by Cynthia Newberry Martin | Jan 31, 2012 | craft of writing, essays, Pam Houston, truth |
New essay by Pam Houston–now up at Hunger Mountain. Here’s the first paragraph: When I was four years old my father lost his job. We were living in Trenton, New Jersey at the time, where he had lived most of his life. With no college education, he had...
by Cynthia Newberry Martin | Jan 26, 2012 | catching moments, craft of writing, details, stories |
I want to slow things down. I was planning on writing a post on several stories in Alan Heathcock’s debut collection, Volt, but I think I’ll just look at the first story. “The Staying Freight”–I love the title–was first published in...
by Cynthia Newberry Martin | Jan 16, 2012 | journeys, mfa |
by Cynthia Newberry Martin | Jan 8, 2012 | journeys, mfa |
I am mid-journey. On my way home from Montpelier, Vermont and the successful completion of a two-year low-residency MFA program at Vermont College of Fine Arts. This last residency went by so fast–it’s hard to believe it’s over. Both my lecture and...
by Cynthia Newberry Martin | Jan 1, 2012 | How We Spend Our Days |
Annie Dillard wrote, “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.” On the first of each month, Catching Days hosts a guest writer in the series, “How We Spend Our Days.” Today, please welcome writer Cheryl Strayed: There are some things I miss even...
by Cynthia Newberry Martin | Dec 28, 2011 | journeys, mfa |
All my bags are packed I’m ready to go!
by Cynthia Newberry Martin | Dec 22, 2011 | details, memory, the day |
If you can find twenty minutes, you can listen to Dylan Thomas’ story “A Child’s Christmas in Wales,” read by the author–courtesy of NPR. The written story is also available online. Thomas grounds the story of this long-ago Christmas in...
by Cynthia Newberry Martin | Dec 17, 2011 | novels, obsession, reading, stories |
My writing group just finished reading Colm Toibin’s collection, The Empty Family. Although some people in the group loved it, I didn’t. I’ve started giving away the books I know I won’t read again, and this one will be sent on its...
by Cynthia Newberry Martin | Dec 9, 2011 | catching moments, Columbus GA, poetry |
A week ago, I was so struck, as I came up over a hill, to actually be able to see the end of the storm–see it in the sky. At its source. Rather than notice the rain had stopped or it was getting lighter outside. Sometimes it’s easy to see the endings of...
by Cynthia Newberry Martin | Dec 1, 2011 | How We Spend Our Days |
Annie Dillard wrote, “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.” On the first of each month, Catching Days hosts a guest writer in the series, “How We Spend Our Days.” Today, please welcome writer Daniel Torday: There’s this idiosyncratic little...
