Love, Life, and Writing in the Driftless: A Q&A with author Maggie Ginsberg on her debut novel Still True

Grace Schutte

Some 10,000 years ago, when glaciers hop-scotched across the world like children at recess, a patch of land was left unscathed from their icy trail in the modern-day Midwest. The 25,000 sq/mi area retains its unique landforms of old: lush forests and springs, deep caves and sinkholes, winding hillsides and streams—driftless to this day.

It is here where the Madison Magazine senior editor and author Maggie Ginsberg grew up, on the outskirts of the Driftless.

I had the great pleasure of discussing Ginsberg’s debut novel Still True, set to be released Sept. 27, and the crucial role the Midwest plays in the text—how it shapes and forms the lives of the characters as they explore the joys and complications of love and life in the Midwest.

Join Maggie Ginsberg and Nickolas Butler for a conversation on her debut novel Still True, craft, and writing about place and home at 6pm on Wednesday Sept. 28 at the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library. Read on for the complete interview.

Grace Schutte: Midwestern culture and setting play a foundational role in Still True—what is your relationship with the Midwest? Has it evolved over the span of your life?

Maggie Ginsberg: I was born and raised in the Midwest in a small town on the edge of the driftless, and the Midwest has shaped me in ways I am still uncovering. There are so many great things about growing up in a smaller community in rural Wisconsin—there are also some challenging things I didn’t realize at the time, things I am still unpacking today. But I have a ton of love for the Midwest.

GS: How does your Midwestern background influence how you write and think about literature?

MG: I think the Midwest is sometimes overlooked, dismissed or stereotyped by New York Publishers. They might think of our work as regional but not that we’re writing deeply, thoughtfully, and authentically from the Midwest in universal ways. And of course, there are exceptions, but that’s why I think it is so important what BJ Hollars has done in the Chippewa Valley: Bringing together a community of readers and writers and bringing validity to it. There is something really magical about being seen in literature. 

GS: You are an editor for Madison Magazine. What was the transition from non-fiction to fiction like? Do you feel your background in non-fiction brings something unique to the page?

“For a while, I was in my own way because the story I was telling myself was that only a certain kind of writer knew how to write fiction and that I wasn’t that writer. Once I got out of my own way and questioned myself about that, then I was open to learning and being taught...”

— Maggie Ginsberg

MG: When I first got my agent, she suspected my many years of journalism had given me an access to people’s interiority in a way that has helped me write fiction. I agree with that. For a while, I was in my own way because the story I was telling myself was that only a certain kind of writer knew how to write fiction and that I wasn’t that writer. Once I got out of my own way and questioned myself about that, then I was open to learning and being taught—I am so glad, because it has been a lot of fun.

GS: What compelled you to write a novel? As this is your debut book, what has your writing experience looked like so far?

MG: I accidentally took a fiction writing class in 2016. There was a course I took every year and I had already taken all of the nonfiction tracks, and I didn’t want to miss out on the course because I enjoyed it so much, so I thought I’d try fiction. I sat there like a sponge. For some reason, it opened my mind to not just what was possible, but that it was possible for me. I love the freedom I am learning through fiction writing and hope to continue doing that as well.

GS: In the opening pages, we are introduced to our protagonist, Lib, a 58-year-old woman living alone—or alone as you can live in a small midwestern town—in her childhood home, of which she has renovated until it is unrecognizable. How does Still True complicate, or enrich, how readers perceive 50-some-year-old independent women?

MG: I saw [Lib] very clearly, and I think a lot of readers can appreciate protagonists who aren't 35. I think you need to have done a little living to tell an interesting story—I know I had to do quite a bit of living to write one. It’s complicated for Lib. It’s not just that she is living on the edge of town because she’s an independent woman—she’s also protecting herself. You could call it hiding, but those are the tools that have been working for her—or so she thinks.

GS: There is an undeniable chemistry between the characters—it is honest, passionate, and sensual. In what ways does Still True comment on female sexuality, especially the sexuality of “older” women.

MG: I thought about this book in terms of questions, not answers. It starts with this premise of “Do you lose independence if you’re going to have real intimacy with a partner? Can you have both, or not?” I wanted to know what might challenge that understanding. Because of her generation and her trauma, she has a hard earned relationship with her sexuality.

GS: Some would argue family is one of the cornerstones of Midwestern life—you complicate that concept in your book, where secrets are kept and maintained for decades all to come to a head years down the line. How does this serve as a commentary and what does it propose?

MG: I wasn’t setting out to make any kind of statement or anything like that, I just wanted to write people true, write how we really are. For me, the challenge was to do right by [my characters], to really make sure I kept asking them—almost like with my journalism—who they were, where they came from, and to explain themselves to me so I could help them explain themselves to each other.

GS: Who inspires you in life and in your writing?

MG: Nickolas Butler is someone I think of. When I read Shotgun Lovesongs, it wasn’t just that I loved that story and his voice, but that I felt seen as a born and raised Midwesterner in ways that I usually didn’t see reflected in a lot of other literature. That was a big deal to me.

GS: Do you have plans to write another book?

MG: I started working on another book the minute I went out on submission with this one. It was a way to distract myself from the painful process of having a book out on submission—I’m still working on it, five years later. Publishing is a tough business, writing is glorious.

Join Maggie Ginsberg and Nickolas Butler for a conversation on her debut novel Still True, craft, and writing about place and home at 6pm on Wednesday Sept. 28 at the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library. 

"No Sad Polkas": Ken Szymanski on His New Book, His Aunt Lil, and The Power of Polka

Below is our Chippewa Valley Writers Guild interview with Eau Claire Writer-in-Residence Ken Szymanski, about his new book Sit Down and Stay Awhile: My Aunt Lil, a Small-Town Bar, and a Lifetime of Polkas. Enjoy!

---

CVWG: First of all, for your book release (July 21 at Stone’s Throw in Eau Claire), you’re having a polka band and “polka” is in the title of your book. Why does polka music play such an important role in both your book and the book release party?

“And in writing the book, I realized how much polka music fit Lil’s personality. Polka music puts everyone in a good mood. There are no sad polka songs. And polka music brings people together. And Lil made a career out of creating good times and bringing people together at her bar.”

— Ken Szymanski

Ken Szymanski: As I wrote the book, I noticed how polka music was something that kept coming up, all throughout my aunt Lil’s life. With her husband Leon, she ran Leon & Lil’s bar in Thorp for 52 years, and they often had live polka bands on the weekends. But it was more than just that. She grew up listening to polkas, and she listens and sings along with polkas to this day. And in writing the book, I realized how much polka music fit Lil’s personality. Polka music puts everyone in a good mood. There are no sad polka songs. And polka music brings people together. And Lil made a career out of creating good times and bringing people together at her bar. They came together over food, over drinks, over conversation, over dice games, and over polka music. And no one polkas alone. The music literally brings people together. People polka with their parents and siblings and neighbors—not just their spouses, so the music kind of acts like a community builder, in a way.

CVWG: Why did you choose to write a book about Lil?

KS: It was actually Lil’s idea. I’ve known Lil as an incredibly kind and generous person my whole life, but it wasn’t until she was staying at Sacred Heart Hospital in Eau Claire recovering from surgery back in 2019 that I had a chance to have daily conversations. It was right on my way home from work. And she was just as entertaining as an elderly person in a hospital bed as she was as a younger person behind the bar. And I always looked forward to the next visit.

I had written my grandfather’s life story, and hearing her dad’s story I think may have planted the seed in her head. And he died before I was born, so that made the project a lot more difficult. So when Lil mentioned that she had always wanted to write a book about her life, it seemed easy. She’s a great storyteller with a fascinating small-town life. And now that the book is done, I can’t believe I didn’t think of this 20 years ago. But sometimes the things and people in your own life are difficult to imagine as writing material. But when you step back, the people in your family are more fascinating than you realize. And that’s definitely been the case with Lil. I knew she was a special person, but not until the interviews did I realize the impact she made on her community by the way she treated each and every person who walked through those tavern doors. And it didn’t matter if you were a regular or a first-time customer. She didn’t seem to have an “in-crowd” or an “inner circle.” And valuing every single person wasn’t some calculated business move. The book shows how she was like that before and after her time in the bar.

CVWG: It sounds like you’ve really enjoyed this process. Is this idea of writing about elderly relatives something you’d recommend to others?

KS: Definitely. And you don’t have to know everything about them to do it. You can use this process as a way to get to know your relatives. Their stories are worth sharing and preserving. You don’t have to make a book about it, but you can. It could also be a few pages that’s just shared with the family. It’s really about the process. It’s about asking the questions and hearing the stories and bringing back the memories and, really, letting your elders know that they’re valued, and that their stories are important. And when you show interest, sometimes people really open up, and you get to know them in a whole new way.

CVWG: How would you advise getting started?

KS: Tell them that you want to start a project of learning more about your family history. See if they’ll let you record an interview. Come up with a list of questions, but also just see where it goes. Often, the more people talk, the more they start to remember. And that initial conversation often gets them thinking for a few days, and more memories start popping up…so do some follow-up sessions. Then use that information to interview other relatives and jog their memories. Then take those back to the original person and see if that helps them remember more.

The tough part is figuring out how to organize that into something. The way it worked for me was I wrote a long rough draft and showed it to a friend who had never been to Thorp, never met Lil, to get an outsider perspective. He pointed out things that were confusing, things that were repetitive, and things that were underdeveloped. That was super helpful. After making those improvements, I found a new person to show it to and saw how this improved version looked to fresh eyes. Then it was a long process of sanding it down until it was as smooth as possible. And it’s important not to try to tell everything. You’d never finish the project, and it’d collapse under its own weight if you did. I tried to present the best of my findings—just the best quotes and the best examples to represent their life.

CVWG: What was your aunt’s reaction when she saw the final product?

KS: She was quite overwhelmed. She was so happy. And I remember she said, “I wish Leon could see this.” And she’s really gotten a kick out of the publicity. She’s always been a celebrity in Thorp, and at age 96, it shows that she still has a few tricks up her sleeve.

Book Release Polka Party at Stone’s Throw in Eau Claire

Thursday, July 21 at 7:00

$3 Cover Charge

After a book talk and reading, enjoy live polka music from the band Klezmazel. Books will be available for purchase, and the dance floor will be open.  

Sit Down and Stay Awhile…or Don’t

Saturday July 23 at Volume One Local Store, 11:30-8:30

Free

In this unusual marathon reading, Szymanski will imitate NPR’s “Chapter a Day,” but with a chapter every half hour. Starting at 11:30AM, Szymanski will read the first chapter from the book. Then every half hour, he will read the next chapter until he finishes the book at 8:30 that night. In between the book’s 19 chapters, he will be available to sign books, answer questions, and talk about writing. Like a street musician or corner preacher, performances will go on whether anyone is listening or not.  

A Visit With Lil

Thorp Area Historical Society

Thorp, WI

Friday, August 5

Anytime From 2-4

Free

Visit with Lil Kaczmarek at the Thorp Area Historical Society and hear about her new book, Sit Down and Stay Awhile. The book will take you back to when polka music filled the bars and Lil kept the party hopping for decades with generosity and charm. See Leon & Lil's memorabilia, hear small parts of the book read by author Ken Szymanski, and take home a copy signed by Lil. The event is free (donations accepted).

In addition to the events, the book will be available at the Volume One Local Store, Nolchek’s Meats in Thorp, Marieke Gouda cheese shop in Thorp, and Thorp Area Historical Society starting July 23. Each book purchase comes with a limit-edition Leon & Lil’s bar coaster, while supplies last.

Lake Hallie is More Than a Hometown: A Sneak Peek at Patti See's Forthcoming Essay Collection (And Its Impact on a Local)

Elaina Myers

 Hometowns are like first loves—like grandma’s homemade chocolate chip cookies, and a grandfather’s embrace. We can never forget them.

Growing up in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, my only goal was to get out of Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, which—for a time—was a goal shared with Patti See. See’s essay collection Here On Lake Hallie: In Praise of Bar Flies, Fix-It Guys, and Other Folks in Our Hometown takes readers on her journey of falling back in love with the place that raised her. Upon learning more about it, I was compelled to reevaluate my small town’s impact on my life.

The way See captures the tenderness of neighbors, the quirks of local bars and the overall beauty in the seemingly small aspects of Lake Hallie reminds me of the mornings my sister and I would spend hours ice skating on the lake behind our house. Creating the perfect rink was no easy task. My father would carry gallon buckets of water down to the bank as my sister, and I meticulously shoveled a perfect rectangular border just big enough for us to do laps. We would then dump the buckets inside the boundary line and my father would rake it across the surface trying his best to fill any imperfections in the ice.

Eventually, the neighbor boys in surrounding houses would carry down their mangled hockey nets as the girls laced up the pink and white laces of their figure skates. And then, the competitions would commence. Squeals of laughter echoed up the embankment to our house as we each took turns spinning and twirling on the ice to be crowned best figure skater, (although we all knew my sister was the reigning champion).

““As I got older, I really began to recognize what I treasured so much about the Chippewa Valley. The essays span from around 2009 to the present, so I talk about a lot of big moments in my life that not only capture what I’ve been through but what the spirit of Lake Hallie truly is.” ”

— Patti See

 Childhood memories like this are packed into See’s book as she shines a light on the charming people she grew up with and the struggles she had entering adulthood as a mother and daughter of a parent with Alzheimer’s. “As I got older, I really began to recognize what I treasured so much about the Chippewa Valley,” explains See. “The essays span from around 2009 to the present, so I talk about a lot of big moments in my life that not only capture what I’ve been through but what the spirit of Lake Hallie truly is.”

 See writes a monthly column for the Eau Claire Leader-Telegram called Sawdust Stories, where many of the articles from her book were first published. Much like her book, the articles explore themes of motherhood, nature, childhood, and her various connections to the Lake Hallie and Chippewa Falls. In addition to being a prolific writer, See is also an academic advisor at UW- Eau Claire where she helps students plan their schedules and stay on track for graduation.

Reading about See’s strong community values provided me a new perspective on my own town. Skating on that homemade ice rink isn’t just a fond memory but one that features the friendships I created with my neighbors, the hard work and dedication my father had for his children, and the endless love between sisters.

 I think it’s easy to get wrapped up in our monotonous routines and lose sight of the places and people that shaped us into who we are. But See helps us remember. Each of her articles is written with such pride and attention to detail that it’s hard not to apply her stories to our own lives. As easy as it is to disregard a hometown as a set of streets leading to old buildings filled with ordinary people, perhaps it’s exactly those characteristics that makes the places so extraordinary.

 “One of my favorite things about this book is that it’s about the people of this area and a lot of the landmarks that they would know and recognize, specifically Leinenkugel’s,” said See. “It has been rewarding for me to write about the place that I grew up and now live and love, but even more rewarding that these areas will be portrayed to a national audience.”

 It has always been my plan to move away and leave my hometown for good, and that may still be the case. But thanks to Patti See, at least now I can leave cherishing the special influence my town has had on my life and, evidently, the lives of others too.

Here On Lake Hallie will be published in May, 2022 from the Wisconsin Historical Society Press. See welcomes everyone to her book launch party on June 28, 2022, at 6:00 pm on Lake Hallie Golf’s outside patio (in case of rain it will be in Lake Hallie Golf’s covered but open-air pavilion). Join her for cake and a cash bar. See will talk about the book and read one essay. Books will be for sale.

Finding Yourself on the Page: The Journey Toward Journaling

By Dawson Jollie

Sitting in my dorm room one restless April night, I flicked on my lamp and sighed.  It was midnight, and I couldn’t sleep.  But how could anybody, with a million thoughts zooming through their skull, every last one begging for our attention? I could feel waves of emotions swell in my chest. I needed to act, needed to do something with those thoughts.  And so, I reached for my notebook.

With the pages flipped open, empty, in silence, those thoughts seemed to scream out, each wanting to be recognized in the notebook: my inspirations; my forlorn, college angst; rising fears for a future fast approaching... The desire to fill those pages never felt higher. But staring into the paper, those lines and margins so concisely laid out, helped to close the gates in front of my brain. Close them, but only enough to form a funnel, where I could usher out what’s written.

In that moment, three ideas came to mind: a concert. A wave of faces. And a heart, beating loud into beautiful lights. These are what would fill my journal that night.

This was one of my several experiences with journaling, or the act writing in a journal. For a long time, the process has been a chance to seize reflection: analyzing our emotions, actions, imagination, and the world around us, in the attempt of gaining a better understanding of our place in life. It still serves that same purpose today, no less effective.

And this is something I can attest to. Many people can. Living in an age of constant adaptation, stress, and anxiety, it gets far too easy to lose sight of what really makes us so unique. Hence the reason why a journal should first and foremost be a service for yourself.

So then what does that look like? How does this work?

Well, I started writing that one night, letting every detail come out in order. Not a single thing forced. I described the concert prior: the heat of a hundred bodies, a hundred strangers I’ll never see again; the spectrum of colors that painted the crowd and their faces; the thumping of my chest as my heart raced with a thundering beat.  

A picture was being formed by the words echoing in my mind, and the emotions jumping toward the light. I had no plan to stop.

Instead, I went deeper… how nice it was to be at a music venue, without having that nagging sense of a threat to normalcy brought by the pandemic. I looked back to the faces of those around me, all their eyes expressing that same relief. All worries and pains, stifled, then soothed. Like the world was suddenly opening to us and revealing a future where “normal” was no longer a distant memory.

I filled the first page quickly… then another. And another. And another. But seeing it all before me, my own emotions and experience laid out on every line, I saw myself reflecting through the writing. In every entry I made.

“And that’s the beauty of it all: just like yourself, the page of a journal can become as much as your imagination dictates.”

— Dawson Jollie

And that’s the beauty of it all: just like yourself, the page of a journal can become as much as your imagination dictates.

With that said, the only “wrong” form of journaling is the kind that doesn’t encompass yourself. It may be one thing to write something down on a piece of paper, but what should be a therapeutic tool turns into a chore when it doesn’t speak to your interests. Or your growth as an individual.

One may really find peace losing themselves in 5 minutes of daily prose; or perhaps a long session diving into the deepest desires of the heart. Or maybe some thoughtful sketches to describe what can’t be put to words. Regardless of form, a person’s journal should be tailored to themselves; a blank space that only they have control over.

So why not give it a try? Take a few minutes, 5 or 10 sometime during the day, and just write what comes naturally. If you feel sketching would be better: then sketch. Spend a couple weeks building that habit, digging into that perspective you thought you knew. Scribble away at that journal, and watch as you find yourself forming on the pages.

 It was 3 am by the time I stopped writing that morning. And with the sun soon to rise, I flicked the lamp off. Closed the notebook. Heart and mind, finally satisfied.

Reading Widely and Writing Routinely: An Interview with Poet Alex Zitzner

By B.J. Hollars

If, over the past six years, you attended Cirenaica or The Priory Writers’ Retreat, then chances are you met Alex Ziztner—the ping-pong playing, hardworking poet whose retreat duties included everything from doorknob fixing to workshop, to hosting live readings.  Through it all, Alex was also working on his own craft.  A few weeks back, his hard work and dedication resulted in his admittance to New York University’s prestigious Master of Fine Arts program, where Alex will be working alongside renowned writers such as Terrence Hayes, Claudia Rankine, Sharon Olds, among others.  A committed literary citizen, Alex has been serving our region’s writers since his second year of college at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.  I recently chatted with Alex about his journey, the lessons learned, and what comes next.   

B.J. Hollars: Tell us a bit about your writing journey at UW-Eau Claire and in the wider community. What inspired your work?

Alex Zitzner: Strangely, up until a few months before attending, I thought I was going to do pre-med or geology as my major instead of creative writing. Once I got to UWEC my first goal was to be published in NOTA, which somehow I was lucky enough to get into those first two semesters, and then somehow I became their editor-in-chief my second year. Taking on that role pushed me forward as an all-around writer, reader, and editor. I was reading a book of poems either every day or every other day, plus the occasional novel and short story collection, just to make sure I was as widely read as possible when it came time to evaluate submissions. It’s a never-ending game of catch-up though, trying to read books being published every month and then reading books published in the past.

As far as the wider community goes, since [as an editor] I couldn’t publish in NOTA, I published a decent amount of work in online and print journals across the states. I’ve taken a step back from submitting lately, and one day I’ll try to get some stuff published again, but it’s not something that really interests me at the moment. What inspired me or what still inspires me is friendship, which sounds mega corny. My main example, though, is that when I was living in Eau Claire, prior to covid, I’d get together with friends and we’d write. Like Chloe Ackerman, Connor Drexler, Katy Hackworthy, Mary Shaw, Reed White—I’d meet up with them one on one generally, though sometimes we’d have a crew, at a coffee shop, write and read for a while, then we’d go to the Joynt, sit in the poets corner if it was open, and talk about what we worked on over beer, or we’d play pool. It was great to have friends that I could write with and also hang out with outside of writing, because those are a few of my very good pals, and I’m stoked on their writing, which in turn got me stoked.

BJH: In addition to your course work, you also served as NOTA's editor-in-chief, an academic apprentice for fellow undergraduates, a CVWG board member, and a college assistant at both Cirenaica and The Priory. Can you share about how these literary activities influenced your growth as a writer?

AZ: Definitely, though I should say, I was a part of every English club for a certain period of time, primarily the English Ambassadors for incoming creative writing majors/minors and for the curriculum committee.  Plus, I helped proofread The Flipside on weekends. I’d say the overlapping growth came from feeling a sense of community through those literary activities. I always felt extremely proud to represent each position I served in, and maybe that didn’t necessarily grow my actual ability to write, but I feel like it was each a maturing opportunity as a literary citizen. This isn’t to say I didn’t grow a lot as a writer through those activities, but being a literary citizen is even more important.

BJH: What were some of the challenges you faced as you began eyeing the possibility of graduate school?

AZ: Cost was the largest challenge. I’m not sure exactly how much I can reveal, but one aspect of NYU that was enticing was that at the very least, I think every student gets some funding, plus opportunities for fellowships and can teach in their second year. Mainly what I can say is that I got lucky with being able to attend, though I’ve already begun going over the headache which is then affording to live in New York City as a student. Aside from that, another challenge was choosing where I wanted to go, and then essentially gambling on being accepted. I was fairly particular with where I wanted to go and was ready to be in it for the long haul of reapplying year after year until I got into where I wanted to go. The largest challenge though prior to all of this was putting together my writing sample and letter of intent. I mean everyone always said to just submit my best work, which is what I did, but my packet was all over the place which kinda worried me. Like I had narrative poems, lyrical poems, translations, erasures, etc. I was extremely worried about there not really being a sense of cohesion, but I guess looking back that most accurately displays my writing style which is probably the most important, like that the selection committee saw a glimpse into how I write outside of just that sample.

BJH: What advice might you give undergraduate writers hoping to continue their studies at the graduate level?

AZ: Go to a school that pays you, offers funding, and offers teaching experience. Prior to applying, depending on where you’re at in your undergraduate journey, read as much as you possibly can and don’t stop. That will do more for your writing than only focusing on writing. I’m sure that advice has been given numerous times, but also read widely. If you’re not sure what to read, do what I did and pester your professors for recommendations. On the same level of importance would be to get involved with the writing community. If you’re a UWEC student reading this, or an Eau Claire community member looking to get an MFA, there are so many opportunities to get involved. There are always craft talks, open reads, and workshops going on. Plus there are numerous magazines and journals to potentially work for or get published in.

BJH: What excites you most about your forthcoming experience in New York University's MFA program?

AZ: I’m not sure if there is one aspect that excites me more than others, because it’s all very exciting. I think if I were to pick one, meeting the students and professors is really exciting. I’ve missed being in workshops and going to readings with friends, so I’m looking forward to getting to do that again too. I’m going to miss Wisconsin, especially Eau Claire and all of the friends I made there, but I can’t wait to represent the Guild and UWEC at NYU, as I’m very excited and proud to have that opportunity to do so.

Telling of the Two minds: Introducing Barstow and Grand’s Newest Prose Editor, Elizabeth de Cleyre

Alexandra Mae Photography

By Dawson Jollie

In the world of prose writing, it takes an expansive skillset to willingly shift mindset between the two roles intertwined in publication: that of writer and editor. For Elizabeth de Cleyre, it’s like holding two brains in one skull.

“I find it helpful to move between both realms,”de Cleyre said in a recent interview.  “Having a writing practice helps me empathize and communicate with writers in the editing process, and having an editing practice helps me with my own revisions.”

Joining Barstow and Grand’s masthead as prose editor, de Cleyre already possesses an extensive history of writing and editing for both local and online journals such as The Millions, Brevity, EAA SportAviation, and several others. She’s also a co-founder of Dotters Books.

As a writer of prose, her love for the profession began in the third grade, when her mother introduced her to journaling. Daily journaling soon developed into something of an obsession, to the point where nowadays de Cleyre “can’t not write.” It’s become a way of life for her, a form of guidance that allows her to “find her place within” the world. However, she still understands the importance of taking a step back from her own writing to enjoy life and hold onto an identity outside professional life.

Through her previous editorial work, de Cleyre has helped over 70 writers on the road to publication.  She possesses a deep understanding of the obstacles facing writers, including motivation.

““It seems like many [writers] are asking themselves whether to write at all, or whether a story is important, or whether writing matters.””

— Elizabeth de Cleyre

“It seems like many [writers] are asking themselves whether to write at all,” de Cleyre said, “or whether a story is important, or whether writing matters.”

Another problem lies in the less existential effort of physically starting a piece.  Faced with similar struggles in her own work, she suggests seeking answers from fellow writers.  De Cleyre has recently taken refuge in George Saunders’ A Swim in the Pond in the Rain—a wonderful source of craft advice through storytelling. De Cleyre also recently enjoyed Jay Nelson’s The Long Way, which employs a boat-building project as a means to describe how some things are best endured by “learning through doing,” a lesson easily applied to any writer looking to kickstart their work.

Aside from taking motivation from other writers, we can also become inspired by the editorial process itself. A process which De Cleyre compares to that of a midwife.

“It seems like an apt metaphor on its face, because in both cases, at the core is a complex and ever-changing emotional process….” Cleyre explained, “which can be euphoric one minute and bring you to your knees the next.”

Of course, publishing in local literary journals like Barstow and Grand is another way to stay inspired. From de Cleyre’s perspective, some of the lesser-known journals serve as fertile terrain for the “experimental,” drawing out their significance in their ability to take chances on creative outlets unfitting for larger journals. She holds a special place in her heart for those local journals, spending part of her MFA reviewing magazines for The Review Review, where she encountered “new writing and voices” rarely seen in larger publications.

Yet in the face of current events, de Cleyre is one of many who’ve seen the prolonged COVID pandemic drastically transform the literary industry, moving in tandem with the Black Lives Matter Movement to prompt critical questions over who’s “published” and who’s hired to do the “publishing.”

“This absolutely impacts us on a local level, from what we’re reading, to who we’re reading alongside, what conversations we’re having, who’s included in those conversations….” de Cleyre said.

Despite the uncertainty of so much social upheaval, she appreciates the substantial benefits to virtual events brought about by the pandemic. The decision to conduct literary gatherings online at the local, regional and even international levels is an economic savior for those without the means to travel.

For upcoming writers and editors, local or not, de Cleyre provides a piece of advice that’s just as important to these professions as for those outside the field: to seek therapy when the stories written begin consuming the self.

“The stories we tell ourselves can be so deeply entrenched we hardly see them, which is why it’s important to build community, to be in conversation with others, to read, and encounter other narratives.”

Introducing Barstow and Grand’s Newest Prose Reader, Scout Roux

By Dawson Jollie

Literary communities can be like families: tightly-knit networks of people seeking to support one another through common goals. As an active literary citizen both here in Eau Claire and Wisconsin as a whole, Scout Roux understands the apt comparison.

Writing fiction for a collection of journals and publications such as HASH and Lunch Ticket, the former UW- Eau Claire English major also spends invaluable time as a fiction editor for Nightingale and Sparrow. More recently, Scout signed on to serve as a prose reader for Barstow and Grand.

“I’m really proud of being a writer from Wisconsin,” Roux discussed in a recent interview with the Guild. “There are so many interesting people and situations we come across that aren’t often represented in literature, especially in any positive way… These uniquely Wisconsin experiences are fundamental not just to my development as a writer, but also as a person…”

Roux credits the state’s literary community, which serves as an ideal region for upstart writers seeking a “vibrant,” nurturing environment. To a strong degree, they believe the Guild plays its part locally as well, to help “mold and maintain” these strong connections, much akin to other organizations across Wisconsin.

Roux’s past and present involvement with fellow local writers, allowed them to develop key insight on fiction as a craft to establish a unique voice in their work. And when it comes down to the nitty-gritty, they deem it essential to simply emphasize reading and listening. According to Roux, “diversifying one’s reading” is the perfect opportunity to gain an understanding for a variety of characters since the genre is “trying to make sense of real life.” Similarly, listening to individuals and the way they converse in public helps to form a more realistic, compelling dialogue for these characters.

Roux is but one of many literary magazine editors who believes that these local journals help home these vital skills for writers. Such publications, online and print, serve a purpose: bringing together creative minds and helping them express their work to the public.

““Community and literary citizenship: these ideas look like a lot of different things, but the way they often culminate is in journals. They’re celebrations of local writers; reading them, also, a celebration.””

— Scout Roux

“Community and literary citizenship: these ideas look like a lot of different things,” Roux said, “but the way they often culminate is in journals. They’re celebrations of local writers; reading them, also, a celebration.”

Though currently living in Madison, Roux often views their interactions with the Chippewa Valley’s literary community beyond journal work such as reading for Barstow and Grand. The connection runs deeper, Scout explains, back to classroom experiences at UWEC, involvement in student organizations such as NOTA, and once again staying in touch with the Guild. Roux praises the CVWG for its effort in rallying Eau Claire and the Chippewa Valley toward the celebration of literature.

“The people who work with the Guild in any capacity are tireless in their efforts to bring writers together and encourage nonwriters that they’re writers, too, as long as they want to be,” Roux said.

And what better a place for new writers than Barstow and Grand? With prose and poetry submissions open until April 30, maybe it’s time to take that leap onto the page!

For more information on submissions for Barstow and Grand: click here!

New Intern Alert: Meet Dawson!

 By Elaina Myers

For most college students, getting an internship is crucial to gaining practical experience in a work setting related to their career interests. UW- Eau Claire student Dawson Jollie is no exception. Currently studying creative writing and journalism, Dawson hopes to one day be a published author.

Dawson grew up in Iron Ridge, Wisconsin and took an interest in UWEC after learning that a few of his high school teachers attended the school. It wasn’t until he toured the campus that he fell in love with how inclusive and considerate the community can be. Dawson is most excited to use this internship as an opportunity to improve his interviewing skills and meet more local writers around the Chippewa Valley.

 As a new intern myself, I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Dawson and learning more about his passions for reading and writing literature that led him into this internship opportunity.

Elaina Myers: What was your favorite thing to read growing up?

Dawson Jollie: When I was younger, I usually read a weird combination of comic books and historical nonfiction, mostly pertaining to military history such as the World Wars. I would seldom read back then, and I think it wasn’t until high school that I took in a fascination for grim-dark science fiction and longer historical nonfiction. Sophomore year was when I really started reading books, including Warhammer 40,000, the universe in which a lot of my favorite books are written in.

EM: What is one book/short story/poem that you wish you wrote yourself and why?

DJ: One poem I wish I would have written is “The Death Bed,” by Siegfried Sassoon. It’s based on an injured soldier during World War I who’s fading in and out of consciousness, essentially on the verge of death. Sassoon’s portrayal of the experience is beautifully uncanny: he paints it as a colorful, dream-like existence that’s constantly interrupted by the pain of his wound, then ends when Death himself arrives to the soldier’s life. In all, it’s an outcry against the senseless slaughter of the young during the war and I completely respect that message.

EM: If you could have lunch with any author (dead or alive) who would you choose? And what would be the first question you ask them?

DJ: I would absolutely choose to sit down with Leo Tolstoy and discuss his thought process behind War and Peace. I would immediately ask him about how he conducted his observations on the events relative to his time and the difficulty of transporting such to written content.

EM: Who is an author you admire and what about their writing do you admire?

DJ: I think I just really admire Dan Abnett and his ability to conduct science fiction with an equal balance of brisk action, thoughtful analysis of the world-encompassing characters, as well as those characters’ believable dialogue.

Calling all Weirdos: Eau Claire’s Steve Dayton on his film, gIVE, screening at Midwest Weirdfest 2022

Dawson Jollie

For any filmmaker, it’s a joy to see their work on the big screen; and for horror fan and creator Steve Dayton, it’s the accumulation of over two decades of practice and patience.

Back in December 2020, the Eau Claire local released his film, gIVE: a low-budget, psychological horror casting an intense observation on the ways people cope with loss. As the protagonist, Jay, struggles with his daughter's disappearance and his wife becoming unresponsive, he’s faced with the trial of moving on with life.

Since its release, Dayton’s film has enjoyed pleasant success, enough to earn acceptance as a feature at Midwest Weirdfest 2022, a film festival hosted by the Micon Cinema in downtown Eau Claire. Here, film fans worldwide will come in dedication to everything horrifying, supernatural… and simply weird!

With the sixth annual Weirdfest coming this March, the Guild is pleased to be covering Dayton’s gIVE once more; thankfully, he managed to “give” me the opportunity to share his excitement for the occasion!

Dawson Jollie: As writer, director, and producer of gIVE, what were some of your biggest inspirations that led to its creation?

Steve Dayton: It sounds funny, but one day I was going to take a nap, and so I put on Stanley Kubrick's 2001 Space Odyssey.  As I was drifting off to sleep, I thought to myself ‘I should make a movie like this.’  It's funny to think about that moment because I was watching a masterpiece and thought, ‘Hey I should give it a shot.’ gIVE is not even close in the same category, but I believe if you watch gIVE you can see the inspiration in it.  I also think that gIVE was born from my two greatest fears: as a child, the fear of being taken away, specifically by aliens, and as an adult, my fear of having something happen to one of my children.  gIVE tries to relate to the viewer through our understanding of loss and how devastating it can be.

DJ: In what ways are your interests in horror translated into gIVE?

SD: I like suspenseful horror: I think the most powerful scare is the awkward movement where you think ‘is this normal’ or ‘is something wrong with what's going on’?  I like horror that sticks with you and makes you think for a long time.  The movie Mother comes to mind; I'm not sure if you would consider that horror, but the uneasy feeling has stuck with me since I've watched it. I want gIVE to make people think why the events in the movie happen and how different the situation would of gone for them if they were in Jay's place

DJ: The coping of loss appears to have major significance to the film's story; however, how close does this movie follow your own perspective on loss?  

SD:  I think gIVE is me looking at different people deal[ing] with loss and how that can affect the world around them.  All the characters think and act a little bit like me: some keep everything inside, some pretend like it's not happening, and others completely shut down. I would be bold enough to say that we all deal with loss with a combination of these three ways. This movie is personal and should feel personal when you watch it.

DJ: With gIVE's acceptance into Midwest Weirdfest 2022's lineup, how does this reflect upon the film's success since its initial release in 2020?

“The acceptance of gIVE into Midwest Weirdfest has been the summit of this journey.  I’ve been making movies for over 20 years, and this is going to be the first time I’ve seen something that I’ve worked on be on the big screen”

— Steve Dayton

SD: The acceptance of gIVE into Midwest Weirdfest has been the summit of this journey.  I've been making movies for over 20 years, and this is going to be the first time I've seen something that I've worked on be on the big screen.  I'm excited to sit in the theatre and feel the reactions of the audience watching it.

DJ: What else does Weirdfest mean to you, as a creator in the Chippewa Valley?

SD: WeirdFest is such a special event to have in the Chippewa Valley.  It's a great place to not only meet other creative people from the area but this fest brings in film makers from all over the world.  Like I said above, every year I've gone I've come away with something sort of interesting experience.

DJ: Considering the film's low-budget, how beneficial was it to have your family, home and the forests of Eau Claire play such large roles?

SD: When writing a low-budget movie, you have to write and plan the movie with what you have for resources.  My wife said, “if you are going to make another movie you have to bring the kids along,” so I made them all characters. I had a house, and Eau Claire's beautiful forest area, so I brought those locations in.  Time is always so limited, so I also knew that I would not have time to jump from one locations to another so I needed to plan a lot of different scenes in a few locations.

Dayton and cast members discuss the next scene.

DJ: If a bigger budget were available at the time, could you ever imagine gIVE appearing any other way than it does now?

SD: Yes.  Budget means time and resources.  The more I think about that question, I actually flip flop on it.  If I had a huge budget, gIVE [would] not the movie I made.  gIVE is a heartfelt approach to connect big ideas in an interesting package.  When making a movie, where you start and where you finish are two very different places.  It’s sometimes easy to look back and say ‘I could of....’ ‘I wish I would of...’ but that's just not the way it goes.  Like life, you do the best with what you have, and you keep getting after it.

DJ: Following Weirdfest, are there any other hopes you hold for the film's future?

“When you make movies, they live with you forever.  gIVE is always going to be a part of me, but this will be the last big screening of the movie.”

— Steve Dayton

SD: When you make movies, they live with you forever.  gIVE is always going to be a part of me, but this will be the last big screening of the movie.  Like I said above, I'm moving on to new projects and are always looking for new people to collaborate with

Midwest Weirdfest will be held Friday, March 4 through the 6 at Micon Cinema; Dayton’s gIVE will be screening Saturday, March 5 at 2pm.

For previous work from the Guild, featuring Steve Dayton, click here!

To stream the film on Amazon Video, click here!

For more information on Midwest Weirdfest 2022 and tickets, click here!

“Public Memory, Race, and Heritage Tourism of Early America”: A Humanist Perspective on How Issues of Race in Early America is Portrayed to Tourists

By Elaina Myers

The study of rhetoric and public memory is interested in understanding the ways that arguments about the past are made and shared among a group of people. Public memory is related to history, but it is more contested and changeable because it focuses on the ways in which history is memorialized in public spaces. UW-Eau Claire Professor Dr. Cathy Rex and UW-Milwaukee Professor Dr. Shevaun Watson address these studies of heritage tourism in their first edited scholarly collection, Public Memory, Race and Heritage Tourism of Early America, published in October of 2021. This collection includes contributions from a diverse group of humanities scholars that offer their own research and expertise into all eight chapters.

 “Very often historic sites of early America, where instances of race or racialized violence occurred, are discussed through the lens of tourism studies or discussed completely theoretically,” Dr. Rex explained in a recent interview. “We are trying to pull multiple threads together where humanities professors are writing about it from their different disciplines while also weaving in that tourist experience.”

 Dr. Rex contributed a chapter to the book focused on her experiences traveling to Jamaica with students and visiting Rose Hall, whose history involving white enslavers appeared to be glamorized and romanticized for profit.

 “Rose Hall gives candlelight tours, people get married, and they hold beautiful receptions and luncheons, and all of that would go away if they were truthful,” Dr. Rex explained. “This is the type of tension that a lot of the essays in this book unpack.”

 For many, early American issues of race seem far removed from those who don’t have deep historical family ties from the period. But Dr. Rex and Dr. Watson’s edited collection reminds readers that these issues remain relevant, and vital, today. Their collection confronts many difficult truths in America’s early history, which will interest students, academics, and those interested in forming a deeper understanding of the connections between tourism in America.

 Dr. Watson contributed the afterword of the book aimed to tie all the chapters together by highlighting the connections between public memory in the past and its effects on the present. She drew inspiration from the current political system, poetry, and the Dylan Roof massacre to start this discussion from different angles.

 “A lot of people argue that public memory is a really important route to racial reconciliation and [that] different kinds of representation of the past helps with richer understandings of the present,” Dr. Watson said. “What we see in our public landscape about the past has a huge impact, that isn’t even palpable to us, unless we really think about it, and I feel it is something worth thinking about.”

 Click here to learn more about their new book!

A Mini-Interview with Priory Writers' Retreat Writer-in-Residence Angela Trudell Vasquez

This summer, we’re thrilled to host Madison poet laureate Angela Trudell Vasquez as on of our four Priory Writers’ Retreat writers-in residence! When you are accepted into The Priory, you’ll have the option to schedule a personal one-on-one session with Angie!

Angie Trudell Vasquez is a Mexican-American writer and holds an MFA in poetry from the Institute of American Indian Arts. Finishing Line Press published her third collection of poetry, In Light, Always Light, in 2019, and recently accepted her fourth collection, My People Redux, for publication. Her poems have appeared in the Yellow Medicine Review, The Slow Down, the Raven Chronicles, The Rumpus, on the Poetry Foundation’s website, and elsewhere. She is the current poet laureate of Madison, Wisconsin and the first Latina to hold the position.

Read on for a mini-interview with Angie!

1.     What about The Priory Retreat are you most excited by? Giving back to the writers what I have learned about putting a collection together, sharing my knowledge, and processes.

2.     Can you share a bit about a mentor or writing experience that helped shape your own work? Wow, this is such a big question. I can think back to when I was an undergrad in my twenties and Jody Swilky, one of my first early poetry mentors, asked me why I never write about my own culture. And later in my forties, I think of my poetry mentors at IAIA (Institute of American Indian Arts) and what they gave to me in terms of being able to edit my own work and other’s. Sherwin Bitsui, Joan Naviyuk Kane, and Santee Frazier were my poetry mentors at IAIA, and for two years all I did was live and breathe poetry. Post MFA, I examine and reflect on the inner architecture of a manuscript or a poem now. This is something I practice.

3.     What are you reading these days? Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer; the Yellow Medicine Review Fall 2021 edition, guest edited by Shauna Osborn, The Music Issue with a playlist; Sandra Cisneros’ Martita, I Remember You; Above the Bejeweled City by Jon Davis; and collected poems of Federico Garcia Lorca.

4.     Bonus: What has been keeping you creating during these pandemic days?

“Love. The world keeps spinning and we keep breathing alongside the people we love and care about. It is a way to recognize loss too. People live on in poems. ”

— Angie Trudell Vasquez

Love. The world keeps spinning and we keep breathing alongside the people we love and care about. It is a way to recognize loss too. People live on in poems. Writing has always been where I go to. I have been journaling my feelings during this time of the pandemic. It helps. Poetry is my salvation. I can carefully craft a poem. I am in control on the page, and there is so much to write about.

Five Reasons To Apply To The Priory Writers' Retreat Today!

“If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.”

—Toni Morrison

If you’re looking for a writers’ retreat that’s inclusive, joy-filled, and dedicated to your craft, then we’ve got the place for you! Welcome to The Priory Writers’ Retreat—a vibrant, inclusive, and collaborative writing community in the heart of Wisconsin’s Chippewa Valley. Take Toni Morrison’s advice: use three days this June to write the book you’ve always wanted to read!

Deadline to Apply: February 1, 2022.

Retreat Date: June 23-26, 2022.

Click here for Summer 2022 details.

Click here for information on applying.

Click here to apply beginning January 1!

A Mini-Interview with Priory Writers' Retreat Writer-In-Residence Barrett Swanson

This summer, we’re thrilled to host nonfiction writer Barrett Swanson as on of our four Priory Writers’ Retreat writers-in residence! When you are accepted into The Priory, you’ll have the option to schedule a personal one-on-one session with Barrett!

Barrett Swanson is a contributing editor at Harper’s Magazine. He was the recipient of a 2015 Pushcart Prize, and his short fiction and essays have been distinguished as notable in Best American Short Stories (2019), Best American Nonrequired Reading (2014), Best American Essays (2014, 2015, 2017, and 2019) and Best American Sports Writing (2017).

Read on for a mini-interview with Barrett!

1.) What about The Priory are you most excited about?

“Because writing retreats usually take place over the span of four or five days, they always end up being these concentrated spurts of inspiration and camaraderie where conversations are rich and meaning-laden and where you get right down to the essence of things. Artistically, it’s a jolt to the temples and leaves me feeling more awake to possibility.”

— Barrett Swanson

Talking with the attendees and reading their essays. Because writing retreats usually take place over the span of four or five days, they always end up being these concentrated spurts of inspiration and camaraderie where conversations are rich and meaning-laden and where you get right down to the essence of things. Artistically, it's a jolt to the temples and leaves me feeling more awake to possibility.

2.) Can you share a bit about a mentor or writing experience that helped shape your own work?

For fear of offering a maudlin portrait of my high school English teacher (the wonderful Mrs. Keane!) or offering a stale writerly bromide ("getting rejected from that magazine taught me that, in this business, perseverance is important," etc.), I will instead share an anecdote about a writer whom I admire. Delillo says somewhere that he's obsessed with how words look on a page and will alter sentences so that the very shape of the letters in a single phrase will be evocative of the emotion he is trying to conjure. I seem to recall that he wrote one of his books entirely on notecards, the diminutive size of which forced him to focus on a little crop of sentences before moving onto the next. Doing so ensured that he could pumice down each clause and mold all the words' shapes to his liking. I mention this because the possible neurosis of his practice has allowed me to feel more comfortable in my own oddball habits, about which (nice try) I will end public discussion here.

3.) What are you reading these days?
I'm reading The Triumph of The Therapeutic by Phillip Reiff and Fragments of an Infinite Memory by Maël Renouard.

A Mini-Interview with Priory Writers' Retreat Writer-In-Residence Nickolas Butler

This summer, we’re thrilled to host fiction writer Nickolas Butler as on of our four Priory Writers’ Retreat writers-in residence! When you are accepted into The Priory, you’ll have the option to schedule a personal one-on-one session with Nick!

Nickolas Butler is the internationally-acclaimed author of several books of fiction, including Godspeed, Little Faith, The Hearts of Men, Shotgun Lovesongs, and the short story collection, Beneath the Bonfires. He is the winner of France's prestigious PAGE Prix America, the 2014 Great Lakes Great Reads Award, the 2014 Midwest Independent Booksellers Award, the 2015 Wisconsin Library Association Literary Award, the 2015 UW-Whitewater Chancellor's Regional Literary Award, and has been long-listed for the 2014 Flaherty Dunnan Award for First Novel and short-listed for France's FNAC Prix.

Read on for a mini-interview with Nick!

1.) As our longest serving writer-in-residence, what do you appreciate most about the CVWG retreats?

​This is easy to answer. I love the folks who travel from around the world to Eau Claire to improve their craft. I really do. I've formed friendships with many of these students and writers and I treasure our time together. Writing is often a lonely endeavor, but when you can sit down and simply talk books with other people who appreciate stories and poem and essays as much as I do, well, it's very therapeutic, very enjoyable.

2.) Can you share a bit about a mentor or writing experience that helped shape your own work?

“But for me, the best mentors teach us about life, and about this mystery of becoming a good and decent human being.”

— Nick Butler

​I often think of my first workshop-teacher at the Iowa, the great James Alan McPherson. Jim was an incredible soul, and it's true true that he taught me a great deal about the craft of writing. But for me, the best mentors teach us about life, and about this mystery of becoming a good and decent human being. Jim often asked me as much about my wife and young son as he did about my craft. And what I took away from our conversations was that while writing was a craft and to an extent, an obsession, we both shared, what was paramount ultimately, was our relationships.

3.) What are you reading these days?

​I'm reading a stack of unpublished novels, to be honest. But prior to that I enjoyed reading THE LINE THAT HELD US by David Joy and LOST IN SUMMERLAND by Barrett Swanson.

Bonus: Can you share a bit about your walks? Do they spur creativity, or are they simply a chance to leave the working world behind for a bit?

​Candidly, writing is a very sedentary activity. Long walks are my most regular form of exercise, but I also believe walking is a good activity for writers because the real stuff happens away from our computers. Take a walk and you'll interact with the world, with nature, with other human beings in a totally improvisational sort of way. This can only be good for the writing.

A Mini-Interview with Priory Writers' Retreat Writer-in-Residence Nicole Kronzer!

This summer, we’re thrilled to host young adult writer Nicole Kronzer as on of our four Priory Writers’ Retreat writers-in residence! When you are accepted into The Priory, you’ll have the option to schedule a personal one-on-one session with Nicole!

Nicole is the author of the young adult novels Unscripted and the forthcoming The Roof Over Our Heads. Unscripted was named a Best Book for Young Adults by the American Library Association and was a Minnesota Book Award Finalist. Nicole is also a high school English teacher and former professional actor. She loves to knit and run (usually not at the same time). She lives with her family in Minneapolis.

Read on for a mini-interview with Nicole!

1.) What about The Priory are you most excited about?

I'm excited to return to Eau Claire to write and talk about writing in such a beautiful setting during a beautiful time of year and to reconnect with fellow MHS alum Nick Butler!

2.) Can you share a bit about a mentor or writing experience that helped shape your own work?

“I used to treat setting as an afterthought, but now I really think about it as I write—how does the fact that there’s a key rack by the door, or that the couch is thirty years old, or that the carpet is worn in front of the window influence the action of the scene? ”

— Nicole Kronzer

Two come to mind. I took a class with Ibi Zoboi a couple years ago that was focused on setting. She stressed that when you write a scene, the specific setting has to matter. It's not any old living room, it's this specific living room. And that space must influence the characters and plot. I used to treat setting as an afterthought, but now I really think about it as I write--how does the fact that there's a key rack by the door, or that the couch is thirty years old, or that the carpet is worn in front of the window influence the action of the scene? How can these details provide insight into my characters?

The second is an exercise given to me by Nina LaCour. She had us list out five pivotal moments in our protagonist's life before the book begins. This simple action deepens my characters' lives so quickly--it's something I do every time I develop a significant character now.

3.) What are you reading these days?

In addition to writing books for teenagers, I teach teenagers. I read a lot of YA for both reasons! My students are very into murder right now (I remember when it was vampires, then zombies, then general post-apocalyptic whatnot), so I just finished Karen McManus's latest, YOU'LL BE THE DEATH OF ME. I love historical fiction, so I'm also listening to Mackenzi Lee's final book in the Montague Siblings trilogy, THE NOBLEMAN'S GUIDE TO SCANDAL AND SHIPWRECKS. Lit Circles are coming up in my senior English class, so I'm also re-reading GIOVANNI'S ROOM by James Baldwin, THE NAMESAKE by Jhumpa Lahiri, and THERE THERE by Tommy Orange.

Bonus: What has been keeping you creating during these pandemic days?

Creation has saved me during the pandemic. The world has felt out of control, but when I'm writing, I have ultimate control. I decide who shows up, what they say, what happens--I don't know how I would have survived intact without it.

Joy to the Word Storyteller Spotlight: Ken Szymanski

“I leave my Santa gear in the car. What’s socially acceptable at Lambeau is not necessarily socially acceptable at Subway.””

— an excerpt from Ken Szymanski's "Lambeau Santa"

 Joy to the Word is an event that comes once a year that features five incredible storytellers, four great stories, two musical artists, and a partridge in a pear tree. This in-person show starts at 7 pm on Thursday, Dec. 16th, and is hosted by B.J. Hollars and Jonathan Rylander with musical performers Derick Black and The UKE Klub.

I had the pleasure to interview the five storytellers in a series of mini-interviews. One storyteller is Ken Szymanski, an Eau Claire Writer in Residence and author of Home Field Advantage, a book of local non-fiction stories. According to Ken’s website, the book is about childhood, family, sports, and many other events that feature people and places in Eau Claire. Ken will be reading a story from Home Field Advantage titled “Lambeau Santa”.

Aidan Sanfelippo: Why did you pick this story?

Ken Szymanski: I’ve written several Christmas stories, but “Lambeau Santa” has the biggest range of emotions. (Joy to the Word musician) Derick Black really tapped into this range when he created a soundtrack, which he will play live on guitar while I’m reading. With his music, he’s able to take the story to a new level. We had a lot of fun rehearsing and fine-tuning it, and we think the audience will enjoy the two art forms woven together.

AS: What is a quote from your story that stands out to you?

KS: “I leave my Santa gear in the car. What’s socially acceptable at Lambeau is not necessarily socially acceptable at Subway.”

AS: What is your most joyful winter memory?

KS: My most joyful winter memories come in two parts. First, growing up, I loved sledding with friends and brothers on Eau Claire’s north side. Secondly, I’ve enjoyed taking my own kids sledding on some of those same hills. Sledding at night was—and still is—my favorite.

Joy to the Word will be held at the Pablo Center at the Confluence at 7 pm on Thursday, Dec. 16th. More mini-interviews of the other storytellers and tickets for Joy to the Word are available on the Chippewa Valley Writers Guild Website.

Joy to the Word Storyteller Spotlight: Jeff DeGrave!

“Security was nestled all snugged in with the feds; While visions of guns-mixed-with-alcohol danced in their heads...””

— an excerpt from Jeff DeGrave's "Twas the Night Before the Olympics"

Joy to the Word is an event that comes once a year that features five incredible storytellers, four great stories, two musical artists, and a partridge in a pear tree. This in-person show starts at 7 pm on Thursday, Dec. 16th, and is hosted by B.J. Hollars and Jonathan Rylander with musical performers Derick Black and The UKE Klub.

I had the pleasure to interview each of the five storytellers in a series of mini-interviews. One of the storytellers I was able to interview was Dr. Jeff DeGrave, the Intercultural Immersions Coordinator for the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire. In this position, Dr. DeGrave oversees intercultural immersion programs and helps the students and faculty prepare for their time abroad.

Aidan Sanfelippo: Why did you pick this story to tell?

Jeff DeGrave: “[Twas the Night Before The Olympics]” was probably the most unique, bizarre, and absurd winter experience I have ever had. I still sometimes ask myself if it truly happened. I'm just glad I have some photographs to continue to confirm that it was all real.

AS: What is a quote from your story that stands out to you?

JD: “Security was nestled all snugged in with the feds;

While visions of guns-mixed-with-alcohol danced in their heads;”

AS: What is your most joyful winter memory?

JD: Walking around central Tallinn (Estonia) on Christmas day in the town square where there were live reindeer, a medieval castle, cobblestone streets, glogg, kids on a skating rink, church bells, and big soft warm flakes of snow. This is what life must truly be like for those living inside an Estonian snow globe.

Joy to the Word will be held at the Pablo Center at the Confluence at 7 pm on Thursday, Dec. 16th. More mini-interviews of the other storytellers and tickets for Joy to the Word are available on the Chippewa Valley Writers Guild Website.

Dr. Dorothy Chan’s BABE: Queer Happiness & Luscious Intimacy Unfold

Aja St. Germaine

Dr. Dorothy Chan is an Assistant Professor of English at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Editor Emeritus of Hobart, Book Reviews Co-Editor of Pleiades, and Co-Founder and Editor in Chief of Honey Literary Inc., a 501(c)(3) literary arts organization. This month, they published their third book, BABE, on December 2nd, 2021. Her other collections include Attack of the Fifty-Foot Centerfold , Revenge of the Asian Woman, and a chapbook, Chinatown Sonnets.

Dorothy Chan’s latest book, BABE, explores themes such as queerphobia, Chan’s experience as a queer Chinese American, pop culture, and queer satisfaction. Their poetry oozes details of passion, intimacy, and queerness that will make you swoon. In this interview, Chan offers insight into their reminiscent title, killer triple sonnets, and reflecting on queer and BIPOC joy during a pandemic.

Aja St. Germaine (ASG): How does BABE complement your other works?

Dr. Dorothy Chan (DC): BABE is my third full-length poetry book, and my fourth collection overall. Title-wise, she’s an oddball amongst my other books. I usually go for long titles, like Revenge of the Asian Woman (Diode Editions, 2019) and Attack of the Fifty-Foot Centerfold (Spork Press, 2018). But you know what, BABE is one damn good word. It’s also reminiscent of my nineties childhood. I remember texting gifs of Babe, the pig, to my friends when the book got accepted by Diode.

ASG: Do you see your scholarly work reflect in your poetry? How does your work as a professor bleed into your work as a poet, and vice versa?

DC: Great question! You know, I think all this work is connected, and the more I progress in my career, the less I think about these clear demarcations. Whatever I do, I always set out with a contemporary feminist mission. My work as an active editor and a publishing poet informs my work as a professor, especially when teaching intermediate and advanced poetry workshops. When I’m teaching, I might be wearing my “professor cap” predominantly, but the “editor cap” comes on quite frequently too. It’s like the difference between workshopping and getting your work published. Both are important. But during workshop, I might say “If you want this to be published, you might want to try [x].” I also believe that the best poets are the best researchers. I think about poetry books I admire, such as Jessica Q. Stark’s Savage Pageant (Birds LLC) and Rosebud Ben-Oni’s If This is the Age We End Discovery (Alice James Books). Both these books are examples of highly researched collections. As a professor, it’s also my job to constantly research, whether it’s re-reading and discovering new materials for a course or researching for my next book.

ASG: Your use of triple sonnets is killer, and it’s one of your many strengths. What compels you to employ triple sonnets?

DC: Thank you so much, Aja! The Triple Sonnet is my signature form and it’s my own creation. I’m obsessed with excess. I mean, why have one of something, when you could have three or five or one hundred or one million?

“Every poet should have their own signature form. I love the sonnet in general because it provides an abundance of voltas, the absolute best part of any poem”

— Dorothy Chan

Every poet should have their own signature form. I love the sonnet in general because it provides an abundance of voltas, the absolute best part of any poem. I have fond memories of studying the sonnet with Lyrae Van Clief-Stefanon at Cornell.

ASG: Diode Editions describes BABE as “paying homage to the first girls who ever loved [you] in this analysis of sexuality, queerness, popular culture, and resilience.” I would love to hear you speak more on your perspective of the relevance of these themes, particularly amidst the pandemic.

 DC: The pandemic has given me a lot of time to reflect. My writing routine fluctuates. But right now, I keep coming back to the themes of memory and nostalgia and the question of “What truly made me happy?” This has then made me re-explore my first loves and first discoveries. Or maybe it’s just odd spending my first years of my thirties in a pandemic. Maybe my early thirties are the right time for me to look back and see what I can improve.

The above themes are increasingly relevant during the pandemic. If we’re talking about public health and the mental and physical well-being of individuals, then we certainly cannot erase discussions of identity, race, gender, and sexuality. When we talk about public health, we need to discuss what neighborhoods get the best and most convenience healthcare access. And then we can start unraveling the social, economic, and political reasons for that.

ASG: What have you done to celebrate the release of BABE?

DC: I’m having a Zoom party reading with my favorites on Thursday, December 9th at 7 PM central time. Confirmed reader list so far: Alan Chazaro, Amorak Huey, Antony Fangary, Avni Vyas, I.S. Jones, Jane Wong, Jessica Q. Stark, José Felipe Alvergue, Joshua Nguyen, Justin Greene, Kendra DeColo, Nabila Lovelace, Ricky Ray, Rita Mookerjee, Rosebud Ben-Oni, Stephanie Niu, Taneum Bambrick, and Zeeshan Khan Pathan.

ASG: How can people participate in your Release Party via Zoom? Tell us more about the event!

 DC: It’s going to be a great time! I’ve invited some of my closest writer friends and favorite poets—the best and the brightest— to read with me.

Click here to register today.

The "How To" Guide To Preparing Your Application For The Priority Writers' Retreat

Rather than a long, drawn-out application process, this year we’ve decided to limit our application period from January 1-February 1.  Admittedly, that’s not a lot of time.  But here’s the good news: you can begin preparing your application this minute.

To apply to The Priory Writers’ Retreat, you need to complete these three steps:

1.) In 500 words or fewer, offer a writing statement that answers the following: “Please share a bit about your writing journey. What's your story? What's your project? What are your goals for this retreat, and how might this retreat assist you in achieving your goals?  If space permits, please also speak briefly about how you might contribute to the community of writers at The Priory.” 

2.)  Additionally, you are asked to submit a writing sample. 

• Prose writers, please submit 10 or fewer double-spaced pages (a single work or multiple works is fine).

• Poetry writers, please submit 3-5 pages of poetry.

3.) Last but not least, please include a 100-word bio!

Check a few more boxes, enter some contact info, sign-up for a one-on-one conference with a writer-in-residence (if you so choose) and click “Submit.”  That’s all there is to it!

Our team of readers will get to work on February 2.  We hope to share the status of your application by mid-February.  Payment will be due in March to reserve your spot. 

Please note that there is a $10 application fee, which helps us offset program costs.

So what are you waiting for?  Start preparing your application!  Then submit beginning January 1!

"These War Scenes are My War Scenes": Cathy Sultan Publishes a New Political Thriller Based On Life Experiences

After experiencing the Lebanese Civil War firsthand while living in Beirut in the 1970s and early 80s, Cathy Sultan returned to America with a deeper understanding of the horrors of war, as well as the socio-political complexities of such conflicts.

Much of which is recounted in Cathy Sultan's latest political thriller, An Ambassador to Syria.

 Cathy Sultan is an author of six books, including a memoir, A Beirut Heart: One Woman's War, which told the story of her life in Beirut, Lebanon during the civil war. The book won Book USA’s Best Books of 2006 Autobiography Award. She has also written five additional books, two which (The Syrian and Damascus Street) serve as prequels to An Ambassador to Syria and feature many of the same characters.

 In addition to writing award-winning books, Sultan has also been a part of the Interfaith Peace-Builders, a social activist group that promotes education on middle eastern issues and human rights.

 I had the pleasure of being able to interview Cathy Sultan about her new book and how her experiences have inspired her writing.

 Aidan Sanfelippo: In the book, An Ambassador to Syria, you tackle real-world concepts like conflicts in Syria, debates over the meaning of religion, and a few characters who are real people, like President Bashar al-Assad. What is your advice for writers who plan to research and write about real wars, religions, and people?

 Cathy Sultan: My advice: know your subject matter. It's very difficult to write about something you know nothing about. I lived through the first eight years of the Lebanese civil war. I know what it means to hear bombs falling, see walls shatter, lives and cities destroyed, children crying because they're scared. I don't believe a writer can make these things up and come across as authentic. I think my story is so powerful because I know these things intimately.

 You ask about religion. In my opinion, religion is too often used to stir conflicts. I know from my research that Paul Bremer, the US's representative in Baghdad after the invasion, purposely set about stirring up strife between Shiites and Sunnis as a way to deflect from what the US had just done, better to have people fight among themselves, the thinking went, than to come down on the US as occupiers. I had lived in Beirut some six years before the civil war began. Religion was never an issue and this was in a country that had seventeen different religious sects. Once the war began, religion became the lightning rod. If a Muslim killed a Christian, the Christians retaliated by killing more Muslims, and so on. Remember the Crusades. Those wars were all about religion. There was a time in the Middle East when people lived peacefully side by side but when the Western powers started their wars whether for oil or regime change, religion played a major role, and once religious strife is ignited, it is almost impossible to tame. Syria is a perfect example of a religious war, ISIS versus the infidels, with hundreds of thousands of people killed. The West used the religion card, thinking they could topple Assad, and failed miserably.

 AS: Why is it important to write stories that involve real events?

“Oftentimes real events, like the war in Syria, affect hundreds of thousands of lives. If you know, as a writer, that there are truths not being revealed, if you know that your government has alternative motives, not necessarily honorable (think Iraq and weapons of mass destruction), and if you have the opportunity, the wherewithal, the knowledge, and good investigative skills, then you most certainly have the right, the necessity to write that story that has been bothering you.”

— Cathy Sultan

CS: Oftentimes real events, like the war in Syria, affect hundreds of thousands of lives. If you know, as a writer, that there are truths not being revealed, if you know that your government has alternative motives, not necessarily honorable (think Iraq and weapons of mass destruction), and if you have the opportunity, the wherewithal, the knowledge, and good investigative skills, then you most certainly have the right, the necessity to write that story that has been bothering you. In my case, I had the background necessary to tackle this story, and that’s why I took it on, knowing we are being manipulated into accepting forever wars.

 I include this in the front of my book:

"We'll know that our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false.” —William Casey, CIA Director, 1981-1987

 AS: You served on the Board of Eyewitness Palestine/Interfaith Peace-Builders, which is a nongovernmental organization determined to “emphasize listening to and learning from those immersed in the reality of the conflict, and advancing the work of Israelis and Palestinians committed to nonviolent struggle and peace with justice”. How has your work with this organization inspired your writing?

CS: I took my first of six trips to Israel/Palestine in 2002 and my experiences there, witnessing the Israeli invasion of the West Bank, interviewing both Israeli and Palestinians, was the basis for my second book Israeli and Palestinian Voices: A Dialogue with Both Sides. My subsequent visits on behalf of Interfaith Peace-Builders only added to my initial experiences and broadened my knowledge of the conflict. My third book, Tragedy in South Lebanon addressed the Israeli/Hezbollah war, and knowing what I already knew from my visits to Israel, helped me compile the material I needed for that book.

 AS: How has your experience living in Lebanon inspired and influenced your writing?

CS: It's why I became a writer. Once we resettled back in the States, my son asked me to write about our life in Beirut. I had no formal training as a writer and had never taken a creative writing course. I wrote many drafts until finally, I was able to produce my memoir A Beirut Heart: One Woman's War. If I had not lived in Lebanon, if I had not lived through a civil war, if I had not done fieldwork in Israel/Palestine, I would never have been able to write the books I write.

 AS: You let me know some parts of your book that you wanted me to talk about. Those sections primarily focused on the topics of religion, death, and the dangers of being in a war zone. Without spoiling the story, was it about these sections that stood out to you?

CS: I just chose random parts for you to read with no goal in mind other than to have you get an idea of my writing and the scenes I produced. A CIA agent endorsed my book saying that I capture the nuance and complexity of the situation... that I bring life to my work by creating compelling characters that feel like they live in the real world. These war scenes are my war scenes. These people, my characters, are real-life people who do whatever it takes to survive a war, and I know them all.

 AS: Throughout the story, you switch between multiple characters’ perspectives, for example, the war correspondent Sonia Rizk and the Ambassador to Syria, Robert Jenkins. Do you have a favorite character to write from the perspective of?

CS: I love all my characters. Most of them have been with me from the beginning when I wrote The Syrian, Damascus Street, and now An Ambassador. And since I've known them a long time, I'm able to get inside their heads and bring them alive.

 AS: An Ambassador to Syria is not your first book that has featured many of these characters. In the book, the reader can see how the previous events have affected the characters, but they can also still understand and connect with these characters without any prior knowledge. What advice do you have for making realistic and compelling characters and their history?

CS: Whatever story you want to tell, get to know your character. They're going to become your best friends. You'll be spending hours, days, weeks, and months with them. The more you know them, their pleasures, their dislikes, their habits, their inner thoughts, the more they'll come alive on the page. You want your reader to connect with your characters, fall in love with them, cry with them if they're hurt or lose a loved one.

 AS: This is the third book in a story following these characters, the previous two being Damascus Street and The Syrian. Do you plan to continue these characters’ stories in a future book?

CS: Yes, I'm already into the fourth book in my Syrian Quartet. In this new book, it's Omar, whom my readers have met in An Ambassador, who is the main character. He has joined ISIS and along with Mary and Sonia will lead my readers on some harrowing adventures. Stay tuned.

An Ambassador to Syria is available on Amazon for $16.99, eBay for $14.50, or at The Local Store for $12.00.

You can also support Cathy’s work at her book launch on Nov. 16 at 7pm at Avalon Florals' new location 421 Water Street.  She will also have a virtual talk on December 7 at 7PM sponsored by the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library and the CVWG.  Sign up here.