Letter to an MFA Student by Joshua Henkin

I came across a series of guest posts by Joshua Henkin, author of Swimming Across the Hudson and the recent novel Matrimony, over at The Elegant Variation (scroll down to the post titled "Reflections on Leonard Michaels" and read up). As a guest blogger, Henkin talks about his new book, discusses some basic MFA concerns, and tells a funny story about Leonard Michaels' obsession with the word "smidgen."

Henkin studied with Michaels at Berkeley.

"This was in the days before the Internet, and Lenny had in his office various dictionaries and textbooks, all of them lined up, it seemed, for the sole purpose of determining how to spell smidgen. It seemed to me obvious how to spell smidgen--exactly the way I'm spelling it now. But Lenny was convinced it worked better as smigeon--like pigeon. On and on he went for what seemed like weeks."

Anyhow, the point is, earlier this summer, he posted "Letter to an MFA Student" at M.J. Rose's blog Buzz, Balls and Hype. I haven't quite gotten through all of it (it's three parts: 1, 2, 3), and I haven't yet processed everything, but I suppose it's worth reading, as it's a sort of record of what Henkin has observed so far during his time as an instructor in the MFA programs at Sarah Lawrence and Brooklyn College. He's also got a recent, lengthy article in the latest issue of Poets&Writers titled "In Defense of MFA Programs," which might be an interesting read as well?

Cheuse on Mailer's passing

If you haven't heard by now, Norman Mailer passed away on Friday. Alan is quoted in the Miami Herald on Mailer's passing.

The Short Story Today...again

More of this dramatic crisis in contemporary literature:

Larry Dark, director of the Story prize and a former editor of the O. Henry Prize series, responds to the whole short story stink over at Critical Mass.

Then poster Samuel Edmonson, professional writer?, presents his own theories in the comments section: "And what I have to say about Larry Dark's essay is that the dishonest attitude it exhibits is the public enemy number one of literature today."

Funny stuff.

Upcoming Contests

Everyone, here are two free contests to think about...

The Atlantic Monthly has an annual Student Writing Contest with a prize of $1,000 dollars. It's a free contest (no payment to enter) - entrants simply must be full time students (for Mason, is that 6 credits?). The judges ask for no more than 7,500 words of fiction post-marked by December 1st. Go here for details. An odd twist of the contest: winning entries do not get published in The Atlantic Monthly; check out last May's issue to see what happens instead...

The Willesden Herald International Short Story Prize is seeking submissions. For this contest, there's no length requirement, nor is there an entry fee. The prize is 5,000 pounds. Zadie Smith will judge the finalists. Entries received after December 21st will not be considered. Go here for details. Oh also, the winning story is published in an anthology and the winning author receives a specially inscribed mug?

Need Home for December 2nd Fiction Dinner

Okay, We may be able to fit one more fiction dinner in this year, with Courtney on December 2nd. The only issue is we need a place to hold it, preferably in Arlington. At this point, I would take either restaurants with large, private (and quiet) dining rooms or somebody's house where we could potluck again. Sadly, I can only fit about 15 people in my place, so that is out. Anyone have a suggestion or would be willing to host (and we would provide clean-up)?

Email me at drider@gmu.edu if you have a suggestion. I'd like to get a place confirmed by the end of this week.

Spring Registration for Classes

Reminder: registration for Spring 08 classes starts on the 5th of November (next Monday).

And now for some random links:

• TS Eliot butchered by LOLcats here.
  
• Texas Monthly wins Best Cover Line at the American Society of Magazine Editors 2nd annual cover contest.
• Ninja Parade.
• Another thing from the Onion: Third Person Limited Omniscient Narrator Blown Away by Surprise Ending.
• The Blog of Unnecessary Quotation Marks (pretty self-explanatory).
  
• Fiction on Demand has a submission postage calculator.

Okay, that's all I've got for now; I'll have an interview with Alexis Santi (Fiction 07) up next week hopefully.

Graphic Novels and PEN/Faulkner

From Elizabeth:

Thursday, November 8th at 7:00pm, Busboys and Poets is hosting a dinner and discussion about graphic novels. The next day there is a reading at Folger Library with Lynda Barry, Alison Bechdel, and Chris Ware, and that program is NOT sold out if anyone is interested. Also PEN/Faulkner says the more the better at the dinner, so drop by if you can. The dinner costs $15.00 for students (reduced from $22.50).