More to the Story Podcast with Janna Maron

Welcome to episode seven of More to the Story, a podcast all about telling true stories and sharing them with the world!

In this episode, I talk with previous Under the Gum Tree contributor, Penny Guisinger. Penny Guisinger lives and writes on the easternmost tip of Maine. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Fourth Genre, River Teeth, Guernica, the Brevity blog, Solstice, Under the Gum Tree, and others. Her first book, Postcards from Here, was recently released by Vine Leaves Press. Her second book, Shift, is in progress. Penny is the founding director of Iota: Short Prose Conference and a graduate of the Stonecoast MFA Program. She lives with two dogs, two kids, her wife, and a family of porcupines that trundle across the lawn like bulldozers.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Penny’s new book, Postcards from Here


• Writing short-short prose, and assembling a book


• Finding material to write about by paying attention


• Getting published, and finding the exact right home for your work


• Incriminating ourself one the page first, before anyone we right about


• The importance of creating and participating in literary community


• Iota: The Conference of Short Prose, annual writing conference Penny founded


• Visit Penny online at pennyguisinger.com, and on Twitter @pennyguisinger

Visit us online at moretothestorypodcast.com and visit Under the Gum Tree at underthegumtree.com.

Welcome to episode six of More to the Story, a podcast all about telling true stories and sharing them with the world!

In this episode, I talk with previous Under the Gum Tree contributor, Maddy Walsh. Maddy is the lead singer and primary songwriter for Ithaca, NY-based, nationally touring, seven-piece moxy rock band The Blind Spots. She received her Bachelor's degree in English and Creative Writing from the State University of New York at Binghamton in 2005 and received her Master’s degree in the same field from California State University Sacramento in 2007. Her thesis was a manuscript of poetry, the form that most heavily influences her songwriting. Maddy’s essay “Placer County Jail” appears in the October 2012 issue of Under the Gum Tree and was listed as a notable in The Best American Essays 2013. Learn more about her current work, visit www.theblindspots.com and maddmoxy.blogspot.com.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Discovering cohesive of a life story without spewing unnecessary details


• Writing and sharing about a shame-inducing experience


• Turing an unpleasant experience into a piece of art


• The benefits of sharing stories instead of not talking about unpleasant experiences


• Maddy's song writing and her band, The Blind Spots


• Visit Maddy online at www.theblindspots.com and maddmoxy.blogspot.com

Visit us online at moretothestorypodcast.com and visit Under the Gum Tree at underthegumtree.com.

Welcome to episode five of More to the Story, a podcast all about telling true stories and sharing them with the world!

In this episode I talk with former Under the Gum Tree contributor, Timothy Kenny. Tim is a former USA Today foreign editor, a non profit foundation executive, a Fulbright scholar, and associate professor of journalism at the university of Connecticut. In addition to USA today, his reporting and op-ed piece shave appears in the Toronto Star, The Los Angeles Time, The Wall Street Journal Europe, The Chicago Tribune, among many others. His narrative nonfiction has appeared in several literary magazines including the Kenyon Review Online, the Louisville Review, the Gettysburg Review, and of course Under the Gum Tree. His piece “Turning 66 and 6 in Umbria,” appears in the January 2013 issue of Under the Gum Tree. Tim’s first book is a collection of creative nonfiction entitled Far Country: Stories from Abroad and Other Places, and it was just published in May 2015. Before we get to the interview, here is Tim reading an excerpt from his new book.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Tim’s writing background and what draws him to creative nonfiction


• Why Tim prefers creative nonfiction to journalism


• Writing about how our sense of place affects who we are


• Process of compiling a book manuscript of essays


• Tim’s book Far Country: Stories from Abroad and Other Places on Amazon

Visit us online at moretothestorypodcast.com and visit Under the Gum Tree at underthegumtree.com.

Welcome to episode four of More to the Story, a podcast all about telling true stories and sharing them with the world!

In this episode I talk with former Under the Gum Tree contributor, Samuel Autman. Samuel is a member of DePauw University's writing faculty in Greencastle, Indiana where he specializes in the personal essay. "Invisible Nails" won first place in the SLS-DISQUIET 2015 Literary Contest in the nonfiction category. His work has appeared in The Chalk Circle: Prizewinning Intercultural Essays, Black Gay Genius: Answering Joseph Beam's Call, Ninth Letter, The Common Reader, Under the Gum Tree, Brevity: A Journal of Concise Literary Nonfiction, I'm Black and I Travel, The Huffington Post and The Good Men Project. His essay “The Tongues of Angels” appears in issue seven of Under the Gum Tree, published in April 2013.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Samuel’s writing background and what draws him to creative nonfiction


• The difference between journalism and narrative nonfiction


• How journalism informs writing creative nonfiction


• What caused Samuel to begin writing about his family and growing up in Arkansas


• Determining the difference between what belongs to the writer and the page, and what belongs to the writer and his or her personal relationships


• Internal conflict with personal stories and learning how to grow into boldness


• Visit Samuel online at samuelautman.com, and @samuelautman on Instagram and Twitter

Visit us online at moretothestorypodcast.com and visit Under the Gum Tree at underthegumtree.com.

Welcome to episode three of More to the Story, a podcast all about telling true stories and sharing them with the world!

In this episode I talk with former Under the Gum Tree contributor, Kate Washington. Kate is a writer based in Sacramento, California. Her work has appeared in such publications as The Washington Post, Yoga Journal, Sunset and the Bellingham Review, and she is a contributing writer at Sactown magazine. She is a co-founder of Roan Press, a small nonprofit literary press. Kate’s essay “Promises Like Piecrust” appears in the October 2014 issue of Under the Gum Tree, and it was nominated for a Pushcart Prize.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Kate’s writing background and what draws her to creative nonfiction


• The impetus for “Promises Like Piecrust”


• Precise language and descriptions when writing about food


• Christina Rosetti’s poem “Promises Like Piecrust,” and pies during the Victoria Age


• Promises, what they mean, and what happens when we inevitably break them


• Living with a mother who has bipolar disorder


• Visit Kate online at kawashington.com or on twitter @washingtonkate.

Visit us online at moretothestorypodcast.com and visit Under the Gum Tree at underthegumtree.com.

Welcome to episode two of More to the Story, a podcast all about telling true stories and sharing them with the world!

Today I talk with previous Under the Gum Tree contributor Laurie Easter. Laurie writes from her home in Southern Oregon where she lives in a funky little cabin off the grid and on the edge of wilderness. She holds an MFA in writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts and has been awarded a fellowship to the Vermont Studio Center. Her work has appeared in Hippocampus Magazine, Connotation Press: An Online Artifact, and Oregon English Journal. She is working on an essay collection about loss and grief. Her essay, “Something to do With Baldness,” appears in the January 2014 issue of Under the Gum Tree, and was nominated for a Pushcart Prize.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Laurie’s writing background and what draws her to creative nonfiction


• The impetus for writing “Something to do With Baldness”


• Writing about grief


• Laurie’s experience shaving her head


• Femininity and the perception of beauty


• The sometimes challenging dynamic of female friendships


• Visit Laurie online at laurieeaster.com

Visit us online at moretothestorypodcast.com and visit Under the Gum Tree at underthegumtree.com.

Welcome to episode one of More to the Story, a podcast all about telling true stories and sharing them with the world!

In this episode I interview previous Under the Gum Tree contributor, Katy Sargent. Katy is a recent graduate from the Stonecoast MFA program. She is a freelance, nonfiction writer who dabbles in screenwriting. She lives in South Portland, Maine with her husband, two daughters and three chickens. Her story, “Long Play,” was published in the April 2014 issue of Under the Gum Tree, and she is one of four writers we published that year who were nominated for the Pushcart Prize, which is one of the most coveted literary awards.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Katy’s writing background and what draws her to writing creative nonfiction


• Jo Ann Beard The Boys of My Youth and In Zanesville


• The origin of her story “Long Play”


• How connection to objects shapes our memories


• Born Standing Up: A Comic’s Life, Steve Martin’s memoir


• Visit Katy online at enter link description herekatherinesargent.com

Visit us online at moretothestorypodcast.com. Visit Under the Gum Tree at underthegumtree.com.

Welcome to the pilot episode of More to the Story, a podcast all about telling true stories and sharing them with the world!

In this first episode, I talk about:

• What to expect from this first season of More to the Story


• What it means to tell stories without shame


• Where the name Under the Gum Tree comes from


• My story “The Gum Tree”


• Sign up for Under the Gum Tree email list and get a free digital copy of the Premiere issue!


• Find more information about the magazine at UndertheGumTree.com

Visit us online at moretothestorypodcast.com.