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The English Department at Western Kentucky University seeks applicants for the following position: Distinguished Visiting Professor in Creative Writing (Fiction or Creative Nonfiction), Summer 2008. Contact: Dr. Dale Rigby, Department of English Chair.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Department of English & Comparative Literature & the Creative Writing Program seeks to bring an emerging talent to campus for a one-year teaching appointment as the Kenan Visiting Writer, a position that alternates between poetry & prose. Contact: Bland Simpson, Director, Creative Writing Program/Visiting Writer Search Committee.

Wichita State University Director of Creative Writing & Assistant/Associate Professor of English in Creative Writing, tenure eligible, beginning spring or fall 2008. Contact Margaret Dawe, Chair, Department of English.

Western Washington University Tenure-track assistant professor of Creative Writing beginning September 2008. Deadline: November 6, 2007.

Summer Literary Seminars is “premised on the not-so-novel idea that one’s writing can greatly benefit from the keen sense of temporary displacement created by an immersion in a thoroughly foreign culture and street vernacular; that one’s removing himself/herself from the routine context of his/her life, of one’s own free will, tends to provide for a creative jolt, as it were, by offering up a wholly new perspective, new angle of looking at the customary and the mundane.” Upcoming seminars include Nairobi & Lamu, Kenya (December 14-28, 2007) and St. Petersburg, Russia (June 15-July 8, 2008).

Let’s start the day out with a nice controversy, shall we? Lately, I’ve been running across a lot of “calls for submissions” for anthologies – anything from first-time mom stories to stories from women with diabetes to gay experience poetry and stories to writing from self-abusers – the specialty focus list seems never ending. Now, at first glance, these seem “legitimate” subjects to cover in an anthology, which means to gather together like-experiences to share with others who may be seeking to connect or to understand the experiences of others. So far so good. Where this begins to fall apart for me in terms of legitimacy is when the publisher of the anthology seems to mimic the all-too-famous poetry contest scams (which also seem never ending). That is, the anthology publishes three or four dozen writers, offers a pre-order discount for those whose works are published, and provides no marketing for the book. Basically, all costs are covered and *perhaps* a tidy profit is made from the sales of just those whose work is published. I mean, c’mon – Ellen gets her baby story published in an anthology – how many copies do you think she, her family and her friends are going to buy? There’s at least half a dozen book sales (not to mention putting two copies away for when baby is grown up, so make it eight copies).

Okay, that’s my cynical self. Let’s try the flip side. Anthologies really are a cool creation. They bring like-minded people together, they help us to connect with others in this vast world of ours in which we so often feel disconnected. They put voices out there that might otherwise have never had a chance all on their lonesome and give space to and validate human condition and experience. All good, yes? And let’s face it, it’s not easy to slog through hundreds of submissions and pick out, edit, layout and publish a solid collection of writing. So if anthology publishers do make any money, they’ve earned it for their work in publishing you.

I don’t know. I guess I’m stuck on the more cynical perspective at the moment. Help me out readers – I try to post valid calls on this blog – not wanting to become just another clearinghouse where anyone and everyone can get listed. Are these random anthologies valid? Should they be listed? Would you want to send your writing in to them? Would you list it as a publishing credit on your vitae?

To clarify – I’m not talking about ALL anthologies. Generally, the ones I question are those that are not associated with any other organization or publication, that seem to only publish this one book and that’s pretty much all they do. I also often e-mail the contact people for these and ask them two questions: Who is sponsoring this publication? How do you plan to market the book once it’s published? So far, of the dozen or so queries I’ve sent out, only one has replied answering both questions. The answers? No one and none. At least they were honest.

Tell me what you think: newpagesdenise (at) hotmail.com
Subject line: Anthology blog

Director of Professional Writing Program, University of Southern California. The USC College of Letters, Arts and Sciences seeks an outstanding full-time director of the Master of Professional Writing (MPW) Program beginning January 2008.

University of Nebraska – Omaha. Tenure-track Assistant Professor in Fiction with a secondary area of specialization in Screenwriting, Playwriting or other area wanted. Twelve-hour workload in a nationally rrecognized BFA creative writing program within the College of Communication, Fine Arts, & Media. Teaching duties may include Fundamentals; Studio, basic to advanced levels; Contemporary Writers In Print & In Person; Form & Theory (may be designed to reflect instructor

University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh. Assistant Professor of English wanted for a tenure-track position in Creative Writing: Non-Fiction, beginning Sept. 1, 2008. MFA or PhD required. Expectations include college teaching experience; an active publication agenda; & the ability to teach undergraduate & graduate courses in creative writing as well as general education courses in literature & composition. Opportunity to direct MA theses. Service oon committees & advising of English majors expected. Twenty-four credit teaching load with six credits reassigned to writing for active writers. Competitive salary, strong support for professional activity, & excellent benefits. Send letter of application, c.v., statement of teaching philosophy, three current letters of recommendation, & official graduate transcripts to: Dr. Ron Rindo, Chair, Department of English, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, Oshkosh, WI 54901-8692 . Application deadline: November 12. Employment will require a criminal background check. AA/EOE.

Columbia Poetry Review is accepting submissions from now until November 30th.

Front Porch is now accepting submissions of fiction, poetry, nonfiction, reviews, and AV for their fall issue. FP has a new online submission system.

FRESH YARN is “the first Online Salon for Personal Essays. Part literary publication, part virtual spoken-word, all personal essays. Every four weeks, FRESH YARN presents six new pieces written by a diverse lineup of all-star writers, directors, producers, performers and personalities.”

With no dates on the site, I can only guess this is a new effort that will be growing: bear parade – “raaaar” – is electronically published collections of poetry and short fiction, free for everyone. Currently on the site, works by Mazie Louise Montgomery, Ellen Kennedy, Tao Lin, Ofelia Hunt, Noah Cicero, Matthew Rohrer, Michael Earl Craig. The site also includes a classics section – “raaaareth” – which thus far only contains Goblin Market by Christina Rossetti, which, if you are not familiar with this work, is well worth the trip to read, or rather, the trip it provides in reading. bear parade – check it out.

Colorado College – Assistant Professor. The Department of English seeks a fiction writer with a strong record of publication & teaching for a tenure-track position. Terminal degree such as MFA or PhD or equivalent preferred. Send letter of application, c.v., statement of teaching philosophy, & four letters of recommendation by October 29 to: Professor David Mason, Department of English, Colorado College, 14 E. Cache La Poudre St., Colorado Springs, CO 80903.

The following is an excerpt from one of my all-time favorite writers and funeral directors, Thomas Lynch. True, I know only one funeral director, so making him my all-time favorite may not be saying much, but I do know quite a few writers, if that helps the recommendation. Thomas is no-nonsense in his balancing words with our culture’s treatment of death and dying, and at the same time, his writing is a lot of serious fun. For example, his idea of combining golf courses with cemetaries to make better use of land space and encourage family visitation. This latest contribution offers humor, but delivers and even stronger message on the role of politics and greed in our simple desire to rest in peace.

In Michigan, Not Even the Dead Are Safe
By Op-Ed Contributor Thomas Lynch
Published: April 29, 2007

THE big cemetery with the name like a golf course out on the Interstate across from the mall was seized by a state conservator this winter. Seems someone took the money — $70 million in prepaid trust funds — and ran. It’s one of those theme park enterprises with lawn crypts and cheap statuary and an army of telemarketers calling up locals in the middle of dinner to sell us all our “commemorative estates.”

“You don’t want to be a burden to your children, do you?” So says the “memorial counselor” with the sales pitch and the flip chart and the forms to “sign here” on the bottom line — the bargain-in-the-briefcase peace of mind. Why not? I say, though never out loud. My children have all been burdens to me. Isn’t that what the best of life is — bearing our burdens honorably?

[Read the rest: NY Times Online.]

failbetter 24 is up now, at www.failbetter.com It features stories by Daniel Alarc

SUNY Buffalo seeks a poet at the senior level who will bring fresh perspectives to the study of poetry & poetics as demonstrated by a record of writing & teaching interests appropriate to undergraduate & PhD mentoring & instruction. Teaching load: 2/2; salary, benefits, & privileges competitive with other Research I-AA universities. Preference given to applications received by October 15. Please submit letter of application, c.v., & a list of recommenders electronically at www.ubjobs.buffalo.edu, posting #0601592

The Department of English invites applications for a poet to join the MFA faculty at the level of Assistant Professor, advanced Assistant, or new Associate. Looking for a colleague of distinction, although not necessarily seniority. Candidates should have a strong record of publication (a minimum of one book published or in press, two books preferred) & a history of excellence in teaching. As a member of our department, the candidate will teach graduate & undergraduate poetry workshops & other courses reflecting his/her interests & departmental needs. Members of the MFA Program share administrative duties on a rotational basis, so evidence of administrative talent & experience & willingness to serve will augment an otherwise strong application. Send letter of application, c.v., writing sample (no more than 15 pages; published material only), & evidence of teaching excellence to: Professor Sidonie Smith, Chair, Dept of English Language & Literature, University of Michigan, 3187 Angell Hall, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1003, Attention: Recruitment Coordinator. Review of applications will begin September 30 & continue until the position is filled. Women & minorities are encouraged to apply.

Quiet Mountain Essays (QME) is an online journal of original feminist writing, presented in an essays-only format, which publishes five times a year (January, March, June, August, and October). In the pages of QME, a woman writer can openly voice what she thinks without having to be mindful of micro-specialized politics or demographics. Consequently, a QME reader opens each essay not knowing what she or he may find.

Quiet Mountain Essays (QME) publishes in January, March, June, August, and October; accepting submissions all year. Each issue features 1-3 previously unpublished original essays, the number of which is dependent upon the volume of submissions. QME is an online publication only, there is no print companion. Its continued existence depends upon participation from women visiting this site. Male readers and writers should please respect the spirit of this woman-space site, unless responding to the Open Call (April 1- June 15) for the annual August Open Issue.

For teachers and students alike, ESL Gold is packed with free resources (mostly free, with the usual sidebar ads that aren’t too annoying). For students: links to places to study English; conversation partners (requires registration fee – but “Telephone Teachers” are paid); textbook recommendations language skills; learning strategies; quizzes; links; software and CD-ROMs (for purchase from site partners); and language exchange. For teachers: job list; handouts; textbook recommendations; teaching skills; TESOL courses; lesson plans and ideas; tips for teaching; teacher resources; ESL/EFL links; supplementary materials; software and CD-ROMs; games and activities. Much of the content is shared from other teachers, so this seems to be a cooperative resource. Great for new or even established teachers as well as ESL students.

To view these new issues and other online mags, visit NewPages Guide to Online Literary Magazines

Absent Magazine
Issue 2

Boxcar Poetry Review
Issue 9

The Pedestal Magazine
Issue 41

National University invites applications for a fulltime, Assistant Professor in Creative Writing at our Los Angeles campus. M.F.A. or Ph.D. by date of hire and publications in fiction or literary nonfiction required.

We have what you’re looking for! Created by popular demand:

NewPages Guide to Graduate Creative Writing Programs

This page is “in progress.” If you know of a graduate school writing program that is not currently listed, please let us know. More information on listed programs will be posted in Sept. 2007. That is, as they say, the plan.

This page will also link to a larger list of creative writing programs, including undergrad programs and a list of annual creative writing conferences, workshops & retreats. Any not listed that you would like to see? Let us know!

As noted in a previous blog, Jessica Powers, author of the young adult novel The Confessional (Random House, July 2007) had been disinvited to speak at Cathedral High School in El Paso because her book contained “language” and sexual innuendos. The principal of the private, Catholic school spoke with an El Paso reporter for Newspaper Tree saying he felt “compelled to protect our kids [who begin attending at 13 years old] and our school.” Has this guy walked down his own hallways lately? Where does he think Jessica got the realistic teen behavior material for her book? Not only that, but didn’t these people actually READ her book before inviting her to speak?

Even so, it hardly seems the point, since Powers says she wasn’t going to speak about her book, but rather on the issues she writes about in the book: “immigration (illegal and legal); underlying racial tension in a border society like El Paso’s; violence and pacifism; social divisions between different groups of people; and faith or doubts about faith.” But, as Cathedral is a private rather than public school, its decision was regarded differently by Bobby Byrd, co-publisher and vice president of Cinco Puntos Press, who “said the decision for a private school to cancel a book event is a ‘whole different situation’ from public censorship. ‘The parents are essentially hiring the school to make certain decisions,’ he said. ‘If a teacher were teaching that book, then it would be a whole different decision.’ The decision to cancel the discussion may not have been the correct one, though, Byrd suggested. ‘To me it speaks of timidity,’ he added. ‘Literature is literature.'”

It was Jessica’s contention that her visit had been cancelled because of a coinciding visit to take place by U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. The cancellation itself was brought on, not by school members, but by Former Chief Justice Barajas – who I also doubt even read the book. Ironically enough, on August 12, Jessica made note in her blog that the superintendent of the schools actually gave her approval of the book: “Because of all the brouhaha, a teacher made sure the superintendent of Catholic schools in El Paso had a copy of the book. She read it and called the principal up and said she didn’t see what all the fuss was about. She said, ‘I don’t want our boys to talk this way…but they do.’ Former Chief Justice Barajas, the one who forced the cancellation of the event, had allegedly said this was an attack on the church and a threat. But a teacher who read it said, ‘Every time the boys get in trouble, they return to what they were taught. They pray, they go to confession….What else can you ask for?'”

Only what’s left to ask: WWJD?

A new batch of lit mag reviews has been posted. Go see: Literary Magazine Reviews.