Fiction writers turned memoirists know how hard it is to stop lying. It shouldn’t be this tough. I was trained as a journalist and learned to write news copy on a manual typewriter, the vintage ones with the metal return arm that’s meant to be slapped across the keyboard. It was back in the day when cut and paste meant, …
Feedback that resonates
The dictionary defines “resonance” as “the effect of an event or work of art beyond its immediate or surface meaning.” It’s an effect all artists strive for–to communicate in a special way, to touch a life. Resonance is the stuff that makes all the hours of preparation, practice and honing one’s craft worthwhile. Three weeks ago, I had privileged to …
Speaking of dead mules
As a Road Scholar with the N.C. Humanities Council, I offer a talk entitled, “What Makes a Southern Story Southern?” It’s based on reading I did for my MFA degree a few years ago. The Southern question sprung out of research on an unrelated topic. As I read story after story, I noticed patterns among Southern stories. And I took …
Among the “Road Scholars”
It’s official. As of this week, the North Carolina Humanities Council has me listed on their speaker’s bureau website as one of their Road Scholars. I’m honored to be among the more than 70 North Carolinians who are able and willing to speak to nonprofit public groups about various aspects of the humanities–from literature to history, arts, drama, music and …