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Book Expo 2011: Come one, come all!
Book Expo of America was held in New York City again and proved to be as big an event as ever. In terms of giveaways it was more extravagant than last year with publishers celebrating with cupcakes (Wiley) and some with beer (HarperCollins). All had galleys or some kind of giveaways to entice readers and book lovers to stay at their booth or come by again.
This year's Book Expo of America (BEA) brought back memories for those of us who'd attended years prior. While last year was truncated both in size and scope and also in terms of what publishers offered, this year sought to improve upon that with many giveaways and choices and even a joint convention with the Book Bloggers Convention at Jacob Javits Center in midtown Manhattan. It wasn't as humid as last year but the sun was in full effect which made for a lovely week for visitors and natives to enjoy this event pre-Memorial Day weekend. Last year some notable trade publishers did not have booths. But this year they came back full force. When talking to one of the publicists with Scholastic she mentioned that a big complaint was that they did not have giveaways last year except for author signings in the autograph area, but this year they had a huge booth in the Children's pavilion and had many giveaways including a new book by Maggie Stiefvater (The Scorpio Races) along with galleys of the last book in her Wolves of Mercy Falls series, Forever, and Wonderstruck a new book from Brian Selznick with a lovely, durable tote to accompany the galley.
Hachette Publishers had many giveaways as did HarperCollins, Macmillan, Random House, Gray Wolf Press, Harlequin, Cleis Press, and Penguin. Authors in high demand and with huge lines included Colson Whitehead, Chuck Palahniuk, Tom Perotta, Ally Condie, Melissa Marr, Rick Riordan, and Scott Westerfeld among many others including celebrities with books out (or due out) like Duff MacGrath, Tyra Banks (yes, Tyra is in the book mix now), Julianne Moore, Diane Keaton, Jane Lynch, Michael Moore, and the list goes on and on again.
Tuesday was a mad house with ARCs (advanced reader copies) everywhere! At 9am sharp the masses tend to divide and conquer and get their hands on items that they hope will keep them from standing on a massive line later on in the day. In speaking with many people on lines that you, inevitably, stand on it's always interesting to talk to attendees about their excitement in meeting established authors or being introduced to new ones that they end up loving. These ARCs do a great job to promote debut authors and familiar ones while entertaining readers to no end with the amount they can get their hands on.
While last year's main "theme" was Books in a Digital World it wasn't the main element in panel discussions as it was last year. This year Book Expo was held in conjunction with the Book Bloggers Expo and BlogWorld in addition to the International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF) conference. Press who registered for Book Expo were able to get into some of the other events held at Jacob Javits Center that week. There was a section devoted completely to the rise and growing efficiency of digital publishing for books and the many companies offering services in conversion and distribution.
Self-publishing is also on the rise. I conducted an interview with actress and new author Tanya Wright on her new book Butterfly Rising published with CreateSpace (a self-publishing sector of Amazon) and author Maria Murnane (Perfect on Paper), and CreateSpace sr. marketing manager, Aaron Rosenstein, about what CreateSpace offers as a newer face in the self-publishing world and how it really caters to authors giving them back control of their work. Amazon has also grown in the publishing world with their own publishing imprints as their awards to find breakthrough authors has set them on track to publish many beyond those voted on by Amazon members/visitors. Amazon conducted many signings at their publishing booth and had a strong presence at Book Expo via CreateSpace.
The New Title Showcase is where many self-published authors with more familiar services like iUniverse, Xlibris, and AuthorNotes had their books displayed, but sometimes these get lost in the crowd when it comes to being exposed to a new audience. This is where CreateSpace has more pull in its connection to a stronghold in the publishing and book buying world. Especially since they had a booth to display their authors and their titles rather than having their work lumped together on shelves making the choices akin to being in a bookstore for readers. And when you're on a schedule you may not have time to search through New Titles in the hopes that something may catch your eye when there are so many publishers, authors, galleys, and booths vying for your attention on the main floor.
Many of the Author Stages talked about anticipated upcoming books, ebooks, and also conversations with authors about their process and what's next. There were many "buzz panels" where editors talked about upcoming books they were excited about, many of which had galleys available and were being pushed from new YA series to "The American The Kite Runner" and so on.
Wednesday was just as busy but probably a bit more subdued in the fact that many people got key finds on Tuesday. I was able to navigate and got to meet some wonderful authors. Tayari Jones' new book Silver Sparrow came out last Tuesday and she signed copies of the hard cover.
Laini Taylor was around signing ARCs of her new book with Little, Brown Young Readers Daughter of Smoke & Bone where about a thousand copies were available. Tom Perotta signed for more than his designated time and was kind to each and every person in line who patiently awaited his signature on his new look at a world post-Rapture (perfect timing no?), The Leftovers.
Thursday is always the more relaxed day in that many people use this time to recover from standing in lines and carrying hefty totes full of galleys and new titles. There was less of a rush on Thursday and the doors closed at 3pm allowing exhibitors to clean up and pack up and attendees to prepare shipping and perhaps even enjoy the city.
The week of Book Expo in New York also marks New York Book Week and that means...after-parties! On Monday I went to the Teen YA Carnival in SoHo with author Shana Silver and heard a nice discussion with David Levithan, Kody Keplinger, and Torrey Maldonado among others on writing teen angst though this discussion turned more into their background and how that's helped their process in writing for a YA audience. There were some giveaways and a lot of books to get signed by these authors and others including Malinda Lo!
Tuesday's big after-party was in SoHo where many went to the Bookrageous BEA Bash at Lolita Bar where many authors such as Scott Westerfield, Lev Grossman, and Catherynne M. Valente were. There were numerous author talks in the afternoon and evenings and various events not listed in the New York Book Week guide attendees received along with the list of exhibitors, author signings, and coupon book for deals around the city during the week.
On Wednesday my friend Bonnie and I attended the first ever Goodreads Book Club event at Housing Works where Jennifer Egan's Pulitzer Prize winning book, A Visit from the Goon Squad, is the pick. Ms. Egan signed copies of her books and chatted with the audience while we were entertained by teenage band Care Bears on Fire. Good times. (All proceeds from this event go to Housing Works' mission of supporting AIDS research and individuals with AIDS).
Thursday, more events, but Anna and I attended Scholastic's ThisIsTeen event at the Scholastic store where Libba Bray, Meg Cabot, and Maggie Stiefvater briefly spoke on their writing methods and about their new titles. For Ms. Bray Beauty Queens has already gotten a lot of buzz and was recently listed as one of the "must" on Entertainment Weekly's 10 Must List.
The rapport with the authors was one of camraderie and comedy and it was a pleasure to hear them speak and then engage with them as they signed copies of their books as well as ARCs that may have been made available at Book Expo or to bloggers/press.
By week's end I believe I collected less books than I did last year. And having learned from years past I made sure to have a wheely suitcase along with me to prevent me from having a sore back and shoulders for days. Though, my feet are a whole other story.
I've met many wonderful authors and fellow book lovers/bloggers at Book Expo and am connecting with people more and more via Twitter each day based on our experiences.
For book lovers Book Expo is similar to Willy Wonka's chocolate factory and us being Charlie or one of the other kids having the golden ticket. But I'll go with Charlie cause he was in awe and so appreciative of what he was able to be a part of. As book lovers, book sellers, publishing professionals, authors, publicists, bloggers, and so on we all come together at this huge event to learn more about authors, the book world, and the tomes we love or may grow to love. We post and report and review to share knowledge of what we deem good or bad and no matter what we're constantly entertained by what's out there for us to consume.
Here's looking forward to another Book Expo in New York next year. It'll be the first week of June, which hopefully means more sunny skies and brilliant evenings.
Healthy(ish) Living: Mixed Results
In early April I posted about my hardcore goals of living well & healthy while on residency at Jentel in Banner, WY. Well, call me idealistic in that sense. Once I got situated at Jentel and you know how much I loved it there, there was a quick camaraderie with the other residents and it was suggested by Joyce (who'd been at Jentel previously) that some groups tended to cook each night for the group. This could cut down on shopping costs and also make for a good rotation of varied eats. As we saw when looking through the "memory books" that this was indeed something that many of the groups did often and many kept schedules and took pictures and there's a growing Jentel recipe book chock full of international eats!
So, once it became a group thing rather than an individual thing for eating and also the fact that I have crap willpower things changed a bit. Plus, chocolate was everywhere! Everywhere I tell you! (Two words: M&M Pretzels.)
So to look at the points I posed for myself let's see how I did, shall we?
1) Eat very little red meat. Result: Fail. Since I didn't eat ham or pork some of the alternates that were provided to me was beef. We also had a rotation of goods or overabundance of certain meats and that left beef as a substitute. I cooked very little beef only two servings for myself, but consumed many tasty treats by others that included it. I'm not complaining.
2) Very little if any baked goods. Result: Fail. Beyond the constantly refilling bowl of M&Ms there was also brownies to welcome us there for our first evening meal. We had some nice festivities including Joyce's delicious apple tart and as a way to get rid of excess items Rachel and I baked towards the end to try and get rid of perishable goods. I also had to try Java Moon's delicacies such as their pumpkin bar (really a cake, ok and their strawberry scone, very good). Plus, a friend/co-worker purchased a large Zabar's NY chocolate package for me and that couldn't go to waste, could it?
3) Eat at least 3 servings of fruit & veggies a day. Result: Success! Finally! Since my fellow residents were quite health concious there was always salad available with a meal of a nice veggie side and as pre-dinner apps we'd eat carrot sticks or celery sticks with hummus. During the morning I ate at least two servings of a fruit and also like some natural applesauce with my pretzels.
4) Bake rather than fry items. Result: Success! Like I said in my post I often do this at home so it wasn't a big deal to apply this while at Jentel either.
5) 1 takeout meal a week. Result: Major success! Once a week Karen was kind enough to drive us into town to try some other eateries in the area and for us to get a break from cooking and cleaning. So we didn't go out often. Mainly stayed in and cooked for ourselves which was the point, really. We went to Oliver's, Silver Spur, and Lulu's Cafe and tried Java Moon's items once we went into town every Thursday. I also did a quick Arby's trip one day. Love that stuff.
6) Eat more fiber. Result: Fail. I did end up eating oatmeal cookies. (See week 3 post of Joyce's huge cookies.) Karen turned me on to quinoa pasta which is heavy in protein rather than carbs and I ate artisan multigrain bread every so often but outside of that and wheat thins, little additional fiber added to my diet. Oh, I did have Kashi cereal which is more fiber enriched than your everyday General Mills stuff, but still I could've done better.
7) Snacks should be 100 calories or lower. Result: Mixed. I did make sure to eat the serving size for items like pretzels and wheat thins and crackers. I ate more cheese so that could've added some items but got low-fat as often as I could. Karen also introduced me to kale chips which I love! I can't imagine those are more than 100 cals per serving if you eat less than a bunch or half that. Tasty snacks. Of course snacks also included sweets like M&Ms and desserts (cookies, tart) so this fluctuated.
8 ) Incorporate seafood as much as possible. Result: Mixed. Mixed because, like I said, we cooked for each other a lot and I wasn't always in control of meals. I bought a lot of shrimp and made 5 meals from it including a large one for the group, bought some shrimp scampi and also salmon and we had fish tacos (a la Lisa one evening) and even when we went to Lulu's I ordered some salmon, so I think I did okay.
9) Exercise at least 40 minutes a day. Result: Not a fail, but not satisfactory. Some of us residents spoke about these ideals we had about coming into our residency. What happens when on residency is that you work and you work and you work. Especially if you know you won't have this time after said residency ends. So, it was like a work day and as time wound down it came time for us to put in OT! Add on top of that fluctuating weather where it snowed all day and/or rained and you have not good walking weather. When I walked I walked for over an hour and I did this on a few days. I also exercised in my room for at least 30 minutes of cardio a handful of days also. Surprisingly I saw that I did lose weight as per the scale in my bathroom. I think it was from eating less often and eating more veggies and fruit as snacks and in meals. Plus the place itself was huge so that helped getting from point a to b.
So that's my tally of excuses! Wasn't easy in the least but creatively I got a lot done and was happy I didn't add too much weight. My first week home however has been horrid and sweets abundant from co-workers so we'll see if I can try to apply said rules to my daily life rather than when I'm away.
Jentel Artist Residency: Week 4 (Heading out)
As much as it pains me to write this, we're in our last week here at Jentel and man did that get the creative juices flowing! Our regular gatherings diminished (though we did cook regularly for the group) in lieu of everyone wanting to work, work, work. Me, I definitely pursued morning (kinda), afternoon, and evening hours. Where as we started on a kind of 9a-5p grind that quickly moved to a 9a-11p grind with the reality settling in that we wouldn't be here much longer! (insert sad face here)
As much as it pains me to write this, we're in our last week here at Jentel and man did that get the creative juices flowing! Our regular gatherings diminished (though we did cook regularly for the group) in lieu of everyone wanting to work, work, work. Me, I definitely pursued morning (kinda), afternoon, and evening hours. Where as we started on a kind of 9a-5p grind that quickly moved to a 9a-10p grind with the reality settling in that we wouldn't be here much longer! (insert sad face here) So what have I been working on while in Wyoming? What is this Collection I've mentioned? Well, in my attempt to summarize, I am writing a linked collection of stories based on a biracial family in Long Island (where I was raised for the first eight years of my life) that transcends generations. Consider it Contemporary Literature akin to Olive Kitteridge (a tome that inspired me during the revision process) and even A Visit from the Goon Squad. This Collection became my passion project soon after I finished a novel that got lukewarm responses and continues to be after more than three years. The Collection began as one short story about a girl trying to find out more about her deceased mom and sprouted into a beast within itself. In the past year I have to credit my peer group buddies and workshop group with helping me whittle down fifteen imprecise stories to eight focused pieces. I have to credit Writer's Digest with reminding me to start from the latest point allowing experimentation as I pursued revisions of every story in this collection (and thusly thank my aunt for her gift subscriptions over the years to Writer's Digest). I have to credit the Postgraduate Writers' Conference and Ellen Lesser for helping me see the full potential of this project and to streamline what's happening. And also to Ellen, Jeff Renard Allen, and April Davis for recommending me for this residency.
I have to say the surroundings here in Banner and via Neltje's great skill in design and comfort, inspired me with the collection and I feel like I have a lot more focus on it than I did a year ago. By the end of this trip I completed complete revisions for each story and am pretty confident at least three are near completion. I've also been inspired being around such phenomenal visual artists and another great writer in that I found myself writing some poetry (April was National Poetry Month after all) and Karen's son is a poet so she shared some of his work and others she really liked with me which fueled a fire.
But, enough about me, there were good times to be had! Lisa, Joyce, Karen and I went to the Occidental Hotel in Buffalo for their weekly jam session and met some wonderful people. The food was your usual bar food fare, no more no less. I ordered a grilled Caesar salad and was brought a hunk of iceberg lettuce charred around the edges. This, I had to send back. And my options were few. I ordered coconut calamari and was informed they don't cut it up, they serve you the squid whole. (sigh) Okay, so fried shrimp and onion rings it is!
The music was great and the jam session was just that, musicians coming in and out for songs and slipping into the rhythms easily. They all know each other and upon speaking with a fiddler the following day was informed that sometimes musicians just stop by for a week, jam, then leave. Awesome? Yes.
The weekend brought the rare opening of Neltje's antique shop to the public (no appointments necessary). I hoofed it up the hill for 1.6 miles to the destination in harsh winds. When I got there it was like a mini mall but more homey. The staff was uber friendly and I went in with the intention of buying nothing. This did not happen. And for an antique opening they know how to welcome you! There were snacks and offerings of dip they sold so you can taste it. There's everything from cards to pocketbooks to cookbooks to scarves to all kinds of furniture and homemade art by Neltje herself. And everyone is really nice! A couple who passed me on the road offered me a ride back to the residency and we talked about their son who happens to be a sculptor. I urged them to urge him to apply to go here.
Yet again, the kind people of Wyoming never fail to astound me with their generosity. A good day.
We headed to Lulu's Cafe in Sheridan on Saturday. A place we've been trying to go to since week one. They serve all organic food, homegrown. I had a salmon burger that was ridiculously good. I dreamt about it the following night and had a nice mint blueberry margarita (though it tasted more like a mojito). Either way it was very satisfying and sweet. Everyone loved their food. The gluten free desserts left a bit to be desired texture-wise but you can't beat the service and feeling like you're being welcomed in someone's home. The owner, Lynne (not Lulu), was like a mom who wanted to make sure you were comfy at all times. Small and exquisite describes Lulu's to a T.
And then came Open Studio! This is kind of tradition where everyone welcomes the other residents to their studio to see/hear their work. Lorraine and I went to the artists studios and were astounded by how much they've done and the differences in everyone's work. Karen worked on many black and white items, large and small. Joyce had a variety of intricately painted nests as well as adorable matchbook paintings that we got to have. Rachel did some amazing work with fabric in vibrant colors, also doing a trek around the land where she photographed one of her pieces in the midst of the terrain surrounding the residency. Brilliant. And Lisa showed us her work on a smaller scale that had a lot of vibrant colors of red and green (one of my faves). The artists each gave us gifts to take with us. Here's Rachel's.
She made a Jentel/Neltje brand for us to have. I'm so excited to show their work in my office.
After snacks (see gratuitous food shot) we went to the media room where Lorraine and I read work we completed (thus far) while here. Lorraine's also working on a linked story collection so we got to hear more of the travails of her protagonist. And Lorraine is an amazing reader, she inflects the right words and also acts out moments. I love the times we've gotten to hear her read. She knows how to paint a picture with words.
I read the ending of a story I completed here and am quite happy with the voice and tone. Apparently, I captured the angst of a seventeen year old boy pretty well.
Monday and Tuesday were cloudy and rainy and windy unfortunately. But we looked forward to sunny skies that came upon us slowly on Wednesday and full on on Thursday post-errands. There was hulu hooping and dance music and more cooking on our last evening with Lynn. We each got gifts! Here's mine:
Since Joyce was a second-timer she got something even cooler!
As we consider everything it's been an amazing time and I feel extremely blessed to be surrounded by such amazing artists and women. Great! Some things I want to make you aware of when/if you come to Wyoming:
1) Winds are way worse than the "wind tunnels" in New York City.
2) Buy hiking boots (props to Northface for their wonderful boots that got me through many excursions.). No, seriously, buy hiking boots and good ones.
3) Be nice to everyone. Pay it forward, people.
4) Bring bug repellent in the warmer months.
5) Cows and horses will stare you down, so show no fear.
6) For God's sake enjoy the landscape and relax! There be mountains!
7) When driving, beware of wayward deer, moose, antelope, and wild turkey (not the drink).
Below are the links to the websites of the artists I got to spend time with in Wyoming during these past four weeks. People I admire, and respect, and miss terribly.
Lisa Buchanan: www.lisabuchanan.com Joyce Ely-Walker: www.joyceelywalker.com Lorraine M. Lopez: www.lorrainelopez.net Karen McAlister Shimoda: www.mcalistershimoda.com Rachel Meginnes: www.plainweavestudios.com
Check their work out, buy it, follow them (on social networking sites, not in life per se), contact them, visit their gallery openings or readings and continue to support the arts! If it weren't for amazing residencies like Jentel (and amazing people like Neltje, Mary Jane, Lynn, Matt, Donna, and Debbie) many of us would never get our foot in the door. So it means a lot to have this support and acknowledgment that you have a story to tell whether it be in words or illustrations.
Jentel Artist Residency: Week 3 (Winding down)
The third week at the Jentel Artist Residency in Wyoming brought about some blocked moments and surges of insecurity on my part. These come-and-go and at a residency you hope to be at your most productive, but can force creativity to flow. But the week progressed better than it started with good food, good people, and good times.
While the first several days (week and a half) brought a flurry of inspiration, the tail end of week 2 and beginning of week 3 brought some serious winding down in terms of productivity and confidence on my part. In speaking with one of the other visual artists she also said that she was upset with herself for not producing as much as she wanted to in a month's time and that in reflection she needed to be easier on herself because of the fact that inspiration can't be commanded on a whim. In my case I was on a roll and found myself in slump. Said slump consisted of me typing up things and immediately hating what it was I was scribing but pushed myself to keep going, and at some point I just couldn't. At various moments I stopped and this is when Facebook and Twitter and the schedule for Book Expo along with work for my job came into play to distract me from the creativity that just wasn't flowing.
On top of which the end of the week brought a rejection from the only lit mag I queried about a flash fiction piece I'd been working on for over three year.! Yes, less than 1000 words worked on and edited and nitpicked for 3 years + (it happens). I got a one sentence reason for the rejection which I took to heart and am currently editing this piece again for mass submission this summer.
Other things catering to said slump may be the feeling of cabin fever (as beautiful as the residence and locale are sometimes you just need to get away) or the reality of time clicking away at a steady pace (What day is it? Friday! Crap.).
Yes, slumps happen to all artists. The residents here have all had those moments or are currently in the midst of them in some way and believe-you-me we are none too happy about having to leave said paradise and go back to our day-to-day lives where some of us just don't have the luxury to create full-time. The insecurity has bound in and I'm coming off the high of March into May with reality slapping me in the face again. The reality of wondering if your tale has a place in the growing African-American diaspora let alone the literary canon. The reality of wondering if you'll ever truly be done. And of course the reality of wondering if you're even good enough. I was just reading Megan (aka Writer Girl's) blog about giving over her first draft to loved ones to read. Just a few months ago I posted about not believe in my NYC Midnight submission. And of course I see Twitter updates from writers grinning and baring it and plugging away and asking for good vibes and sugar sent their way so they can keep going. There are days when you feel you are just producing crap and to do so at a residency may feel like a waste, but it has to happen. It's going to happen, so you just have to deal with it. I produce stuff I am none too happy about at home in NYC all the time, so why not in Wyoming too? And maybe now's a good time to take Lynn's advice to heart and take a break from producing and just focus on moi.
Friday brought a nice trip to Ucross, another residency several miles away from Jentel that has hosted some big name writers like Heidi Durrow, Colson Whitehead, Sigrid Nunez (a former instructor of mine at The New School), Elizabeth Gilbert, Junot Diaz, and Wyoming's own E. Annie Proulx! I was so excited I had to tweet the authors I follow on Twitter and let her know I saw her work there. Turns out Ms. Durrow was not only a resident at Ucross (and Hedgebrook and Norman Mailer and Vermont Studio Center; yes, she's my idol!) but she said she found her voice here at Jentel. Amazing! Three of the visual artists and myself went to see the Ucross gallery celebrating 27 years of artist residents and saw some amazing work. Joyce and I were particularly blown away by the coloring and such for this piece:
And this was another favorite by the Ucross alumi:
If you're near Banner or Clearmont, WY I strongly urge you to stop in. I believe this particular showing is going on until June 1st.
As the days go on and we continue to experience cold, hot, warm, cold, chilly, snowy weather we also prepared for Jentel Presents! This is the time when us residents get to show our work to people in the community. And Lynn informed us that this presentation has also become mandatory for college students both in art and creative writing. Like I did at an Inspired Word NYC open mic I decided to read my flash fiction. I'm trying to stay away from reading aloud too much from the collection as I feel I've exhausted the strongest bits by reading to the residents and sending out to residencies these past few months. Though I am proud of what I've done here (some of it, well most of it) flash fiction tends to be a great thing to read because you can actually complete something and provide the reader something to mull over afterwards.
Everyone did an extraordinary job in presenting and talking about their work. For the artists, Lisa, Joyce, Rachel, and Karen it felt like I was being re-introduced to their work as we heard more about their process even though I had seen some of it before. Seeing them stand up tall and talk about it so confidently in front of a crowd was amazing and gives you a sense of pride in sharing space and time with such amazing artists. Lorraine read one of her favorite portions to write from her novel-in-progress and it definitely showed in her reading it. It was vibrant and the characters well constructed. She has a great reading voice.
After the presentations were over we got to speak with some of the people who attended, full house as you can see from the picture above. I spoke briefly with a poet who asked me why I felt insecure (something I mentioned before reading noting that while I'm in love with my collection I have bouts of sadness at the prospect of not finishing) and I told him the truth, just a few days earlier I had been blocked. He said he was going through the same thing. He's in the midst of writing something about his father and was going to do a series of poems but realized the structure may be better as one poem with four sections. I commiserated, informing him I think I just got an idea on the structure of one of the stories for my collection that morning and it'd been something I'd been thinking about for years since it's part of the crux or linchpin of the stories involved. I wished him good luck with his current block and we agreed that we'd get back to things when it was meant to be. We just had to be patient, though that can be hard.
We ended up having dinner with some local artists, Randy one of the heads of Sagebrush was such a pleasure to speak to as were Joel (another artist) and Sarah a teacher who is trying to find time to write while raising a family and working a full-time job. Everyone was friendly and the food at the Pony Bar & Grill was ridiculously large in size. All in all a great night.
We're headed out at the latter part of this week and working hard as we get to the last week and preparing to depart and get back to our real lives. *le sigh*
On another upbeat note, my flash fiction piece, "The Resolution" has pubbed in the latest issue of Eclectic Flash. On top of that, Joyce made huge cookies! So after the end of a bad week looks like this week is progressing to end well.
Jentel Artist Residency: Week 1 (The Intro)
My first week in Banner, WY being a writer-in-residence at the Jentel Artist Residency Program.
With a month of planning to go and a bunch of retractions of applications for conferences and so forth I got ready for this trip and to take a month off of work. But there were still pangs of anxiety. What if I wasn't productive? What if I didn't like the other artists? What if they didn’t like me? What if Wyoming was too rural for me? What if I needed something desperately I could only get in NYC? How would I survive, exactly? I hushed these concerns and looked forward; preparing everything that I'd need and what had to be taken care of while I was away. And with that I loaded my bags—after sitting on them and jumping up a couple times to get them closed—and departed for Wyoming.
We are surrounded by mountains here and the land is vast and wide and a greenish brown as we’re still in transition weather here. The air is fresh and the creek is right under the studios providing some calming sounds and a lovely view outside your window at any angle.
This really is a place that's conducive for creativity and the fact that there are windows in every section of the residence as well as the studios, for me at least, is key. Natural light helps me more than artificial. After a while fluorescent light or otherwise may irritate my eyes and when you’re looking at a computer screen for hours you need all the help you can get. But natural light, while it may produce a glare, is much better for the eyes. And in my studio I have it aimed directly at me so there’s no need to turn on the small lamp on my desk or the lights within my cabin-like digs.
Being from NYC I’m used to finicky weather, especially over this past year. But man it’s been snowing a bit and then stops and then starts and then I wake up and there’s a thin blanket outside my window. The blanket melts as the sun rises in the late morning/early afternoon and what do you know it’s snowing again as I walk out of my studio and several feet towards our residence for lunch. And then said process repeats for days four and five of my residency. Though today was absolutely gorgeous nice and warm and just like spring. But the landscape is beautiful and wherever you look there are mountains. Mountains to the left of me, mountains to the right… And the snow itself isn’t a hindrance. Heck, when we were interviewed by the local media for the paper we were informed that everyone is pretty much used to this. So what am I complaining about?
Nevermind.
Oprah waiting for the next big reveal of just how lucky we were.
Neltje designed and built this place up from scratch. There are wings in this house (Not wings like a bird or butterfly, but wings as in spaces where you reside that are pretty large). Wings, people! On one side are three bedrooms and two bathrooms (full) and the same is on the other side. In the middle we have a large living room, kitchen (which I was worried about and see that I am more than blessed by what we have), and dining area for us. There are stairs leading upstairs to a vast library with computer and internet and then to a media room with a large flat screen TV with satellite service and a DVD/VCR player.
And I haven't even mentioned the studios! Each residency last a month and starts/ends on a Friday. There are four visual artist residents and two writers at any given residency over the course of the year and they operate over 11 months of the year.
The visual artist studio is a lovely space with a kitchen and old school fridge (aka ice box) a bathroom and four spaces that are quite large for those who need it. They even have a bed in their studio! Each one has a great view of the land and from every angle you can see the mountains surrounding Jentel. Each of their studios are named after the seasons: winter, spring, summer, and fall.
The writer's studio is more like a cabin with a mock—but working—fireplace, a desk, bookshelves, thermos, rolling chair, lounge chair and gorgeous view of the space. The names of the writer’s studio rooms are sunrise and sunset. I got sunset. They are named this way because of the view of the sun you have. Lorraine, a successful novelist, can get a clear view of the sun as it rises, while I have a close-up view of the sun (and can feel it’s heat) as it sets. But, words really can’t summarize it so here are some more pics!
We’ve decided to make meals for each other every other day and we generally eat together around the same time over the course of the day. Lisa made us some fish tacos and then Lorraine (award-winning author) made us green salsa enchiladas. Karen (visual artist) has been steady with the healthy items and made us roasted root veggies and has turned me on to kale. (Yes, kale!) I’m next and I foresee some shrimp and couscous dish and yes, of course, dessert! I already made blondies and these have gone over well. Even the elevation didn’t affect them rising very much. (Of course this section is supposed to be on the people and becomes more about the food. I know, priorities, Jenn.)
There’ve been some heavy games of Scrabble and some great discussion and some watching of bad reality shows (Since when did The Judds need a reality show?) Karen initiated a weekly reading series where we can read our own work (or really us writers can) or you can read something that you like and share it with the group. I’ve gotten some very good responses to my work and encouragement from my fellow artists. It’s definitely a feel good group, but genuine in the fact that we enjoy each other’s work and want everyone to do well or continue to do well.
A residency generally means time to just do what you need to do. Some have you meet with people regularly to review your work, others just provide you space and time to create leading to some solitary moments, and some may have you do some community outreach or a project while you’re there. In the case of Jentel there’s an optional reading and interview with the local news paper, but for the most part you’re left to your own devices and provided a weekly stipend to buy the necessary goods from the store on our trip into town each week.
When Lynn sat down with us for orientation she informed us that this is a time for us to re-energize and take care of ourselves. If that means producing art, great! If not, that's great too! The most important thing is to make sure you feel relaxed and give you the time and space you need to be a productive artist whether it's here or when we return home. This was a wonderful thing to hear because I think we all have pressure on ourselves to be productive. When are we going to have a landscape like this again? When are we going to get money to buy our own groceries? When are we going to have a month to not worry about anything but being an artist? When are we going to have all these damn comfy chairs in one space? For city gals like me, never that’s when or at least not unless I get another residency or buku bucks.
For me, I’ve found this a relaxing and very fruitful time. I’ve written four hours a day or more and pretty much hold creative hours like regular work hours—from the time I get up until close to sundown. And by evening it’s all about relaxing, but I’ve been hand writing things in the evening since it’s nice to have a break from the computer screen.
Yes, I’ve been on the social networking sites and raise my hand in defeat at being a bit of a Twitter junkie, but all in all I’ve gotten a rhythm and flow going that I know will produce some heavy stuff by month’s end. And the month’s end is a time I am not looking forward to because with the space itself being gorgeous and comfy, the food being good, the people being wonderful, and me being productive I can see myself dreaming of this place once I leave. But, I still have three weeks before I have to worry about that.