Hey there sports fans! I am like many people in Chicago today -- nervous, unable to concentrate, wondering about the future. And it is all because the Cubs are in the World Series, a feat that has made even the Sox fans in my household cheer for the Northsiders. Go Cubs!! I have been remiss in letting you know what's new with Solace in So Many Words contributors, so here's some new info. Patty Somlo, whose prose piece "Learning to Breathe" appeared in SISMW, has a new … [Read more...]
News on contributors (Desilets, Rodley, Mahan, McConnell, Kirk) notes on rejection
Hello sweeties. Hope you don't have the winter blues and that you are getting enough vitamin D. On January 16 there was a story on NPR by Jason Comely about embracing rejection ("By Making a Game out of Rejection, A Man Conquers Fear"). For a while there I was going to write a post about it, how writers have to embrace rejection. I was trying to think of it in terms of the Pareto principle, the mathematical principle known as the 80-20 rule, but I couldn’t get it … [Read more...]
Guest Post: Fran Podulka “The Fitting”
The Fitting You turn, turn, turn as the seamstress pins lace onto the perfect hem of your wedding dress. You turn on command. Reflected over and over in the mirrored room you surround us. "Fits like a glove," the seamstress says, then crowns you with flowers silk and braided pearls, a froth of veil softens your wild, loose hair. Somewhere in the shop your father waits. Since you asked him to come that he should see you this way before the … [Read more...]
The Chicago lit scene rocks!
The Pop-Up Bookfair was Sunday at The Empty Bottle and it was a lot of fun. I've been singing the praises of Curbside Splendor Press and will continue to do so. Not only does Curbside have a great catalog, but it has amped up the lit scene in Chicago. Hosting various readings and events, like the Pop-Up Bookfair, Curbside has livened things up and been generous and supportive of all Chicago presses. And one of the great things is that Victor David Giron and Jacob Knabb … [Read more...]