreed upfront would be a one-year contract with another agent. My thinking: I had two good manuscripts but no time or energy to either market them myself or make them exemplary. I rarely thought about the agent or my books, and while one of them (books, not agent) almost sold, the year was mostly a waste of effort for her. Good books don’t sell – not in this market. Great ones do.

Now, a new novel, one that’s gotten the time and attention the other two lacked. Will it sell? That remains to be seen. On the cusp of big changes in the industry, is this the wrong time to be seeking representation? In a general sense, maybe. But for me it’s the right time.

It’s best to acquire an agent through personal connections – referrals from writers who know your work, or face-to-face meetings at conferences. But as it turns out, my friends’ agents, for one reason or another, may not be the best fit for this project. And this year I have other travel obligations that preclude a conference. So I’m taking the least desirable route, culling through information about agents of writers whose work I know and respect, looking for the perfect match.

Thank heavens for the way we’ve all embraced the internet. Only ten years ago, the process was a lot harder. Reference books that became quickly outdated were the primary sources of agent information. Submissions were made mostly by snail mail, and multiple submissions were almost taboo, meaning writers could wait years for a match.

A few random observations from the beginning stages of my search:

• The odds aren’t so great. Good agents get thousands of queries a year. From those, they may pick up four or five clients.

• I’m drawn to female rather than male agents, mostly because I felt my first agent, a man, didn’t listen well. I feel the same way about doctors. I know, it’s a stereotype. But I still find myself filtering by gender. Male agents have made my preferred list, but not in anywhere close to the same numbers as women.

• There are lots of new agents – some casualties of the economic downturn. This is good, because they’re looking for clients. And bad, because there are only so many manuscripts that editors will accept. Therefore, it’s even less likely that having an agent will lead to publication.

• Having a New York agent feels less important than it did twelve or fifteen years ago. In terms of lifestyle and communications style, having an agent who’s not in NYC may be a better fit for an old-timey Alaskan like me.

• When my kids needed money for college and it was clear writing books wouldn’t help much, I became – for eight years – a successful real estate agent. Looking at agency from the perspective of an agent, I was more inclined to see the value of having one. Those years hanging out with agents reminded me that as in any other profession, there are good agents and bad. While agency is a significant relationship, one in which there are big things like houses and writing careers at stake, it doesn’t take much to become one. Lesson: be selective. The ideal agent has a great sales record AND is a good match for you.

• My years as a real estate agent also helped me understand why so many writers are less than happy with their agents. Literary agents can’t unload clients the way real estate agents can houses. As they add more, some are bound to feel short-changed.

• Lots of writers seem to be changing agents these days. A tough economy, changes in publishing, and a surplus of new agents may contribute to this phenomenon. Or may it’s just the writers I hang with, who after quite a few years in the business are ready to change things up.

Interested, as always, in your thoughts…

Deb: 49 Writers weekly round-up

A quiet week, this. Spring break? Or maybe we're all deep in our projects. I for one am thrilled to be almost through my last revision before submitting my latest novel. More on that later. For now...

Whether you’re an emerging or an established writer, you know adage “show, don’t tell.” But how do you decide when and how to describe? How do you make sure your descriptions enhance, not distract? How do you strike a balance between figurative and literal language? In our next 49 Writers workshop, Power Writing: Description that Works, we'll focus primarily on setting and character/persona to craft powerful and evocative descriptions. The workshop will be held on consecutive Saturdays, April 24 and May 1, from 1 - 4 p.m. at the Kaladi Brothers Community Conference Room at 6921 Brayton Drive in Anchorage. Designed for writers of all levels, in all genres, the workshop is limited to ten participants. Advance registration with payment is required. We weren't able to get a grant to help defray costs for this one, so the cost is $49. To register, visit http://www.alaskanauthors.com/, or email debv@gci.net .

Looking for a great way to meet readers? The Alaska State Literacy Association invites authors to present and celebrate their books at its 2010 annual conference in Girdwood on October 15 and 16th. All Alaskan authors, illustrators and photographers are invited to attend the conference luncheon followed by a book signing event. For more information, please contact Linda Horstman, lghorstman@yahoo.com.

Another great way to meet readers: online. Several of you have already emailed guests posts for our new ongoing feature "4.9 Things Writing Teaches," but we'd love to get more. Email your post along with a one or two-sentence bio and (if you like) a photo and URL link to debv@gci.net.

Finally, we want to say a proper thank you to our last featured author, Mary Katzke, and offer a welcome to Barry Zellen, our author for March. Watch for a continuation of Barry's posts next week.

State of Nature, State of Mind Pt I -- A guest-post by Barry Zellen

A late but enthusiastic welcome to our March featured writer, Barry Zellen, who expected to be our April writer but is jumping on board quickly with stories to tell and thoughts to share. His posts will continue next week.

I just looked at my calendar and saw that April was just a few days away, and that meant only a few more days before I get the wonderful opportunity to put pen to paper and share my thoughts with 49 Writers! Exciting, but scary… since I’ve never really shared my thoughts about writing! It’s something I do every day, and every night, but seldom think about. Writing is an inherently paradoxical art in that it is both extraordinarily private and yet visibly public (at least that’s the goal, but a recent look at my Amazon sales ranking, and I realized I’m still largely private – no best seller lists for me, at least not yet!)

An author, more than many, must bare their soul for all to see. This can be frightening as it can be liberating. My greatest fear in the unmasking process is the realization upon publication of a book that a really stupid error made its way past copy editors and proofreaders and escaped my own weary eyes in the last read before production. Like the time I realized my index-generating software application didn’t include first names, and after an all-nighter, I inserted them manually, one at a time, and flubbed the first name of a former Alaska attorney general – substituting in my late night edit session the first name of a college professor who shared with him a last name! And so the first edition is forever blemished by the eternal nature of an egregious typo locked in stone, or the print equivalent – printed in bulk, bound, and preserved deep down in basement library stacks the world over. Luckily, second editions come along eventually, and the folly is eventually forgotten, at least until the next unmasking moment reveals another preventable typological error, a momentary lapse in diligence.

When I was little, I always wanted to be a writer. I just knew it in my bones. When the mood would strike and the pen made its magical connection to the pad of paper, it would take on a life of its own, as if the inner psyche found its voice and could leap past all the filters of mind and the nonsense taught in school about how there needs to be a set structure, an intro, body and conclusion. I never understood why. If the structure is imposed, does it not mold the thought itself, transforming it to fit? It’s like the youngish generation borne of a world of powerpoint slides; their ideas seem to be gutted in the constant effort to fit the next bullet point. God help the twitter generation; though it may yield a resurgence in haiku, it certainly increases the pressure to contain expression to fit an ever smaller template.

My favorite medium is still to sit at the kitchen table, somewhere between the midnight hour and the first hint of dawn, and let the pen and paper make their own intimate connection when all else are asleep. In this darkest, loneliest hour the words come alive, dreamlike to dance on the page. In these hours I have long imagined having the creativity and passion to spin fictional narratives. But each time I put pen to paper, I am pulled back toward historical truth, that is my constant. And so, while fiction continues to elude me, I have instead elected to write historical nonfiction, a world that is as unknown and mysterious before discovery as that imagined by the novelist.

To be continued...

Barry S. Zellen is an author and political theorist. After riding his 250cc Honda Rebel up the Alaska Highway in 1988, he settled down in the Western Arctic region, living in Whitehorse, Inuvik and Yellowknife, working in the field of indigenous language media. Since 2004, he's been with the Naval Postgraduate School where he directs the Arctic Security Project, edits journals, and writes books on various subjects including Arctic political and cultural history, political philosophy, and strategic studies.

Andromeda: Big Alaska books coming this year!

I happened to be clicking around randomly on just a few of our Alaska writer website sidebar links, and I was pleased to see several exciting Alaska-authored books coming our way. This is not a complete list -- in fact, I'm hoping you'll tell me what I'm missing, whether the forthcoming books are yours or someone else's.

Just to get the list going, I noticed: Raven's Gift by Don Rearden, due out in November from Penguin Canada. It's a post-apocalyptic tale set in a Yupik Eskimo village, already blurbed by mega-bestselling author Jodi Picoult. I'm looking forward to finding out if the book is coming out in a U.S. edition, and how Rearden snagged that powerful blurb. Rearden is also a screenwriter, and this sounds like a story fit for both book and screen.

The Fate of Nature by Charles Wohlforth is due out in June from St. Martin's. Following on the heels of the award-winning The Whale and the Supercomputer, this book looks at how culture -- not technology -- could be the key to saving our environment. Wohlforth has recently started blogging and among the things he's posted is a happy reaction to his getting a great blurb from Robert Kennedy, Jr. Expect lots of buzz this June for this book.

Heather Lende's Take Good Care of the Garden and the Dogs will be published by Algonquin Books in May. Lende's new book reintroduces Haines, the small Alaska community that helped her get back on her feet after a nearly fatal cycling accident. (I'm going to need Kleenex for this one.) Based on the success of her last nonfiction book, If You Lived Here, I'd Know Your Name (which is in a seventh printing, according to her website) Lende will be getting lots of press, and I'm happy to see the Daily News already started the boll rolling with a short news item about Lende's early reviews.

Two more authors I look forward to reading soon: Cinthia Ritchie, and Rich Chiappone. They both have new works of fiction in the publishing pipeline, but my quick Googling didn't land me at author websites. I'm looking forward to hearing more from Cinthia and Rich very soon!

If you lived in Alaska 15 to 20 years ago, confirm my memory -- didn't we used to have maybe 1 or 2 fairly big books coming out each year (not counting smaller, regionally pubbed books)? In this year, we'll have five times that many.

Tell me what others I've missed.

Deb: 4.9 things writing teaches

Inspired by the Guardian’s  “Ten Rules for Writing Fiction,”  we posted last month on our own writing rules . Some of my writing friends, though, objected to the very idea of using the words writers and rules in the same sentence. True, these are writers of young adult fiction – a rebellious bunch by nature.  But maybe the notion of rules does sound too rigid, as if what makes for good writing could be boxed up and stuck on a shelf.

So we decided at 49 Writers to tamp down the concept and make it a regular feature: not rules so much as what writing teaches. Branded with 49, we could hardly settle for ten – but then, compiling a list of just under 50 sounded like too big a chore. So we settled on 4.9, figuring the “point nine” would allow for the wiggle room most writers covet.

Debuting here: 4.9 things writing teaches, a recurring feature, with an invitation to all writers, both new and established, to publish your thoughts. I’ll lead off with 4.9 thoughts of my own:

1. Embrace the tension between satisfaction and longing. Somewhere between complacency and hair-pulling frustration lies the sweet spot for doing your best work. Be kind enough to give yourself credit for every good word, yet brutal enough to keep pushing for better.

2. Probe deeper; seek truth. Don’t stop at bedrock. Fire up the jackhammer and hang on for dear life. Truth hurts. When your character’s clenching her teeth and breaking out in a sweat – or when you are – you’re probably close.

3. Cultivate unexpected opportunities. Dwelling on all the ways writers get booted around is neither productive nor satisfying. Instead, grab chances to meet up with readers, interact with other writers, and publish in unexpected places. Write the poem you didn’t think you had in you, the story that stretches your thinking.

4. Diligence and discipline complement creativity. There really is something about that three-legged stool. Open yourself to spells of wild abandon tempered by periods of dogged determination.

4.9 Keep learning. You’re never “there.” But once in awhile, let yourself look back on how far you’ve come.  That's what makes learning fun.

Ready to share the 4.9 things writing has taught you?  Email your list to me at debv@gci.net, along with a photo and link to your website if you like. It’s a great way to open a dialogue with other writers – and pick up a web pubbing credit while you’re at it.

Latest AQR full of delights: A Guest Post by Nancy Lord

Many if not most literary journals are predictably similar quarter to quarter; they have a certain aesthetic the reader gets to know, and contain a mix of prose and poetry—rarely art, drama, criticism, or graphic literature. Not so for the Alaska Quarterly Review, which distinguishes itself not just by its general (high) quality but with inventiveness. Past issues have focused on Alaska Native writing, narratives that were not identified as fact or fiction, and special sections (“hidden Alaska,” a Richard Ford interview packaged with a story and essay, conversation and selected poems from Billy Collins.) Past issues have also included varieties of creative nonfiction and memoir, plays, photo essays, expert essays on translation and language, “faux interviews,” and novellas as well as short stories. Very often there have been guest editors—especially for the poetry sections. It is much to editor Ron Spatz’s credit that, after 27 years, AQR is always celebrating new and expanded literary expression.

The current issue (vol. 27, no. 1 & 2, spring and summer 2010) is no exception. Here, the special feature is “innovative fiction” assembled by guest editor Amy Hempel, herself an outstanding practitioner of short fiction. As if that’s not enough, the “nonfiction” section is equally special—a 79-page manual called “How to Write a Good Sentence,” by Arnold G. Nelson, a 91-year-old retired English professor. And then there’s the poetry section.

But let me take these one at a time, in the order they appear.

There are 21 stories in the “innovative fiction” section, some by well-published writers, some by first-time writers, some by writers better known as poets. (A feature of AQR that I appreciate is the short bio note that appears at the bottom of the first page of each piece of writing, which prevents having to fumble to a back section to learn about the writer.) Hempel said, in her introduction, that she looked for writing that would be new to readers, but also new to the writers—something they had not tried before. There’s a lot of very good writing in this section, but I’m afraid I have to say that I didn’t find much that awed me with its “newness.” Prose poems—not new. Segmented writing—not new. Monologue—not new. All dialogue—not new. Obscurity—neither new nor particularly desirable. I suppose my personal definition of good writing includes, even requires, innovation—the presentation of whatever the narrative is in some fresh way—and so to single out innovation as a particular sought-after quality can lead to disappointment, at least in my case.

The stories I ended up liking the best might have been among the more traditional ones, in the end. Jamie Quatro’s “Up 58 South” concerns a woman dying of cancer—a hackneyed (unfortunately) situation made remarkably fresh through character development, well-constructed scenes, and humor. Megan Mayhew-Bergman’s “The Social Life of Mice” is also a traditionally constructed story, but in an odd setting: husband and wife veterinarians tend injured hounds at a bear hunt, and, in their conflicted relationship, speak to one another through their animals. Two others of my favorites are more unusual in structure and voice, and rich in surprise. Michael Ahn’s “Flesh” is a short (four-page) narrative that braids three different stories in tight, fast-moving, image-filled paragraphs. Patricia Volk’s “Did You See Me See You,” masterfully conveys an entire relationship through a brief (one-page) first-person inquiry.

Now, “How to Write a Good Sentence: A Manual for Writers Who Know How to Write Correct Sentences.” This amazing piece of work is really a book unto itself; the author speaks of it as a manual or book and compares it—fairly I think—to Strunk and White’s Elements of Style. It’s clearly a life’s work for the nonagenarian Arnold G. Nelson, who reaches back to his own school days to remember and analyze “good” sentences and who brings much of his personal life into this appreciation of style. This was an absolute pleasure to read, and truly instructive for any writer concerned with style (which I assume is all of us.) Nelson analyzes forty-eight exemplary sentences from writers as various as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Eudora Welty, Woody Guthrie, and Gertrude Stein.

Take for example, this from William Faulkner’s “Spotted Horses”: “Calico-coated, small-bodied, with delicate legs and pink faces in which their mismatched eyes rolled wild and subdued, they huddled, gaudy, motionless, and alert, wild as deer, deadly as rattlesnakes, quiet as doves.” Nelson calls this “the adjective sentence”—(he gives each sentence example a name, as “the onomatopoeic sentence,” “a moving sentence,” “the triple ambiguity sentence”)—and devotes two pages to discussing why and how the multiple adjectives and their placements are so perfect in this case. As someone who is always lambasting my students to cut the modifiers and write with nouns and verbs instead, this lesson has humbled me into a new appreciation for the effective uses of adjectives. Or consider Norman McLean’s “In my family there was no clear line between religion and fly fishing” (“a beginning sentence”): Nelson shows how this first sentence of A River Runs Through It perfectly signs the themes of the entire story.

The final section of this issue of AQR is devoted to poetry. I found a good variety here, including “The Sky I Die By Will Be Grey,” by Todd Boss, author of the amazing collection Yellowrocket and a current favorite poet of mine. Here also are represented the only two contributors to the issue I recognized as Alaskans—Amber Flora Thomas, who teaches at UAF, and Amy Groshek, who received her MFA from UAA and later taught at APU before moving out of state. The Groshek poem, “Rubia Writes a Poem About Light for a Contest,” ends with this: “…Yet,/ light! Don’t you want it? Don’t you sit/in the sun and read on a February day?”

Deb: 49 Writers weekly round-up

Congratulations to Nancy Lord, who has been selected as this year's Denali National Park's Writer in Residence.  Nancy will be the Park's guest during her stay at the East Fork Cabin. John Morgan, last year's Writer in Residence, was the first in the new program; check out our archives to read about his experience there.  And look for Nancy's review of the latest edition of the Alaska Quarterly Review to post here next week.

On Thursday March 25 from 1 p.m. -3 p.m. at the UAA Campus Bookstore, Brian Fagan, best selling author of more than 25 books, presents his latest book Cro Magnon.  Fagan's visit is sponsored by the Alaska Anthropological Association and the UAA Anthropology Department.  He will also speak at 7:30pm at the UAA Wendy Williamson Auditorium.

Also at the UAA Bookstore, poets Tom Sexton, Mike Burwell, and Arlitia Jones will present "Works in Progress" on Thursday April 1 from 5 p.m. - 7 p.m.  Tom Sexton is former Alaska poet laureate, author of the collections A Clock With No Hands and For the Sake of the Light; Mike Burwell teaches at UAA and is the editor of the online literary journal Cirque and author of The Cartography of Water; Arlitia Jones is the author of the collection Bandsaw Riots as well as numerous short and long plays.

Finally, on Tuesday, April 6 from 5 p.m. - 7 p.m., mask carver and story teller Nicholas Charles presents his book, Messenger Spirits.  Says Charles, "This is a small collection of stories, inspired poems, and mask descriptions I wrote in 1991 when my parents were still alive to accompany some of the Yup'ik masks I carved at the time. The stories and masks are based upon Yup'ik folklore, historical characters and legends from the Yukon Kuskokwim delta region of Alaska. The style and form I chose to tell the tales and legends are done to animate and illustrate the stories."

In Anchorage, I'm hosting an initial get-together of writers for children and young adults on Wednesday, April 28 from 7 – 8:30 p.m. in the Starbucks conference room at the corner of Dimond and Old Seward. Come prepared to talk about any projects you have in the works or any you hope to pursue, and bring ideas about how the group can best meet your needs. If you’d like a 10 to 15 minute group critique of up to five pages (typed, double-spaced), bring six copies. PLEASE RSVP to debv@gci.net if you plan to attend so I’ll know how many to expect.

Andromeda/Your Turn: Looking for Gold Rush Fiction

This June I'll be on a panel at the new North Words Writers Symposium in Skagway -- more on that conference coming up very soon -- and contemplating the trip reminded me that I'd really like to read a few good gold rush novels before I go. Do they exist?

I have read some wonderful memoirs from that time period, especially memoirs by women. But I don't think I've stumbled upon as many novels. I'm most interested in the famous Klondike region, but I suppose anything set in Alaska/Yukon at the turn of the century would fit.

Readers, can you help?

Andromeda/Giving something up to get better (as a writer)

We like the news and interviews around here, so the personal posting takes a backseat, but today I'm deciding to go the personal route.

Yesterday, I sold my cello. It was a carbon-fiber cello, the same model Yo-Yo Ma played (or pretended to play) at the Obama inauguration, only No. 106 of its line, and I loved it. It was the perfect cello for Alaska -- impervious to cold and dryness. It was the perfect cello for me -- built to a just-slightly-smaller scale than a regular wood cello, and able to absorb just about any kind of insult, like being knocked around. (My last cello got cracked while traveling through O'Hare Aiport; even at home I am not kind to instruments.)

More than that, the cello symbolized success for me. I bought it, fittingly, with some of the proceeds from the sale of my first novel, The Spanish Bow -- a book that happens to be about a cellist. It remains the most expensive thing I have ever bought it my life -- basically, the only fine material object I've ever owned. And I did love owning it.

But when I bought it, we weren't in a recession.

Last fall, I considered selling the cello, to help pay general bills and keep our family from slipping into the financial abyss. Frankly, I was slightly more willing to sell the house, pay off the creditors, and move to Southeast Asia for a year, or bum through Guatemala, or find a really cheap way to subsist in Alaska, at least until the recession passed and the world of publishing got back on its feet, but the family wasn't interested. (And one does have to listen to one's family, once in a while.) Anyway, we kept squeaking by.

Last week, I got a better reason to make the sacrifice. I was accepted to the Antioch University low-residency MFA program. I've been sitting on the fence about the MFA issue for a solid decade, and I blame the readers and commenters of this blog for pushing me to the 'yes' side. You told me how the MFA helped you dedicate yourself more intensely to your writing, and that you felt you got a lot out of it, and I believed you. So now -- cross fingers for a few final paperwork details -- I'll be starting classes in June, in Los Angeles.

Do I need an MFA to write? Absolutely not. Do I need an MFA to teach? Outside of the university, no. But I welcome the challenge of academia, I think a little Outside-engagement will be good for me, and especially, I do want to become a more confident teacher -- and if an MFA can help with that, I need to give it a try.

The reason I chose Antioch is because they are the only creative writing program that is officially dedicated to the concept of community service. (Or so I read.) They certainly make a big point of it in their literature. And that -- at this point in my life -- means a lot. It dovetails with what Deb and I do here at 49Writers, and what we want to do in even bigger, bolder ways in the months and years to come. I love Alaska, and I love writing, and I want to find a way for those two passions to come together, perhaps with the help of some ideas and connections from our Lower 48 neighbors.

So a third passion has to take a backseat, for now at least. I won't have time for practicing the cello, something which has always been a great stress-reliever for me, in the next two to three years. (I won't be without a cello entirely, I should add. The person who bought my cello gave me a good deal -- half cash, half trade, in the form of a lesser, student-model cello.)

I'm writing this not to impart the slight bit of nostalgic woe I'm feeling, giving up something I felt I'd earned, something which had become a potent symbol in my life. I'm writing this instead to share that strange mixed feeling of nervousness and excitement, thinking that maybe someone out there has felt it, too. Sacrifice (and I know much bigger sacrifices have been made) can feel really good. By giving something up, I feel even more dedicated to my own writing, and to the Alaska writing community, via the learning I hope to do and the bridges I hope to build as a result of the MFA, as well as other literary-networking trips to the Lower 48. Does that make sense?

I sure hope so.

Deb: 49 Writers Interview with Trish Jenkins, Alaska Center for the Book

The Alaska Center for the Book has been promoting literacy in Alaska for nearly 20 years. What has the organization learned over the years about which projects work and which don’t? Specifically, I’m thinking of projects like the Writing Rendezvous that have gone by the wayside.

Alaska Center for the Book, affiliated with the Library of Congress, began as an ad hoc group in the early 1990s.We surveyed interested individuals and organizations in 1993-1994 to see what programs and issues were of most interest to them. We took that information and used it during a planning retreat to build a program. The three key functions that I can recall from that time were: 1) promote literacy; 2) serve as a clearinghouse for organizations working on literacy and literature in Alaska; 3) promote Alaskan authors and support the effort to build professionalism among the authors. The programs that grew out of those “missions” were Writing Rendezvous, our newsletter, and eventually Reading Rendezvous. At the time, the Midnight Sun Writers Conference in Fairbanks had been abandoned and we felt we could help fill the need for networking among writers and building craft with the Writing Rendezvous.

So for many years, ACB presented Writing Rendezvous, presenting workshops, panel discussions and presentations by writers, publishers and editors to attendees from all over Alaska. It was a very popular event and filled an obvious need for the writing community in Alaska, All of the work coordinating. planning and putting on the event was done by volunteers, particularly our very hard working board. When Kachemak Bay began offering a similar program for writers, with a much bigger budget and paid staff, we decided that our efforts could be better spent in other areas. We also felt it was important to put our efforts into promoting reading and put our volunteer energies toward Reading Rendezvous. If writers are going to be successful, they need readers!

We have been putting on the annual Reading Rendezvous, in partnership with Loussac Library for several years now and we are very proud of its presence in the community. It is a free reading fair for children held at the library in May or early June, which is held in conjunction with the kick-off of the Summer Reading Program sponsored by Loussac Library. Last year we had 1500 attendees, with lots of activities, entertainment and prizes. We have been happy to have many corporate sponsors for this fun event.

So we’ve shifted from doing two big things to doing one big thing (Reading Rendezvous) and several smaller things. Here is an overview of some of those smaller things: Each year we do a special event for Native American Heritage month in November through a partnership with the UAA Bookstore. We have been a partner with UAA in developing and promoting their wonderful website LitSite Alaska. It is an invaluable resource for teachers, students, writers, readers and parents. This year, we partnered with the Anchorage Daily News and UAA to continue the long running and very popular Creative Writing Contest. In past years, we’ve been involved with Alaska Women Writers. Last year we did a series of five events around the theme Booklovers' Gone Wild. More recently, we hosted Monster Jeopardy, part of Anchorage Public Library’s 4th Annual Anchorage Reads. In the process of doing smaller things, sometimes we have successfully partnered with other organizations.

Given our affiliation with the Library of Congress, we sponsor their Letters about Literature program for elementary, middle school and high school students around the state, and we send two representatives to the National Book Fest in Washington D.C. every fall. In addition to events mentioned above, we promote literacy through the annual CLIA awards (Contributions to Literacy in Alaska) to deserving organizations and individuals throughout Alaska.

We produced a wonderful literary poster several years ago, which began as an effort to produce a Literary Map of Alaska. We were offered free glossy paper and printing by Alaska Northwest Publishing, so we amended our project to accommodate the opportunity and produced a beautiful poster featuring Alaskan authors instead. We are still interested in producing a Literary Map and look forward to doing that sometime in the near future.

In sum, the projects that work are those that happen. All events and projects are the result of our all-volunteer board members’ efforts. Some involve working with other organizations, and some have affiliation with the Library of Congress, but they happen because of the dedication and wisdom of our board. We know how to make things happen! That’s a simplistic answer, but it’s true.

How does the Alaska Center for the Book approach partnerships with other organizations? Do you typically seek them out, or is it best for other groups to approach you with potential projects and ideas?

We have participated in many partnerships, both at our initiative and in response to a request from groups or individuals asking for our help. For example, we partner with Rachel Epstein at UAA Bookstore every November for an event to celebrate Native Heritage Month. In the past we have co-sponsored the Alaska Women Writers event produced by YWCA; we partnered with the Alaska State Council on the Arts with four events to support the traveling poetry broadside exhibit, How the Ink Feels, in 2006; and we have partnered a couple times with the Anchorage School District to put on a Young Writer's Retreat for high school students. In addition, we have been a fiscal partner with many local groups for readings, workshops and other literary based projects. I think people know we're here, and that we have the reputation of being willing and able to help. We welcome other groups to approach us with projects!

Are there projects the Alaska Center for the Book might take on if the group had more funding and/or human resources? Which do you find harder to come by – money or people-power?

There are probably projects out there that we might take on if we had more human resources and more funding, but we don’t tend to dwell on that; we are resourceful and responsive. We have been very successful in obtaining funding for whatever projects we take on. Furthermore, our focus is mostly on impact, low budget projects, especially to underserved communities, than it is on high profile, expensive ventures.

That being said, we co-sponsored the project to re-supply the Hooper Bay School library when their school burned down. The outpouring of books, volunteers, and funds to buy replacement books from the communities across Alaska was truly heartwarming. On the other hand, when we were approached about being involved in the Anchorage Daily News’ creative writing contest, we realized that to be done well, it needed someone who had a lot of time on his or her hands in addition to what our board could offer, so we took advantage of an internship class at UAA because we simply couldn’t have done it otherwise.

One of the joys of being involved with the Alaska Center for the Book is working with the wonderful individuals who are committed to promoting literacy and literature in Alaska. The board of ACB is a dedicated, hard working group, whose accomplishments are amazing. We are only constrained by the limitations of the time and energy of this core group to expend the efforts necessary to produce an event. We are always looking to recruit like minded folks and have been fortunate to have capable, motivated folks join us in various ventures. New blood is always welcome!

The list of past CLIA awards reads like a who’s who of Alaskan literacy. When do nominations open each year? How many receive the awards, and how are they chosen?

The Alaska Center for the Book has been proud to present annual CLIA awards to deserving Alaskans. Nominations usually open in the fall. We usually give three or four awards per year. A committee is formed to review the nominations and the recipients chosen. I have to say, it is difficult to choose among the many deserving nominations. We have a lot of wonderful people in Alaska who are doing so much to promote literacy and literature throughout the State. It has been our privilege to honor some of these outstanding individuals and organizations.

What obligations and benefits await potential members of the Alaska Center for the Book?

We—the Board—are a positive, caring, dedicated, hard-working, creative, and, most importantly, fun group of people. We have fun while planning and doing worthwhile and interesting things. The reward is being part of this amazing group that puts our commitment and the success of our programs ahead of any material benefits. Anyone with an interest and commitment to improving and promoting literacy and literature in Alaska is welcome as members and/or volunteers for general or specific projects. It’s very rewarding to see what we add to the community; that is, it is rewarding to attend our events and watch others enjoy them.

Once a year we do send someone to the National Book festival in Washington, DC, and we also send someone to the Idea Exchange meeting at the Library of Congress, a meeting with all the Centers for the Book.

As for obligations, we meet once a month for about an hour and a half. At that monthly meeting, we plan events, discuss ongoing plans for events, and recall events that have taken place. As members get involved in specific projects, more obligations come up, of course. Best of all, many of us attend the events we host or co-host.

A concept that surfaces from time to time among our readers are an annual award for Alaskan books. Would such an award be within the mission of the Alaska Center for the Book? What do you see as some of the benefits and pitfalls of your group – or another - sponsoring such an award?

Yes, it's within our mission, and we've discussed it in the past. Several years ago, we looked at how some other states do it, because we were concerned that in such a small population, we could make ourselves pretty unpopular by choosing the "wrong" Alaskan author! Some states do a list of "noteworthy" books each year, rather than just one or two, which seems more sensible. Regardless, whatever we do—or some other organization—it would be a difficult task and would take a thoughtful approach to determining categories.

Books have indirectly been honored with CLIA’s in the past. In 1995, Nancy Warren Ferrell (Juneau), Alaskan author of Alaska: A Land in Motion and numerous other titles. Lela Kiana Oman (Nome), for her efforts to record from Inupiaq Eskimo and then translate to English The Epic of Qayaq. In 1997, Wayne Mergler for The Last New Land. In 1998, Claire Rudolf Murphy for several of her books. Dana Stabenow was also recognized.

Agent Roundtable: a guest post by Paul Greci

A week ago I had the pleasure of facilitating a discussion with Kendra Markus of Bookstop Literary Agency. Kendra was in Fairbanks visiting her daughter and offered a free question and answer session to any and all writers.

Kendra contacted Alaskan author Deb Vanasse through SCBWI and Deb (who is one of my long distance critique partners) contacted me. For writers in Fairbanks this was quite a treat. We don’t get many literary agents just stopping by and holding free sessions.

Luckily for us, Kendra enjoys winter weather.

At the end of the session I offered Kendra a ride. She thanked me for the offer but said she wanted to walk the mile up to the University, where she was meeting her daughter. It was a windy day, about 8 above zero.

As for the discussion, I didn’t have to do much facilitating because the ten writers, some published some not, some agented some not, who materialized at the Coffee House were bursting with questions, and Kendra’s responses led to more questions. Kendra even did a first page critique for one writer.

Her love for picture books, middle grade and young adult literature was very apparent. And she knows the book business; she’s been an agent since 1984. If she’s not already on your agent list, check out her website and see what you think.

Here are a few thoughts from Kendra regarding submissions:

1. Make sure your story has layers of complexity. Too often I see stories that are just dealing with the surface. They don’t go deep enough.

2. Let the character drive the plot.

3. Pretend I’m a kid. You have to get my interest on the first page.

How do you know when your first page is doing its job? How do you know when you’ve gone deep enough in your story? How do you decide when your story is ready for submission? I’d love to hear your thoughts on any or all of these questions. Thanks!

Originally published at http://paulgreci.wordpress.com/2010/03/08/round-table-with-veteran-agent-kendra-marcus/  Paul Greci lives in Fairbanks, where he taught English in an alternative school for fifteen years. He now writes young adult fiction and is represented by Jennifer DeChiara.  Anchorage-area writers take note:  Kendra Marcus is interested in doing a program in Anchorage next year.  Stay tuned for details.

Deb: 49 Writers weekly round-up

Calling all writers for children and young adults: if you're interested in meetings and/or events in the Anchorage area, please either leave a comment below or email me at debv@gci.net. Depending on interest, a second SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators) group may be formed, and we might also try to organize a Kids Writers and Writing event early next year.

Wondering how local booksellers view the market, especially in terms of the digital revolution?  At the monthly AKSinC (Alaska Sisters in Crime) meeting on March 17 from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Elim Cafe in Anchorage, a panel of booksellers, including Bosco's, UAA's University Press, and Barnes and Noble Booksellers will discuss the topic.

The beauty of language and poetry will be showcased at Poetry in Translation on Monday, March 15 from 5 p.m. - 7 p.m. at the UAA Bookstore.  Classical and modern poems will be read in both English and their original languages.   And what's almost as good as poetry?  Chocolate, of course.  On March 24 from 1 p.m. - 2 p.m., the UAA Bookstore hosts Chef Vern Wolfram and his student assistants explaining the properties of chocolate while sharing samples of dark, white and milk chocolate.

Freeze, a recently-completed book cataloguing the FREEZE project, which took place on the Delaney Parkstrip and other downtown Anchorage locations in January 2009, is now available for purchase. Through photographs and text, the book documents the fourteen projects that were created from snow, ice and light. The projects were created by teams of architects, artists and designers – from Alaska and around the world – who gathered in Anchorage during an especially cold week. The book is only available through the Alaska Design Forum.

Creative writers whose work in any genre reflects a keen awareness of the natural world and an appreciation for both scientific and literary ways of knowing are invited to apply for a weeklong writing residency at Mount St. Helens. The Mount St. Helens Field Residencies will take place July 18-24, with a base camp near Randle, WA, and will be held in conjunction with the 2010 Mount St. Helens Science Pulse, a gathering of ecologists and research scientists who are engaged in field work on Mount St. Helens. Residency writers will be able to join ecologists on field trips to various locations on Mount St. Helens, interact informally with scientists, and to focus on writing projects that embody creative responses to the volcano and its varied landscapes and the role of volcanic landscapes in the imagination and culture of the Northwest. Application forms maybe downloaded from the Spring Creek Project website.

Narrative, a premier online literary magazine with the mission of transitioning great literature into the digital age and uniting readers and writers around the world and across generations is seeking internship candidates to assist with production of the magazine, including editorial and technical tasks, public outreach, and other programs.

Of interest to self-publishing authors:  Publishers Weekly reports that critically acclaimed novelist, memoirist and National Book Award finalist John Edgar Wideman is teaming up with self-publishing and print-on-demand service Lulu.com to release Briefs, Stories for the Palm of the Mind, a new collection of his short stories. The new book will go on sale exclusively through Lulu.com beginning March 14 and will be launched at a series of live readings from the book that will be held in New York and Los Angeles.  Wideman's books have been published almost exclusively by Houghton Mifflin for years.

Looking for a place to market your books? Author Judy Ferguson is looking for an author or authors who'd like to share tables at the November Arts and Crafts Emporium in Anchorage Nov. 20-21(your share $225), the Carlson Center Holiday Marketplace in Fairbanks Nov. 12-13 (your share $263), and a Mat-Su holiday event Nov. 6-7 (your share $150-175). Also, if anyone wants to share a 10 x 10/$495 (total cost) table at the Alaska Gift Show next January 29-30, contact Judy.

Speaking of marketing, have you checked our sidebar lately?  We're running ads for Cirque, Wild Moments, and Northern Light Media.  Their revenue helps subsidize this blog, so we hope you'll click through and support them.  And if you'd like to reach our targeted market of Alaska readers and writers, reserve your own ad at the low rate of $10 per month.

Andromeda: The Right Book at the Right Time -- 13 Ways of Looking at the Novel by Jane Smiley

I picked up "13 Ways" maybe two years ago, read parts of it (it's organized in a way that invites skipping around), liked it well enough, and put it back on the shelf. I must have been involved in a tricky revision then and reading in search of easy-to-apply fiction solutions, which I did not find in Smiley's book. I was in a different place last month when I picked the book up again, realized there were parts I'd skipped and parts I'd underappreciated, and started all over.

This time, I couldn't put it down. I savored; I marked; I circled and starred; I felt even more inspired to dedicate myself to writing and to aspire to become a reader like Jane Smiley, who can not only enjoy a novel, but see its web of connections to other novels over centuries, and to novels from other cultures. (Why do the French have such a history of writing about sex and the problems of marriage? How do Russian and German and Scandinavian writers see the world differently? How has the novel evolved and what does it say about our society?)

I felt intense gratitude that this smart writer took three years out of her own writing life to read a hundred novels (some of them re-reads), to share her personal responses to each one in encylopedic fashion, and to add even more depth with twelve wonderful stand-alone essays including "The Origins of the Novel," "The Novel and History," and "Morality and the Novel."

Can you tell I'm smitten with this book? But this isn't a book review. It's just my personal eye-opener on a day when I need to remember the joys -- and the work -- of creativity. A few Jane Smiley quotes to get me started, and maybe to get you started as well...

"Even if the novel is based entirely on what the novelist himself has experienced, he will rework the experiences to make them more vivid and evocative, and indeed, more logical and comprehensible. In reworking them, he will betray, or transcend the experience."

"The author's job, according to (Virginia) Woolf, is to preserve exceptional moments, not to award them to exceptional people."

"In a society that promotes conformity, novel-reading -- one person experiencing both the mind of another person and her own mind experiencing -- is a subversive force."

"A novelist is someone who has volunteered to be a representative of literature and to move it forward a generation. That is all."

"(The novelist's) job is to develop a theory of how it feels to be alive. ... The preeminence of a novel as a literary form suggests that the average reader enjoys having the nature of being, especially the nature of being ordinarily human, mirrored back at her."

"All novels, because they move repeatedly between action and reflection, are simultaneously about private experience and public events."

"The novel is always about freedom, and readers of novels have an instinctive understanding of whether the novelist is exercising his freedom or whether he isn't."


Ahhh. I feel a little better. On with the day.

Andromeda/Your Turn: What can writers learn from the Oscars?

"Did I really earn this or I did just wear you all down?" That was Sandra Bullock accepting her Oscar for best actress -- a wonderful surprise for an actress better known for her light roles and even some bombs.

I love hearing about the success of someone who has been written off by others. Since writing is 90% persistence, I relish the idea that people who have persisted and stretched and survived ultimately get noticed at the highest levels. (Jeff Bridges, another Oscar winner, fits this category, too.)

That's one lesson we can learn from the Oscars. Another might be: story is character. I mean, look at the winners, especially the best picture, "The Hurt Locker." Think what you will about Hollywood's tastes and politics, every year we are shown that good pictures do float to the top. And what makes a movie great, in the end? Character! Even in a high-tech world where every possible special effect can be made (and yes, I did find Avatar entertaining), it's still character that pulls us into a movie -- or novel, or memoir, or other written work.

If you've seen The Hurt Locker, think about some of the other great craft-of-writing lessons in that movie. We aren't told much about the main character. It's nearly all show, little tell. When our hero finally returns home, that home life is shown briefly and sparely -- a great scene in a grocery story, no exposition that I can recall -- and then we return to the original setting and character issues. (I'm being rather unspecific here because I don't want to give away anything, given how few people have seen this movie but will rush to see it soon.) It's lean, smart storytelling in a movie that could have been just dumb action. But if it were pure action, it wouldn't have won that well-deserved Oscar.

What other writing lessons or inspirations do you take from the Oscars?

Deb: 49 Writers Interview with Ron Spatz, Alaska Quarterly Review

As a new issue of Alaska Quarterly Review hits the shelves, we caught up with editor Ron Spatz to discover how this esteemed journal has earned and maintained its reputation as one of the nation's finest literary publications.

How long have you been with AQR?

I’ve been with Alaska Quarterly Review from its inception. It has been a 30-year investment of passion and creative energy since first pitching the idea of founding this literary journal to a University of Alaska Anchorage colleague -- if we count the time needed to publish the first issue in fall 1982. Alaska Quarterly Review will celebrate its 28th anniversary of continuous publication with the 2010 spring and fall editions.

What changes have you noted during your tenure – both for AQR in particular and for literary journals in general?

Alaska Quarterly Review has been blessed with long-term, dedicated staff members. The current senior editorial team includes Stephanie Cole who has been with us since 1986 and Robert Clark since 1992. Other talented people have come and gone over the years, including many volunteers and students, some of whom received academic credit and/or graduate assistantships. The elimination of UAA’s on-campus, full residency MFA program in Creative Writing had a significant impact; meaningful graduate student involvement with the magazine was no longer possible, and we are still adjusting to that change.

Since 1982, our feature sections have evolved. We phased out the literary criticism and philosophy sections and added literary nonfiction, photo essays, and drama features to the mix of our eclectic fiction and poetry sections. We also made modest changes in the look of the magazine. We re-designed the logo for the fall/ winter issue in 1993, and went to all color covers in fall/winter 2000.

On a global perspective, literary publishing has always been a tough market. The periodical segment is especially challenging, and continues more so every year. The advent of the Internet and rapid development of digital technologies has created a changing publishing paradigm and all literary print journals have become more vulnerable. To our disappointment, some proponents of e-zines have taken the view that print journals are now irrelevant. That was the case involving the recent demise of the wonderful 40-year-old literary journal TriQuarterly when the Northwestern University librarian to whom the magazine reported pulled the plug. Writers know better though; they recognize that print and on-line publishing are markedly different from each other and that there is abiding and inherent value (and interest) in the print format.

Despite all of the challenges and market pressure, the number of submissions from new and emerging writers for publication in Alaska Quarterly Review is as robust as ever and continues to grow. During the reading period from August through May, USPS mail pours in with unsolicited manuscripts-- the lion’s share from North America, but also from every corner of the world. Some days we literally cannot get through sorting the mail.

What distinguishes AQR from other literary journals?

Alaska Quarterly Review’s character and national/international focus separate it from the pack. AQR is Alaska’s flagship literary magazine. It is informed by Alaska – the place and people and cultural traditions. It has connected Alaska to the larger literary world for 28 years.

AQR has earned high marks in the literary community. How has the journal established such a fine reputation?

We cast a wide net. We recently received notice that one of our short stories was selected for The Best American Mystery Stories 2010. Currently two poems originally published in Alaska Quarterly Review appear in The Best American Poetry 2009 and another poem appears in the 2009 Pushcart Prize: The Best of the Small Presses distributed by W.W. Norton. One AQR story is cited among the distinguished stories of the year in The Best American Short Stories 2009 and a featured author in that collection published her very first story ever in Alaska Quarterly Review. AQR has served as a literary springboard for many authors over the years.

Part of that good reputation is that over time Alaska Quarterly Review has had representation in every major national awards anthology including Prize Stories: The O. Henry Awards, The Best American Essays, The Best Creative Nonfiction and so forth. AQR’s work has also been featured or cited in such national media showcases as Poetry Daily, PopMatters, Garrison Keilor’s Writer’s Almanac and publications such as Poets & Writers, Writer’s Digest, Library Journal, Literary Magazine Review, The Washington Post Book World, and the Sunday New York Times. Internationally, AQR has been highlighted by the BBC and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

If I had to isolate what we’ve done well to earn this acclaim, I’d reduce it to this: Consistency and quality of the editorial vision; Staying true to the promise to promote new and emerging writers; publishing eclectic, consequential literary work; resisting the pressure to become a provincial/regional publication. The latter is a double edge sword, however. Although it earns Alaska Quarterly Review respect and credibility nationally, it does not always translate into support (in the fullest sense of the word) at home.

You’re a writer, an editor, and a teacher of writing. How does each of those roles enrich and inform the others?

They are different facets of the same gem. Each can be a lens to a broader understanding of the creative process and refining the products of that process. Reading widely is also key. To have a sense of the hallmarks is important to test and grow one’s ideas and vision.

Describe the type of writing that generates excitement among your senior readers and editorial staff. In other words, if one of us wanted to wow you with a submission, how would we do it?

This question comes up frequently and what I usually say is we look for the experiential and revelatory qualities of the work. We will advance a piece that may be less polished or stylistically sophisticated, if it engages and surprises. We are looking for voices our readers do not know, fresh voices that may not always be reflected in the dominant culture and have something important to convey. For the editor, and, later for the reader of the published work, the joy in reading such a work is in discovering something true.

What would you like writers to know about the submissions and selection process at AQR?

Before a writer submits a manuscript to Alaska Quarterly Review (or to any journal for that matter), it is helpful to read selections of work previously published by the magazine. This gives the writer an idea of the range of works that the editors have found compelling and will help the writer decide whether their work is a reasonable match for that journal.

Useful notes from our submission guidelines:

(1) Unsolicited manuscripts are read between August 15 and May 15.

(2) Although we respond to e-mail queries, we do not review electronic submissions.

(3) We are comfortable reviewing simultaneous submissions providing that they are identified as such in the cover letter and that we are notified immediately if they are accepted elsewhere.

Finally, whether or not we feel the work is right for Alaska Quarterly Review, we take each writer’s submission seriously; we are honored to have the opportunity to consider their work.

Deb: Your Turn - Fictional Writers

On the day I learned that Alaska's celebrity author Sarah Palin has inked a new book deal, I also heard that she's shopping a reality show (at possibly one million dollars per episode).  That got me to thinking:  Would anyone watch a reality show featuring me as an author?  Not likely.  I love what I do, but my daily grind is not exactly exciting even though, like Sarah's show, it's set in Alaska.

But the lives of some writers do make good drama - and fiction.  Fairbanks writer Michael Engelhard wrote to say he just finished the novel After the Workshop by John McNally -- a fictional memoir by an ex-Iowa Writers' workshop student and blocked writer who now works as a media escort.  As Engelhard explains, "He's had one brilliant story published in the The New Yorker and has been stalled on his novel for the past twelve years.  It's humorous and full of barbs ("Perhaps novelists are only failed poets?") and insights into the publishing and writing life."

As Engelhard notes,  "It always feels cathartic to see our plight not taken too seriously and even turned on its head, as a source of inspiration."  He wonders what other fiction about the writing life our readers have enjoyed.  Comments?

Deb: 49 Writers weekly round-up

Thanks to all who participated in our 49 Writers online book club discussion this week of Nancy Lord's Rock, Water, Wild.  We enjoyed an engaging dialogue with one another and with the author.  Looking ahead, the next online book club discussion will feature David Vann's Legend of a Suicide.

Thanks also to all the children's book writers who turned out to meet with agent Kendra Marcus in Fairbanks this week.  Anchorage children's book writers:  if you're feeling envious, let's get a new local SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators) group going.  No need to join anything - just contact me by March 15, either by a comment below or by email to debv@gci.net, to let me know you write or illustrate for kids and you'd like to be included in any Anchorage SCBWI efforts to serve children's writers and illustrators.  From there, we'll get something started.

Alaska's authors continue to earn kudos for their books.  Bill Streever's Cold is one of five finalists for the prestigious LA Times Book Prize in the Science and Technology category.  Also, A Night Too Dark, Dana Stabenow's 17th Kate Shugak novel, is number 29 on the New York Times bestseller list.  Way to go, Bill and Dana!  Dana will also be keynoting the North Words Writers Symposium June 3-6 in Skagway, Alaska, and she'll be on hand at the Poisoned Pen Conference at the Arizona Biltmore, June 25-26, to help launch P.F. Chisholm's A Murder of Crows, the fifth of the Sir Robert Carey novels.

Ketchikan librarian and 49 Writers informant Charlotte Glover draws our attention to Debbie S. Miller and Jon Van Zyle's new book Survival at 40 Below.  She writes, "This look at wildlife in the Gates of the Arctic National Park is their ninth Alaskan-themed book together and it is another beauty. The text is short enough to read to young children, but informative enough to help older kids learn about habitats, hibernation, adaptations and survival strategies in nature. Really well done."  My observation:  did you know Jon Van Zyle has branded his own chocolate bars?  Now that's marketing.

Charlotte also reports that Southeast Alaska has enjoyed a flurry of writer activity.  Author Nick Jans was in Ketchikan last week for a slide show and signing of The Glacier Wolf which attracted 57 people. Earlier in the month Tracie Harang of Sitka was in Ketchikan for a swim meet and did a signing of her self-published picture book Sitka Tango which Charlotte describes as "a really delightful and attractive photo essay/story about a day that her son and his dog explored the WWII Causeway in Sitka."  The author plans more books featuring Brady and Tango, and Charlotte says she's an author to watch.  Also headed to Ketchikan this spring:  juvenile fiction writers Roland Smith and Bruce Hale - Bruce will also visit Prince of Wales Island and Wrangell, two places that rarely see authors.

Alaskan short movie activist Bob Curtis-Johnson, founder of the moviemaking challenge "Bob's Shorts" (http://www.bobsshorts.org/), returns to Fairbanks during Art EXPO to lead a workshop on the structure, themes, and production techniques specific to the short movie format, presented by Fairbanks Arts Association. Participants will view and discuss short and super-short films, block and light scenes, discuss computer editing technology, and learn how to get the most from small budgets, all in a relaxed, creative and encouraging atmosphere. Enthusiasm is all that's required. Since the explosion of YouTube and other hosting sites, the entire world is making short movies- and many are by first-time directors.  This full-day workshop on March 6 from 9 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. is $65 in advance, $40 student in advance w/ID, $70 at the door. The workshop limited to ages 14 and up. To register, contact Melissa at 456-6485 ext. 226 or melissa@fairbanksarts.org.

The first Poetry Open Mic, hosted by Elizabeth Thompson, happens Friday, March 12 at Phyllis's Cafe Salmon Bake, 436 D Street in Anchorage, starting at 8:00 p.m.  All styles and levels of poetry are welcome.
The plan is for this to become a monthly occcurence.

Got Iditarod fever? Head to the Anchorage Loussac Library to hear stories about how it all got started.  Author, filmmaker, storyteller and musher Rod Perry will share stories about the history of the Iditarod and his own experience completing “the wild and crazy, loosely-organized first Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race” in 1973.  The event will be held in the Ann Stevens Room, level 3, on Tuesday, March 16 at 7 p.m.  Also coming up at the library:  Conversation Salon—Alaska Constitution.  Co-hosted with Institute of the North, this conversation salon is part of a series examining the Alaska Constitution. Join your Anchorage neighbors for a thought-provoking discussion led by constitutional scholar Mike Schwaiger in the Ann Stevens Room, level 3, Thursday, March 18, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.