The sounds outside my house at night, or another reason to love Atlanta

This is what we hear outside, high in the pines and oaks, late at night.

Listen closely - the sounds you want come in at about eight seconds, (or 00:00:08, for those of you trained like me, and no, I don't have the frame count.)

This is from somewhere in Canada, but it's the same sound, and I love it. A barred owl.

Hidden literary surprises!

Okay, a confession first of all for the hilarious and smart women of the East Point Literary Society... I ate the piece of cake y'all gave me. It was too good to pass up. So, I'll be on the treadmill this afternoon if anyone's looking for me.

I'm going to try to post a photo from the Chattahoochee Valley Writers Workshop this past weekend. It's poet Keith Badowski writing poems on demand at the conference, on an ancient and stylish Royal typewriter. (Blogger's got a problem with photos lately.)

Friday I gave a talk at the Columbus Public Library . If you are anywhere near Columbus, Georgia, I suggest you get to that library asap. This one terrific place! I love the Atlanta Public Library, but dudes, I'm jealous.

Saturday, I got a poem written for me (see above) and gave a workshop on Writing Through Grief. We had a good time, and applause for all the talented writers in the class!

Then, (whew) a reception at the Carson McCullers house in Columbus, where we watched a very short film clip of McCullers and a pushy TV interviewer in 1950. Very insightful and led to interesting conversation. While you're at the library, go to the McCullers house. It's close by, and the ephemera (including photos of John Huston visiting McCullers there) is worth seeing. They have a lecture series, too.

I got to hang out some with photographer and nonfiction author Sarah Campbell , who, it turns out, told me all kinds of cool things about Port Gibson, Mississippi, a place on which I have a serious Americana crush. (The old synagogue is outstanding.)

But we are not done, no!

Heading home, I'm glad I braved a gully-washing rainstorm and some grueling 1 mph freeway gridlock to visit the East Point Literary Society, aka my new favorite book club.

Did you know (I didn't) that if you turn the cover of Invisible Sisters upside down, it tells the book's story just as well, if not better? Raised the goose bumps on my arms.

Over and out. I need my rest!

Congrats!

Congratulations to my two favorite Atlanta independent bookstores; A Cappella Books won best independent bookstore in Creative Loafing's poll, and Bound to Be Read was runner up!

Where to shop? What to do? Shop locally, and support your favorite independent bookstores!

Survival, stories, essays, poems, artwork...

... are all here at the new issue of R.KV.RY . The original art created by Dawn Estrin for each piece is breathtaking. A shout out to Mary Akers for such careful and caring editorial work. I think I may have to put what I'm doing aside for a while and just... read everything in this!

Reading list

I am on break between academic quarters, and am not on any crushing deadlines (is my agent reading this? shhhh....) and so, am reading. For fun!

What am I reading?

1. The Habit of Being, by Flannery O'Connor. Again. I re-read this periodically because she was such a complicated person, and it's an intimate view of her world, her writing, the world at large then, and feels so comfortable.
2. Have ordered and will drop everything upon arrival of "The Warmth of Other Suns," by Isabel Wilkerson.
3. "Cornbread Nation #5" makes great bedside reading.

I do other things besides read. I shop, for example, thanks to a Scoutmob discount at Mooncake. (Yum. Expensive fabulous clothes in Virginia Highland.) I weed the garden before ten a.m. when I might melt.

I look forward to the 2 book club visits coming up, the two events in Columbus, Georgia, this weekend, and meeting the students from Erato, the literary magazine at Georgia Tech next week!

Eerily like the Vivian Girls

So, M. and I, and our friends E. and T. were out wandering in Decatur last week, and E., who is an enthusiastic and intrepid finder of all things weird, happened to notice these concrete girls (pictured left.)

"They're like the VIvian Girls," she said. And they sort of are. Our own creepy Henry Darger moment. If you don't know about his VIvian Girls and their intergalactic war, I suggest you go here .

In other news, I bought a 2011 date book. When you get just the right datebook, it's strangely pleasing. Even better, this one came with stickers. Like when I was a kid. So, today I marked an event - a gala! - for May of 2011, and put a sticker on it! With a picture of a martini glass!

It's how I roll.

Writing Advice

Erika Dreifus , author of the forthcoming "Quiet Americans." included a little of my writing advice in a piece for WOW - Women on Writing.

You can read her good advice, Ellen Meeropol's, mine, and others here .

Isn't she nice?

"Litter on a Stick"

The "bandit signs" I've seen around town and meant to photograph but haven't have made it to the Guardian newspaper in the UK.

I don't think they're what a beautification group official called "litter on a stick," I think they're great.

Just look here for some bandit signs.

(spend...earn... spend... from the artists' FB fan page.)

Some of the most beautiful images I've seen lately

Some of the most beautiful photographs I've seen lately are here , from the Denver Post.

We're not accustomed to seeing historic images from the 1940s in color, and I am entranced by Americana.

The Shasta Dam photo and the Carnival photo are particularly entrancing.

A nod to Jennifer 8. Lee who posted these on Twitter, which is how I found them.

Publisher's Weekly Blogs the Decatur Book Festival

Publisher's Weekly is blogging the Decatur Book Festival here.

Aren't you proud of Bookzilla? I am.

Thanks to the full house (!!!) at our panel about Social Media and writing yesterday.

Today I'm heading out to see, oh, three or four or five panels, and sign some books at A Cappella Books' tent, across from Eddie's Attic.

A book club and a good deed

While we're on the topic of tikkun olam, I want to spread some love to the book club who asked me what charity I'd suggest they donate to after I visit them to talk about Invisible Sisters.

( Tikkun olam means 'repair of the world.')

I was so knocked out - I've never heard of a book club doing this before, but now hear this book clubs! Way to be!

Here's the charity I suggested, because I support them as often as I can. Spay, neuter,adopt homeless pets through the Atlanta Humane Society .

And thank a book club.

Image from "I Can Has Cheeseburger?"

Whoa, thanks, Writers Center!

Thanks, The Writers Center!

There I was, taking a nap on the couch, and then the phone rings and you guys - okay, it was Kyle - invited me up to Bethesda to read!

Sure thing. And there'll be a band, too. Probably not at exactly the same time, though.

PS Is the Tastee Diner still around?