AS I RUN THROUGH THE WOODS in Hell, Michigan, I am conscious of only three things: The horizontal blue ribbons marking the trail, My beautiful, brand-new sparkling engagement ring, And the fact that, aside from my lime-green running shoes, I am completely naked. It is the first time I’ve ever really thanked god that I […]
The Art Of Resemblance In Nonfiction
When I walked into the apartment of memoirist Alan Kaufman in Lower Nob Hill around 2011, I noticed paintings covering his walls. I’d already read his nearly 500-page memoir, Drunken Angel. The book chronicles how he became a writer and drunk (and how he recovered from alcoholism). There was nothing about him being a painter. How could he […]
What Does It Mean To Writers When An Indie Bookstore Closes?
RUSSO’S BOOKS, perhaps the only independent bookstore left in California’s Central Valley, is closing in a little more than a week. Some people say it sucks. Others have an “oh well” attitude. But what does the indie bookstore’s impending doom mean to writers? It’s a little premature to say the Bakersfield bookstore is going away. […]
An Account Of The Invisible Memoirs Reading
“IT WAS GREAT TO see students stepping up and helping out,” writer Jane Hawley said of Kimberly Navarro, the host for “Reading the Invisible Memoirs,” a fundraiser and event for Random Writers Workshop and the release of the anthology, “Invisible Memoirs: Lionhearted.” What would I have done without Kimberly as emcee on Friday the 13th? […]
Storytellers To Recount Experiences At Memoir Event
FOR THE SECOND TIME, Invisible Memoirs has selected a Bakersfield author’s story as its centerpiece, even naming the California-wide anthology after a local memoir. Why I am I excited about this? As the workshop instructor and initial editor of everyone’s submissions, I’m just so happy all of my students’ hard work paid off. Twelve local […]