On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the Moon. Six hours later, on July 21, they stepped out onto the lunar surface, the first humans to do such a thing. Carrying the Fire by Michael Collins, the Apollo 11 astronaut who circled the Moon alone while Armstrong and Aldrin walked on the lunar surface: Far from feeling lonely or abandoned, I feel very … Continue reading First Moon Landing Anniversary
What’s It Like In Space by Ariel Waldman Black Hole Blues and Other Songs From Outer Space by Janna Levin Crash Course: Essays from Where Writing and Life Collide by Robin Black Hood (an Object Lessons book) by Alison Kinney Being Mortal by Atul Gawande Continue reading 5 Books We’re Reading This Summer
Here’s Lofty Ambitions giving you an excuse to party on Friday! June 10, 1929: Gemini 4 and Apollo 9 astronaut Jim McDivitt was born in Chicago. He commanded his first spaceflight, something only a handful of astronauts have done. (As an aside, The Cure are playing in Chicago on Friday–just saying.) June 10, 1929: Biologist and author E.O. Wilson was also born on this date. He has … Continue reading Reasons to Celebrate This Weekend
Even though we have job obligations over the summer, we live, at some level, on an academic calendar. The semester is over, grades are submitted, and the beginning of June represents an opportunity for thinking about how we want to spend our time and what we want to accomplish, especially as writers, by September 1 and by December 31. Some recent research suggests that it takes … Continue reading 5 Ideas: What Will You Do This Summer?
We sent the manuscript of Generation Space off to the publisher, on to their copyediting. This week, we turn to books by others, sharing posts about books we think others might want to read. 5 Books on Writing & Productivity It’s difficult to finish a book manuscript. Big projects make big demands. Here are five books that offer ideas we took to heart as we made our … Continue reading 5 Posts about Good Books to Read
Generation Space: A Love Story is due on May 2 to Stillhouse Press so that the copyeditor there can have at it. So this month, we’re deep into overall and targeted editing, looking for redundancies and gaps, tinkering with voice and detail. This isn’t the first overhaul, as you can see in this photo of Anna’s previous desk, really a table–and the floor. “The difference between the … Continue reading Generation Space: 5 Thoughts on Final Revision
The first human being to go to space and to orbit Earth was Yuri Gagarin. He did this on April 12, 1961. Here’s Gargarin’s BBC interview. The first Shuttle launch occurred on April 12, 1981. Here’s the launch video. BONUS: It’s author Beverly Cleary 100th birthday. Clearly was born in McMinnville, Oregon, now home of the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum. Cheers today to Ramona, … Continue reading April 12th: 55th and 35th Anniversaries
The Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) Conference is in LA this week, and we’ll be there. Check out the Chapman University and Tabula Poetica booth at #701 in the bookfair–it’s bigger than last year’s, and you can meet Doug, steampunk writer James P. Blaylock, avant garde writer Martin Nakell, MFA students, and more. Anna will have a board office hour at the AWP … Continue reading 5 Things To Do at AWP in LA
We’re thrilled to announce that Stillhouse Press will publish Generation Space: A Love Story in February 2017. We’ll have postcards and bookmarks available at the AWP Bookfair this week, both at the Stillhouse Press booth (#708) and the Chapman University & Tabula Poetica booth (#701). Though we didn’t realize it at the time, this book began in the fall of 2010, when we started actively … Continue reading One Big Thing: Generation Space!
Anna’s new poetry chapbook Sharp Miracles is available from Blue Lyra Press and at Amazon. The poems are in the voice of Lizzie Siddal, who was an artist’s model, painter, and poet in the 19th century. If you purchase the book (it’s a 3-in-1 volume!), then go to the BONUS page on Anna’s website, which includes links to the paintings to which some of the poems refer. … Continue reading Sharp Miracles (or who is Lizzie Siddal?)
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