“Wordletting is an online poetry journal with a simple aim: to make a space for dynamic, compelling poetry and let it be seen, read, and enjoyed by others. We feel that every poem needs to be given a creative space — space to take shape, to come into being, to take its first true, if unsteady, breath. It deserves permission to be bad or good… reckless, misunderstood.”

Wordletting is currently accepting submissions for its next issue: 50-line maximum per poem, up to seven poems per submission cycle; previously published and simultaneous submissions accepted – with notice. Upcoming deadline: December 1, 2008

Warren Center: One-year residential research fellowship for a scholar interesed in participatin ina broadly interdisciplinary faculty seminar entitled “Immigration and the American Experience” to explore immigration and its influence on identities, cultures, nationhood, and urban politics. Stipend pay up to $50,000. Deadline January 19, 2009.

“Tim Wise is among the most prominent anti-racist writers and activists in the U.S., and has been called, ‘One of the most brilliant, articulate and courageous critics of white privilege in the nation,’ by best-selling author and professor Michael Eric Dyson, of Georgetown University. Wise has spoken in 48 states, and on over 400 college campuses, including Harvard, Stanford, and the Law Schools at Yale and Columbia, and has spoken to community groups around the nation…”

Wise currently keeps a blog at Red Room, including such entries as these:

Racism as Reflex: Reflections on Conservative Scapegoating
September 28, 2008
If hypocrisy were currency, conservatives would be able to single-handedly bail out the nation’

Boxing Ourselves In: The Sad Irony of White Supremacy
September 21, 2008
I guess it would be amusing were it not so sad.

Reflections on White Anti-Intellectualism
September 21, 2008

Explaining White Privilege to the Deniers and the Haters
September 18, 2008
Explaining White Privilege (Or, Your Defense Mechanism is Showing)
Sigh.

This is Your Nation on White Privilege (Updated)

From London: “20×20 magazine is a square platform for writings, visuals and cross-bred projects. Rather than on a theme, each issue will be assembled around meta-words to be interpreted, researched, illustrated according to a loose, wide and multi-angled perspective. The intent is to create homogeneity of spirit within each issue, without the restrictions of a ‘theme’ as such. The magazine includes 3 sections: Words – in the shape of fiction, essays, poetry; Visions – drawings, photography and visual projects; The Blender – where words and visions cross paths.” Editors: Francesca Ricci & Giovanna Paternò

The Department of English at Illinois State University seeks a Creative Writing, Poetry, tenure-track, assistant professor, candidates prepared to work in a Department that stresses the relationships among literatures, linguistics, rhetoric and pedagogies. We encourage candidates with expertise in experimental poetics and/or oral poetics.

Assistant Professor of English in creative writing, Iowa State University. Tenure-track. Beginning August 2009. Accomplished writer in one genre with the ability to teach undergraduate and graduate courses in a second genre for our newly-formed MFA program in Creative Writing and Environment. Barbara Haas, Department of English. Nov 1.

The English Department at St. Lawrence University invites applications for a one year leave replacement position in creative non-fiction writing, with secondary interests in fiction writing, the literary essay, or environmental writing. Dr. Peter Bailey, English. Nov 15.

St. Lawrence University: fiction or creative non-fiction writers with significant publications and teaching experience are invited to apply for the position of Viebranz Visiting Professor of Creative Writing for the academic year 2009-10. Dr. Peter Bailey, English. Nov 15.

The Death of Story, Part I
by Jonathan Steinhauer
29 Sep 2008

I have noted in the MMO industry (as well as films and, to a lesser extent in fantasy literature) a decline in the quality of storytelling. It seems that designers are generally more eager to make an easy-money sequel rather than create something new that is truly powerful. I suppose the good news is that games seem to pull it off better sequels than movies, yet this doesn’t avoid a stagnation of creativity. The same old thing gets regurgitated again and again.

The importance of story stems from MMOs being the natural offspring of the single player RPGs. True, there are many players that are drawn to the game by other factors such as the head-to-head combat FPSer, the burgeoning diplomat, or the fantasy world mercantilist (not to mention the plethora of scammers and gold farmers trying to make a real world buck). Fundamentally, however, an MMO is an RPG where thousands of stories are being told at once.

When you look at MMO stories, they come in two varieties that exist simultaneously. The first is the global or world story and the second is the personal one (as in the story that each gamer creates for themselves as they play). We’ll spend this article by beginning our look at the global story and continue from there…[read the rest here]

From Creative Nonfiction Managing Editor Hattie Fletcher: “Creative Nonfiction is seeking narrative blog posts to reprint in The Best Creative Nonfiction, Volume 3, edited by Lee Gutkind, forthcoming in August 2009 from W. W. Norton. We’re looking for: Vibrant new voices with interesting, true stories to tell. Narrative, narrative, narrative. Posts that can stand alone, 2000 words max, from 2008. Something from your own blog, from a friend’s blog, from a stranger’s blog. The small print: We will contact individual bloggers before publication; we pay a flat $50 fee for one-time reprint rights. Deadline: October 31, 2008.”

Duke Researchers Show Reading Can Help Obese Kids Lose Weight
By Duke Medicine News and Communications

It’s no secret that reading is beneficial. But can it help kids lose weight? In the first study to look at the impact of literature on obese adolescents, researchers at Duke Children’s Hospital discovered that reading the right type of novel may make a difference.

The Duke researchers asked obese females ages 9 to 13 who were already in a comprehensive weight loss program to read an age-appropriate novel called Lake Rescue (Beacon Street Press). It was carefully crafted with the help of pediatric experts to include specific healthy lifestyle and weight management guidance, as well as positive messages and strong role models.

Six months later, the Duke researchers found the 31 girls who read Lake Rescue experienced a significant decrease in their BMI scores (-.71%) when compared to a control group of 14 girls who hadn’t (+.05%)…[read the rest here]

The 100 Most Common English Words

How many do you know? No doubt, more than you know – but can you get them all in five minutes? Take the challenge – and my advice – think small.

[Thanks to Gerry Canavan.]

Literature, Food & Friends At JJML’s One for the Books
The Sag Harbor Express
02 October 2008

Supporters of the John Jermain Memorial Library may not know where they are going to dinner, who their host is or what they will eat, but they can rest assured they are supporting their local library and that a book they have chosen will help guide their way.

On October 11 and October 18 the fundraising committee for the John Jermain Memorial Library Capital Fund will host the third annual One for the Books fundraising event. Billed as a dinner party extravaganza, guests sign up by choosing a book from a diverse list of titles. That choice determines where one will dine that evening, with whom, and sometimes will even dictate the menu.

“The books are chosen by each host, and the idea is that the book you choose says something about you,” explained One for the Books coordinator Gail Slevin. “When I pick a title it should be safe to assume that I am going to like the group I am dining with and it is indicative of the person who is giving the dinner.”

For example, participants on October 11 who have chosen Barack Obama’s “The Audacity Of Hope: Thoughts On Reclaiming The American Dream,” may find they are in for an evening of rousing political discussions in a heated election year, whereas guests who choose Claudia Roden’s “Arabesque: A Taste Of Morocco, Turkey, And Lebanon,” may be in for a Middle Eastern dining treat. On October 18, those who choose “Sway: A Novel,” by Zachary Lazar may find themselves rocking out to the tunes of the Rolling Stones, while others may find themselves discussing the selected poems of Frank O’Hara. But with over a dozen titles available for each evening, it is unlikely guests won’t find one that syncs with their taste… [read the rest here]

The Classic Reader website went live on March 29, 2000. It was originally a sub-section of Swishweb.com that grew large enough to merit a separate site. The Classic Reader website is published by Blackdog Media, a one-person company run by Stephane Theroux, in British Columbia, Canada, and include out-of-copyright books. All content can be read online, but downloads require free registration.

The 50 Things That Every Comics Collection Truly Needs
The Comics Reporter
September 28, 2008

Each of the fifty come with full descriptions, examples and links. Here’s the first three:

1. Something From The ACME Novelty Library
2. A Complete Run Of Arcade
3. Any Number Of Mini-Comics

The Literary Bird Journal
Avian Life Literary Arts

From The LBJ website: The LBJ is a biannual publication dedicated to birds and creative writing. Its title is drawn from the acronym for “little brown job,” used by birders to describe those difficult-to-identify species, such as many sparrows.

While there are popular magazines (Audubon), scientific journals (The Auk), and other newsletters about birds, The LBJ is a uniquely literary venue, publishing creative nonfiction, fiction, poetry, narrative scholarship, and literary journalism of the feathered variety. Additionally, the journal showcases visual art in a full-color insert.

Small, plaintive, and aspiring, The LBJ comes to you in 5.5″ x 8.5″ format that is just the right size to carry into the field alongside your binoculars.

Currently accepting submissions for the 2009 Urb Bird Contest as well as for future publications.

An entertaing look – perhaps last look? – at words on the chopping block:

How you can help to save some cherished words from oblivion
Jack Malvern
From The Times
September 22, 2008

“It may appear agrestic to ask, but The Times is calling on its readers to come to the rescue of words that risk fading into caliginosity.

“Dictionary compilers at Collins have decided that the word list for the forthcoming edition of its largest volume is embrangled with words so obscure that they are linguistic recrement. Such words, they say, must be exuviated abstergently to make room for modern additions that will act as a roborant for the book…” [read the rest here – including a short list of the words being considered]

Beltway Poetry Quarterly‘s first all-audio issue, co-edited by Kim Roberts and Katie Davis, is now available online. The issue includes collaborations between poets and musicians, recordings produced over layers of sound, and “naked” tracks of poets with distinctive voices that lend themselves particularly well to the audio format.

Contributors, Volume 9, Number 4 (Fall 2008):
Karren L. Alenier * Holly Bass * Regie Cabico * Kenneth Carroll * Joel Dias-Porter * Thomas Sayers Ellis * Brian Gilmore * Michael Gushue * Bernie Jankowski * Rod Jellema * Fred Joiner * Reb Livingston * Greg McBride * May Miller * Miles David Moore * Yvette Neisser Moreno * Gaston Neal * Richard Peabody * Mark Tarallo * Hilary Tham

Uncle Sam Has Bigger Problems
By Ulrich Baron
Spiegel Online International
October 2, 2008

Horace Engdahl of the Nobel Prize committee doesn’t think American authors are good enough for the world’s top literary honor. His comments are laughable, but they will certainly draw more attention to the awards this year.

Horace Engdahl, the secretary of the Royal Swedish Academy, thinks US authors are overrated.

For all the people who have incorrectly predicted for years that the next Noble Prize in literature would go to Philip Roth, Thomas Pynchon or some other American, it’s now come time to face reality. That’s because Horace Engdahl, the permanent secretary of the Nobel Prize selection committee, has revealed why American authors have no chance in Stockholm. In his opinion, American writers are “too insular,” “too sensitive to trends in their own mass culture” and too ignorant to write good books. And Engdahl claims to know the reason behind their narrow-mindedness, too: “They don’t translate enough and don’t really participate in the big dialogue of literature.” [read the rest here]

Exclusive interview with Margaret Atwood
Tom Gatti meets the author to discuss debt in her latest book Payback
Times Online
September 26, 2008

Borrowers and Lenders, winner of the CELJ Best New Journal Award in 2007, is a peer-reviewed, online, multimedia Shakespeare journal (http://www.borrowers.uga.edu). The journal is indexed in the MLA Bibliography, World Shakespeare Bibliography, and other databases. General Editors: Christy Desmet and Sujata Iyengar; Associate Editor: Robert Sawyer; Assistant Editor: David Schiller.

The inaugural issue of grain short/grain long is now available, featuring excellent work by Suzanne Grazyna, Virginia Reeves, Elizabeth Kate Switaj, & C. R. E. Wells in response to the theme “grain short/grain long.” Available online as well as pdf download. The next issue will center around the theme “Collaboration / Stimulus / Response.” Looking for works that collaborate with, are stimulated by, &/or respond to other writers & artists.

From Ren at Protest Poems Org:

“protestpoems.org is a quarterly journal devoted entirely to poetry that tackles human rights issues. It is a politically targeted extension of the online journal Babel Fruit: Writing Under the Influence. Retooled and relaunching in December 2008, the journal will strive to present the best poems of protest written to promote freedom of speech and human rights. Our aim is to raise awareness of general and specific issues, and hopefully inspire activism in the form of written protests.”

The site includes a list of countries and the realted stories where writers are currently under persecution, including:

Nigeria – Reporter receives death threats from church members, asks security service for protection
United States – State Department to issue visas to two Cuban correspondents
France – Two regional newspapers raided
Sri Lanka – Military spokesperson asks newspaper to change photo caption
Burma – Journalist and opposition member Ohn Kyaing arrested again

Volume 1 of Protest Poems will be dedicated to Russian website owner Magomed Yevloyev, who was shot in the head August 31, 2008 while in police custody. Yevloyev maintained an opposition website (ingushetiya.ru) that has been fiercely critical of the Ingushetian leadership.

From NPR: Poet, editor, essayist and novelist Hayden Carruth died this week at the age of 87. Carruth won the National Book Award in 1996 for his collection, “Scrambled Eggs and Whiskey.” He was no stranger to awards, but they don’t often pay the rent, and Carruth spent much of his career poor. He struggled with alcoholism and a nervous breakdown — experiences that were central to his poetry. [via Dawn Potter]

DC’s Olsson’s Books Closes
by Calvin Reid
Publishers Weekly
September 30, 2008

Olsson’s Books and Records has filed for liquidation under the chapter 7 bankruptcy laws and has closed its doors after 36 years selling books in the Washington D.C. area. All five of its current Washington D.C.-area stores have been closed. The firm applied for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July with plans to reorganize and cut costs by closing some of its stores. But a combination of low sales and rising rent was more than the DC metro-area indie chain could overcome…[read the rest here]

Sponsored by the English Department of Columbia College Chicago in conjunction with the Office of the Provost, The Beat Generation Symposium will include academic panel discussions, a lecture and performance titled “Deaf/Def Poets and the Beats,” and readings of poetry by Joanne Kyger (October 10, 7:00 p.m.) and Michael McClure (October 11, 7:00 p.m.).

The symposium is part of a two-month college-wide initiative at Columbia College, during which time the first draft of Jack Kerouac’s On The Road will be on display at the Center for Book and Paper Arts, 1104 South Wabash, on the second floor.

Kerouac typed the draft on a 120-foot-long scroll during a 20-day marathon session in the mid-’50s. The manuscript is a single, continuous scroll of semi-translucent paper that is nine inches wide. Kerouac created the scroll by pasting and taping separate 12-foot-long strips, then feeding them through his typewriter so he could write without interruption.

This event is co-sponsored by Columbia’s Ellen Stone Belic Institute for the Study of Women and Gender in the Arts and Media, Illinois State University English Department and College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and the Beat Studies Association. Conference Director: Tony Trigilio, Columbia College Chicago

Narrative Magazine congratulates Alexi Zentner, winner for his story “Trapline” and Michael Dickman, winner for his poem “Returning to Church”. Both can be read online at Narrative Magazine.

Find out, according to Forbes.

University of Northern Colorado Assistant Professor of English: Creative Writing. Nov 1.

University of Northern Colorado Assistant Professor of English, Creative Writing. Nov 1.

University of Pittsburgh. Nonfiction Writing, tenure-track, to teach undergraduate & MFA students. David Bartholomae, Professor & Chair, Department of English. Nov 1.

Loyola University Chicago. The Department of English invites applications for a tenure-track position in English (Creative Writing-Poetry) at the rank of Assistant Professor, beginning fall 2009. Dr. Joyce Wexler, Chair, Department of English. Dec 1.

The Adirondack Review is currently offering three to four unpaid college internships in the form of editorial assistant positions for interested students. Applications accepting on a rolling basis.

Bowling Green State University English Department seeks strong applicants for the College of Arts & Sciences Distinguished Visiting Writer for 2010. Screening of applicants will begin March 16, 2009 & continue until the position is filled. Kristine Blair, Chair, English Department.

Department of English at Harvard University invites applications for an appointment, to begin July 1, 2009, as Briggs-Copeland Lecturer on Fiction. James Engell, Chair, Department of English. Jan 5, 2009.

Ohio University Assistant Professor Creative Writing: Non-Fiction.

Julie Miller Vick and Jennifer S. Furlong of the Chronicle of Higher Education are back again this year with The CV Doctor. Sample CVs for different disciplines are available on the site with notes linking their feedback to specific areas on each. Worth a look for those prepping to send out CVs – or those still trying to break through the first round.

The 31st annual conference of ALTA, the American Literary Translators Association, will be held at the Radisson University Hotel on the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus on October 15 – 18, 2008. The conference will feature panels, readings, a book exhibit, and other events concerned with the art and craft of literary translation.

Announcing the first Woodrow Hall Award, an offshoot of the Poetry Jumps Off the Shelf program. This award will be given to a Wisconsin poet who has actively contributed to Wisconsin’s literary landscape, and will include five-hundred ($500.00) dollars to implement an idea for a new poetry program or project. The winner must execute their idea in 2009. No entry fee. Multiple entries from same poet welcome. Entry deadline: December 15th, 2008

2008 Wellness & Writing Connections Conference
October 10-11, 2008
Atlanta, GA

“Writing about stressful situations is one of the easiest ways for people to take control of their problems and release negative effects of stress from their bodies and their lives. This conference is a call for writers and other professionals to collaborate and to help people find ways to help themselves and their students, clients, and patients.” Dr. James Pennebaker

The 2008 Wellness & Writing Connections Conference attracts people who see therapeutic value in writing memoirs, fiction, creative non fiction, poetry and drama.

Research shows that the heart rate lowers and people are more equipped to fight off infections when they release their worries in writing. In addition to coping better with stressful situations, writing can have positive impact on self-esteem and result in works that can help others overcome their own obstacles.

This first-of-its-kind interdisciplinary conference series brings writers and professionals from different specialties together to explore the connection between overall health and expressive writing as a therapeutic practice.

4000 WORDS 4000 DEAD
street performance by Jennifer Karmin
Friday, October 3rd
Chicago, IL

5pm beginning in front of the Vietnam War Memorial at Wabash and Wacker Avenues along the Chicago River

Jennifer Karmin has been collecting 4000 WORDS for the 4000 DEAD Americans in Iraq. All words are being used to create a public poem. During street performances, she gives away these words to passing pedestrians. Submissions are ongoing as the Iraq War continues and the number of dead grows. Send 1-10 words with subject 4000 WORDS to jkarmin-at-yahoo.com.

“I want to start with the milestone today of 4,000 dead in Iraq. Americans. And just what effect do you think it has on the country?”

— Martha Raddatz,
ABC News’ White House correspondent
to Vice President Dick Cheney

Participants include:
Harold Abramowitz, Amanda Ackerman, Manan Ahmed, Michael Basinski, Charles Bernstein, Anselm Berrigan, Laynie Browne, Teresa Carmody, Maxine Chernoff, Catherine Daly, Patrick Durgin, Arielle Greenberg, Kate Greenstreet, Carla Harryman, David Hernandez, Jen Hofer, Pierre Joris, Matthew Klane, Toni Asante Lightfoot, Joyelle McSweeney, Philip Metres, Vanessa Place, Susan Schultz, Juliana Spahr, Stacy Szymaszek, Joshua Marie Wilkinson, Andrew Zawacki, and many more.