Join me! I am teaching three workshops this fall at the Writer’s Center in Bethesda, MD.

Twenty Minutes a Day  

You’re busy. You want to write. Create a daily writing practice by learning how to make the most of writing 20 minutes a day. Learn how to generate new writing, tackle revisions and even submit your work for publication, using the time you have.

Date: Saturday, October 17, 2015
Time: 10:00 AM-1:00 PM
Location: Bethesda
Link: https://www.writer.org/sslpage.aspx?pid=353&nccsm=21&__nccspID=4685

One-Day Revision Retreat: Nonfiction

It’s time to finish that article or essay you’ve been writing forever. You completed the first draft. Now it’s time to cut the fat, rearrange the structure, check your facts and see what’s missing. The goal is to produce a strong second draft during class.

Date: Saturday, November 14, 2015
Time: 9:00 AM-2:30 PM
Location: Bethesda
Link: https://www.writer.org/sslpage.aspx?pid=353&nccsm=21&nccspID=4747

Write & Publish: Arts Journalism

Learn how to make your own opportunities, find your niche and sell your stories. You will be expected to launch or maintain an arts blog. You also will have weekly assignments that include 400- to 500-word blog posts about local exhibitions, live music and more, as well as a final project.

Dates: Thursdays, October 8, 2015 – November 12, 2015
Time: 7:00 PM-9:00 PM
Location: Bethesda
Link: https://www.writer.org/sslpage.aspx?pid=353&nccsm=21&__nccspID=4657

I am so honored to be facilitating literary events in Iceland in September. My gracious hosts will be the Reykjavík UNESCO City of Literature program. I am going to present a writing workshop focused on poets of the Harlem Renaissance and contemporary Native American poetry in a fun class called the Literary Mixtape. My goal is to present poems for discussion and ask participants to create their own responses to the work. Then, during the Reykjavík International Literary Festival I am going to host one of my signature Write.Drink.Read. literary happy hours with writing prompts. I can’t wait.

I am so excited to go back to Iceland, to connect with lovely people I met during the first annual Iceland Writers Retreat and to make new friends. This is a dream come true.

The Moon & Antarctica and Strangers to Ourselves

I just bought Modest Mouse’s 2015 album, Strangers to Ourselves (Epic), which is the band’s sixth record. A couple of months ago, I also snapped up a 10^th anniversary reissue of theirMoon & Antarctica (that reissue being now five years old).  The tough thing for Strangers to Ourselves is being compared to the 2000 classic, which still hits me.

Read the full reviews at AudioFemme here.

Saturday, July 25, 2015 from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Screwtop Wine Bar at 1025 North Fillmore Street, Arlington, VA

Writing, wine and adventure. Join us for a celebration of the finer points in life in this fun Spanish wine and cheese tasting class and creative writing workshop.

We will focus on creating personal writing that explores the themes of travel, adventure and the living life to the fullest. We discuss the mechanics of engaging personal writing, style, narrative voice and how to engage all five senses in your story.

We will also discuss tips for getting your writing published. Whether you want to submit your work for publication or launch your own personal blog, you will learn tips for getting your words out into the world.

Please bring laptop or writing implements to participate in the class.

*Includes tasting of three Spanish wines, cheese, coffee or tea and creative writing instruction. Taxes and gratuity included in the price. (Additional food not included in price. This event is only wine and cheese tasting). This is a privately hosted event. All are welcome with ticket.

Register here.

I am honored to be participating in a reading with my mentor Elmaz Abinader and the talented poet Derrick Weston Brown at Red Emma’s on Tuesday, January 13 at 7:30 PM. Red Emma’s is located at 30 W. North Avenue, Baltimore. For more info: https://redemmas.org/events/236.

I have been fortunate to have the some great opportunities to publish in the past month. I just launched a new monthly vinyl record review column with AudioFemme. I will be reviewing new vinyl and vintage finds every month.

Here’s the first column! In it I review a comp of North-West grunge bands and a comp of psychedelic, James Brown-inspired bands from Benin and Togo.

NEW VINYL

No Seattle: Forgotten Sounds of the North-West Grunge Era 1986-97 (Volume One)
Compilation by Soul Jazz Records

 

The thing is, I really wanted to like this record.  From the first song I heard — Thrillhammer’s “Alice’s Palace” — I knew that I would.

The majority of the bands on No Seattle never got record deals; they didn’t tour extensively outside of the North-West region and they didn’t achieve fame; therefore, their output was often raw and unpolished. The liner notes set the context for how tiny the rock scenes were in these small towns in Washington and Oregon, where the floor breaking from the walls at a house show could be a band’s biggest (or at least most memorable) gig — as it was for the band Pod.

Read the column on AudioFemme here.

Minus the Bear
O’Brother
Rock & Roll Hotel – October 19, 2014

“On paper, the match-up of O’Brother and Minus the Bear seemed odd. O’Brother is a sludgy, post-metal band. Minus the Bear is all jingly and jangly, rhythmic and pop-y. Those sounds don’t mix. Or, so I would have thought.

With three wailing guitars, thundering bass and ferocious drumming, O’Brother created a wall of sound. Lead vocalist Tanner Merritt’s vocals effortlessly swung between sweet, sweet falsetto to primal scream and back again. Jordan McGhin’s back-up screaming and harmonizing vocals gave the songs a pleasingly emo style, and guitarist Johnny Dang’s headbanging was a marvel unto itself.”

Read the full review at D.C. Music Download.

Here’s a video from O’Brother.

Banff Centre for the Arts is a multidisciplinary arts, cultural and educational institution in Alberta, Canada. Artists from around the world journey to the mountain retreat to do what they do: make art.

What I made in Banff started a year ago.

I was awarded a self-directed Literary Arts residency at the Banff Centre for the Arts in Alberta, Canada, in September 2012. At the time, I didn’t know where Banff was exactly.

Banff National Park is about 2,600 sq. miles of dense forest, mountains and glacier-fed lakes in the Canadian Rockies. Once you’re inside the park gates, there’s the tiny town of Banff; Banff Centre for the Arts, which sits about ½ a kilometer from the town; and a couple of historic hotels. Banff National Park is Canada’s oldest national park.

I left home with about 100 pages of a rough draft of a novel manuscript, plenty of Steno pads, an ambition to write the rest of my novel by hand, and a desire to breathe fresh mountain air.

Unfortunately, I arrived late at night with my fear of wildlife, several types of allergy and asthma meds and a concern that I had made a bad choice.

Continue reading “Made in Banff”