Two new works up at Muddy River Poetry: http://www.muddyriverpoetryreview.com/Fall%202013/Christine%20Nichols.pdf
To submit here, visit: Muddy River Poetry Review

One Book One Community

The Stillwater Public Library and OSU Library have teamed up to offer a program called "One Book One Community."

The idea is the entire town reads the same book and meets for discussion sessions and they hold various events (song writing class, movies). It's a very neat idea, and this year I am participating. The book is Bound for Glory by Woody Guthrie.

I never would have read this book without the program.

It's a little hard to get into because of the spelling and the feel of the thick local dialect. It kind of reminds me of how I first felt about Shakespeare, a little lost until I picked up on the rhythm and got a real sense of the language.

Also - the first chapter is not the best one of the book. I am afraid a lot of people will give up. I pushed on through.

I'm starting to enjoy the book, and appreciate the humor and the home spun feel of the book. I feel like I'm getting a real sense of the time Woody lived in. It kind of reminds me of the Shepard of the Hills book I read when we went to Missouri.

There are some lines in Guthrie's book just make me die laughing. Here is one:

"Leonard! You Dead?" Grandma said to him. (page 65 - Bound for Glory by Woody Guthrie).

The dialogue, while it can be a bit distracting due to spelling, is often very humorous, and part of the charm. Give it a chance.

Does your Library have a one book one community program?

If not - you should get one started!

I'm enjoying this one.

Best,

Christine

Bah humbug.

I am never going on a cruise.

I decided that after battling an inner ear issue for the last few days.  I am not constantly dizzy but often enough that I can't drive or go to work.  The worst are the spells that hit when I am just laying down.

My eyes go crazy too.

Hope this passes soon.

Hard to write much like this!

Best,

Chris

BUSY!

It's been a while since I posted anything here. Work has been extremely busy! I'm very excited to announce a new program, Just Fiction. I've been working with New York Times bestselling author William Bernhardt to bring a workshop series to Stillwater, and I'm proud to say it's well underway. Registrations are open, and we have a great video on the website that talks a little bit about the program. In addition, I've taken over as webmaster for Stillwater Writers. I"m no expert, but it was time their info was updated. I also set up a facebook pagefor their group. Make my day, become their friend. hehe. In the meantime, I was able to send in (4) entries to OWFI this year. A long unrhymed poem, a short unrhymed poem, a flash fiction story, and a short-short story. Wish me luck! If I add one more thing I'll be almost as busy as Akeith! Haven't written any new poems in a while, I've been focusing on short fiction. Hope all is well!

Zane Grey? Really!

My poor husband. He must get this no-win feeling every time I sit him down and say, "let me read this to you."

He doesn't like or 'get' most of my writing. Especially poetry.

So I try to just make him beta read only a few of my stories. I try to save it for when I really need an opinion. I know family is not the best judge, they are biased, but sometimes I just need to bounce things around a bit. Talk through what is not working.

Last night, I needed someone to read a story I have started for this off-site contest. So I tied him to the chair and read it to him.

When I got finished, he said "Wow, that's really detailed, kind of like Zane Grey." Zane Grey? Really? I was writing like a published author. How exciting!

"Yeah, you know, when I read Zane Grey, it's too much. He stops to describe every flower of every field, and then, when he's describing the horse the guy is riding on, he details every conch in the saddle, every hair on the horse's head. I just want to know what color the horse is. Not it's whole life story."

Oh. Maybe not as much a compliment as I thought!

"So you're saying I need to lighten up the description?"

"Yeah, that story sounds like a really long poem."

Back to the drawing board!

Thank you honey for your patience. Oh...and by the way, I have this poem...

As some of you already know from my excited facebook post - Vox Poetica has accepted Spring, After the Drought. I'm very excited about this poem. It was part of the April initiative on writing.com. Some friends and I did a 30 day challenge, we did 30 poems in 30 days. I wrote "Spring After the Drought" about my husband, and it's one of my favorites. It's scheduled to appear the night of Sept. 19th. I've also included an audio file, my first recording of one of my poems. This is all so exciting! Thank you so much to Vox Poetica for giving "Spring" a chance.

Reposted from Facebook: Yeah! I have had two poems accepted! WEEE!!! "I am delighted to accept "Lovers" and "Trollop", and will let you know when each is posted, ten days or so." This is a great place to submit poetry. Be sure to send a photo, and read the submission guidelines carefully. http://thecamelsaloon.blogspot.com/ The moral of this story? Think about the intended audience when you submit. I wrote/modified pieces that I thought might fit the feel of the venue (A virtual bar) and submitted those. And keep submitting! Best wishes Sil