Memoirous

"Advent" by James Schuyler Open my eyes on the welcome rosy shock of sunshine. Open the first little door of my Advent calendar: a darling hobby horse on wheels. Open the window a crack: and quickly close it against a knife-like draught. The day looks warmer than it is. My other job is helping to curate art at Wilson Abbey/Everybody's Coffee--here is a glimpse at our current project #biggestadventcalendar Come and See Wilson Abbey Windows #biggestadventcalendar are back! Located at 935 W. Wilson Avenue in Chicago, the three-story building will again unveil each day of Advent a new window decorated with seasonal images. Beginning December 1, celestial themes with a mix of magic realism will occupy each window, culminating with the final center window December 25. “This year there will be doves in outerspace,” says building manager and co-founder of Everybody’s Coffee, Karl Sullivan. “For instance the Tuskegee Airmen represent the Three Wisemen.” New...

Readers of this blog know that I’ve written about being a poor writer. Jobs in the arts don’t exactly pay like jobs in finance. So many of the journals I’ve appeared only offer publishing credit and not payment. I walk a tightrope between wanting to see my work in print and insisting that I am reimbursed for my effort. Anyway, suffice it to say when I drove down to Kentucky for the Book Festival I wasn’t planning on staying at a hotel. I’m a couchsurfing host in Chicago and went that route first—only one person responded to my request, with the reply that they were busy that weekend. Then I googled camping to find that RIGHT NEXT TO the Horsepark All-Tech Arena was the Horsepark Campground. It seemed like a good idea until the day I left Chicago—in the midst of flurries, with a week of BELOW average temperatures. I had a few concerns, but took extra layers. I’m a pro at camping, and have had experience sleeping outside in cold. I just didn’t know if I wanted to do it th...

Stories of a Family Christmas, 1963 1) I loved these pajamas! I wore them until the pants became shorts. I kept the cap, for a favorite stuffed animal. This was the house on Hackney Street in Kettering; I must be about 4, almost 5. Nancy is 6. The metal kitchen set was a shared toy, though I might have appreciated it more. Eventually it got moved to a backyard playhouse where it rusted and one day I opened up the oven door to discover a nest of spiders. After that I never touched the kitchen set. 2) A rare instance of Nancy and I playing together—though to be exact it might be more parallel play. Growing up we were nothing alike. Never one to fall into gender prescribed roles, she was more a tomboy, at home on a basketball court rather than in a kitchen. My sister was a mystery to me. I think today she might be referred to as on the spectrum. Someone with sensory issues. She could not abide clothes with tags on them; they had to be removed. Clothes in general made he...

Here is a contest you might want to consider sending flash work inspired by the holidays. Friday Flash Fiction is about to launch this year's Christmas Competition – usual prize, $50 in the winner's local currency. As ever it'll be sponsored by Comely Bank Publishing. You'll be invited to take part in two ways: You'll be invited to submit one (or more) stories to the competition; AND You'll be invited to vote for the story you think is best. First of all we'll be inviting anyone to write a flash fiction story of 100 words or fewer. The story has to be in the English language but that's about the only limitation. This year is theme-free – the door is wide open for you. Every 100-word story posted in from the 1st December until entries close on TUESDAY 18th December will be eligible to win. Entry is COMPLETELY FREE. In accordance with tradition, last year's winner, Lyn Miller and I will select around half a dozen contenders. O...

Where else can you go to see a rodeo and a book show? The Kentucky Book Show had it all: Words & Hooves, Books & Horses! a Stein with a Stain, Berenstain Bear super excited on a panel with David Joy and Crystal Wilkinson

Flash Fiction and the Holidays The Yuletide season is a perfect time to write flash memoir. 1)       We have no time to write a gajillion words, so keep it simple and small, haiku Christmas! Remember Dicken’s A Christmas Carol was one of his shortest and MOST popular stories, The best things come in small packages. 2)       So MUCH material is generated by dysfunctional families, Christmas feast disasters, Gift of the Magi moments. We all have memories conjured by this festive/unfestive time of the year. So I have some ideas I’ll share with you this week as we head into Thanksgiving—which launches us into Black Friday and the Advent Season. My first tip is to come to a class I’ll be facilitating at OCWW in Winnetka. Jane Hertenstein - Holiday Flash When December 20, 2018 9:30 AM - 12:00 PM Location Winnetka Community House, 620 Lincoln Ave., Winnetka IL Registration Guest – $20.00 Member – $10.0...

Susan Jordan, This American Life Radio and Memories Even on the radio I could tell: She was a nice person. I recently listened to the podcast This American Life where they re-aired a piece originally from 2001—the theme was A Return to Childhood, where Alex Blumberg went in search of his old babysitter, Susan Jordan, in “Ich... Bin... Ein... Mophead.” It was as much about how we remember and misremember than about how Alex eventually tracked down Susan using a private investigator. --That was 17 years ago. She must be about my age or a little younger. I could tell just by the sound of her voice that she was a nice person. It wasn’t said but I could tell as much: Alex had been secretly in love with his fearless babysitter. She was his champion. She would have beaten up a motorcyclist to defend her young charge, whom she felt a bit sorry for. Alex, she hesitated to mention, was a bit bookish and obsessed with stuff beyond his years. She was compelled to “play” wit...