Marissa Bell Toffoli

Archive for 2011|Yearly archive page

Interview With Writer & Performance Poet Arthur Flowers

In art, books, graphic novels, nonfiction, poetry, spoken word, writing on June 4, 2011 at 9:11 pm
Arthur Flowers

Arthur Flowers. Photo courtesy of the author.

An introduction to Arthur Flowers, author of the graphic nonfiction book I See The Promised Land (Tara Books, 2011). Flowers collaborated with Manu Chitrakar, a Patua scroll painter from Bengal, to illustrate the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. A novelist, essayist, and performance poet, other books by Arthur Flowers include Another Good Loving Blues, De Mojo Blues, Cleveland Lee’s Beale Street Band, and Mojo Rising: Confessions of a 21st Century Conjureman. Read the rest of this entry »

Interview With Writer Alexander MacLeod

In books, fiction, short stories, writing on May 31, 2011 at 9:28 pm
Alexander MacLeod

Alexander MacLeod. Photo by Heather Crosby.

An introduction to Alexander MacLeod, author of the debut story collection Light Lifting (Biblioasis, 2010). MacLeod holds degrees from the University of Windsor, the University of Notre Dame, and McGill. He teaches at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. A national bestseller in Canada, Light Lifting was released in the US in April 2011. Read the rest of this entry »

Interview With Monday Night Editors

In art, books, editors, fiction, literary journals, nonfiction, poetry, writing on May 23, 2011 at 11:32 pm
Monday Night 9 cover

Monday Night Issue 9. Cover design by Sharon McGill (2010).

An introduction to Sharon McGill, Heather Miller, Nana K Twumasi, and Jessica Wickens, the editorial team that publishes the literary journal Monday Night. Open submissions are held from September to December. The idea to start Monday Night came out of a writing group where Jessica Wickens and Sharon McGill first met. The debut issue of the journal published in 2001. Read the rest of this entry »

Interview With Writer Keren David

In books, fiction, writing, young adult (YA) on May 16, 2011 at 11:20 am
Keren David

Keren David. Photo by Faye Thomas.

An introduction to Keren David, author of Almost True (Frances Lincoln Children’s Books, 2011), the sequel to her debut novel When I Was Joe. Keren David’s first novel was published in the UK in January 2010, and won the North East Teenage Book Award. A journalist by trade, Keren David began writing fiction when she returned to live in London after eight years abroad. She explained that “the experience of being a stranger in my own land really inspired me to write. I saw everything with a new eye.”

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Interview With Writer & Editor Tod Davies

In books, editors, fairy tales, fiction, writing, young adult (YA) on May 10, 2011 at 1:31 pm
Tod Davies

Tod Davies. Photo by Marissa Bell Toffoli (2011).

An introduction to Tod Davies, author of Snotty Saves the Day: The History of Arcadia (Exterminating Angel Press, 2011). Tod Davies is also the founder of Exterminating Angel Press (EAP), which she started “to find people who were really passionate about an alternative point of view.” What Davies looks for in an EAP writer is someone who has “a practical orientation to life, who says, wait a minute, it’s not working.” Davies will tell you that “stories are living things,” and her author bio in Snotty Saves the Day states that she “firmly believes in the truth of fairy tales, and that if you know who you are (and what made you that way), you can change your world.” Her artistic pursuits are rooted in the philosophy that people ought to think about the world and their place in it, and that everyone may be an advocate for truth and an agent of change. Read the rest of this entry »

Interview With Writer Paul Maliszewski

In books, fiction, short stories, writing on April 23, 2011 at 5:10 pm
Paul Maliszewski

Paul Maliszewski. Photo by Hadley Ross.

An introduction to Paul Maliszewski, author of the fiction collection Prayer and Parable (Fence Books, 2011).  The cover description for Prayer and Parable says the stories feature people who “struggle to do right. They argue. They think. They think again. They have odd dreams. Often they fail at being good, and yet, on occasion, they realize moments of true kindness.” People much like any of  us. These stories are about life and the human condition. The artistry is in Maliszewski’s honest language, and as he mentions, the best way to experience art, is to experience it yourself. You’ll have to read the book to discover its beauties. Read the rest of this entry »

Interview With Writer Andre Dubus III

In books, fiction, memoir, nonfiction, writing on March 21, 2011 at 10:11 am
Andre Dubus III

Andre Dubus III. Photo by Marissa Bell Toffoli (2011).

An introduction to Andre Dubus III, author of the memoir Townie (WW Norton & Company, 2011), and the recent novels The House of Sand and Fog and The Garden of Last Days. Over the years, while also writing, Dubus has worked as a bartender, office cleaner, halfway house counselor, assistant to a private investigator/bounty hunter, self-employed carpenter and college writing teacher. Townie chronicles his dangerous affair with physical violence. At the end of the interview Dubus stated proudly, “I have not punched anyone in 23 years, by the way. I’m on the peaceful path.” Read the rest of this entry »

Interview With Writer Caitlin Doyle

In poetry, writing on March 11, 2011 at 2:55 pm
Caitlin Doyle

Caitlin Doyle. Photo by Mike Robinson.

An introduction to poet Caitlin Doyle, who just completed her tenure as the winter term Writer-In-Residence at the Jack Kerouac House in Florida. Accolades for Caitlin Doyle’s work include Pushcart Prize nominations, a Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Prize, a poetry award from The Atlantic Monthly, and prizes from the Academy of American Poets. Doyle is currently at work on her first book-length poetry manuscript. Her poems have recently been published or will soon appear in Best New Poets 2009, Black Warrior Review, The Boston Review, The Warwick Review, and Measure.

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Interview With Writer Jonathan Evison

In books, editors, fiction, literary journals, writing on March 5, 2011 at 2:44 pm
Jonathan Evison

Jonathan Evison. Photo by Marissa Bell Toffoli (2011).

An introduction to Jonathan Evison, author of West of Here (Algonquin, 2011). Writer, reader, editor, and blogger extraordinaire Jonathan Evison is a friendly, witty, encouraging, and thoughtful presence in the online literary world. In person, he is all that plus a whole lot of fun. If you attend an Evison book event, you will be rewarded by candid answers and personal anecdotes. He might even play a recording of a Sasquatch whoop howl from his mobile phone. Yes, he believes in Bigfoot. Of everything Evison said, I went to sleep the night after meeting him still thinking about this: “Bigfoot is one last wild possibility that may or may not be out there. I believe because I want to believe.” He is a man with heart, willing to believe in what others might consider the impossible.
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Interview With Writer Michael David Lukas

In books, fiction, writing on February 25, 2011 at 9:31 am
Michael David Lukas.

Michael David Lukas. Photo by Haley Pollack.

An introduction to Michael David Lukas, author of the novel The Oracle of Stamboul (Harper, 2011). Lukas lives in Oakland, California, where he was born and raised. When asked where he would most want to live and write, Lukas admitted, “I’m pretty happy in Oakland. I have a really great community, and great food, great weather. It’s nice not being in the center of literary production and publishing. I think I would be a little bit overwhelmed by that.”

Don’t be deceived into thinking that he is anything other than worldly. In fact, the seed for the idea that blossomed as The Oracle of Stamboul came to Lukas while he was living in Tunisia. In his debut novel, Lukas transports readers to the Ottoman Empire in the 1880s. Read the rest of this entry »

Interview With Writer Deborah Harkness

In books, fiction, writing on February 14, 2011 at 9:08 pm
Deborah Harkness. Photo by Marissa Bell Toffoli (2011).

Deborah Harkness. Photo by Marissa Bell Toffoli (2011).

An introduction to Deborah Harkness, author of the novel A Discovery of Witches (Viking, 2011). A history professor at the University of Southern California, Harkness has previously published two nonfiction books. A Discovery of Witches is her first foray into fiction.

During a book reading and signing event at Rakestraw Books in Danville, California, Harkness mentioned that she had never taken a creative writing class, and never imagined she’d be a published novelist. Discussing the way her experiences and other interests influence her writing, Harkness described writing as “a kind of alchemy. Things you’re not even aware you’re tracking go into the writing.”

As to A Discovery of Witches, which Harkness wrote in one year after beginning in a small notebook while on vacation, she said simply, “It was a story that once I started telling it, I couldn’t stop.” In Harkness’s words, “It’s a book about books, a love of reading, and what books can do.” It’s also a testament to what a person can accomplish when an idea truly captures her attention. Read the rest of this entry »

Interview With Writer Hannah Pittard

In books, fiction, short stories, writing on February 9, 2011 at 6:24 pm
Hannah Pittard

Hannah Pittard. Photo by Marissa Bell Toffoli (2011).

An introduction to the author of the debut novel The Fates Will Find Their Way (Ecco, 2011). Hannah Pittard confesses a few obsessions, and shares advice she gives to her writing students at DePaul University. She’s articulate, she’s a serious thinker, she’s got a sense of humor, and she’s out to break your heart. Read the rest of this entry »

Interview With Writer & Filmmaker Mariano Bartolomeu

In directors, film, writing on January 17, 2011 at 1:03 pm

 

Mariano Bartolomeu

Mariano Bartolomeu. Photo by Marissa Bell Toffoli (2010).

An introduction to the Angolan filmmaker Mariano Bartolomeu. Originally from Angola’s capitol city, Luanda, Bartolomeu has lived in a handful of different countries and now resides in the United States. He holds a Master of Fine Arts in Filmmaking and he is a Fulbright alumni. His short films have been selected and screened at a variety of international film festivals, and his documentary “The Sun Still Shines” (1995), made for French TV Channel La Sept-Arte, won Best Documentary and the Fipresci Award at the Milan International Film Festival. Read the rest of this entry »

Interview With Writer Elliot Harmon

In poetry, slam, spoken word, writing on January 4, 2011 at 10:01 am
Elliot Harmon

Elliot Harmon. Photo courtesy of Harmon.

An introduction to poet Elliot Harmon, who initially made a name for himself through performance poetry. Harmon shared, “I think that performance still plays a role in what I write, and I love having the opportunity to perform in different contexts. There was a while there when I was traveling a lot and I was really active in the slam scene. Performing things over and over was a big part of how I revised and worked. That’s not the case anymore because I have a full-time job and not as much opportunity to do that stuff. It’s changed how I work.” Read the rest of this entry »