Undergraduate Poetry Contest -- Submit!

The Poetry Society of New Hampshire offers contests for college student poets.  This year's contest will be coordinated by Green Mountains Review contributor Jennifer Militello.  Below is an overview; check the mains contest website for complete guidelines:

The Poetry Society of New Hampshire is launching a small format poetry book competition open to all college undergraduates. The winning poet will receive a $100 prize and a single copy of the winning book. The initial print run will be a minimum of one hundred copies. The contest will be judged by a poet who is not a member of the society. There is no entry fee. Publication rights will revert to the author upon publication. Poems will not be returned. Please submit 12 to 20 pages of poetry with no identifying information via snail mail to: 

Coordinator, Jennifer Militello
River Valley Community College
One College Drive
Claremont, NH 03743

Postmark deadline is January 30th. Please include a separate page with a brief bio, your complete contact information, a suggested title for your collection, a list of poems in your submission, and the name of the college you are attending. The winner will be announced in the spring. [email Jennifer]

"Can Creative Writing Be Taught?"

Anis Shivani, a contributor to Green Mountains Review and writing here for the Huffington Post, explores the question of "Can Creative Writing Be Taught?  Therapy for the Disaffected Masses":

Yes, of course, creative writing can be taught, and it is very successfully taught. It might be the most successful humanities enterprise in the American university, if success is to be measured by stated goals. As for "improvement," yes to that too, if by "improvement" we mean internalizing the principles of creative writing. Dramatic and measurable improvement are not only possible but happen all the time.  

 Now, having gotten the provocative answer out of the way, let me be clear. Creative writing is not literary writing as has been understood for all of the history of writing. Creative writing is a subset of therapy, with the same essential modalities -- except, like everything else in our culture, it comes in a stripped, dumbed down version that partakes little of the rigors of psychotherapy. More appropriately, we might call it the Oprahfied mindset that penetrates workshop. Life lessons and living a more authentic life are always just beneath the surface of any workshop discussion.

New Yorker Fiction Podcast

Want to hear Salmon Rushdie read Donald Barthelme?  Or Antonya Nelson reading Mavis Gallant, or ZZ Packer reading Stuart Dybek, or Sam Lipsyte reading Thomas McGuane, or Daniel Alarcon reading Roberto Bolano, or A. M. Holmes reading Shirley Jackson?

The New Yorker's free Fiction podcast features these and dozens of other readings and discussions of short stories that have appeared in The New Yorker Magazine as chosen (and read) by short story writers currently featured in the magazine.  These readings and discussions are moderated by The New Yorker's fiction editor, Deborah Treisman.

Some of the best stories written over the last half century, read and discussed by the best writers writing today . . . all for free.

Download this podcast here.

John Ashbery Reads from Notes from the Air

Turkish Novelist Elif Shafak on Storytelling and the Politics of Fiction

Rat King Press Reading at Lovin Cup on Dec. 12!

Johnson's own indie publisher Rat King Press will present an evening of readings at the Lovin Cup Cafe on Monday, December 12 from 6:30 to 11:00pm.  There will be several fiction readings, followed by an open mic (poetry, prose, ranting -- all are welcome).

Rat King Press is still considering fiction submissions for the reading, which can be sent to ratkingpress@gmail.com.  This is a terrific opportunity for writers to share their work with a community of peers.

Rat King Press is also currently accepting submissions for their literary magazine The Rat Tail Detail, whose submission guidelines can be found here.

So come out and support Johnson's own independent publishers and writers!

WHAT:  Rat King Press Reading
WHERE:  The Lovin Cup Cafe
WHEN:  Mon., Dec. 12, 6:30pm - 11:00pm

How to Write a Statement of Purpose for M.F.A in Creative Writing Programs

Among the most daunting -- and critical -- tasks involved in applying for graduate creative writing programs is writing the dreaded Statement of Purpose, which serves as a cover letter and therefore your first impression to the strangers reviewing your (and often hundreds of others') application.  Along with your writing sample, the Statement of Purpose is arguably the most important document.

Because the Statement of Purpose is often required to be one page or less, most applicants spend several weeks or even months crafting an effective SOP.  The problem, however, is that hardly anyone can say what, exactly, makes an SOP effective.  What should you include?  What should you not include?  How much personality ("flair") should there be, and what writerly ambitions or childhood trauma's are best left unmentioned?

Luckily, author and writing professor Cathy Day lays down some essential Do's and Don't's about writing the SOP.  Any writer serious about applying to graduate creative writing programs will benefit from these tips -- provided, after all, by someone who reviews M.F.A. applications regularly.

So take note!