Today I am sitting and studying the Six Armed Cross on the church at La Garita in the San Luis Valley in Colorado. Hope to travel there soon and have better pictures. Hope to draft more ideas returning me to the Monte Stories project. But today I am obsessing over the cross and the uniqueness.Continue reading “six armed cross at la garita”
Category Archives: Process
barthelme and failure
Finished re-reading Didion’s Play It As It Lays last night and have some time before I have to re-read Fight Club for my Intro to Lit course and I don’t have to read Kingston’s last essay from her book Woman Warrior until Weds night–see what I mean when I say the brain of school hasContinue reading “barthelme and failure”
tami show and those puro classicos
I’ve been wanting to write about the TAMI Show for a while. I have the story in my head of Lolo travelling to Denver to see Gerry and the Pacemakers. They probably all have pacemakers now but back in the day this film and travelling concert series almost led Lolo to flunking out of school.Continue reading “tami show and those puro classicos”
donoso in the brain
A new writing assignment has me with José Donoso in the brain. All articles I requested and his book Hell Has No Limits all came in today like a spring force. I’ve been interested in Donoso since I read the short story “Ana Maria” years ago in an ethnic lit course. And now I haveContinue reading “donoso in the brain”
the brain of teaching
The brain of teaching and conferencing has me and I haven’t been able to revise or draft as much as I have been wanting. I hope to go back to the Highland Stories this weekend because I have been discussing Denis Johnson and Amy Hempel stories and I have been inspired to pair down those storiesContinue reading “the brain of teaching”
prose home movies
The first time I heard of the ‘prose home movie’ I was in Will Hochman’s Major Authors course studying my beloved JD Salinger. I remember it was a seminar course and we sat round robin style and Will made fun of the white socks and black shoes I was wearing at the time. He admitted toContinue reading “prose home movies”
Random Thoughts on ‘Messy’ Writers
Because I am a sad intellectual type I found myself listening to NPR today, specifically Dave Davies sitting in for Terry Gross. And if you anything about me you know how I feel about Terry Gross. Anyway, today, Davies interviewed Paul Giamatti who I loved in Sideways as the frustrated novelist. I like that hisContinue reading “Random Thoughts on ‘Messy’ Writers”
a Multitude of Stories Part 2
This morning–right before leaving for work–I found a story I wrote quite a while ago for Jenny Cornell’s Representation of Science in LIterature class. The story is called House of Two Bears and it is an exaggerated story based on something my Grandfather used to tell me. The old man was a great story teller.Continue reading “a Multitude of Stories Part 2”
a Multitude of Stories
Lately, I’ve had only two books on my coffee table around me while I write: Caramelo by Sandra Cisneros and the Collected Stories of Wallace Stegner. I’ve also been listening to Los Lobos and Bob Dylan today as I think of the world of the Little Lolo Stories. And I can say these texts haveContinue reading “a Multitude of Stories”
Voices
This last week has been tough. Work and then a Saturday event. The semester has torn me down but today the voices still come after me. As I do laundry I hear the Jefita: You don’t want a family. You want slaves to work for you.
Novel Writing
This afternoon I printed out the 164 pages of the Little Lolo Stories and sat and read through again, noting the places that need tweaking. I’ve been printing out and re-reading and re-envisioning so much of the book I can’t keep up with my thoughts for revision. Anyway, I couldn’t help of thinking about thisContinue reading “Novel Writing”
The Grandfather and My Prose
I speak anecdotally in the classroom so often some of my students begin to speak of my Grandfather as if they know him–as if they know his influence upon me. And because as a fiction writer I don’t begin to think that the Jefe in the writing or the Grandfather from those anecdotal lessons fromContinue reading “The Grandfather and My Prose”
Thoughts on Process
I had so much interest in responding to Kim’s weblog and her thoughts on voice I thought I would post the response: I have relaxed so much on voice and even stealing. I have been reading Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz and Singing from the Well by Arenas and I am stealing. I am notContinue reading “Thoughts on Process”
A Small Thought on Process
Writing is coming pretty furiously lately. I have so many notes right now I feel as if I am writing to keep up with the trajectory of the work. I have notes for at least another 4 or 5 chapters of the Little Lolo project. And they seem so clear to me–scary because I hateContinue reading “A Small Thought on Process”
Whispering to Imaginary Friends
This morning after waking up around 5AM and finding myself unable to sleep I tried to utilize that energy to get Ch 22 down–at least in my notes. I used to do that pretty regularly–I liked the idea of writing before I spoke to anyone or even before the sun was up. My first yearContinue reading “Whispering to Imaginary Friends”