Last night was the Georgia Authors' Book Bash at the Margaret Mitchell house and Museum in Midtown, Atlanta. I wasn't there because I'm in Macon, hanging out with my fiancee, soaking up some humidity, and writing my students' midterm exam study guide for World Literature. But, my buddy, writing group partner (fellow Perambulator), and novelist, Man Martin, author of Days of the Endless Corvette was. He read from his novel, and accepted his award.
I read that thing in draft form and advised Man to cut down on the bee scene--which he did not do--and I still think he ought to cut it down, award or not. Nonetheless, congrats to Man and all the other winners.
I read that thing in draft form and advised Man to cut down on the bee scene--which he did not do--and I still think he ought to cut it down, award or not. Nonetheless, congrats to Man and all the other winners.
Speaking of Man, the other day we were talking about my own book, "The Donner Party Picnic Area." I'm still revising the thing, and I'm trying to decide whether or not this middle section of the book should be there. It's filled with what some might call short shorts or flash fiction, and what others might call prose poetry. I'm resisting giving them a label. But, the problem I have is that, generically, they seem different from the lineated poems of the other sections of the book. But thematically, they totally fit. I love saying "totally."
Man suggested that it might work if I included yet another genre, "like drawings, or something," he said. This was not unusual, coming from Man, a former cartoonist. But I too have a past with the visual arts, and this got me thinking that sketches and such are not a bad idea. So, I'm giving it a shot. I already had a number of sketches that actually relate to the subject matter of the pieces in the book (many of those pieces can be read by checking out the magazines linked to the right of this post). The sketches look a little like this:
So, I'll be working on more of these and see what comes out. This might just make the whole project gel together. So, thanks Man, for that great suggestion.
