Field Recordings

Field Recordings welcomes Australian author Monisha Annabel Jador to the internet wilds. I hope you are relaxing and reading something meaningful to you this Labor Day Weekend. Jador is the author of Before You Were Born , children's verse about parenting, love, and wonder. Name : Monisha Annabel Jador Title : Before You Were Born Where do you write? I have four favourite places to write in. Java Lave cafe, at my favourite table, right in the corner, at the end. I love City Extra, as the moon dappled waters trickle beneath the parked ferries, just before the all night cafe, for the late nighters like myself, as they serve their tea, mine is Earl Grey with milk and try to tell me of their gluten free bread, fresh baked, to the smiles of the beautifully hearted staff, who know me by now. There is another place that I love to write in. A little cafe with an eclecticism that touches my heart on a sunny winter's morning as I write and finally a little tea house, set in Horns...

Happy Labor Day Weekend. We welcome A.R. Sara , children's writer, to the internet wilds. Links to connect with A.R. Sara are peppered throughout the feature. Please explore. A.R. Sara, Author of story books for children of all ages! Name: RajaRajeshwari Nagasigamani Pen Name: A.R. Sara Most recent title published: Morban from Garalond (#3 in the Pachaihara Forest series) Where do you write? On my iPad , my computer or sometimes even a scrap of paper will do. Location is my room or my car but I tend to lose track of the surroundings once I get into flow of writing. What are your rituals with regards to writing (ex: Must have tea, a cat on the lap, etc) Listening to some music, closing my eyes and trying to still my thoughts to unwind is slowly growing to be a regular ritual before my writing sessions. Recently, munching on a bar of chocolate is threatening to take over as a writing ritual. Describe your writing process: I let myself get transported into ...

Find publishing too commercial? Grant money is often tied up with politics, social or otherwise. Electronic publishing has rocked the book world, and poetry struggles to catch up. Small presses have relied on grants to make ends meet, or to fund publishing projects that put writers, editors, and publishers to work. Tupelo Press is experimenting with writing thons, a marathon of poetry. Each month poets put pen to paper to compose 30 new poems...a poem a day...to raise donations to match a grant, and to raise awareness for small presses who struggle to adapt to a changing world. Yeah, so? Whitman self-published Leaves of Grass . City Lights, at one time, was a small unknown press until the obscenity trial for Howl put it on the map. Imagine a poetry world without one or both of these quintessentially American books? Tupelo Press is committed to bringing a variety of voices to print. Not every publisher can say this. Please donate, or subscribe, or purchase early Christmas prese...

...and the final stretch is in sight. Poetry is an art form that is mostly about sounds and breath. The syllable and words a poet uses creates the music that we know as poetry. It's more than just putting words onto paper, it's about breathing, and syllabic music, and making musical choices with words that surprise, delight, and shock. I'm on the last stretch and you can buy my breath, and donate to a non-profit that helps bring great, and mostly unknown literature to light. This is for the writers the big houses ignore. This is for the voices that the media ignores. I encourage you to donate to Tupelo Press, or to buy a subscription, or even one of their fine books. They've got a little bit of everything for the discerning reader. Why donate? Because it will help Tupelo Press meet a matching grant. It puts writers, publishers, editors, and printers to work. In America. Without leaving your armchair, sofa, or desk, you can donate a dollar or two via paypal to ...

Field Recordings welcomes the distinguished Dr. Lama Milkweed L. Augustine to the wilds of the internet. Dr. Augustine has written numerous books, the most recent on death and dying. Please explore. Lama Milkweed L. Augustine PhD Pen name: I use my religious title as the pen name- Lama Milkweed L. Augustine [PhD] Most recent title published: My recent most published title is "Dying and Loving It." Published in 2012. Where do you write? I generally have no realistic outward rituals, but rather I always do a method of "living" my books, short stories, etc, like a method actor might, especially concerning a fictional book. Of course, the nonfictional books I do not have to do anything; just write them, as well as experiencing a true and unadulterated form of emotional affect. What are your rituals with regards to writing (ex: Must have tea, a cat on the lap, etc): My writing process is very complicated when compared to most established authors su...

Indie Author Spotlight: Field Recordings will continue to spotlight indie authors, established authors, and up and coming talents. This is a evolving process. Ideally, the interviews will focus on craft, revisions,and the process of writing. It's a lifestyle, writing. This week we welcome Talisha Harrison , poet, and author of The Unconsciousness of an Ethiopian Princess: College Days of Future Past . Links to Harrison's work is peppered throughout. I encourage you to explore. Name: Talisha Harrison Pen Name : I usually go by my real name but I also go by Tali Adina. Most recent title published: The Unconsciousness of an Ethiopian Princess: College Days of Future Past Where do you write? On my bed, at work, while I’m waiting in the doctor’s office, for the most part anywhere as long as I have a writing materials, otherwise I’ll write it in my head and hold onto it until I can write it down. What are your rituals with regards to writing (ex: Must have tea, a cat...

"20 Arson Fires" one of the Accomack County Arson poems was published earlier this month, and even won a non-cash prize contest. Woot. Raise the roof. You can read it here . Facebook friends, by the end of August, all of the Book Critic links, poetry links, small press news, etc. will move to my Facebook author page. Be patient if this kind of promotion drives you nuts--it drives me nuts. I hate talking about myself--but it's part of the process and I have to suck it up. Field Recordings devotees, more indie author spotlights to come. A wide range of styles, cultures, and perspectives will be represented.

Field Recordings welcomes J_J_DiBenedetto to the internet wilds of the Eastern Shore. A Virginia resident, and author of the Dream Series, and fan of Mark Helprin's Winter's Tale (which is required reading in my house). This is the first of many author spotlights to open up a dialogue about the writing process, writing and publishing in general, and the influences that make writers tick. All are welcome. Please be kind if you comment. The book trailer for his first novel is below the interview, along with blurbs of his books. Links are peppered throughout the interview, but the majority of them are below the Q&A. Note: Speculative fiction is the genre I pegged on DiBenedetto, it is the broadest umbrella term for work that engages the speculative: the what if? Also of note, DiBenedetto revises in a similar way as the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, who enjoyed writing in his shed, working on a line until it was done, often three or four drafts of a poem, needling the lin...

Publishing is changing, and we are all running to catch up. Field Recordings will begin a new feature, on a regular basis, that will spotlight independent authors, established authors, poets, and fringe writers. This is not a review of their work , but a platform for writers to seek new readers, and discuss their writing process with other like minded individuals. If you would like to be featured here , please contact me via goodreads, facebook message, or through a comment in this website. We'll chat. I'll send you some interview questions. You send me pics and links. We'll have internet tea. I'll put up a post. You tell everyone you know about it. For those of you already in the loop, this process is called a blog tour. The inaugural spotlight will feature J.J. DiBenedetto, an independent author, and writer of speculative fiction The first spotlight will be posted tomorrow, Friday, August 16th. Until then, ciao.

You can donate a buck to help artists via paypal. The literary arts are at a crossroads of sorts. Nobody buys poetry or drama (when was the last time you even browsed for poetry, eh?). E-books have changed the landscape. Indie writers can now produce a product that rivals the big publishing houses. Grant money wanes. There are artists competing for money in every nook and cranny in America. Don't forget about Kickstarter...All month I'm writing and blogging for Tupelo Press to raise money for a matching grant that will help a) give writers a job b) give publishers a job c) help small presses gain new audiences d) bring cool writing projects to light. But I can't do it without your help. You can donate money, without leaving your seat. You can buy some books, early Christmas gifts perhaps, or not. It's up to you. Please join me at Tupelo Press 30/30 project .

Without leaving your armchair, sofa, or desk, you can donate a dollar or two via paypal to help Tupelo Press, a non-profit organization, raise money for a matching grant. Grant money, as you know is in danger of getting cut. From the high school levels and beyond, arts organizations have to fight for grant money. Regional, community, and local arts agencies are no different. Tupelo Press, from MA, is raising funds to match a grant that will allow them to continue excellence in publishing. Why small presses? Why Tupelo Press? First, Tupelo has a grant in the shute, and needs matching funds to get the projects started. Second, we're talking poetry (mostly) here, which does not translate well electronically. The publishing world is changing, but poetry doesn't read well on your kindle, nook, i-pad--all the lines get mashed up. Third, we're talking about the writer the big publishing houses turn their noses up at. We're talking about different faith traditions. We'r...

All month long I'll be writing poems, slicing lines, crafting rhymes--all to help Tupelo Press raise money for the literary arts. Grants are not being funded as they once had been, and small presses are looking to new ways to raise money for projects. Tupelo Press is hosting writing-thons. Today I have to step up to the starting line. I'm running for them, and small presses everywhere. Make a donation, which you can do in any number of small ways, and I'll write a poem for you. You let me know what you want it written about, and if there is a style you prefer. I'm taking commissions, baby, hells to the yeah. Please consider donating. It doesn't cost that much and you can walk away with a book, or a subscription for your generosity, not to mention a commissioned poem. HOW TO DONATE: The three ways you can donate to a worthy literary cause: 1. Subscribe to Tupelo Press! Visit: http://www.tupelopress.org/books_subscribe.php Purchase our dynamic 2013 se...