Resource Roundup #7
For the week of May 27th.
A plethora of events, articles, interviews, and more in this week’s resource roundup, below…
Two of my favorite writers in conversation next week thanks to the Tattered Cover bookstore in Denver. Ocean Vuong is the author of On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous and two of my favorite poems of all time, “Not Even This” and “Tell Me Something Good.” Both these poems felt like being broken open and stitched back together when I read them for the first time, back when I was still poetry student in New York. Scott McClanahan is the author of Sarah Book, Crapalachia, and He Sent Darkness, and lives in Beckly, West Virginia. He is also the co-founder of Holler Presents, a production company and small press.
Speaking of Scott McClanahan, this is a great interview with him in The Creative Independent on writing, craft, and West Virginia. I’m especially interested in his thoughts on empathy on the page:
“Dostoyevsky tells you how horrible a person is, but then looks at it from the opposite view. You have the coldness of the action that takes place, but if you can flip that person and allow the reader some sympathy… that’s the writing that always works for me. This person is a monster, but I’m a monster in myself. The key to me has always been being able to love everything. Truly love everything. Which is this stupid, almost sociopathic view. You can’t do that in a regular, orderly life. You have to make judgements. And you have to decide, “This is wrong, this right.” Within fiction, the best writers accept everything. Nothing human is alien to them, to use the old Roman notion. Those are the novels that I love.”
And to really tie it all together, check out this excerpt of Brandon Stosuy’s— the founder of The Creative Independent— new book, Stay Inspired: Finding Motivation For Your Creative Work.
For all those interested in herbalism and folklore, this looks like a great event on Appalachian Herbalism with herbalist Leenie Hobbie of Hampshire County and apprentice Jon Falcone of Hardy County, hosted by the West Virginia Folklife Program. Register on Zoom here. There will be a guided indoor herb walk! <3
Love this story of the Stuckey’s Pecan Shed. Follow Stephanie Stuckey and Stuckey’s Pecans on Twitter to follow along.
A conversation with Ohio-born comedian Megan Stalter on comedy, the pandemic, pivoting, and how to feel connected in your day-to-day life.
Finally, this poem, “American Happiness” by Jacqueline Allen Trimble, an Alabama-based poet. My family dates back generations in Mayberry, and this poem floored me. Jacqueline was also recently awarded a 25K poetry fellowship from the NEA, and I can’t wait to follow her career.