Behind the Prose

Serendipity.

Noun: the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way: a fortunate stroke of serendipity, a series of small serendipities

When I interviewed writer and teacher Kate Walter in the second week of June, I’d already delayed the recording at least a week or two. Then, after a great interview about her memoir, Looking for a Kiss: A Chronicle of Downtown Heartbreak, a story about her struggle to understand a mysterious breakup after a 26-year relationship and frustrating and often fruitless efforts to re-enter the dating world, I became overwhelmed with life and decided to change the production schedule and release her episode in two weeks.

Today, which at the time of writing this post, is Friday, June 26.

Is it serendipity that today, the American landscape on marriage equality has changed forever? And that Kate’s memoir is about her decades-long relationship with a woman who ultimately walked off with more than just pieces of her heart? With the retirement savings they’d promised to share leaving Kate broke with a box of memories and a worthless piece of domestic partnership paper. There were no laws to protect Kate as she tried to right herself.  No split assets. No alimony. No you can’t build a home with me, then bounce and not have to answer to . . . someone.

And now, though it’s too late to have made Kate’s situation any more tolerable, the Supreme Court’s decision ruling that people can marry who the hell they want, is right on time.

Kind of like that old church saying about God . . . “He may not come when you want him, but he always right on . . .

Serendipity.

Listen. Learn. Write.

In May, I interviewed author Kira Lynne Allen about her new book Write This Second out now on Prashanti Press. In this episode, Kira explains how she used various strategic moves to recreate voice and pace in her work. She tells you what she thinks of the publishing process (as opposed to self-publishing) and whether it helped or hurt her work. You'll also hear what obsession fueled her desire to finish the book by October 2014.

Kira is an artist in the most robust sense of the word. In the interview part that is on my editing floor through no fault of its own, we talk about her collage work which she's been doing for years. Actually, her mother also had the talent. In this image which accompanies her blog post, "You Call It A Book, I Call It A Movement or 7 Reasons Why I Founded: Write This Second," we see a young compilation Kira - a mix of real photos and sketch work which she drew herself.

I absolutely loved this book and would read it again, so I advise you to check it out. But in the words of the first book reviewer I knew, "don't take my word for it." 

“Kira Lynne Allen’s first full length book of poetry is so gorgeous, so rich in honesty, truth, pain and healing, beauty and rage and humanity, that it is going to change lives. It gives permission, and that means that it gives life. It gives off heat and fresh air. It exposes, encourages, challenges, delights. I found it thrilling.” —Anne Lamott, New York Times bestselling author of, Small Victories: Spotting Improbable Moments of Grace; and Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life  

Visit Behindtheprose.com for the full show page!

Hello from Pittsburgh, PA!

I'm way past my bedtime and I still have homework to do for Dinty W. Moore's Master Class at the Creative Nonfiction Writers Conference 2015.

But the show must go on. And boy is it a show. Jennifer Niesslein, a founder of Brain, Child Magazine, discusses her latest venture, an online literary journal, Full Grown People and anthology of the same name. I interviewed on of Jennifer's essayists, Andrew Bomback in February, then pitched her myself. She accepted!

In this interview, she explains how her life experiences fuel her entrepreneurial ventures and what makes a compelling essay about "the other awkward age."

Plus, a Behind the Prose bonus interview with Alyssa Sorresso (the spelling of her name is so symmetrical; I love it) who had her first major break in the issue of Creative Nonfiction that hit the stands in June 2014. She's got great energy and I suspect it will ride the airwaves right to you if you need a boost.

 ABOUT JENNIFER NIESSLEIN

Jennifer is a writer and editor in living in Charlottesville, Virginia. Her latest project is Full Grown People, a web magazine of essays.  She's the author of Practically Perfect in Every Way and the co-founder of  Brain, Child magazine, where she worked for thirteen years. Her writing has appeared in The Washington Post, Salon, and The Morning News, among other places. She's a regular contributor to the Virginia Quarterly Review online and a contributor to The Nervous Breakdown. She sometimes leads workshops at WriterHouse, and she offers individual writing coaching for essayists.

It's the most anticipated podcast episode of the season . . . Part Two of Rachel Toor's amazing interview which aired in April.

I interviewed Rachel a few weeks ago and we had a great conversation about the magic of fiction. Though On the Road to Find Out is her first novel, the mystical experience she recounts jives with what I've heard other fiction writers say, including Natalie Baszile, author of Queen Sugar, in episode 7 of Behind the Prose. To borrow Baszile's words, "it's magic."

In this episode, Rachel's got the wand and she knows how to use it.

Yes, you read it right. The legendary Lee Gutkind graces the Behind the Prose virtual studio for a chat with yours truly.  In this interview, we discuss everything from what time he goes to bed to how he crafted an overall narrative in a collection of stand-alone essays in his book Forever Fat: Essays by the Godfather.

Plus, you get the scoop on what he's working on now and hear the answer to a question that he's never been asked before!

Here's a preview of some of the great lessons he gives in this show:

"The overall story determines the _______ and the __________ that you____________." 

"Good advice to writers is to start with ________ __________."  

If you can't fill in those blanks now, you will be able to after you listen to the show.

After you've done all your good listening, head over to the Creative Nonfiction website and buy your passes to the 2015 Creative Nonfiction Writers' Conference featuring tons of amazing writers ready to share their wisdom with you. I will be there too. Come say hello!

This episode of Behind the Prose is more like Behind the Lyrics. Indiana-born, New York-based singer/songwriter Gandhi takes us on a journey that starts when he taught himself how to play the guitar and write songs. That was 15 years ago. Today, like prose writers, Gandhi says through an process of experimentation and practice, he’s found his voice and is preparing for the release of Rebel On, an EP that reflects the musician with a mission he’s become.

In this interview, you’ll learn there are many parallels between penning lyrics and writing prose, including a surprising discovery about the role of the producer.

We listen to some of Gandhi’s song’s, dissect his lyrics, and invite you out to Brooklyn on May 1, where Gandhi will perform a collaboration show with writer and photographer Abigail Ekue. The Darker Side of Lust Private Reading and Concert features Ekue’s erotic poetry and Gandhi’s acoustic melodies and vocals.

Go ahead. Listen. Learn. Write songs.

Visit Behind the Prose for links and bios.

Though she hesitates to call herself a “writer” (she thinks it sounds self-important), author and columnist Rachel Toor has written her way into a new Young Adult novel and onto my list of writers I want to be when I grow up. You’ll remember I blogged about her wise but rude writing advice, and as soon as I hit publish, I emailed her to invite her to the show.

Not only does she write monthly and bi-monthly columns for The Chronicle of Higher Education and Running Times Magazine respectively, she’s published three nonfiction books. Her latest work and first novel, On the Road to Find Out, dropped in 2014 on Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.

In this two-part interview, you’ll learn about Rachel’s career (she’s been a publishing house editor and an admissions counselor at an Ivy League school) and how authors lose some creative control at commercial houses versus university presses. Plus, she tells us what exactly fiction writers mean when they say they can’t wait to see what their characters do next.

Also, in the Writer’s Check In, I give you a tidbit about my experience with submitting to The Reject Pile, which was featured in episode 13.

This week’s episode features a candid conversation with Washington Post reporter Soraya McDonald. In this interview, you’ll recognize right away the wit that shades much of her prose.  Soraya is a graduate of Howard University and began covering the high school sports desk as an college intern. After traveling across the country completing journalism fellowship, internships, and eventually employment, Soraya returned to the Washington Post where she eventually became a staff reporter.

I discovered her work last year when I read an article about a female gamer who had received death threats. Soraya had been covering the story for some time, and I wanted her to speak to my article writing class.

That didn’t happen, but I’m glad this did! I’ll release her bonus material which includes a how-to make the most out of your college experience, a segment particularly helpful for students.

In this show, you also get the 411 on a new daily humor site, The Reject Pile. Founded by writer Joel Miller, the site wants your unwanted work. Thank goodness somebody finally does!

Visit the SHOW PAGE on Behind the Prose for Show Notes and links!

This week's episode has all kinds of literary good stuff:

- a Q&A with Lisa Cron, the author of Wired for Story

- a feature interview with writer and editor Chesley Clammer

- The Writer's Check-In

Visit BehindtheProse.com for the episode show page that includes links and transcripts for this episode.

In this week's episode, I talk to author and journalist Kenny Porpora about his debut memoir The Autumn Balloon. 

The show also features:

An interview with Emily Griffin, Kenny's editor at Grand Central Publishing

Writers on Writing Radio Show 

My New School MFA classmate Erin Harris

Writer's Psych with Dr. Ike

Listen on demand or download on iTunes.

ABOUT KENNY PORPORA

Kenny Porpora’s work can be found in The New York Times, New York Daily News, Newsday, and The Huffington Post, and is an associate editor and part-owner of Man About World magazine. He graduated magna cum laude from Hofstra University, where he studied philosophy and holds an M.S. from Columbia in investigative journalism. He wrote his master’s thesis on professional wrestling. He’s reported on some of the biggest national news stories of the last decade, including the New York Yankees’ World Series win, the 2008 presidential primaries, the John Gotti, Jr. trial, and the ‘Miracle on the Hudson’ plane crash.

 

The Autumn Balloon is his first book. He lives in Los Angeles.