Creative Writing Commons^™

Unsolicited Writing Advice, Derek Nikitas

Derek Nikitas

I’ve been teaching college for—Jesus, nine years now. It’s the end of the semester down here at Georgia State University, the week when I dole out advice to my fiction writing students because there’s really nothing else left to do. They’d rather I let them out a few minutes early, but I feel obligated to let them loose with some last (and perhaps first) words of wisdom for the semester. I have no idea if my words are wise, but they work for me, so I say them anyway.

Five Poems In High Chair, No. 6, Elizabeth Willis

Elizabeth Willis

No abstract provided.

On The Positives Of Hypocracy (In Writing), Derek Nikitas

Derek Nikitas

Hypocrite. It’s one of the ugliest words I know. Its prefix makes me think of hippopotamus—a rough, fat, ugly beast. The Latin/Greek makes the word sound medical, like an age-old term for some sexual perversion that dares not speak its colloquial name. It’s as bad as a curse—if not worse; I’ll wager most people would prefer being called an asshole over being called a hypocrite. I know I would, even though I’m about to argue that my hypocrisy is good for me, if not for all fiction writers who are (dis)honest with themselves.

Triangle, Katharine Weber

Katharine Weber

By the time she dies at age 106, Esther Gottesfeld, the last survivor of the Triangle Shirtwaist fire, has told the story of that day many times. But her own role remains mysterious: How did she survive? Are the gaps in her story just common mistakes, or has she concealed a secret over the years? As her granddaughter seeks the real story in the present day, a zealous feminist historian bears down on her with her own set of conclusions, and Esther's voice vies with theirs to reveal the full meaning of the tragedy.

A brilliant chronicle of the event …

What The Hell Is A Literary Thriller, Anyway?, Derek Nikitas

Derek Nikitas

’ve been trolling. Saw some blog chatter re: the endless debate over literary fiction versus genre fiction. (what’s to debate, except that lit fiction gets more prestige, genre fiction sells more books; seems to me an even tradeoff.) One guy’s got this long-winded theory about literary fiction being all logical and grownup and staid, while genre fiction is primitive, ritualistic, fantastic, appealing to the child-mind inside us all. This was his advertisement for genre fiction: reintegration of the child with the adult to become the fully self-actualized self, or something like that. I didn’t get it. He quoted Freud; I …

Meteoric Flowers, Elizabeth Willis

Elizabeth Willis

No abstract provided.

On Dedicating Pyres To My Grandfather, Derek Nikitas

Derek Nikitas

I take an unusual interest in the dedications at the beginnings of novels. I don’t skip that page like most people probably do; in fact, I spend time ruminating on the circumstances that led to the dedication. Wives, children, parents—usually pretty obvious. Sometimes the author will supply an explanation, but often a cryptic “for Jane” will be all the reader has for clues. Months later I’ll be reading an interview with the author and something he says will make a connection back to that dedication. I try to guess, often with scant clues, why the author chose his/her particular dedicatee. …

On Innovative Forms In Crime Stories, Derek Nikitas

Derek Nikitas

More recently than I care to admit, I was a video store clerk. I’d like to think I’ve moved on to bigger and better things, but one perk I do miss is all the free movies. Free movies are why I’ve seen a lot more crime/noir films than I’ve read crime/noir books. I’m trying slowly to remedy that imbalance, but right now I’m going to celebrate movies—the steady stream of fantastic crime movies that have been produced in the wake of Pulp Fiction, the film that rather single-handedly revitalized the genre way back in 1994. Some folks call these movies …

On Boston Teran's God Is A Bullet, Derek Nikitas

Derek Nikitas

Never heard of Boston Teran. Nor God is a Bullet. Not till last year after my first novel, Pyres. Random readers made comparisons. I sought the book, saw a plot hauntingly similar to mine, noted further comparisons to Jim Thompson and Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian. I shelved the book a while, afraid. What if it’s too similar? Will mine lose its thin cred, cease to exist?

Raven, Marianne Rogoff

Marianne Rogoff

La Gruta, Marianne Rogoff

Marianne Rogoff

My Right Breast And Other Poems, Carmela Ferradans

Carmela Ferradans

The Thrill Of Being Here: A Letter From Fortin De Las Flores, Mexico, John D. Hazlett

John D Hazlett

"The Thrill of Being Here" is an epistolary meditative essay on the desire for, and difficulties of, penetration, considered as a goal of travel, intercultural communication, and understanding of the other. Writing from a small town situated in the uplands of Veracruz, Mexico, Hazlett considers the possibility that a series of acupuncture sessions might serve as a fine metaphor for his year living and working abroad.

Sunshine And Shadows, Rowan Cahill

Rowan Cahill

This is a memoir of the author's childhood in Australia, during the Cold War, with the focus on the politics and culture of his environment, the city's suburban and conservative North Shore.

'Food, Precious Food: Migrating The Palate', Merlinda C. Bobis

Merlinda Bobis

No abstract provided.

Pressed, Stacy Moskos Nistendirk

Stacy Moskos

No abstract provided.

David Carson Miller (1948-2005), Patrick Scott

Patrick Scott

Haiku For Mike Roche, Frank Pommersheim

Frank Pommersheim

No abstract provided.