Bluecast: Sherman Alexie

After his reading in Bloomington last week, Sherman Alexie was kind enough to read and discuss his poem, "A Short History of Arm-Horses," from our 2003 25th anniversary issue. Enjoy!

And remember, if you want to hear a previous recording, just press "post" and select the one you want to hear.

Indiana Review 1/2K Prize

Circle your calendars! June 8th is the deadline for the 2007 IR 1/2k prize for short-short stories and prose poems. Stuart Dybek will be judging. The winner will recieve publication in the magazine and $1,000. All entries will be considered for publication and all entrants will receive a one-year subscription to IR. You can find guidelines here.

Sherman Alexie

On a promotional tour for his latest novel, Flight, Sherman Alexie read in Bloomington last Wednesday. There really is only one word to describe the perfomance: wow. Alexie read poetry (!), did some comedy, told some stories, and was just generally brilliant. He also took some time out to let us record him reading his poem "A Short History of Arm-Horses," featured in our 2003, 25th anniversary issue. I'll post that on the Bluecast sometime in the near future. Stay tuned.
--Abdel

Bluecast: Wendy Rawlings

Check out Wendy Rawlings reading an excerpt from her story, "Ye Olde Twentieth Century," upcoming in IR's summer issue. And remember, if you'd like to hear a previous reading, just click on the "post" button and select the one you want.

Virginia Tech

And this is why we need poets... (thanks, equinoctial)

Unholy Fonts

We've all submitted a piece to a journal and had that moment of deep contemplation where we consider what font will help our work stand out from the hundreds of submissions that an editor recieves. The answer: When in doubt, use 12pt Times New Roman. You want your work, not your font to stand out. Nothing annoys an editor more than sexy fonts. Typies (thanks gallink) has an interesting post about fonts and their affect on our experience as readers. You wouldn't think it was that deep, but it is. Keep it simple.

National Library Week

I think the health of our civilization, the depth of our awareness about the underpinnings of our culture and our concern for the future can all be tested by how well we support our libraries.
-Carl Sagan

This is National Library Week and we should all take a second to acknowledge the important role libraries play in our society (we swear we were just about to return those overdue books, by the way.) Our darling President even recognizes the importance of a good library. Katie Couric's stance on libraries is, however, a little ambiguous.

James Brown Articulates the IR Aesthetic

Well spoken.

--Abdel

kurt vonnegut 1922-2007

We're all mourning the passing of one of the greats, today. Vonnegut's iconoclasm was a breath of fresh air during the height of 20th century literary realism, and continued to be as he turned his pen toward essayistic cultural and political criticism in recent years. This year the Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library and the Indianapolis Cultural Development Commission have been partnering with community organizations to celebrate and honor Kurt Vonnegut, in what they're calling the Year of Vonnegut. Yes, it's true, Kurt Vonnegut was Indiana born and bred. Now, with Vonnegut's passing, the celebration will most likely take on a memorial function as well. If you're in the area, check out some of the events.

Bluecast: Tyrone Jaeger

Check out Tyrone Jaeger reading his prose poem, "Specter", soon to be published in IR's upcoming summer issue. And remember, if you'd like to hear any of the previous posts, just click on "posts" and pick the one you want to hear.

National Poetry Month

For those of you who didn't know, April is officially National Poetry Month! To celebrate the occassion, the American Academy of Poets is offering a free prescription to their "Poem a Day" plan. Type in your email address and you'll get a brand-spanking-new poem in your inbox everyday this month. And maybe some spam.


For the National Poetry Month scrooges, here's a grumpy essay from Charles Bernstein, "Against National Poetry Month As Such".







Pop quiz, hot shot! If you think you know so much about poetry, why don't you take the official National Poetry Month quiz. And don't let the bus go under 50mph or it explodes.

In Print Festival Report

This year's In Print festival was incredible—the creative writing program at Ball State University is populated by some lovely people. The festival brings in 3 authors each year who have just published their first book. This year attending were David Griffith (nonfiction), Alan DeNiro (fiction) and Sharmilya Voorakkara (poetry). I participated as an Editor, and was happy to talk with people about publishing. A thanks goes out to Jill Christman & Nathan Meyers who put together a great festival—I had a fun time! Thanks also to Dave, Alan, Sharmilya and all the great folks at Ball State whom I was fortunate to meet and talk with at In Print 3. Those of you in the area next year should check it out.

-tracy

Bluecast: Laura van den berg

We've added a story excerpt from Laura van den berg's "Where We Must Be," featured in our upcoming Summer issue (29.1).

Linguaphilia

A couple of friends turned me on to this entertaining blog about language. It's basically a bunch of crotchety linguists riffing on both language abusers and overzealous language watchdogs. This is the kind of thing they like to post about:

(Cartoon by Ted Rall.)

Read at your peril, though; the blog is liable not only to make you hyperconscious of your own grammatical and stylistic choices and idiosyncrasies, but if you're anything like me, it will make you even more prone to pointing out to your friends the dangling modifiers and misplaced apostrophes that are rampant in signage across this great land of ours. Here's the example to which I can never stop returning: in Portland, OR, there is a bar who's name is supposed to be a pun on fishing. The pub's name should read, "The Reel 'Em Inn." Instead, the sign proclaims the name of the place to be, "The Reel M'Inn." Say it out loud. It sounds funny in your mouth.

--Megan

For the New York Hoosiers at Heart

Former IR Poetry Editor, Mary Austin Speaker, is now curating a stellar reading series at the 11th Street Bar in NYC, Reading Beween A and B. The series pairs established writers with up and coming poets. If you're in the vicinity, you should check out one of their upcoming readings. Tell Mary we say "hey.":


April 2
Tracy K. Smith
Kyle Dargan
Dante Micheaux

April 16
Susan Howe
Dan Beachy-Quick
Richard Greenfield

April 23
Galway Kinnell
Tom Sleigh
Josephine Dickinson

April 30
Jorie Graham
Claudia Keelan
Meghan O'Rourke

May 7
Linda Gregerson
C. Dale Young
John Gallaher

May 14
Bob Hicok
Jessica Baran
Mary Austin Speaker