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New Englanders and The National Book Foundation's
2003
National Book Award
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George Howe Colt of
Massachusetts, a finalist for
The Big House: A Century in the Life of an
American Summer Home
Carlos Eire of Guilford,
Connecticut WON
for Waiting for Snow in Havana: Confessions of a
Cuban Boy
Charles Simic Professor of
English at the University of New Hampshire, a
finalist for The Voice at 3:00 A.M.:
Selected Late and New Poems
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Presented, in
typical fashion, in no particular order, save for the State Poet Laureates.
Scroll down and enjoy.
The
Curse of the Bambino
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Book and Lyrics
by David Kruh
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Music and Lyrics
by Steven Bergman
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Will You Run for
President? is the title of a novel and the
centerpiece of a political campaign by Greenwich,
Connecticut resident Daniel
Vovak. Actually the site is about two men named
Vovak. Luke, in the novel, is a West Point grad and a history
professor at UCONN. Daniel is the writer and self promoter who
is taking his book and political aspirations to Iowa. (if this
sounds confusing, well, it is.) The site includes pictures of
Luck Vovak
wearing wig (just like the first George) and Daniel entirely wigless.
There are press notes from all over, the
candidate's (that's Daniel) daily journal and, less we forget, how to buy his book online.
We want to thank Jennifer, a viewer on her
toes, who pointed out the dramatic errors in the first site review.
Bruce
Tiven is a writer from Connecticut
and his site was recommended to us by a viewer. He has a substantial
background in banking and finance, thus lending credence to the main
character for his novel, First Born. Adam Adamson
is a brilliant and enormously wealthy corporate executive who, for
reasons that one can learn by reading the book, may not be the person
everyone thinks he is. His dilemma is compounded by the sudden
and keen interest of the Army, CIA and the NYPD. (Now there's a
combination!) An excerpt of First Born may
be read at the site, which Tiven hopes will inspire an online
purchase, as can some of his poetry.
WorcesterCounty.com
is a community-based site, largely devoted to local authors and their
work in the Massachusetts county. It offers free space
for journals, stories, essays and other written pieces with a
Worcester hook. The county has sixty town of all shapes
and sizes, reflected in the variety of works presented. It is
an interactive site that encourages the give an take of ideas and the
words used to express them. Good for them.
StoryFoundry
was started by Robert Mattson in hopes of giving playwrights a place
to list their works and start a community. The site's goal is to
provide a free home where people who write plays, or others who are
looking for new works to present, can come and share ideas and give
the opportunity for some of the great works that are being created to
see the light of day and perhaps, the footlights as well. It costs
nothing to join or post a work for review.
From Collinsville,
Connecticut comes a site by and for New England writers.
Hosted by Julie Ctwriter.com,
includes examples of her promotional and advertising work for small
businesses in the region, poetry, photographs and the latest issue of
the CTWRITER.COM newsletter. Offering creative writing services
of all kinds, the site also includes information on writing workshops
and classes.
Denis
Horgan says (and we believe him) that he was born in a Boston
taxicab and that his principal vice is an addiction to the Boston
Red Sox. Between the cab ride and his profound
attachment to lost causes, he managed to hoodwink others into a scam
in which all he had to do was provide his pearls of wisdom to an unsuspecting
readership. The
Hartford Courant took the bait for years, but at last sent him
packing into "other" editorial interests.
Apparently not content with his past glories, the man has set up his
own site. While the Courant is now owned by a corporations out
of Chicago that has little to do with Connecticut
or New England except to suck
every dime they can out of the market, we're happy to see that
Horgan is on his own. The site is comprised of his commentary,
on all subjects, with a humorous and decidedly New England
bent. You be the judge. We like
it.
WordCrafters.org
is a freelance writers' collective that specializes in providing
superior content and graphics for that medium we've come to know as
the World Wide Web. As one would expect, most of the
Collective's work is done in cyberspace but more interestingly, its
core membership is composed of the spouses of military service
members, stationed literally, all over the planet. The group's
tiny office-two doors down from the historic Dutch Tavern in New
London-belies a global reach that provides writers and
graphic designers to discerning clients.
John
E. Budzinski of
Derry, New Hampshire is
a freelance writer/photographer who specializes in answering the
creative needs of businesses and other commercial interests.
Working in both the print and electronic media, Budzinski offers what
he calls "one stop shopping" for creating eye-catching
photographs, writing general interest articles for newspapers or
producing quality copy for targeted, specialized
publications.
A member of the National Writers
Association and the National Press Photographers Association, among
other organizations, his easy-to-use and fun to visit site offers a portfolio
photographs, an extensive sampling of his writing and contact
information.
WALDEN COMES HOME:
The Sesquicentennial of an American Classic
In an
unprecedented collaboration with The Huntington Library in San Marino,
CA, the Walden Woods Project will bring the seventh and final (extant)
manuscript draft of Thoreau’s classic, Walden, or Life in the
Woods back to the place where it was written 150 years ago.
For two months, from July
15th through September 13th, the final manuscript draft of
Thoreau’s seminal work -- one of the classics of American literature
-- will be on exhibit at the Thoreau Institute in celebration of the
sesquicentennial of its publication. The Institute is owned and
managed by the Walden Woods Project.
walden.org
is in Lincoln, Massachusetts and
features the home pages of the Walden Woods Project, The Thoreau
Society and The Thoreau Institute. The
institute is collaborative effort that contains an archive of
Thoreau's writing, a technology center and a reading room. The
Center is naturally enough, located in Walden Woods not far from
where one of our first "great" writers made his
observations and received his inspiration.
Edward
J. Renehan Jr. is a nonfiction writer living in Rhode
Island. His most recent book, The
Kennedys at War was published by Doubleday in April 2002 was
a selection for the Book of the Month Club and the History Book Club.
Internet
tools for writers and readers
The
Century Dictionary is more than a hundred years old yet it is
considered by scholars as one of the best dictionaries ever
compiled-and still the second largest-of the England language.
Edited by William Dwight Whitney, Professor of Comparative
Philology and Sanskrit at Yale, The Century Dictionary was
one of the cornerstones of the English language in the last quarter
of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th.
The company discontinued publishing after the 1914 edition but it
is back, online today. Click the logo to explore, use and
enjoy.
The
Complete Works of William Shakespeare, is available online. Created by Jeremy Hylton, it
is operated by New England's own
MIT's The Tech, oldest and largest newspaper. (Also, the first
newspaper on the web, going online in 1993.)
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Project
Gutenberg began in 1971 by Michael Hart who had some spare
computer time at the University of Illinois. Today the project
offers thousands of books that can be downloaded and read on a
monitor or, if one has lots of paper, printed for old fashioned
reading. Run by Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
Foundation in Mississippi, the project is actually the craft of
thousands of volunteers-nationwide-who type, scan, upload, download,
fix and transfer great and lesser books for anyone to read, enjoy or
endure. With many FTP sites around the globe, one is available
here in New England at The
Sudbury Valley School
Framingham, Massachusetts
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Founded in Chicago by Harriet Monroe in 1912,
Poetry is the oldest monthly devoted to verse in the English-speaking world. Harriet Monroe's "Open Door" policy, set forth in 1911, remains the most succinct statement of Poetry's mission: to print the best poetry written today, in whatever style,
genre, or approach. Poetry is generally regarded as the premier journal of
verse and is an entirely independent publication, unaffiliated with
any university or institution. The Magazine receives over 90,000 manuscript submissions a
year.
Inscriptions
is a weekly e-zine for
people who write, read or aspire to do the former. Regularly updated
with special features, how-to help, reviews, interviews, job opportunities,
markets that pay real money, contests, a weekly question for writers, news and
opinions on the state of writing in America. We were unable to determine
just where they are located (it may well be that "it" resides in cyber
space and no where else) but the professional and gifted writer who regularly
editor and contribute to the publication are from all parts of the country,
including New England. Must of what they offer is free but there are paid
areas and all are encouraged to subscribe for a very modest price.
Urbandictionary.com
is a slang dictionary where everyone, at least those who are so disposed, can
do the definitions. They ask you to Define your world but
have the good sense to note that the Urban Dictionary
is not appropriate for all audiences. Great
fun and at least, of temporary importance.
grub
street, inc. offers workshops, events and professional help for writers
of all skill and experience levels. Serving Greater Boston from Somerville,
Massachusetts, the non
profit group can also assist area word-smiths in hooking up with editors, agents
and provide a live forum for writers and poets to read their work to a critical
yet supportive audience.
Writers Write®
is not from New England, in fact they are from Texas, but the site
will be useful to many in our region who work at writing or who enjoy
reading about the craft. The site includes a database for jobs,
detailed examinations on specialized writing-business, medical,
Epublishing, song and screen writing, poetry to name a few-a message
board for writers and a wealth of information on getting a foot in the
door at a publisher. A commercial site with obvious business
connections, they offer a good service in an easy-to-use format.
Writers
need a place to work and for many, home is that place. Even
for the lucky ones with a separate barn or shed in some idyllic
setting, being "home" also has its demands. Kim
Wilson is a writer who has sought to help other writers balance the
their writing careers with the daily demands of raising children,
doing house "work" and keeping the home fires burning.
Write From Home
is a online community for freelance writers that also provides a healthy
dose of practical tips and solutions for parents and other who write
not too far from the kitchen table. The site includes
professional information for wordsmiths-marketing, advertising,
networking, writing organizations and groups-and first hand
suggestions from others on pounding the keys while waiting for the
kids to do the dishes done. Updated monthly, the site has
message boards, monthly columns on the business of home-writing and
also welcomes news and views from others.
If
we have the time we'd tarry at the The
Writers Retreat. Three residential
centers-Colorado, Mexico and just north of New England in
Quebec-offer professional services, workshops and an environment
where, with luck, blank pages are filled with the hard fought
glories of the language...
The
Authors Guild has served professional writers for more than 80
years from its headquarters in New York City. Membership is
confined to published authors, freelance writers, literary agents, the
heirs or executors of the estates of deceased authors and
professionals (attorneys and accountants) that represent authors. The
Guild is primarily devoted to protecting the business and financial
interests of writers and publishers.
Urbandictionary.com
is a slang dictionary where everyone, at least those who are so
disposed, can do the definitions. They ask you
to Define your world but have the good sense to note that
the Urban Dictionary is not appropriate
for all audiences
Need to have
something written by a pro?
Michael
O'Brien is a freelance writer based in North
Easton, Massachusetts specializing in business,
parenting and personal finance stories for online and print
publications. He can research and write news and feature
articles, do the behind-the-scene ghostwriting, write
instructions and summaries. His simple but
attractive site includes samples of work, his bio and resume
and contact information.
WritersNet is
s directory of writers, editors, publishers and literary agents. They
welcome new writers and others involved in the "work" of
writing to join the network. The site offers a message
board, lots of contacts and tips for working the trade.
The
National Federation of State Poetry Societies is a non-profit
devoted to recognizing the importance of poetry to our cultural
heritage and to give American poets a literary means to bond and
attain a greater understanding of their craft. Founded in Baton Rouge,
Louisiana in 1959, the federation holds fifty poetry contests every
year, with cash prizes, and a Manuscript Contest for a single poet to
present a collection of works. The winner also receives a cash
prize the manuscript is printed for sale at their annual
convention.
New
England has two state members of the Federation. The
Connecticut Poetry Society has eight local chapters in the
state and the Massachusetts State Poetry Society, although it
does not have a web site, can be reached by sending an email to Cora
Ott or Beverly Barnes
poetry.com
is out of Owings Mills, MD and as one might expect, they see to the
care and feeding of poets. They say they feature over 3.1 million
poets, making the site's search engine a real necessity.
Among the site's offerings are the top 100 poems, September 11
dedications, help with rhyming and a regular poetry contest with a
cash prize. They even offer a college level course on
becoming a poet laureate.
We
heard about Lovenpoetry.com
from an email. The site is not from New England but since
our region has strong ties to poets and poetry-going back a few
hundred years-we thought it would also be useful for today's New
England poets or our neighbors who like to read verse. It is an
ambitious site with opportunities to publish online, to read or write reviews
on what others have written-both the great and the near great- and to
partake in the company of poets in an online experience.
While
it is not based in New England, Poetry
Slam Incorporated (PSI) is a non profit that promotes
the performance and creation of poetry and literary
expressions of the spoken word. The group has a keen
following in New England and they assist many established and
fledging New England poets in honing their craft.
Frank Schaeffer
is the author of three novels and two reflections on the
military and our wars: Keeping Faith:
A Father-Son Story About Love And The United States Marine
Corps and Voices From the Front:
A collection of letters from American soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
A commentator for national print and electronic media,
Schaeffer and his family live outside Boston.
Maria
McCarthy is a poet and writer from Cambridge,
Massachusetts. She's a Boston, bicentennial
baby who was given up for adoption. Again parentless in her
early adolescence, she spent her remaining youth in foster
homes and under the "care" of the government.
She learned early on to keep a journal of her life in America.
Her
work has been featured in
a number of publications and she has many editing projects to
her credit. Her site includes poems, short stories, a
brief biography and, we're happy to say, photographs of
McCarthy in various stages of grand congeniality.
John
McLain is a writer from Keene,
New Hampshire.
At Authorsden
one can learn about his two recently published trade paperbacks.
The Reckoning
is a coming-of-age novel with just the right amount of greed, violence and
retribution to keep one glued to the pages. And
for the growing number of people who have decided to chuck the commute
and work at home, his How to Promote Your Home Business
may help establish a profitable bottom line.
WorcesterCounty.com
is a community-based site, largely devoted to local authors
and their work in the Massachusetts
county. It offers free space for journals,
stories, essays and other written pieces with a Worcester
hook. The county has sixty town of all shapes and
sizes, reflected in the variety of works presented. It
is an interactive site that encourages the give an take of
ideas and the words used to express them. Good for them.
The
American Prospect (TAP) has been providing a refreshing
alternative to packed, "me too" journalism and commentary
since 1990. Published in Boston and officially a non profit
entity; the magazine is not coy about its liberal leanings or
suggesting-often loudly-that today's accepted dogma is just so much
malarkey. While Rush Limbaugh fans may have trouble digesting
the offerings-as other may with editorial page of the Wall Street
Journal-the magazine provides hearty sustenance for those who dine
using their left hand.
They
welcome unsolicited contributions, although they encourage brief query
letters first and the site includes an archive of past work, forums,
book reviews, how to subscribe or donate to the organization online
and an email newsletter.
One of
the books published by The
Harvard Common Press is the one to the left, by Marty Carlock who is also a member of the New
England Sculptures Association. It covers over 800 works
of "public" art in Greater Boston and includes 125
photographs. To learn more about the book or place an
order, give it a click.
From Cambridge,
Massachusetts, Timothy
Gager is the author of two collections of short stories,
The
Damned Middle and Twenty-Six
Pack (featuring 26 Photos by David Prock). Both books,
as well as Timothy's monthly reading event, The
Dire Series, have received extremely positive media
attention. Besides these accolades, The
Dire Reader is a great networking
tool. Both books are available through the
publisher, Dead
End Street.
We
should have known about Connecticut based SatireWire but it
took a feature story in the New York Times to alert us to this
hotbed of disclaimers. As the name suggests, they take
aim at the great, the near great and the excruciatingly
simple-minded with savage abandon. The site
includes a cavalcade of charts-Titanic emails were most
instructive-a "Current Content Experience" where snippets
entice the undaunted and a search program which we could not
muster the courage to try. Interestingly, they are not
modest about wanting submission-they don't-nor are they
looking for writers. But there is an element of courageous
capitalism to their Internet presence-ball caps, mouse pads,
T-shits are available for purchase-and while the services are free, those moved to preserve and protect satire in this
country can make an online donation, with no strings attached.
You can keep your first born.
Located in
Concord, The
New Hampshire Writers’ Project is a non-profit organization for
writers, publishers, booksellers, agents, educators, librarians and
anyone with an interest in books and reading. They offer
seasonal workshops, support the New Hampshire Writers' Day and the
Young Writers' Conference and work on a variety of projects to
promote reading and writing in the state. The recognize both
prominent and promising writers with the New Hampshire Literary
Awards.
| The Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress
has information on the current Poet Laureate of the United
States, information on past holders of the position, events
and a large archive of poems and readings by the Laureates
The
current Poet Laureate for the Library of Congress is Billy Collins.
The
Connecticut Poet Laureate
is Marilyn Nelson who was appointed by the Connecticut Commission on the Arts
in June, 2001 to serve a five-year term.
Her poems may be read on Marilyn Nelson's Labyrinth
Marie
Harris is not a native of New Hampshire, she hails from the
flatlander region of New York, but she has called the state home
since 1971 and is the Poet Laureate of New Hampshire.
Like many contemporary poets, her writing
background is broad and varied but she seems to have captured the
flavor of New Hampshire, perhaps as only an outsider can. The
page includes a recent poem to mark Governor Jeanne Shaheen's third term
and is linked from the
New Hampshire State Council on the Arts.
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Nantuckets.com
serves the literary community in and about Nantucket
with original stores, poems, news, views and events of note for
wordsmiths on the Island.
The Northern New England (NNE) chapter of the Society for Technical Communication
was incorporated in 1983 to better serve the needs of members in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and northern
Massachusetts. With more that 165 members the site includes
upcoming events and meeting information.
The dubious
privilege of a freelance writer is he's given the freedom to starve
anywhere. S.J. Perelman
S. J. Perelman was
born in Brooklyn on February 1, 1904 but grew up in Providence,
Rhode Island where he attended but didn't graduate from Brown
University. The lack of academic credentials didn't seem
to mar Perelman's creativity as he went on to write the Marx Brothers movie
classics Horse Feather and Monkey Business and
later Around the World in 80 Days.
 Perelman
wrote and edited Brown's student humor magazine, theNew
England Newspapers)
Founded in 1920, it is still carrying on the bold tradition blazed by the
likes of Perelman. Click the logo to see for yourself.
The Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance
was founded in 1975 as a non-profit to promote the value of literature and the art of writing
in the state. The site includes an events listing, membership
information, news on workshops and a notice on the Annual Fall Writing
Retreat that was set for last September.
The
New England History Teachers Association
keeps the people who tell us just where we've been, and maybe
heading, on top of the advances in their field.
A
Collection of Writings by Glenn Alan Cheney.
Cheney has traveled extensively and now lives in Hanover, CT.
He has taught for many years in New England and much of his writing
is geared to young adult readers with an emphasis on environmental issues.
Literary
Traveler,
Somerville, MA-an online magazine with of words and ideas from some
of our greatest writers. There are tours for sections of the
country, including of course, New England.
Centro
Attività Scolastiche Italiane-for
the promotion of Italian language and culture in the schools of New England.
The
New England Press Association
New
England Newspaper Association
The
New England Skeptical Society,
in Hamden, CT is organization dedicated to the promotion of
science and reason, the investigation of paranormal and
pseudoscientific claims, especially within New England, improved
standards of education for science and critical thinking skills, and
lobbying for rational law making.
National
Writers Union, Local 5,
Western New England
The
New England Chapter Romance Writers of America
New
England Science Writers,
an informal professional group
League
for the Advancement of New England Storytelling,
like the fine art of letter writing, being able to tell a good story
is a gift that is shared. The site is full of storytelling
events in New England with contact information. A New
England Site of the Day.
The
New England Science Fiction Association.
New England has many writers of fiction and is an important center
for the study of science. The two find a natural fit at this
site and in the association.
New
England Library Association
A professional organization that is also of interest to simple card-holders.
The
New England Foundation for the Arts
French
Cultural Events in New England,
a service of the French Embassy.
Classical
Association of New England
as in the study and celebration.
The
New England Press
Inc. in Shelburne, Vermont specializes in publishing books on New
England. They also have extensive listing of books for young adults.
The
Connecticut Storytelling Center was founded in 1984 and is
based at Connecticut College in New London,
Connecticut. CSC's mission is to promote the art of
storytelling in all its forms and to serve storytellers and story
listeners throughout the state of Connecticut
Poetribe
meets at the Unitarian Universalist Church on 325 West Elm Street
in Brockton, Massachusetts.
As one might guess, they are serious, and less so, about poetry.
Call (508) 588-7794 or see the site for details.
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