Jane Smiley
Review of WW2BW
Fred Setterberg, rock star author of “true-novel” Lunch Bucket Paradise (see our 5/2012 post) magnanimously and thoroughly reviewed We Wanted to Be Writers for literary blog Talking Writing. Our favorite line—among countless worthies: “By opting for the long view, covering the inceptive motives and misgivings of thirty writers and teachers—the celebrated and the obscure—We Wanted to Be [...]
January Calendar
After all the book tours of recent months, a quiet New Year bodes well for wordsmiths everywhere. Inclement weather + a paucity of distractions = prime writing time! <<>> Jan 4 – 12 - Joy Harjo at Alaska Native Playwrights Project, Anchorage, AK. Jan 29 - Chicago’s From Page to Stage series features A Conversation with Jane Smiley, [...]
What Do New Writers REALLY Need to Know?
What We Wish We’d Known By Eric Olsen Please mark your calendars for Saturday, March 9, 2013, 1:30-2:45 pm, in room 206 of the Hynes Convention Center in Boston, when novelists Lucy Silag, Jane Smiley, Vu Tran, and Doug Unger will be discussing “What We Wish We’d Known” at the annual meeting of the Association [...]
Just for Fun
Ever irreverent prankster and frequent contributor to this blog Dick Cummins sent this All Hallows howl because we could all use a good laugh. It stars, in order of appearance: Dick himself, in long blond tresses and a deep-cut, troubling top; Jane Smiley in a French maid’s uniform and big red hair; Cheryl Olsen in sequined [...]
What Writers Wear
Clothing and the Creative Process By Eric Olsen One of the nice things about writing is that it’s a private act, and so you can usually wear whatever you damn well please while you do it. For me, that usually means blue jeans and a T-shirt, plus a sweater or two since my office is [...]
Food for (Creative) Thought
On March 2, Eric moderated a panel discussion at the annual meeting of AWP—this year in Chicago—titled: “The Creative Process: Can it Be Taught? Or Will Chicken Soup Do?” Panelists included Sherry Kramer, Gordon Mennenga, Jane Smiley, and Doug Unger. We were all classmates at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop 30-plus years ago, and the panelists are [...]
Book Giveaway at AWP
Ok Chicagoish-ites. Here’s your chance to make the trip REALLY worthwhile. We will be giving away three copies of We Wanted to Be Writers at the end of our panel discussion Friday, March 2 (details below, extracted from the AWP official schedule). For a chance to win one of them, all you have to do [...]
Books by Cheryl Olsen’s Bed
For most book lovers, the holidays bring welcome relief—for once other people support our self-indulgent habit. Cheryl (@2bwriters) shares recent gifts and old favorites by her bed. • Moo by Jane Smiley, for a couple of reasons. I recently read Private Life, a good read for a San Francisco Bay Area resident (downright gripping). I was reminded [...]
Holiday Cheer
In the spirit of the season—with equal irreverence for Christmas, Channukah, Kwanzaa and any other legitimate celebrations you can think of—resident prankster Dick Cummins sent this festive compilation of a JibJab e-card, asserting “all writers are children.” Plus a super-nice wish: “May your book sales lift Amazon stock 10 points!” Band members: D.C. himself (tortoise [...]
Smiley, Us, SF: Whoa!
So much to celebrate this month, not least of which is tomorrow’s appearance by Jane Smiley as she joins us at Book Passage in San Francisco to read from We Wanted to Be Writers. The lit superstar was extremely generous with her time through countless email interviews and phone followups for her extensive contributions [...]
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