Oh Snap!: Wordy in Warsaw

A girl in Warsaw, Poland's Bankowy Square catches up on some reading as she waits for the bus.

--Allison Geller

Photo courtesy Poland Holiday Blog

Lifestyle Gumbo: [This is Not That] Cafe....Revisisted

Last Thursday, I attended POET night at this is not that CAFÉ, housed at the Phillips Collection in Washington, DC. What a great event! With hands-on poetry “exhibits” stationed around the room, it became an interactive poetry event, fun for all ages.

In addition to the CAFÉ’s regular features of games, books, friends, and wall poetry, POET Night featured edible poetry, a collaborative poem on an old-fashioned typewriter, light-up poetry, and a giant block of ice on which sat fresh plums, so sweet and so cold (an homage to William Carlos Williams). Click here.

Poets at the various stations interacted with the guests to guide them through the creative process. Everyone in attendance was given the opportunity to create poetry in a hands-on fashion, using tools and methods provided by the poets. The event was interactive on every level. Even the s food was poetry based: there was POET salad (Pine nuts, Oranges, Endive, Tossed, and Green Eggs and Ham (made with wasabi—soooo good!).

Event nights are held at this is not that on the first Thursday of every month. The next event will be FOOD Night, on Thursday, August 6. Be there! [Via this is not that CAFÉ]

* Click here to check out our previous post on this is not that CAFÉ.

--Rachel Frier

Photo: Flickr

Literary Links: C-SPAN Parodies + Wizard Sex

Considering sex in recent Harry Potter movies… and whether such behavior is warranted or even desired. [via Entertainment Weekly]

Ever come across a particularly outdated title in your local library, and wonder who’s keeping an eye on the collection? Enter Mary and Holly. [via Awful Library Books]

If Internet jargon is a bit too technical for you, check out the Circolwyrde Wordhord, a glossary of computer language in Old English. [via Carl T. Berkhout]

Larry Hughes offers a delicious parody of recent book-world news on his list of “Things I’d Like to See This Weekend on C-SPAN’s “Book TV’” [via Book Flack]

Looking for some avant-garde poetry? Look no further than the videos posted on the site of the Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival. [via Bookslut]

Jonathan Bethem, author of Motherless Brooklyn and The Fortress of Solitude, selects his favorite New York moments in fiction. [via Newsweek]

Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader Golden Plunger Awards considers the ever-evolving English language… and some phrases that just don’t make no sense. [via Neatorama]

Shocking news: Following his recent shenanigans with his Argentine lover, Mark Sanford’s publishers have killed his book deal on A Southern Gentleman’s Guide To Being Conservative. [via Wonkette]

--Rachel Frier

Photo: iWatchStuff

Lit Talk: Author Stefanie Wilder-Taylor

As an author, blogger, comedian, producer, and mother of three, one could get a little frazzled. But if Stefanie Wilder-Taylor ever does, she keeps her sense of humor about it. On July 7, she comes out with her latest collection of personal essays, cumbersomely and hilariously entitled It's Not Me, It's You: Subjective Recollections from a Terminally Optimistic, Chronically Sarcastic and Occasionally Inebriated Woman, which recounts the stranger episodes of her life with wit and winning candor. Below is an interview by Mommybloggers with Stefanie, after the publication of another excellently titled book of hers, Sippy Cups Are Not for Chardonnay.

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Mommybloggers: Welcome, Stefanie! Let's jump right in and get to know you better. You have said you don't like people who say "one thing to know about me." So, tell us 5 things we should know about you.

Stefanie: Well, since you asked… you probably should know that I’m addicted to carbs. I couldn’t last twenty minutes on the Atkins diet because my body craves hash browns like a heroin addict craves smack. Mmm… hot crispy hash browned potatoes… what else? I was the least popular person in my junior high school. It was just like Welcome to the Dollhouse and I was Weiner Dog. All right, stop crying! I’m over it. Pretty much. Let’s see, I’m a really big tipper, my breasts are real, and I own a Celine Dion CD. There you go.

Mommybloggers How did you get into blogging and does it ever interfere with your book writing? Which is harder, in your opinion?

Stefanie: I got into blogging because I needed an outlet in the first few months after giving birth. I was so damned anxious and felt I was going crazy from my new schedule of feed, cuddle, feed, sing, feed, check my email, feed, watch baby sleep, repeat. Once I got the book deal I stopped blogging until the first draft was done and then I went back to it. Writing a book is definitely a lot tougher than blogging. The trouble with blogging when I’m writing about parenting for a book is trying to save the material for the book instead of purging it right then and there. Sometimes I can look at a post and see the nugget for a chapter and that helps, but then I have to take it down from the blog.

Mommybloggers: Your book Sippy Cups Are Not for Chardonnay: And Other Things I Had to Learn as a New Mom is a fantastically humorous read and one of the most honest looks at motherhood out there. What was the catalyst that caused you to take these thoughts and make a book out of them?

Stefanie: I have to say that I read a lot of books on pregnancy in the first year of motherhood and found most of them mind-numbingly boring or terribly alarmist (mostly the preggo ones). I felt that despite the huge number of books offered on the market, I had yet to find one that captured my experience. I realize that not everyone has the same experience I do but walking through Target and seeing all the tired, expressionless moms, I knew I had to write something different. Something funny but not in an FM DJ way.

Mommybloggers: You received a lot of flak for the section of your book on breastfeeding. How did that affect you? Or did it?

Stefanie: It did affect me. I wanted to shake people when I read some of the harsh reviews and say, “You didn’t even read the book, you moron.” A lot of people who came down hard on my book based it on that one chapter. If they’d actually taken the time to read it, it would’ve saved them the time it took to wrongly tear it and me apart. I never say that anyone shouldn’t breast-feed. My point is that for the people who are having a tough time of it and want to stop, they shouldn’t let people make them feel guilty. I wasted too much time on guilt when I could have been enjoying my baby. Now, I just don’t care anymore. Breast-feeding is just one of those politically charged topics (although I don’t know why) that get the crazies out writing letters. Hey, why not protest the war and forget about my boobs for awhile?

Mommybloggers: Since then, have you ever felt the need to censor your words either on your blog or in your books?

Stefanie: I don’t feel the need to censor. Obviously I struck a chord, and in doing so, must’ve helped some people. If people don’t have a strong response to your writing (good or bad), you aren’t writing anything interesting.

***

The full interview is available here, and you can catch Stefanie at the following locations in the next couple of days:

Wednesday, July 8 at 6:00 p.m.
Tony Burch Boutique
40 Little West 12th St.
New York, N.Y. 10014

Monday, July 13 at 7:00 p.m.
Book Soup
8818 W. Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles, Calif. 90069
310.659.3110

--Emmaline Silverman

Photo by Jon Taylor

Literary Links: Journo Confessions + Optical Ineptitude

Women’s confessional journalism: dangerous to readers? [via Jezebel]

In a related discussion, Latoya Peterson reviews the inherent misogyny in most women’s self-help dating guides. [via Jezebel]

Into mythology? Check out Madame Yevonde’s gallery was of the Edwardian era’s socialites dressed up as goddesses, Gorgons, witches, and mortals. [via HERSTORY]

Ben Greenman, non-fiction editor of The New Yorker, discusses his new book Please Step Back. [via Broad Set Writing Collective]

Atlanta writer Blake Butler extrapolates on the concept of “heart” in fiction. [via HTML Giant]

Persepolis 2.0: The award-winning Persepolis, a cartoon chronicling the Iranian revolution and its aftermath, has been updated to reflect recent events following the election. [via Guardian]

Children’s author Jacqueline Woodson shares her belief in the empowerment that can be found in literature. [via Teaching Books]

“D'oh! on a Grecian Urn:” Art Scheck considers the painful, but highly satisfying, process of teaching poetry in higher education. [via Chronicle]

Denzy Senna speaks out about coming of age as the product of a doomed biracial marriage, and about “optical ineptitude” when it comes to race. [via Double X]

--Rachel Frier

Photo: Jezebel

Around the Web: MJ's Influence + Horrible Summer Movies

Michael Jackson's life in pictures. Jackson’s impact on fashion and culture is yet another reason to appreciate the artist. [via Essence]

Maybe you can’t nail it to a tree, but Jell-O certainly serves a higher purpose with these creations, part of Brooklyn’s Jell-O mold competition. [via Lemondrop]

A peek at up and coming designers to watch, who come form all over the globe and mix ethnic and tribal elements with chic to create fresh looks. [via Clutch Magazine]

Another artist tragically dies: After being diagnosed with cancer just five days before, modern choreographer Pina Bausch passed away. Her disturbing and innovative works will not lost their impact and influence anytime soon. [via The Frisky]

As Transformers 2 floods the box office for no good reason, a list of the top ten worst summer blockbusters, complete with critics’ scathing one-liners. [via The Daily Beast]

The ban on funding for abortion, domestic partnering, and other social issues in D.C. may be lifted, due to a new appropriations bill introduced in the House of Representatives. [via Feministing]

--Allison Geller

Photo: Essence

Bookmarks 7.2.09

Cartoonapalooza: An Evening with America’s Top Editorial Cartoonists in Seattle, Wash. (July 2, 7:30 p.m.) – This event, held at Seattle’s Town Hall, is part of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists’ annual convention. It will consist of a slides, animation, and discussion about the art form. Books will be available for sale.

Mile High Rendezvous in Denver, Colo. (July 3-5) – Celebrate Independence Day with this festival of live music, food, dancing, and words. The more literary attendees will appreciate the cowboy poets and the Native American storytellers.

Brooklyn’s Open Salon in Brooklyn, N.Y. (July 7, 7:00 p.m.) – Booklyn Artists Alliance is a small Brooklyn group of book-makers who strive to promote and preserve the book as an art form. On the first Tuesday of every month at their studio, they invite the public to come check out the month’s work and learn a bit about the techniques of book-making.

ZAP! POW! BAM! The Superhero: The Golden Age of Comic Books, 1938–1950 in Los Angeles, Calif. (through August 9) – This exhibit at the Skirball Cultural Center explores the genesis of the comic book as an artistic and literary form. It examines the history out of which the superhero movement sprang and displays rare objects like original sketches and 1940s Hollywood movie serials. As an added bonus, it has a vintage Batmobile ride and phone booth stations where kids can make a quick superhero costume change, just in case the day needs saving.

2009 Utah Shakespearean Festival in Cedar City, Utah (June 29 through October 17) – If you’re looking to cool off from those long, hot summer days, what better place than inside the theater at the Tony Award-winning Utah Shakespearean Festival? The program includes several of Shakespeare’s classics, as well as a few non-Elizabethan pieces of theatre, and during your visit you can attend literary seminars, backstage tours, and play orientations.

--Emmaline Silverman

Photo: Mark CC

Oh Snap!: A Book by its Cover

Writer Martin Amis has a rep for being provocative and edgy--not unlike this reader.

--Allison Geller

Photo: Martin Amis

Literary Links: Bookseller Brawls + Old-School Personal Ads

Amazon and Barnes & Noble go head to head offering e-text reader applications. [via GalleyCat]

In a shining new example of celebrities gone wild, Alice Hoffman flipped out over a negative review of her new book. Now she has offered a half-hearted apology. [via Bookslut]

Forget e-Harmony—check out these 19^th-century personal ads, the subject of Pam Epstein’s history dissertation. [via Très Sugar]

The US market it soon to be graced with the presence of the Book Depository, a company that ships books around the world for free. [via Dear Author]

Though this post is written toward booksellers, it announces an important opportunity for all readers and book-lovers: Support Literacy Every Day. [via Book Shop Blog]

At the intersection of music and reading: What music makes you think of sci-fi or fantasy? [via Tor]

Larry at OF Blog of the Fallen reviews trends in blogging, and considers whether some book blogs are headed down a reader-unfriendly path. [via Aidan Moher]

Curious about the history of children’s picture books? Check out this interactive timeline! [via Imaginary Lands]

--Rachel Frier

Photo: Galley Cat

Lit Talk: Author Dr. Kwei Quartey

Dr. Kwei Quartey leads a busy life in Pasadena, California. He is the lead physician at an urgent care center and tends to patients at a wound care clinic. And on top of his medical career, he just published his debut novel, Wife of the Gods, which he wrote incrementally in the mornings before he headed off to work. As the novel is a detective story set in Africa, Quartey has been compared to Alexander McCall-Smith, but Wife of the Gods is a breath of fresh air in its own right. It is a Ghana-based mystery that at once examines family dynamics, traditions clashing with new practices, the AIDS crisis, and a panorama of compelling characters. Click here for a Writer’s Cast audio interview with the charming author, in which he talks about his childhood in Ghana, his work, his transition into a writing life, and his novel.

***


You can catch Dr. Kwei Quartey at the following California locations in the upcoming weeks:

Tuesday, July 14 at 7:00 p.m.
Book Soup
8818 W. Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles, Calif. 90069
310.659.3110

Sunday, July 19 at 2:00 p.m.
Mysterious Galaxy Books
7051 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
Suite 302
San Diego, Calif. 92111
858.268.4747

Monday, July 20 at 7:00 p.m.
Vroman’s Bookstore
695 E. Colorado Blvd.
Pasadena, Calif. 91101
626.449.5320

--Emmaline Silverman

Photo courtesy Dr. Kwei Quartey's site