CIEL

The Gang's All Here

It's both a sobering and inspiring trip down here at my first Book Expo America. Running into all my pals and sitting in on the wonderful panels renews my passion for my craft and reaffirms my connections. Jill Tardiff, Imm. Past President of WNBA and I have been pal-ing around. I've run into Kevin Smokler during his panel on Authorpreneurship, the Larsen-Pomadas, Mary Harris, our newest WNBA colleague, and owner of Parkplace books, and Kelly Sullivan Walden and Ruth Light of the LA WNBA chapter. The Beatrice.com founder, Ron Hogan, was on two panels on Thursday and had a lot to say about blogging and connecting on-line with writers. Still, this face to face is just the best. To listen to writers I so admire talk about their process and their projects gets my creative juices flowing. Neal Gaiman, a writer of some note with whom I was not familiar, talked about working on a young adult novel on and off for over 10 years before his agent gave the go ahead to publish. Now it will be an animated movie called "Coraline." Judy Blume also gave an inspiring talk about her writing journey. But the winner at the children's author breakfast for me was Sherman Alexie who spoke about books being his only refuge from the mean kids who bullied him because he was poor, lived in HUD housing and was a Native American kid with no resources or support. "I starting writing because I had been isolated and alone," Alexie said. "Reading and writing were my way out." These are the kinds of stories that shout: "Keep writing. Even if you only touch a handful of lives and never reach Judy Blume's sales of 80 million." (Um, few authors do...) Sobering notes to follow...hint Amazon strikes hard...

Literary Agents, poetry, san francisco writers conference, BEA, WNBA, Writers

Catch the Wave

A mere three weeks ago I wrote a post about how dejected, frustrated and generally demoralized I was with my writing life. I'd enjoyed some great accomplishments in the winter and early spring but by April, everything seemed to have just stalled out. Then things changed. Fast. Just a week ago I dragged myself to an open mike at Gallery Cafe, planning to leave after the featured reader, Stephen Kopel. But at Kit Kennedy's insistence I stayed and read "Music Dream 14." Afterward, Stephen asked me if he could interview me on his radio show. That was the beginning of the shift. The radio show, a half hour interview and reading was really fun and Stephen was effusive. That afternoon I showed my new manuscript to a very astute reader and friend of mine who went nuts for the work. "I'm going to help you get this out," she said. "I need all the help I can get," I replied. I couldn't think of a better offer. After that it got better. I received an invitation to be on the Editorial Board of Poetica and to be the sole judge for their 2008 Chapbook contest next winter. But here's the crowning glory: Last night, again, in a a tired state, I headed out for San Rafael where my friend Jane Green was the featured reader. I sat next to Becky Foust. When I handed Becky my card she said "You sound so familiar." But everyone says that to me, so I didn't get excited. Midway through the evening Becky said, 'don't leave before I talk to you. I just had an epiphany." We left together and she said: "Two years ago when I was thinking about writing, I went to Book Passage. I bought two books: yours and Sharon Olds. I read your book cover to cover and loved it. I started writing. You're my muse!" I just about fainted. Becky started writing, winning awards and her first book, "Dark Card" is due out any day. Some people say, that when the road to success gets rocky, 'just keep showing up.' Apparently, sometimes, that 'just showing up' does work.

Authors, creative process, mills college, poetry, San Francisco, WNBA, Writers

Make A Fool of Yourself

Jeff Greenwald is an unusual writer. Besides having a talent for telling a story with a great punchline, Jeff is generous and personable- a rare combination in a field fraught with introverts and egotistical personalities. For "Strange Travel Suggestions" Jeff's solo show at the Marsh, Greenwald takes his premise from the "Tarot" and in particular the card, "The Fool." When we take a trip, Greenwald purports, we become the fool. We go someplace where we don't know the language or even how to get around, surround ourselves with people we don't know, get lost and, hopefully, have adventures. Jeff involves the audience as he asks members to spin his giant 'wheel of fortune.' Where it lands decides which traveller tale will be told. Each spot on the wheel has at least four stories in its category so that each show ends up having different and new content. Clever! Last night we went to the DumDum Airport in Calcutta, Bangkok and Burning Man. I first met Jeff when I read at Litquake a few years back. Learning from his blog that he is a JuBu, I couldn't resist reaching out to him. I recommend his show - for laughs, for fun, for enlightenment, or at least a glimpse into your own traveler's soul. It's been extended at the Marsh through June.

creative process, jewish issues, Litquake, San Francisco, Writers

A Beautiful Moment in Between Sadnesses

Walking down the hill to West Portal this afternoon, I heard footsteps behind me. I turned around and encouraged the nice looking gent to pass me by. We started chatting, and it turned out that Sengay lives in the house a few doors down with the Tibetan flag and rows of tattered prayer flags. We talked about the wave of crime that has hit our neighborhood in the past months, including a drive by shooting. The talk led to morality and respect for life. "We Tibetans don't eat fish because taking one life to feed one person is not balanced. "That's why we eat yak. One life feeds many." And, of course we spoke about China. All this in the midst of China's devastating earthquake, Myanmar and one of my favorite artists' passing - Robert Rauschenberg. The good thing about Raushenberg however is that he is one artist that didn't have to die to be appreciated. Some of my best moments visiting New York in these past years have been the two major Rauschenberg shows - one at the Whitney and the huge retrospective at the Metropolitan just a couple of years ago.

climate change, global warming, poetry, San Francisco, Untitled, Writers

We're All in This Together

It was in a fairly deflated state that I arrived at Kit Kennedy's house for our monthly "Submission Support Group." I started the group as a service to WNBA members after i discovered that having a partner in the submissions process helped to keep my motivation up. I'd decided in advance that I was going to listen and do my check in after the others were through. Each of the five writers had stories of taking risks, overcoming blocks, and managing the mixed results. Mixed results was what brought things back to balance for me. Yes, I've been working hard, sending out piles of submissions, and I've been having success. Yes, there are setbacks. Yes, we have to keep a level approach to both the wins and the losses. One friend said that when she'd gotten her manuscript back from a NY agent who had indicated that she was interested, she knew she could have been devastated. But she made a conscious effort not to go there. That helped. And now that I'm back in my life I see the complexity of this job; the moments of success mixed with the continued struggle. You never really do arrive, or at least, not for very long.

Authors, creative process, Fiction, Literary Agents, San Francisco, WNBA, Writers