A Good Short Story is Hard to Find...

I first discovered Frank Yerby (1916-1991) in the anthology, Black Southern Voices: An Anthology of Fiction, Poetry, Drama, Nonfiction, and Critical Essays (1992). My father purchased the withdrawn book from the public library yesterday. Immediately, I was drawn to the short story, "Health Card," which won the O. Henry Memorial Award in 1944 for best first short story.

"Health Card" is set in the Jim Crow South, where an African-American soldier awaits for the arrival of his wife, Lily. Needless to say, the story is very suspenseful and will have you sitting on the edge of your seat. I love how the story explores black masculinity: how does a man be a man when his manhood is constantly challenged and undermined?

As an African-American writer, I feel I have a responsibility to challenge the status quo. I feel a need to write something so profound and illuminating that it challenges and confronts racism. However, I don't know if my writing achieves that yet. Right now, my writing deals with the fantastical and supernatural, but maybe one day, I will write that ground-breaking novel...one day...until then, we still have Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man (1953) and Ann Petry's The Street (1946).  

A Hidden Gem: Dael Orlandersmith

I just finished reading a great American play entitled, Yellowman (2002), which is written by actress/writer Dael Orlandersmith. The play was nominated for the 2002 Pulitzer Prize in Drama, which was the same year that Suzan-Lori Parks became the first African-American woman to win a Pulitzer Prize in Drama for Topdog/Underdog (2001). Before picking up the book at the library, I had never of Orlandersmith. Ever. I was browsing through the book aisle and saw a thin yellow spine that read, "Yellowman." Interesting title, I thought. Then, I became even more interested when I saw the photograph of  the playwright: a Black woman sporting braids. I find myself being drawn to Black female writers because I feel they understand me. It's like, finally, I see myself on those pages...but I digress. I first picked up Yellowman in 2008. Interestingly, I didn't read the play when I first checked it out from the library (I have that habit; I checkout a bunch of books, and read only a few). Last month, I checked out the book again. This time I read it, and I loved it. It was a fast read. It almost went too fast, but I enjoyed reading every bit of it. I love the language in Orlandersmith's play--it's poetic and lyrical. I could feel the heat of South Carolina. I could feel the humidity cloak my body and the dust fall on my skin like rain drops. Orlandersmith's writing and content reminds me of Alice Walker. The richness. The beauty. The womanness. It's so awesome when you discover a  writer that interests you and pulls you in. It's like meeting someone who captivates you. You're under his spell. Finding a writer that intellectually stimulates you is like finding a needle in a haystack: hard! Because I liked Yellowman so much, I am now reading Beauty's Daughter; Monster; The Gimmick: Three Plays (2002). Hopefully, those plays are as good as Yellowman. I'll let you know if I liked them. By the way, are there any writers that you have discovered recently?

Say It Ain't So, Tin House!

Darn, another rejection and dreams of stardom are flushed down the toilet, once again. The blow came in an e-mail with the words, "Your submission to Tin House," in the subject line. Uh-oh, I thought. About three weeks earlier, I had received an email confirming that my submission was received, and for the last couple of weeks I was daydreaming about seeing my poem published in the crisp pages of Tin House...and then my whole life would change. I would be discovered by a New York literary agent and then I would have a book deal and BAM I'm a household name! Please note: I am being extremely sarcastic and completely delusional. But when I saw that email from Tin House, I knew the deal...defeat...another one bites the dust. Usually, when you receive a response too soon, especially when it comes from a literary publication, it's not a good sign. So, I braced myself for the inevitable and opened the email. Yep, it's what I expected. One of those impersonal rejection letters. Or should I say note of brevity where you are a nameless soul:

Dear Writer,
Thank you for your submission to Tin House. Unfortunately, we must pass at this time. Best of luck placing your work elsewhere.

Sincerely,
Tin House Editors
2010-06-03 13:25:39 (GMT -7:00)

As a result of my Tin House rejection, I'm thinking about submitting my work to another publication, preferably Callaloo, but I'm not sure. I know everyone says that a writer should simultaneously submit their work to various publications, but I never do that, which is not the most efficient route to become published. I have to understand that just because a literary magazine passes on my work, it doesn't necessarily mean that my work is crap. It might mean that my style of writing or content is not "suitable" to the publication's aesthetic. Or at least that is what I have to tell myself. I know that ZZ Packer, author of Drinking Coffee Elsewhere (2004), mentioned that she had submitted a number of stories to The New Yorker before her story, "Drinking Coffee Elsewhere," made its debut in 2000. So, I got to keep writing and keep hope alive. If your work has been rejected, please don't feel discouraged. In fact, give a shout out to the publication that rejected your work. Don't be mad--you're just earning your writer's stripes.

Dreams of a Doubtful Writer

I am asking myself the hard question, "How do I plan to jump start my writing career?" And to be honest, I don't have a writing career, yet. I'm still a struggling writer that no one has heard of except friends, family, and classmates. I don't even know if I have enough credentials to call myself a writer, but I am one (I've been one ever since I was in elementary school). I dream of penning a book that becomes a best-seller. I want to earn tons of money and travel the world promoting my book. I want to be interviewed by the best journalists and have my photograph donning the front cover of Poets & Writers. At least, that is what I want, but will it happen? Right now, I'd be satisfied with having one of my works be published in a major literary magazine, but I don't know if this is achievable. Right now, I know that I need to write more, but I feel blocked. Like the blank page is a challenge. A test. And I don't want to fail. To put it bluntly, I'm a very practical person, and sometimes the idea of being a fiction writer seems too lofty. To write a well-written piece of work takes a lot of time and effort. And in spite of your hard work, there are no guarantees, and it is this realization that is preventing me to write. For example, I really want to turn in a manuscript to The New Yorker, but there is a huge part of me that feels it is a waste of my time, but we never know unless we try, right?

Discovering your Writer Self

Attending the right graduate program can alter your life and writing style. Maybe it's wishful thinking on my part, but I think grad school gives you a wide range of skills. After reading a post entitled, "it feels like changing fortune," by fellow classmate Dave Kiefer, I agree with him when he writes how attending the University of Baltimore has significantly improved his writing. Before attending UB, I never wrote my stories by hand--I wrote every story directly into the computer. As a novice, I thought it was bad if you didn't know what your story was about before writing it. However, as I began to study the writing habits of writers that I admire such as Toni Morrison, I learned that many of them write their stories on a piece of paper or pad. At UB, I learned that writing is a process and an exciting journey. Discovering the story is the best part of writing. I used to think it was crazy when I heard writers tell journalists, "The story just came to me." But I can honestly say, this is true. A writer shouldn't cocooned himself in his dank, lonely writing den because the best material comes from the outside world. I find myself incorporating conversations I overheard and things I saw on TV into my writing. Writing is cultural; so why not embed society, media, and real life into your writing? With writing we are creating worlds, and those worlds should somewhat resemble "real" life. Not just fictional life.

A Writer's Tweets

It was so funny. It just hit me today--you need to use your Twitter account. I'll admit I wasn't a huge fan of the new social media. I thought it was silly and a waste of time. However, after taking my electronic publishing class at the University of Baltimore, I found out that utilizing social media is a great way to market yourself as a writer. As mentioned in a previous post entitled, "It's all about Twitter, folks!," two classmates and I did a group presentation on Twitter. From the research, I learned that many celebrities and companies have Twitter accounts including Oprah, The New York Times--everyone! With Twitter, you can tweet about upcoming events. You can insert links into your tweets so people can view articles and/or blog posts. Also, create hash tags so people can find your tweets using keywords. So, here is my Twitter account: http://twitter.com/mbanks6. Also, for all you Tweeters, have you found Twitter useful? Let me know. Also, you can post a link to your Twitter account!

A New Chapter...

Yesterday night, I attended the University of Baltimore's MFA Creative Writing & Publishing Arts Book Celebration. For that night, graduating students from the program showcased their books that they designed and printed (some made theirs by hand). The books looked great. The prices ranged from $5-$30. I purchased Adam Robinson's poetry collection entitled, Say, Poem. Students also read excerpts from their books which ranged from poetry, novel excerpts, novellas, short stories, to memoir. As I was watching my fellow classmates give their final readings as grad students, I thought about how in one year, it will be my turn. I will stand in front of my peers, colleagues, family, and friends, and share my child to the world. Then, I wondered what in the world will I do after graduation? Teach? Write? If I could have any wish, I would love to be a "professional" writer...I want to get paid to write...I know that a lot of writers who dedicate their lives to the craft and do not have a "day" job often apply for grants and fellowships...but I wonder, is that realistic? Is that even doable? If you're a full-time writer without a day job, can you give me pointers?