Friday, November 4, 2011

MFA Clinic @ Politics & Prose


The Fiction MFA Clinic:
An Insider’s Insights on Applying, Getting in, and Making the Most of Your Time in Graduate School
Facilitated by Nicole Idar 

If you’re in the midst of researching MFA programs and need a little insider know-how, you may want to check out this upcoming workshop hosted at Politics & Prose Bookshop in DC. The two-hour lunchtime class will cover the application process, how to decide on a program right for you (or if, indeed, the MFA is right for you), tips on writing strong letters, and will also cover how to succeed in and after the program, etc. Questions are welcome in a supportive setting. Everyone is welcome regardless of publication history. 

The Details
Info and sign-up here, on the Politics & Prose website
Price: $30 ($25 members)
Monday, November 14, 12 – 2 p.m.

Suggested Book
The Creative Writing MFA Handbook: A Guide for Prospective Graduate Students, by Tom Kealey

Also Recommended
The Low-Residency MFA Handbook: A Guide for Prospective Creative Writing Students, by Lori A. May (!)

Writer's Workshop in a Book: The Squaw Valley Community of Writers on the Art of Fiction, ed. Alan Cheuse & Lisa Alvarez 

Naming the World: And Other Exercises for the Creative Writer, by Bret Anthony Johnston

About The Instructor
Nicole Idar left a career in financial journalism to pursue an MFA in fiction from George Mason University, enrolling 10 years after she earned a BA in English & American Literature from Harvard University. She was the 2010-2011 Thesis Fellow in Fiction at GMU, and won the Mary Roberts Rinehart and Dan Rudy awards for her stories. Her work has appeared in the New Ohio Review and World Literature Today, and is forthcoming in Rattapallax. She remembers feeling anxious about whether or not to apply to MFA programs when she was still a journalist, and wishes this class had been available at the time!

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

latest publication: accents poetry anthology


I’m very pleased to share my latest publication, Bigger Than They Appear: Anthology of Very Short Poems (edited by Katerina Stoykova-Klemer). In this anthology of 250 poems, you’ll find my poem “Hindsight” in good company, alongside authors like Barry George, Joy Gaines-Friedler, Thom Ward, and many, many more. 

Visit the Accents Publishing website for more info and to order.

The Official Info
Bigger Than They Appear: Anthology of Very Short Poems is a 316-page volume of poems of up to 50 words, including titles. Whether poignant, funny, tragic, or inspirational, each poem is always complete and memorable, representing a world larger than the space it takes on the page. This book features work by 192 contemporary masters of the short free-form poem. 

What Others Say About Bigger Than They Appear
"There are sharp flashes of light, moments when the miraculous world reveals itself to us swiftly, fully. And, because the mind is also a miracle, the lucky words sometimes arrive to capture that revelation and through it witness what it means to be alive. That is the gift of this gorgeous collection."
– Mary Ann Taylor-Hall

Details and Ordering
Publication Date: December 1, 2011
Format: Softcover, 5" x 7"
Pages: 316
ISBN: 978-1-936628-07-0
Price: $15.00
Shipping begins Nov 21/11

Sections in the Anthology
The 250 poems in the anthology have been organized into the following nine sections:
  • A Field Remembers 
  • Open Season 
  • Perfect Dwelling 
  • Portrait of the Artist as an Anagram 
  • Miscellaneous Merchandise 
  • Directly Across from Me 
  • Ritual 
  • The Meaning of Need 
  • When You Become a Body
Visit the Accents Publishing website for more info and to order.