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At the NewPages Blog readers and writers can catch up with their favorite literary and alternative magazines, independent and university presses, creative writing programs, and writing and literary events. Find new books, new issue announcements, contest winners, and so much more!

Judges Wanted :: storySouth

From Jason Sanford, editor of storySouth: a journal of literature from the New South

“…our annual Million Writers Award is gearing up for its 2008 run. We are now accepting applications for preliminary judges and are looking for people knowledgeable in each of the different literary genres. These judges will help screen the nominations and select the list of notable stories of the year. To apply, e-mail me your writing and/or editing experience and why you think you’d make a good preliminary judge.”

On Vacation :: Diner Literary Journal

Diner is going on a hiatus – the “On Vacation” sign is taped to the window. We are feeling the financial burden of printing, mailing and lack of staff. The cost of mailing alone went up over 30% last May. Diner as an independent journal has been a labor of love done by volunteers. The Tips jar doesn’t begin to cover the printer, the postage, the envelopes, and all the other sundry expenses. We have survived for 7 years – 2 issues printing astounding work – by the skin of our teeth. We thank each and every one of you who have submitted your work – and all those who have subscribed at whatever level – you all count. I wish I could hold a party and make my special blackberry pancakes, with a side of home fries, for all of you.

“Nevertheless we are going out with an explosion of outstanding poetry, fiction, essays and art. Of particular notice is award-winning author Adria Bernard ‘s elegy to her teacher and friend Senator Paul Wellstone of Minnesota who died October 22, 2002, in a plane crash. Also of note are our two Blue Plate Specials: James Dempsey with new translations of Chaucer’s court poetry and Martha Carlson-Bradley, with an excerpt from her latest manuscript The Sea Called Fruitfulness, poems inspired by the two Jesuits who first mapped the moon.

“Our last issue proclaimed, ‘Our intention is not only to preserve the light (of discourse in the midst of increasing darkness) that shines today, but to increase the brightness of that light with every issue.’ It is with great sadness that the lights of Diner are flickering off.

“There is a chance that Diner will open again as an online journal or a print journal if we can find a school or sponsor willing to finance what has turned out to be one the best journals in the country. We are proud of every issue we published and whatever happens, we have no regrets. All the effort has been worth it.”

Eve Rifkah & Michael Milligan

Dinty Moore on First-Year Writers

Here’s a good one for those of us coming to the end of the semester.

On Seeing Clearly
By Dinty W. Moore

From Inside Higher Ed
November 30, 2007

“After sixteen years of pushing that old pedagogical stone up the hill, I sometimes question whether the conventional undergraduate—a nineteen- or twenty-year old American child of the middle class—really wants to see the world clearly. Or if he even has the ability.

“Now there are exceptions, surely, but I am talking about the general mass of students, those that want to write, want to be writers, certainly want to have written, but can’t be prodded or cajoled or threatened into saying something other than what they know to be safe, acceptable, and familiar. These are good students, by and large. Many of them have admirable skill at assembling sentences, images, scenes, and metaphors. But the writing reveals nothing, goes nowhere, and deliberately takes no chances….” [read the rest here]

Nelligan Prize for Fiction Winner :: Thomas Grattan

Colorado Review, Volume 34 Number 3, Fall/Winter 2007 is out and features the winner of the 2007 Nelligan Prize for Short Fiction: Thomas Grattan’s story “I Am a Souvenir.” Final Judge Charles Baster said of the work: “This story is both elliptical and straightforward, beautifully detailed and psychologically intricate. The events are crisply narrated, surprising, and slightly shocking, though completely plausible.” Grattan is a graduate of the Brooklyn College M.F.A. program. His work has been chosen as a finalist for the Iowa Review Fiction Award, and he is also the recipient of the Lainoff Prize for fiction.

Deadline for the Fifth Annual Nelligan Prize for Short Fiction is postmark January 15, 2008 – March 15, 2008.

Lit Mag Mailbag :: December 1

For information about these and many other quality literary magazines, click the links or visit The NewPages Guide to Literary Journals. Also visit the NewPages Literary Magazine Reviews for new reviews as well as an archive of past reviews.

The American Poetry Review
Volume 36 Number 6
Nov/Dec 2007
Bimonthly

Antioch Review
“Falkland (Malvinas) Islands: Sounth Atlantic’s Forgotten War”
Volume 65 Number 4
Fall 2007
Quarterly

Callaloo
The Cultures and Letters of the Black Diaspora: 30th Anniversary Issue 3/4
Volume 30 Number 2
Spring 2007
Quarterly

Cimarron Review
Issue 161
Fall 2007
Quarterly

Fifth Wednesday Journal
Issue 1
Fall 2007
Biannual

Gargoyle
Audio CD only
Number 52
2007
Annual

The Gettysburg Review
Volume 20 Number 4
Winter 2007
Quarterly

Hollins Critic
William Steinkraus
Volume 44 Number 4
October 2007
Five Times

Hunger Mountain
Issue 11
Fall 2007
Biannual

The Journal of Ordinary Thought
Lessons Outside: JOT Writers on Formal and Informal Education
Summer 2007
Quarterly

Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet
Number 21
November 2007
Biannual

The Land-Grant College Review
Issue Number 4
2007

The Missouri Review
“Exposed”
Volume 30 Number 3
Fall 2007
Quarterly

NANO Fiction
“A Journal of Short Fiction” from UoHouston Undergrad
Volume 1 Number 2
2007
Biannual

One Story
“Bar Joke, Arizona” bySam Allingham
Issue 97
2007
Monthly

Opium
Number 5
Winter 2007
Biannual

Pembroke Magazine
African American Literature (U of N.C.)
Number 39
2007
Annual

Poetry
Volume 191 Number 2
November 2007
Monthly

[sic]
2
2007
Annual(?)

Watershed
CSU, Chico’s Literary Magazine
Volume 30 Number 2
Spring 2007
Biannual

Alt Mag Mailbag :: December 1

For information about these and many other quality alternative magazines, click the links or visit The NewPages Guide to Alternative Magazines.

Against the Current
Volume 22 Number 4
November/December 2007
Bimonthly

Feminist Studies
Volume 33 Number 3
Summer 2007
Triannual

Free Inquiry
Volume 28 Number 1
December 2007/January 2008
Bimonthly

Funny Times
December 2007
Monthly

Humor Times
Issue Number 192
December 2007
Monthly

In These Times
“iPower to the People”
Volume 31 Number 12
December 2007
Monthly

Labor Notes
Number 345
December 2007
Monthly

Space and Culture
International Journal of Social Spaces
Volume 10 Number 4
November 2007
Quarterly

Turning the Tide
Journal of Anti-Racist Action, Research & Education
Volume 20 Number 5-6
Oct-Dec 2007

Z Magazine
November 2007
Monthly

Education :: Gay Lit Class @ WWC

Dear folks–

I want to ask you to let friends know about the Gay & Lesbian Lit class I am teaching at Wilbur Wright College in Chicago. As you know, word of mouth about classes like these tend to fill their seats, so any publicity you can give the class would be really appreciated. You can forward this message to people who would be interested, post it on your MySpace page or blog, etc.

Let me know if there’s anything I can do that will help promote the course.

Cheers,
Dr. Aldo Alvarez
English Department
Wilbur Wright College

***

Dear Students:

This is just a short note to let you know that we are offering a new literature course for Spring 2008.

Literature 153: Gay & Lesbian Literature offers a survey of novels, plays and graphic novels by gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered authors. This course introduces students to a literature based on LGBT themes, to practical approaches to the determination of literary meaning, and to the concerns of literature in general.

This course will be taught by Dr. Aldo Alvarez, an expert in LGBT literature with a Ph. D. in English from SUNY-Binghamton and an MFA in Creative Writing from Columbia University of the City of New York. Dr. Alvarez is the author of INTERESTING MONSTERS (Graywolf Press), a collection of short stories, and the founder of *Blithe House Quarterly: queer fiction lives here*, which for ten years was the preeminent literary magazine for LGBT-themed short fiction by emerging and established authors.

Lit 153 is *fully transferable* as a humanities elective to any four year college. As you may know, humanities electives make you a more appealing candidate for a four year school so this is a great opportunity for you to diversify your student course portfolio. This course can also be taken by students currently attending other schools who want to take advantage of the reasonable tuition per credit hour available at Wilbur Wright College. The only prerequisite is eligibility or completion of English 101 or consent from the English Department chairperson.

This is the information you need to register for this course online at https://my.ccc.edu/.

56541 – Lit 153 – Section E – M/W 11 AM – 12:20 PM — A210 — Alvarez

If you require help, you may register in person on campus.

These are seven texts we will be reading in Lit 153: Gay & Lesbian Literature on Spring 2008:

— FUN HOME: a family tragicomic by Alison Bechdel (Graphic Novel) : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fun_Home

— A SINGLE MAN by Christopher Isherwood (novel) : http://www.glbtq.com/literature/isherwood_c,3.html

— ORANGES ARE NOT THE ONLY FRUIT by Jeanette Winterson (novel) : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oranges_are_not_the_only_fruit

— ANGELS IN AMERICA: A Gay fantasia on National Themes by Tony Kushner (two plays) : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angels_in_america

— CHINA MOUNTAIN ZHANG by Maureen McHugh (novel) : http://my.en.com/~mcq/cmz.html

— KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN by Manuel Puig (novel) : http://www.enotes.com/kiss-spider/

— BASTARD OUT OF CAROLINA by Dorothy Allison (novel) : http://www.enotes.com/bastard-out/

Lit 153: Gay and Lesbian Literature course will not be offered again for *another four years*. If this course appeals to you, NOW is the time to register for it.

Please contact me at [email protected] if you have any questions.

Sincerely,
Dr. Aldo Alvarez
English Department
Wilbur Wright College

Jobs :: Various

Ohio Wesleyan University Department of English invites applications for the position of Assistant Professor of English with an August 2008 starting date. Lynette Carpenter, Chair, Department of English.

Loras College, Dubuque, IA. Fiction Writing Specialist FT, tenure-track position in the Division of Language and Literature.

Chester College of New England is searching for a full-time Assistant/Associate Professor in the Department of Writing and Literature with an emphasis in fiction writing, beginning August 2008. Feb. 1, 2008.

Gettysburg College Emerging Writer Lecturer One-year appointment, beginning August 2008. Prof. Fred Leebron,
Department of English. January 26, 2008.

Submissions :: Art and Poetry – Woman Made Gallery, Chicago

Woman Made Gallery supports all women in the arts by providing opportunities, awareness and advocacy. Unlike the mainstream art world, we are building an alternative community where the artistic values and criteria are determined by women, for women. Woman Made Gallery is dedicated to promoting the equal placement of women’s art in the world. Through programming which examines the female experience, the organization educates and serves as a forum for dialogue between artists and the community.

Upcoming Calls for Submissions :

Clay and Fiber
Exhibition Dates: April 4 – May 15, 2008
Entry Deadline: January 23, 2008

Tradition and Transformation: Art by Jewish Women
Exhibition Dates: May 23 – June 19, 2008
Entry Deadline: February 27, 2008

Drawing on Experience
Exhibition Dates: June 27 – July 24, 2008
Entry Deadline: March 19, 2008

Her Mark 2009
WMG invites women artists to submit images of up to three artworks in all media for its annual datebook publication.
WMG invites women to submit poetry for Woman Made Gallery’s annual publication. All styles, themes and media considered.
March 7, 2008 – Final Entry Due Date

Film :: Helvetica Documentary

Helvetica is a feature-length independent film about typography, graphic design and global visual culture. It looks at the proliferation of one typeface (which will celebrate its 50th birthday in 2007) as part of a larger conversation about the way type affects our lives. The film is an exploration of urban spaces in major cities and the type that inhabits them, and a fluid discussion with renowned designers about their work, the creative process, and the choices and aesthetics behind their use of type.

The film was shot in high-definition on location in the United States, England, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, France and Belgium. Interviewees in Helvetica include some of the most illustrious and innovative names in the design world, including Erik Spiekermann, Matthew Carter, Massimo Vignelli, Wim Crouwel, Hermann Zapf, Neville Brody, Stefan Sagmeister, Michael Bierut, David Carson, Paula Scher, Jonathan Hoefler, Tobias Frere-Jones, Experimental Jetset, Michael C. Place, Norm, Alfred Hoffmann, Mike Parker, Bruno Steinert, Otmar Hoefer, Leslie Savan, Rick Poynor, Lars M

Beloit Poetry Journal – Fall 2007

What knocks me out about the Beloit Poetry Journal’s fall 2007 issue is the cover. On the front, there is a black-and-white portrait of a woman. Her dress is leopard print but modest. She holds her left arm across her chest, revealing henna calligraphy that runs from her forearm up and across her fingers. She is not beautiful in the way of Gwyneth Paltrow, but she is beautiful – a woman Picasso might have painted. Her eyes are wide and dark, her lips thick, her hair short and curly. Her necklace is a swirling flame. Most striking is a great dignity, the shoulders straight, the chin raised high. I was spellbound by these details, yet it took me several viewings to see that in between tiles that form the background – stars of David – are other tiles shaped like crosses. On the back is the same woman, same pose, same background. Here she wears a veil that covers everything but her face and left arm with its calligraphy. I suppose these photos may represent the meeting or juxtaposition of the three Holy Land faiths, but there’s no need for simple conclusions. The woman is breathtaking. She is how you would want a poem to be. Continue reading “Beloit Poetry Journal – Fall 2007”

Color Wheel – 2007

The music issue of Color Wheel literally sings. Well, almost literally. With essays ranging in subject from the Doors to classical composers, poems that conjure up every noise you can imagine, and actual songs, notes and all, this issue comes as close as you can get to capturing music on paper. Continue reading “Color Wheel – 2007”

Court Green – 2007

Court Green number four is political. Each issue of this all-poetry magazine is divided into a “Poems” section, featuring poems on any subject, and a “Dossier” section, dealing with a single theme. It’s the best of both worlds, combining the freedom of a traditional format with the focus of the themed issue. Continue reading “Court Green – 2007”

CutBank – Spring 2007

Cutbank is a beautiful journal, published on glossy paper, brimming with cutting-edge poetry and prose, and highlighting a visual artist’s work with full-color images. This issue is particularly rich. Louisa Conrad’s collages grace the covers, front and back, and provide a stunning centerfold of images that are as thought provoking as they are sumptuous. The series simply mesmerizes. So does the prose in this issue. In particular, the short story by Edan Lepucki entitled “The Baby.” Continue reading “CutBank – Spring 2007”

Hiram Poetry Review – Spring 2007

This Hiram Poetry Review has a lot of light poetry for an issue whose cover photo is a gravestone. Greg Moglia puzzles over his ineptitude in the real word in “Burger Days”: “why [did] it seem so difficult? / …here bugs land on burgers / The best worker is an ex-con and / There are answers everywhere / And I know none of them.” David O’Connell discusses zombies in “Symposium” where “Jack’s mourning the death of zombies in American movies / …and I’m all sympathy.” Continue reading “Hiram Poetry Review – Spring 2007”

The New Quarterly – Spring 2007

Flipping through this issue of TNQ, the first thing I notice is the offbeat, quirky whimsicality of Charles Checkett’s cartoons. Highlighted in a 16-page color spread, these caricature drawings of iconic Canadian figures (Neil Young, Elvis Stojko, etc.) lend a dash of frivolity to a magazine that is quite serious about promoting Canadian voices. Continue reading “The New Quarterly – Spring 2007”

Nimrod International Journal – Fall/Winter 2007

This awards issue of Nimrod represents the work of forty-nine writers, including an interview with U.S. Poet Laureate Donald Hall in which he suggests we are seeing a surge in poetry’s readership and notes his fondness for poetry that “thrills in the mouth.” Given the sheer number of poems and short stories that received awards in this issue, it is difficult to highlight particular pieces. Continue reading “Nimrod International Journal – Fall/Winter 2007”

North Dakota Quarterly – Winter 2007

The North Dakota Quarterly’s mix of essays, memoirs, poems, fiction, and reviews forms a pleasing whole. A lot of the pieces in this issue revolve around a description of a place or landscape. This trend begins in the first short story “Zulu” by Karen Alpha in which the plains of Alberta form the backdrop of a love story between a horse and a zebra. Karen Babine very overtly continues this theme in her essay, “Sligo: Yeats and the Theology of Place.” She specifically discusses sacred places, “places where the physical and the spiritual cannot be separated…visible signs of invisible grace.” Four poetry selections by Marilyn Dorf describe dusk, harvest and spring in a country setting. In “In the Green of the Year,” she uses her title as a refrain, weaving in and out of beautiful natural images: “In the green of the year…the willow bows / in the direction of rain, / the air mushroom-soft, / and the bay mare / at the barnyard gate / watching for the one who will feed her.” Molly Cooney’s “Lining” describes a river trip and the landscape of the Canadian Artic; in Melodie Edwards’ story “Nightplain” a river is the focal landscape for a daughter searching for her father. Continue reading “North Dakota Quarterly – Winter 2007”

Red Cedar Review – 2007

This issue of Red Cedar Review promises lively reading in both fiction and poetry. The theme of the story selections seems to be appearance versus reality. Almost every main character has a vice which he or she wishes to hide from his or her close ones. These faults range from the small disruptions of a middle-schooler in Chris Moore’s “The Vicks” to a middle-aged woman’s adulterous relationship in “Without Windows” by Margaret Hermesto a murder committed by one spouse on another in J.C. Dickey-Chasin’s “Blue Jesus.” The reader has different amounts of sympathy for these transgressors. Lydia’s adultery in “Without Windows” can be explained in that her husband has been cheating on her, but Mrs. Betts stark murder in “Blue Jeans” cannot be justified by the estrangement of the couple. Continue reading “Red Cedar Review – 2007”

Rhino – 2007

Rhino, a thirty-year running annual, bursts with imagination and innovation. Modern poetry covers most of the one-hundred-fifty out of two-hundred-and-some-odd pages, along with several enigmatic short-shorts and a few piercing, quick essays. The official title is Rhino 2007: The Poetry Forum. According to editor Kathleen Kirk, Rhino has been “charging ahead for thirty years,” since it began as poets gathering together. Here the editors have assembled a diverse yet cohesive collection of modern poetry that forms a smorgasbord of the world, putting every possible flavor together, all delicious. The poetry can best speak for itself. There is the devilish “Lucifer Cleared His Goatish Throat,” by Jeannette Allee: “Lucifer cleared his goatish throat / and yawled, Hey Gawd, you’re snogging off on the job again.” Continue reading “Rhino – 2007”

Shenandoah – Fall 2007

A long poem by Wendell Berry, entitled “Sabbaths 2005,” opens this issue of Shenandoah. The poetry is exquisite, capturing what Berry refers to as “moments of pure awareness.” In the interview that follows, Birkin Gilmore engages the poet in an entertaining (for the reader at least) game of verbal dodgeball as he tries to get Berry to elaborate on his subject matter. Berry skillfully avoids most of the questions with responses like, “If [art is] any good, it’s happening pretty far beyond the sort of scrutiny that interviewers’ questions suggest.” Continue reading “Shenandoah – Fall 2007”

Tampa Review – 33/34, 2007

A glance at the Tampa Review’s website reveals that it is published in hardback, and that it seeks to combine various arts to carry on the “tradition of illuminated manuscripts.” This edition of TR’s “gallery space in print,” offers journalistic photos by Peter Andrew Bosch and David Swanson to illuminate J. Malcolm Garcia’s “Encountering Afghanistan.” An image of Hanneke Beaumont’s bronze sculpture of a runner kneeling fits well with Mark Baumgartner’s story “Some Miles Back.” Continue reading “Tampa Review – 33/34, 2007”

Water~Stone Review – 2007

Water-Stone Review is a veritable kaleidoscope, spawning with colors to amaze your keen literary eye. Plus it offers a smattering of striking, disciplined photographs that capture a specific subject very poetically – such as a pink bed, clothes on a mattress, a boy staring, a man posing on a rock, paper on fire – all ordinary scenes captured in an extraordinary way, enhancing the mystique of this volume. Continue reading “Water~Stone Review – 2007”

Willow Springs – Fall 2007

This issue of Willow Springs combines accessible poetry, flash fiction, and a couple great interviews into one volume. I think the tea cup on the cover is symbolic: one could sit down with this journal and tea and finish them both at the same time. Maybe this is a little bit of an exaggeration – the tea might be cold at the end of the volume – but these great poems and stories fly by, one after another. Continue reading “Willow Springs – Fall 2007”

Journal of Literary Disability – October 2007

In this inaugural issue of the Journal of Literary Disability, Editor David Bolt observed that disability is “…present in all literary works, but too frequently absent from literary criticism.” Theoretical perspectives are appreciative of class, ethnicity, and gender, “…so why are there so few (curricula) that are appreciative of disability?” Continue reading “Journal of Literary Disability – October 2007”

Technology for Writers with Disabilities

Helping Out Ten
Ten Things For Impaired/Handicapped Writers

Posted Monday, November 06, 2006, it is a year old, but all of the links are still good. Worth checking out and passing along – especially to campus offices for students with disabilities and to school and local public libraries. From the blog Paperback Writer.

New Lit on the Block :: Oleander Review

The Oleander Review started in October 2006 as a project of two ambitious undergraduate English students. After speaking with a friend and editor of Michigan State University’s Red Cedar Review, Amanda Nichols decided that the University of Michigan needed such a publication. That is, prior to the founding of the Oleander Review, a student-produced publication of writing and art from both students and established writers did not exist at UM. With the direction of faculty advisor Keith Taylor, Amanda and Sarah Sala met and quickly transformed Amanda’s idea into a reality. Oleander Review publishes fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry and visual art.

Submissions :: Anti-

Anti- a new poetry journal set to launch in early 2008, seeks submissions. Anti- is not aesthetically affiliated with Nicanor Parra’s school of antipoetry, though the editor does share his skepticism about the supposed mystical powers of poetry. Anti- is contrarian, a devil’s advocate that primarily stands against the confinement of poetry in too-small boxes. Anti- wants to provide a single arena for a wide range of styles and ideas, so these different kinds of poets and poems can either fight it out or learn to coexist.”

Essay :: English as a Foreign Language

Broken Language
English and its misusage

Mle Davis
Sanaa, Yemen
November 8, 2007
“One of the perks of teaching abroad is getting to witness those serendipitous moments when another’s attempt at English yields something so ludicrous that it could never have been imagined by a native speaker. We go to work every day and we work very hard to teach people the language, but secretly we love when they fail miserably (just for a moment!) and say something totally ridiculous. Did he just say I am a pen? Did she just say that her family went out to Hwang’s Crap House? That his father wore a suitcase to work yesterday? We collect the stories of our students who, in desperation, write Dear Ruler Friend to get around the ban of copying the original text, Dear Pen Friend. But we excuse them as we giggle-after all, they’re just kids… [read the rest on WorldView Magazine]

Student News :: Schools and Jobs for a Green Planet

The November/December issue of Sierra features “Cool Schools” with online articles:

Go Big Green
A new generation looks beyond the Ivies and party schools to colleges that teach how to change the world. Better yet, some are already changing it.

10 That Get It
From tiny Warren Wilson College (850 students) to the University of California (214,000 and counting), here are Sierra’s Big Ten.

Talk of the Quad
Go ahead — steal these great ideas for your own campus.

Hot Jobs for a Warming Planet
Want to save the earth and make a living too? Here’s what it takes.

Submissions :: Junctures

Now entering its fourth year of publication, Junctures: the Journal for Thematic Dialogue is a multidisciplinary academic journal which provides a forum for discussion on themes of interest to a wide range of disciplines. The guiding principle for Junctures is that interaction between specialists on a common theme provides an enriching intellectual experience. Junctures encourages submissions of papers from any discipline providing an insight on the theme identified for each issue, including experimental, theoretical, artistic and experiential reflection. Full instructions on manuscript preparation are available in our submissions section. Junctures is available online as well as in print. Past themes include: Body, Language, Control, Play, Movement, Space.

R&PA :: Special Issue on Iraq

Michigan State University’s Rhetoric & Public Affairs, Issue 10:2, offers a unique scholarly analysis of the rhetoric that led to U.S. engagement in Iraq and then influenced perceptions as the conflict progressed from occupation to all-out war.

From the Introduction (full-text of which is available online) by Herbert W. Simons:

“It’s no longer terribly controversial that the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq was a mistake of monumental proportions.(1) Even the war’s continuing defenders acknowledge that it has adversely affected America’s standing in the world and capacity to meet other global threats while also devastating Iraq. Declines in public support for the war leading to Democratic takeovers of both houses of Congress in 2006 evidence the disaster it has been for the Bush administration.(2)

“This special issue takes up the role of rhetoric in the Iraq debacle, beginning with the once ballyhooed crisis rhetoric of the Bush administration in response to the 9/11 attacks.(3) All but one of the essays scrutinize the rhetoric that brought America into war; the lone exception deals with presidential signing statements. The authors’ critical perspectives are reflected in the questions they pose: Why did we Americans enthusiastically support a preemptive invasion of Iraq when the people and governments of most nations did not? What does this support tell us about ourselves as a people? How did the Bush administration make its case? What fig leafs hid its real motives for war as it put forward its since-discredited weapons of mass destruction (WMD) arguments and its spurious hints of linkage between Saddam and Osama bin Laden? How different was the Bush administration’s war hype from that of past administrations? Why did so many leading Democrats go along? Why did the news media, including the opinion columnists and editorialists, lend their support? Should press, politicians, and even the general public have been able to see through the administration’s slipshod case for war? Most intriguing for me: did the initial success of the Bush administration’s hyperbolic crisis rhetoric in response to the 9/11 attacks prefigure its subsequent failures over Iraq? I address this question, among others, in the issue’s context-setting lead essay. This introduction provides a preview of the other essays.”

Read the rest on Rhetoric & Public Affairs.

Cultural Studies Publications

Two publications from the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture, an interdisciplinary research center and intellectual community at the University of Virginia, committed to understanding contemporary cultural change and its wide-ranging individual and social consequences.

The Hedgehog Review: Critical Reflections on Contemporary Culture is an interdisciplinary journal of critical reflections on contemporary culture, published three times a year by the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture. Each issue addresses a single theme with articles, interviews, book reviews, and a bibliography written by leading scholars from throughout the disciplines.

Launched in 2007, Culture is the Institute’s free biannual magazine that serves as a site for intellectual exchange and dialogue. Authored by the Institute’s staff, fellows, and alumni, as well as guest authors, Culture creates a lively forum for exploring the complex of meanings that informs and shapes our social world.

Jobs :: Various

Assistant Professor, Creative Writing, William Paterson University – Specialization in Creative Writing, especially fiction, creative non-fiction, and multi-genre writing courses. Linda Hamalian, Chairperson,Department of English.

The College of Saint Rose – Albany. The Department of English seeks a qualified candidate for a tenure-track Assistant Professor position, starting in August 2008. Catherine Cavanaugh, English Department Chair. January 3, 2008.

The University of California, Los Angeles. The English Department is searching for a tenure-track Assistant Professor in fiction writing. Professor & Chair Rafael P

New Lit on the Block :: Fifth Wednesday

Fifth Wednesday Journal is a new biannual print literary journal based in Lisle, IL. The first issue features poetry by Kevin Stein, Poet Laureate of Illinois, Kim Addonizio, Cyrus Cassells, and other fine poets, fiction by established writers like Cris Mazza, J.C. Hallman, Said Shirazi, as well as new and emerging writing, like Laura Madeline Wiseman, and J. Albin Larson. Each issue of Fifth Wednesday Journal will be edited by new guest poetry and fiction editors.

Glimmer Train Goes Simultaneous


“Effective immediately” says Editor Susan Burmeister-Brown, “Linda and I have decided to allow simultaneous submissions. We’ve had a policy for 17 years against simultaneous submissions, but now that we’ve tightened up our submission response times, we feel we can manage it better, and it’s been harder and harder to support our position when it is so darned difficult to get one’s work published. We do ask to be emailed immediately should a submitted piece be accepted elsewhere.”

Indie Bookstore Fights On

BookWoman Fights to Keep Site as Similar Stores in U.S. Close
By Edward Nawotka

Monday, November 26, 2007
In early November, on the same weekend Austin was celebrating two book festivals — the Texas Book Festival and the Austin Jewish Book Festival — Susan Post, the owner of Austin’s BookWoman book store, quietly announced that she needed to raise $25,000 by last week if she hoped to pay off debt and keep the store open. The store would need another $25,000 by Christmas to pay for the down payment on a new lease and the installation of new store fixtures. The store, which has been located at West 12th Street and North Lamar Boulevard for the past 13 years, loses its lease Feb. 1. [read the rest on Statesman.com]

From the BookWoman web site:

Why BookWoman Matters
BookWoman is one of 13 remaining independent women’s bookstores in the country — and the only one in Texas. Independent bookstores provide a venue for small presses and alternative viewpoints, in a publishing environment increasingly ruled by corporate conglomerates.

Facebook Boots NewPages

To our friends on Facebook – just so you know I’m not ignoring you, but Facebook has terminated my account. Apparently, Facebook only allows “individuals” to have profiles. Even though I was the individual who ran my own profile, they have still terminiated the account. Worse yet, and much less understandable, they also blocked my access to the NewPages Group, saying Facebook does not provide space to “organizations.” WTF! Since when? is what I asked, but was promptly told I could not have access, end of story.

This isn’t new. The same thing happend to Graywolf Press, although, somehow, they were able to maintain a group page. Why NewPages isn’t even allowed to do that is unknown. I pretty much got the “because I said so” from Facebook without ever getting a reasonable or even intelligible response from a person (aka real human being) in their customer service.

Facebook has started a new area called Facebook Business, which I would consider joining, but Facebook has blocked my NewPages e-mail address entirely, so I can’t set up an account there unless I also set up a new e-mail address just for that Facebook account. How many e-mail addresses can one person really have? I think the limit should be five – in which case, I’m over the legal limit. Anyway, it’s not nearly as fun as the individual accounts – through which I was enjoying intereacting with others on a more personal level than the other services allow (aka Bo-ring!).

In the meantime, while the right-hand of Facebook tries to figure out what the left-hand of Facebook is doing, NewPages no longer has a presence there. Sorry to all our friends and friend wanna-bes. I’ll be looking into alternative communities which seem to be up and coming – since, as we learned from MySpace*, it’s only a matter of time until the next great thing comes along – especially when you don’t play nice.

*NewPages is also on MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/newpages

IndieFeed Offers Performance Poetry Online

“The IndieFeed service has long provided the best of today’s independent music to a discriminating and demanding audience, through a large selection of music genre channels (Alterative Modern Rock, Blues/Funk, Hardcore/Punk, Hip Hop/Rap, Electronica, etc.). And now, IndieFeed has applied it’s music distribution model to the performance poetry world, with the IndieFeed Performance Poetry channel! The channel promises to uncover the best of today’s cutting edge spoken poetry artists, delivering their work through both studio and live recordings, directly to your computer or other personal music device! Think of it as a poetry slam, or an exciting, dynamic poetry reading, right at your fingertips.”

Sustainability and Corporate Citizens :: CRO’s Top 10 List

CRO’s 10 Best Corporate Citizens by Industry
CRO Magazine—using the analytical skills and data-processing prowess of Portland, Maine-based IW Financial—introduces The CRO’s 10 Best Corporate Citizens by Industry 2007. (Part 1). The industries we’ve dissected are: Chemical, Energy, Financial, Media and Utilities. The Nov/Dec issue of CRO will present Part 2 and review about a half-dozen more.

Submissions :: White Crane 5.1.08

For over fifteen years White Crane has existed as a quarterly forum for exploring Gay Culture and Wisdom.

Spring 2008: Ancestors
Those who came before us, who laid the path we walk upon. Our guideposts, our muses, whose stories still speak to us. Deadline for Spring 2008: February 1, 2008.

Summer 2008: Race & Identity
Deadline for Summer 2008: May 1, 2008

Jobs :: Various

The St. Lawrence University English department invites applications for a one year leave replacement position in poetry writing, with primary or secondary interests in poetics and/or literary theory. Peter Bailey, Chair, Department of English. November 15, 2007.

The College of Wooster visiting Assistant Professor of English, beginning fall 2008. Three-year position. Background in teaching all forms and levels of writing, especially fiction and/or creative nonfiction; secondary expertise in U.S. ethnic literatures or Anglophone literatures desirable. December 4, 2007.

The English Department at Emmanuel College invites applications for a full-time tenure track assistant professor in rhetoric and creative writing to teach three courses each semester, beginning in Sept. 2008.

Hawai’i Pacific University in Honolulu, Hawaii, is searching for a full-time Assistant Professor in English with the ability to teach courses in composition, fiction writing, and literature beginning Fall 2008. December 1, 2007.

Kennesaw State University invites applications for a nine-month, tenure-track assistant professor to teach specifically courses in fiction writing for the MA in Professional Writing Program & undergraduate fiction-writing courses as well as other courses depending on the new hire’s interests & other expertise.

Creative Writing Assistant Professor, Buffalo State College, tenure-track assistant professor, English Department, to begin September 2008. November 30, 2007.

University of Miami English Department seeks a Visiting Associate Professor/Poet, Fall 2008-Spring 2009, for a one-year, non-renewable position, to teach two courses in poetry writing each semester & direct MFA theses. Patrick A. McCarthy, Chair, Dept. of English. December 10, 2007.

Montclair State University Creative Writing, Fiction. Primary expertise in the writing of fiction & secondary expertise in the writing of poetry.

New College of Florida, the experimental liberal arts honors college of the State University System, announces an opening for a Writer in Residence, spring semester 2008 (February-May). Dr.
Nova Myhill, Chair, Search Committee, Division of Humanities. November 26, 2007.

Ithaca College’s Department of Writing seeks candidates for two, full-time, tenure-eligible positions in the Department of Writing, beginning August 16, 2008. Sally Parr, Assistant Professor and Chair. November 15, 2007.

Give One Get One Laptop Program 11.26.07

One learning child. One connected child. One laptop at a time.
“The mission of One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) is to empower the children of developing countries to learn by providing one connected laptop to every school-age child. In order to accomplish our goal, we need people who believe in what we’re doing and want to help make education for the world’s children a priority, not a privilege. Between November 12 and November 26, OLPC is offering a Give One Get One program in the United States and Canada. During this time, you can donate the revolutionary XO laptop to a child in a developing nation, and also receive one for the child in your life in recognition of your contribution.”

Agni Goes Tenor

The latest issue of Agni includes a unique bonus feature: A CD to accompany Harrison Solow’s essay “Bendithion.” This CD, AGNI‘s first, marks the American recording debut of Welsh tenor Timothy Evans. The essay is as much about Wales as it is about Timothy, as it is about song and emotion and performance and solitude. I’ll say no more – you need to read the essay and listen to the CD yourself. (And, yes, I cried.)

From Solow’s essay:

“My name is Harrison Solow. I come from Los Angeles and I’ve never seen, met, known, or heard anyone in the world like Timothy Evans. And unless you live here, in this remote and somewhat implausible Welsh village where Timothy and I live, then neither have you.

“Timothy is our postmaster. He sells stamps, issues various baffling permits, collects payments for bizarre things like television licences and road tax and many nanny-like little punishments which the British government delights in inflicting upon its citizens. (By the way, never mistake ‘Welsh’ for ‘English.’ It’s far worse than mistaking a Canadian for an American, and in my opinion – having lived for some years in Canada – with good cause.) Timothy makes tea for his employees in the back room every morning, wears what appears to be the same sweater every day, and goes home to an empty house every night.

“He goes home, as well, to acres of soft emerald fields full of the Shetland ponies, Torwen sheep, and Bantam hens that he breeds and cares for single-handedly every morning, some noons (during lambing), and every night of his spectacularly mysterious life.

“He also has a voice that comes pretty close to what ‘Let there be Light’ would have sounded like had it burst forth from the lungs of an anthropomorphic god in the act of creation. And pretty close to Light itself.

“Let me say at the outset that this is not an objective account. I am absolutely committed to celebrating this man’s voice. It is flawless, haunting, and irrefutably magical. You won’t be the same after you’ve heard it. No one else is. And you will have probably wept through every unblemished note. Everyone else does. Of course, right now, ‘everyone’ doesn’t constitute a lot of people. This voice is one of the best (and deliberately) kept secrets in the world, as is so much about Wales. But that’s about to change. I’m about to do a little ‘let there be light’ in America, myself.”

The five-track CD and the rest of this essay are available in Agni 66.

The Most Amazing Site I’ve Seen in a Long Time

TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from those three worlds. Since then its scope has become ever broader. The annual conference now brings together the world’s most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes). This site makes the best talks and performances from TED available to the public, for free. Almost 150 talks from our archive are now available, with more added each week. These videos are released under a Creative Commons license, so they can be freely shared and reposted. Our mission: Spreading ideas.”

The scope of this site is amazing – I can’t even begin to cover all that is included, (but I will) with speakers like Bono, Jane Goodall, Steven Pinker, Bill Clinton, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and on and on. With a conference sticker price of $6000, you can bet I won’t be going anytime soon (makes AWP look cheap!) – but having full access to all the talks online is what makes this a site for all of us.