Regional Writers Converge to Connect with Life Stories

McKenna Dutton

Come one, come all to “Life Makes Art: Three Writers on How Life Experiences Shape Writing”—a panel discussion featuring three Wisconsin writers coming together to talk about, you guessed it, how their life experiences have shaped their work. Join in on the excitement on April 13th at 6:30 PM at the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library!

Eau Claire writer-in-residence Ken Szymanski is excited to moderate this event.

“We have three diverse authors, a panel discussion, and there'll be some readings as well,” Syzmanski says, “so I think it’ll really give people the idea of how the authors write about their personal experiences and we get to hear examples of that.”

The “Life Makes Art” discussion is an attempt to connect community members with local writers. It’s also a way for people in the community’s budding writers to learn from experienced writers about their process. It’s a change from the usual one-presenter craft talk model.

““It’s different from a [craft talk and Q&A] with one author because hopefully you’re getting three different perspectives that can challenge each other and play off of each other.””

— Ken Szymanski

“It's different from a [craft talk and Q&A] with one author because hopefully you’re getting three different perspectives that can challenge each other and play off of each other,” Szymanski says. “As the moderator, I’ll throw myself into the mix and hopefully we’ll get a lively discussion rather than a lecture.”

One of the three panelists is Cathy Sultan. She is the author of seven books ranging from fiction to nonfiction. Some of her work includes: An Ambassador to Syria, The Syrian and Damascus Street. Sultan expresses that being able to collaborate with her fellow Eau Claire writers is an exciting opportunity.

“Just being able to talk with fellow writers I find that very energizing and intellectually stimulating,” Sultan says, “I think my fellow authors at the event feel the same way...”

The two other panelists are Patti See and Bruce Taylor. Patti is the author of Here on Lake Hallie: In Praise of the Barflies, The Fix-it Guys, and Other Folks in Our Hometown.  See is also an academic advisor and teaches an honors class in creative nonfiction at UWEC. Bruce Taylor is a poet, an emeritus English professor at UWEC, the city’s former poet laureate, and has published several collections of poetry, including Pity the World  and The Longest You’ve Lived Anywhere.

And so, we invite you again: come one, come all, to this lively exchange on writing life experiences featuring Cathy Sultan, Patti See, and Bruce Taylor. Mark your calendars for April 13th at 6:30 at the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library!

Step Right Up For Some “Death-Defying Acts!”: A Sneak Preview!

McKenna Dutton

The Sound & Stories “Death-Defying Acts” show is coming to Eau Claire! It’s an event for stories and music that will leave you on the edge of your seat. Storytellers Sheng Elizabeth Lor, Kaia Simon, Billy Felz, and Garrett Denney, plus musician Jerrika Mighelle, are stepping onto the stage to share their talents.

CVWG founder and director B.J. Hollars is excited about the latest installment of this popular series.

“The Sound and Stories series has been a hallmark of the Chippewa Valley Writers Guild for the past five years,” Hollars said. “We selected the theme ‘Death-Defying Acts’ to showcase a few of the more harrowing stories from our region’s residence.” He’s particularly thrilled by the thematic collaboration between storytellers and musician Jerrika Mighelle. “It is such a pleasure to watch how the music weaves alongside the stories,” Hollars said.

Jerrika Mighelle is a musician from the Eau Claire area. She has two albums: Like the Sea and Brightest Star. Both albums were outlets for the singer. In 2016 Mighelle’s mother passed away and as a way to cope, Mighelle’s turned to music. The 2017 release of her album Brightest Star was an ode to her grief and loss from her mother’s death the year before. Volume One’s Eric Christenson wrote in his 2021 article about the emotional strength behind Mighelle’s second album, “…she found a way to channel that anger, that regret, that anguish into something real and tangible.” With her raw connection between emotion and music Jerrika Mighelle will be able to let the authenticity of the other “Death-Defying Act'' stories come through.

Another creative showing emotional strength on the stage is storyteller Sheng Elizabeth Lor.  

Lor has a podcast called the Social X Change. It’s a platform where creatives and underrepresented voices in the community can speak out. Lor especially takes pride in representing her Hmong culture on her show. Lor’s other passions involve helping people of creative backgrounds find opportunities to display their craft. Lor explained how bringing the community of Eau Claire together through art can serve as a form of activism. This will be Lor’s first time stepping into the storytelling spotlight.

“I’m a consumer and a producer not a performer,” Lor said.  “This is a moment for me to be vulnerable.”

Lor plans to share a story that captures the experience of people who face every day trauma. She hopes that sharing this will be a way for the audience to “...connect to the families and victims who face trauma in any form. To remind everyone that anyone struggling deserves to feel seen and loved,” Lor said.

Her story centers on mental health, and how though it may not seem like someone is struggling, there is often something going on behind the scenes unknown to others. It’s a story of empathy that she hopes the community can relate to.

 “It's about being a warrior,” Lor said.  “And the ability we have to normalize these stories.”

Sounds and Stories presents, “Death-Defying Acts” on February 21 from 7:00-8:30 p.m. in the Riverside Room at the Pablo Center! Tickets for the show are $10 (fees included) and are available here. Please join us in welcoming Sheng Elizabeth Lor, Jerrika Mighelle, and the other artists take the stage!

"Writing OUT”: A Conversation With Charles Payseur

Atalissa Wells

When we read books or watch movies, we often find ourselves searching for someone who can represent us, someone we can look at, and feel as if we fit in their shoes, their story. However, this is not the case for everyone, including members of the LGBTQ+ community.

Charles Payseur, an Eau Claire resident who has written a plethora of stories and poems, has experienced the difficulty of lacking representation for the queer community.  However, his short fiction pieces contain queer characters, providing him experience as both a receiver and influencer of LGBTQ+ representation in media.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Charles, addressing questions about the event, as well as information about his journey in writing out.

Atalissa Wells: The title of the event is “Writing OUT.”  What does writing out mean to you?

Charles Payseur: So the title was meant to pull double duty, being both about writing out—writing and publishing while being an out LGBTQ+ person—and writing out—using writing as a tool to educate about, advocate for, and feature LGBTQ+ characters and themes in stories and books. Both things are important, and LGBTQ+ writers have to navigate the complexities of both, from how out to be personally and as an author (online and in business spaces) to how to portray LGBTQ+ themes and characters in their works. To me, writing out is a messy but interesting idea that I really want to talk about and examine.

AW: Can you tell me a little more about the panel's authors and publishers (J.M. Lee, Catherine Lundoff, and Kat Weaver)?

CP: All three are amazing writers, and all three are in rather different points in their careers and do a bit different things. I’m a big fan of all of them and I’ll allow them to sort of introduce themselves:

J.M. Lee spent his formative years searching for talking animals and believing he could control the weather. After pursuing nerdy interests in comparative film studies, screenwriting, and Shakespeare, he graduated with a much nerdier degree in linguistics. In addition to writing novels, he enjoys teaching his dog new vocabulary words and updating his snooty coffee blog.

Catherine Lundoff is an award-winning writer, editor, and publisher. Her books include Silver Moon, Blood Moon, Out of This World and Unfinished Business and, as editor, Scourge of the Seas of Time (and Space). Her short stories and essays have appeared in such venues as Queer Weird Western Stories, Divergent Terror, Sherlock Holmes and the Occult Detectives, Fireside Magazine, Nightmare Magazine, the SFWA Blog, and several World of Darkness anthologies and games. She is the publisher at Queen of Swords Press and teaches writing and publishing classes at the Loft Literary Center, the Rambo Academy and Clarion West Online. Websites: www.catherinelundoff.net and www.queenofswordspress.com

Kat Weaver is a writer and illustrator whose short fiction has been published in Apex Magazine, Timeworn Literary Journal, Lackington’s, and elsewhere. Currently, she is one of the senior fiction editors at Strange Horizons, a Hugo-nominated speculative fiction magazine. Neon Hemlock Press recently published her debut novella Uncommon Charm, co-written with her wife, Emily Bergslien. The two of them live in Saint Paul, Minnesota. You can find her on Twitter @anoteinpink.

AW: As the moderator, what do you hope to bring to your role in the discussion?

CP: A lot of my work as a critic, writer, and editor focuses on LGBTQ+ and LGBTQ+ authored works. And in my work as a part of the Chippewa Valley LGBTQ+ Community Center, I’m constantly thinking about ways both to help LGBTQ+ people find safety and success and ways to educate people about the complicated ways that LGBTQ+ media and LGBTQ+ themes and characters in media are related, and how things have changed over time, both for the better and, well, not so much. I hope to be able to guide the conversation through these rather thorny topics and give the panelists room to dig into what they do and how it’s amazing.

AW: What is one aspect of the importance of LGBTQ+ representation in media that you are most looking forward to the panel discussing?

CP: I am eager to get a bit more into the idea that LGBTQ+ representation goes beyond the characters that exist in stories and their identities. While that’s a hugely important thing, I also think when talking about representation we have to discuss presence outside the fiction, and how LGBTQ+ representation without LGBTQ+ presence (in the various creative and technical levels of publishing and media) can and has worked historically, and what progress might be getting made to work toward a wider and more diverse vision of what representation is and can be.

AW: Who is someone in the media (fictitious or real) that has impacted or inspired your own life and understanding of representation for the LGBTQ+ community?

CP: The works of LGBTQ+ creators have been incredibly impactful in my life. The short works of Sam J. Miller and R.B. Lemberg not only showed me what was possible to write about and portray, but also gave me characters and language that helped me to better understand myself. And they opened a door that had been largely closed to me because of the suppression of LGBTQ+ works, revealing histories and communities I hadn’t known I was a part of.

AW: How has the idea of representation in media influenced your own writing and the queer characters in your stories?

“It’s such a complex thing, because on the one hand there are stories you want to write to speak your truth, to really show something about yourself that doesn’t ever really get portrayed. On the other hand, those stories often have very difficult roads to publication, and can face resistance from editors and even readers who either aren’t comfortable with those stories, or feel they might lose business or revenue by publishing them.”

— Charles Payseur

CP: It’s such a complex thing, because on the one hand there are stories you want to write to speak your truth, to really show something about yourself that doesn’t ever really get portrayed. On the other hand, those stories often have very difficult roads to publication, and can face resistance from editors and even readers who either aren’t comfortable with those stories, or feel they might lose business or revenue by publishing them. There can be a kind of pressure to tone things down, or write trying to appease an assumed “general reader” whose opinions on LGBTQ+ issues might not be compassionate or informed. And sometimes you write precisely out of anger and frustration about that assumed “general reader,” refusing to hide or take fewer risks. And sometimes that really pays off, and sometimes you end up with a story that never gets published.

AW: What is something you’d want people to know about the event before they arrive?

CP: That the panelists are amazing and that we’re all very lucky to have them here to speak! Beyond that, if people aren’t familiar with the panelists yet, I think there will be a chance not only to ask questions, but to purchase some of their work or get something signed. It’s going to be wonderful!

Join Charles, J.M., Catherine, and Kat in the Riverview Room at the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library on February 25, 2023 from 11 am-1 pm to discuss the important topic of LGBTQ+ representation in media at the event Writing OUT.

Ron Davis Revs Up on Book Two: Rubber Side Down

Thomas DeLapp

When Ron Davis mounts up on one of his motorcycles, he’s not just there to have a good time and burn some rubber: he’s ready to rev up and write. His new book, Rubber Side Down: The Improbable Implication to Travel on Two Wheels, comprised of columns, memoirs, and other essays, takes readers on the road with him.

Why is it so improbable to ride a motorcycle, you might well ask.

“It really expresses the way I feel about it,” Davis shared. “When you look at motorcycling, there’s really no good reason to ride a motorcycle. I mean, you’re exposing yourself to the elements, it’s incredibly dangerous, it's not the greatest form of transportation. It’s improbable that so many people would be drawn to it. But, on the other side, there are some very special things about it that I think attract people to motorcycling, to keep them in the saddle, to keep them riding.”

 Riders: read! But Davis assures those who haven’t chugged down highways on two wheels of their own that there’s still plenty to love and relate to.

“I feel like, in my own small way, I’m writing about what makes us human, and using motorcycling as — I hate to say this — as a vehicle. Excuse the pun. That’s what I enjoy the most. Writing about motorcycles has given me the chance to write about my family, it's given me the chance to write about my father, it's given me the chance to write about girlfriends.”

Over the years, Davis has made plenty of contributions to various motorcycle magazines and Wisconsin Public Radio, as well as a column for BMW Owners News.

“I got hooked into writing for motorcycle magazines, basically because I started writing reviews, and I ended up with a lot of free stuff,” Davis said.

After the reviews and free stuff, Davis had to get used to writing a regular column. Most everything you can say about motorcycles has been written, he said — so where could he innovate?

“I ran across a book by Peter Egan, who’s a motorcycle rider — and I’m by no means an expert motorcyclist, I haven’t ridden around the world or anything like that — but reading his book was kind of a revelation because he’s one of the preeminent writers when it comes to writing about motorcycles. The thing that struck me was that most of his stories are about the human side.”

Rubber Side Down, and its predecessor, Shiny Side Up, carry a lot of heart in their saddlebags.

Davis, a rider and a writer, knows there’s plenty out there on the road to see — but there’s even more when you ride back home.

“I just gave a copy of the book to my grandson, he’s only nine years old, but I feel like someday, he may look at that and want to know what his grandpa was like. That book reveals a lot of what I’m like and not so much about motorcycling.”

Ron’s new book, Rubber Side Down: The Improbably Inclination to Travel on Two Wheels, is available at The Local Store and wherever books are sold in print, Kindle, and Nook formats.

A Creative Life: Thomas King on Taking the Time to Create Every Day

Thomas King

By Gracie Schutte

Thomas Wayne King leads a creative life, one that manifests itself from novels to textbooks and songs to family stories. He’s been in the creating business since he was young and has no intention of slowing down the creative cogs in his head anytime soon.

“Almost everyone has creative ideas or thoughts, but they don’t act on them. My rule is … create every day.”

— Thomas King

“I think everyone creates,” King said. “Almost everyone has creative ideas or thoughts, but they don’t act on them. My rule is … create every day. The corollary to that is make it tangible. … Create all you can, but in order to get to that, make whatever pops through your head tangible, get up and work on it.”

That’s exactly what King has done. Since retiring as a professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders at UW-Eau Claire back in 2005, King has spent his time putting those creative juices to work—he’s even applied them in academia.

As a Speech Language Pathologist, King specialized in two areas of study in the field: professional and performative voice disorders and assistive technology. Back in the day, King’s work was some of the first of its kind, leading him to publish a textbook on assistive technology and human factors. Since then, he’s gone on to write more textbooks and revise others, and is considered an expert in the field.

“That requires a lot of creativity,” King said, “to come up with creative solutions. My work now is applying what I know from science, from clinical research and scientific experience in creative and innovative ways, then writing about it. That’s one side of my life.”

The other side, though, looks much different: it’s full of stories of the north, the environment, and vocal and instrumental songs. In his multiple series, King explores fiction and nonfiction, life and science in ways that are new, different, and local.

All of King’s books can be found and purchased on Amazon, including his Redpump Chronicles, Tales of the Northland, and my personal favorite Oh My Gosh…. Have We Got Squash! But be sure to keep an eye out, because King has more stories percolating.

“I’ve got so many more book ideas, I’m just trying to live long enough to get them all out,” King said.

The life of a creative, folks.  

A Celebration of Chinese Poetry and Music at Artisan Forge Studios

By Carlee Shimek

For poet enthusiasts, Chinese cultural enthusiasts, and enthusiastic people in general, come and experience the magnificence that is Chinese poetry at “A Celebration of Chinese Poetry and Music.” This Sunday, December 18 from 2-3:30pm at Artisan Forge Studios, a culmination of Chinese poetry, local poetry writers, and an accompanying Chinese musical group will be hosted by local tea (and of course poetry) enthusiast Xin Obaid.

“I want to show the difference between Chinese poetry reading and American poetry reading,” Obaid said. “For myself, I feel Chinese poetry is more musically than English. It’s really a performance.”

Xin Obaid, event organizer

Obaid owns a tea shop—MingXin Chinese Cultural Exchange—in Artisan Forge Studios, teaches a Chinese language class at Artisan Forge, and is herself a popular poet and writer published in China. The event is also an early celebratory exchange for the upcoming Chinese New Year on January 23. Obaid said that every time Chinese New Year comes around, she has wanted to do something with the Eau Claire community in celebrating it. Now, her opportunity has arrived.

““I just want to let Eau Claire people know more about the Chinese culture.””

— Xin Obaid

“I just want to let Eau Claire people know more about the Chinese culture,” Obaid said.

Two long-distance travelers, friends of Obaid, will be coming to Eau Claire, purely for this event: Fan Xiaoming all the way from China and Dr. Li Xiaohong from New York. They love poetry that much and are excited to showcase it with Obaid.

Local writers, Karen Loeb, Yvette Flaten, Sara Bryan, SZ Putnam, and BJ Hollars will all be reading some of their own work along with their favorite Chinese poem.

In addition to poetry, a Chinese musical group from Minneapolis will be performing. Music and Chinese poetry are often intermingled, Obaid shared with me over a delicious cup of tea made from her family’s tea farm back in the Hunan province of China.  This tradition will be continued during Sunday’s show.

Xin Obaid

In addition to contemporary poems, readers will also feature Chinese poetry from the Tang and Song Dynasties. This event truly has it all: local poetry, ancient Chinese poetry, and music—a culturally rich way to spend a Sunday in Eau Claire.

“If you want to learn or know Chinese culture, or special Chinese poetry, you need to come here, it’s totally different [from] American culture and American poetry reading,” Obaid said. With 5,000 years of history residing in the vastness of Chinese culture, it is certainly worth it to promote and showcase it to the world. Obaid is bringing her Chinese home to her second home of Eau Claire.

As far back as the Song Dynasty, a saying has persisted throughout Chinese history: “firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, and tea”. It is the Seven Necessities, where if you have these seven things when you wake up, you will have a decent day. Obaid would like to add one more thing to the list: poetry. 

“[When] I moved here from China, some people told me Eau Claire is a diverse city, that make me love Eau Claire more. So then I thought if it’s that way, then we shall share every kind of culture.””

— Xin Obaid

“I feel honored to share my motherland culture,” Obaid said. “[When] I moved here from China, some people told me Eau Claire is a diverse city, that make me love Eau Claire more. So then I thought if it’s that way, then we shall share every kind of culture.”

To learn more about the event, go to Chippewa Valley Writers Guild.

A Record Of Life: Leader-Telegram All-Star Journalist Eric Lindquist Retires After 40 Years

Gracie Schutte

When it comes to journalism, there are only a few things Eric Lindquist wrinkles his nose at, deadlines being the first: the constant race against the clock, the movie-worthy, sweat-inducing countdown with the reverb clock ticking away in the background, as the journalist’s hands fly across the keys with the deftness of the Bomb Squad with the deadline fast approaching.

““Sometimes you have minutes, or hours to tell a story, and you know it deserves more.” ”

— Eric Lindquist

“Sometimes you have minutes, or hours to tell a story,” Lindquist said, “and you know it deserves more.”

With 40 years in the journalism industry under his belt, Lindquist is no stranger to crunch time, but besides the stress of getting quality stories in on time, Lindquist took to the eat, sleep journalism, repeat cycle like a fish to water.

“I started [at the Leader-Telegram] as a 20-year-old college student,” Lindquist said. “They said, ‘Hey, we’d like you to take this job a week after you graduate,’ and I said, ‘Okay.’ I’ve been there ever since.”

 Whether he knew it then or not, Lindquist soon discovered the whole journalism gig isn’t your typical nine-to-five; journalism is a lifestyle.

 “You eat and sleep it — it becomes part of you,” Lindquist said. “Not only are you always thinking about it, but you care. It’s the same with those big issue stories.  You think ‘Oh, this is really important. I don’t mind working five twelve-hour days this week to make sure I get this one right, because this is big.’”

 Lindquist’s passion for journalism started at UW-Eau Claire, some 40 years ago, at the university’s student-run newspaper, The Spectator. There Lindquist did it all, from writing and editing stories to slaving over photos in the dark room (Remember those?). The late nights spent in the office laying out pages for print were exhausting at times — sometimes keeping students there until 2 a.m. — but The Spectator prepared Lindquist for the tireless work ahead of him.

But it doesn’t feel like a chore when it’s something you’re passionate about, and Lindquist has a knack for the deep dives, the weeks-long investigative research pieces, and the features that reveal the profound and personal happening in our very valley.

““I want to tell the first rough draft of history, but I don’t want it to be so rough.”

— Eric Lindquist

“I want to tell the first rough draft of history,” Lindquist said, “but I don't want it to be so rough. I want to make something somebody in 50 years is going to be researching old newspaper archives, and when they’re reading something I wrote in 1990, or 2000, it’s going to be accurate of what was happening in the Chippewa Valley at that time. This is a record of life in the Chippewa Valley.”

 And record he has. Having written 10,000 stories, Lindquist has covered Eau Claire and the Chippewa Valley from the closing of Uniroyal to housing discrimination, from homelessness to the drug epidemic, prison interviews to personal features, and Hmong culture, too.

 “It’s been good to be able to chronicle all the little pieces and then sometimes do the big pieces that start to tie all the ends in and explain to people how that happened — and that it happened.”

 But now, Lindquist is passing on the torch to the next generation, leaving behind gargantuan boots to fill. He plans to continue writing — contributing here and there and maybe even taking on new, fiction-related projects.

 So, dry your eyes and blow your nose — Lindquist isn’t going anywhere. You’ll just have to look up from your morning paper to find him.

A “Joy to the Word” Sneak Preview: Love, Belonging, and Community for the Holidays

Thomas DeLapp

Wintertime in Eau Claire came hard and fast last week, tossing new snow and cold temperatures at us just two days after it was a balmy 65 degrees. Luckily for us, this signals that the Chippewa Valley Writers Guild’s favorite holiday event: Sound & Stories: Joy to the Word is less than a month away!

Combining spoken word stories with festive music from the Eau Claire UKE Klub, Joy to the Word is a cozy holiday get-together. Bundle up and trundle down to the Pablo Center on December 15 to share some cheer with the CVWG. This year’s readers are Allyson Loomis, Nicole Kronzer, Justin Patchin, and Ken Syzmanski — all ready to deliver some stellar seasonal stories.

Syzmanski, Eau Claire Writer-in-Residence, and Joy to the Word veteran will share a family story set to live music by Derick Black. Szymanski’s 81-year-old uncle, he explained, still owns and runs a Christmas tree farm. Customers pick out trees, and he will deliver them straight to their living rooms.

Kronzer, an Eau Claire native who now lives in Minneapolis, is returning to share a story about her love of historic homes.

“My best friend and I love going to historic homes whenever we visit a city,” Kronzer said. “She lives in Milwaukee, and I live in Minneapolis, which is way too far away. So sometimes we’ll meet in the middle, in some small town and then we’ll just have a long weekend in a town we’ve never been to.”

Historic home exploration ties in deeply to Kronzer’s forthcoming second novel, The Roof Over Our Heads, whose main character’s family lives in and takes care of a historic home (based on the James J. Hill house in St. Paul).

One of the reasons historic homes so engage Kronzer is the importance of understanding history itself, especially the overlooked roles of women during now-romanticized times like the Victorian era and the Gilded Age.

In comparison to Europe, Kronzer said, “where an Aldi could actually be a two-thousand-year-old castle,” American architecture and history are much more recent and quickly forgotten. Historic homes are one of our few places to connect with that history.

“These largely female spaces are some of the only actual [historical sites] we have in America, but because they are female spaces, we discount them,” Kronzer said. “But they’re vitally important.”

Maybe a trip through historic homes doesn’t sound particularly holiday-centric, but it’s all about connection and love — perfect for Joy to the Word.

“I can’t even begin to explain how happy making this is, coming back to Eau Claire and being involved in the CVWG. It has filled this hole in my heart that I didn’t know was there. They say you can’t go home again, but I’m coming home in a new way. ”

— Nicole Kronzer

“I can’t even begin to explain how happy making this is, coming back to Eau Claire and being involved in the CVWG,” Kronzer said. “It has filled this hole in my heart that I didn’t know was there. They say you can’t go home again, but I’m coming home in a new way. This isn’t who I was when I left Eau Claire. Everyone has been so accepting and loving and generous. You look at Roof, you look at Unscripted [Kronzer’s first novel]: love and belonging are really the backbone of everything I write. It's just so special, being accepted and loved by your hometown.”

As Syzmanski sagely put it, there’s just something about the holidays that makes people crave stories. New ones, old ones, and even the same stories year after year. It’s being together and celebrating that makes the season.

“I just love the combination of music and the spoken word, “Syzmanski said. “They just elevate each other. As the universal language that music is, they’re just a natural fit together. If it’s all music, it can be one-dimensional. If it’s all story, it can be one-dimensional. Together, it’s magic.”

The CVWG Sound & Stories: Joy to the Word is at 7 pm on December 15th at the Pablo Center. Buy tickets online at the Pablo Center website.

S.Z. Putnam's Poetry Book "Loose Change: Picking up the Pieces" Available Now

By Carlee Shimek

A fresh and brand new voice comes to life here in Eau Claire with the release of Loose Change: Picking up the Pieces by S.Z. Putnam. Putnam’s debut poetry book was released in June of 2022 from Read or Green Books in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Fear not, though, you don’t have to go all the way there for a copy. The book is available through Putnam’s website and at Dotters Books right here in Eau Claire. I had the opportunity to sit down (virtually) with Putnam to discuss her book’s content, how it came about, and her journey back into writing after a ten-year hiatus.

Following a mainly linear pattern with free-verse poems telling the story (some rhyming, some not), Loose Change encompasses Putnam’s discovery of her husband’s substance abuse addiction, her trauma and process with that knowledge, and her and her family’s recovery from the ordeal. Powerfully spoken with passionate poetry, Putnam reveals the inner workings of her mind in connection with addiction’s painful effect on its victims and their families.

“For me, it just felt really good and cathartic to write it out and just release these energies so that I wasn’t holding onto them,” Putnam said about the emotional journey through writing her book. “It was just a really good and healthy way to let it go. And it really helped me to heal and reach out for other sources of help. I just want that for everybody else. Just so that they know that they can do it as well.”

A braided combination of many writing styles is found within this creative storyteller’s debut book. It entails Putnam’s discovery of her husband’s substance addiction, the events and aftermath of the journey out of the situation, and her emotions and thoughts. The beginning does include some love poetry about how Putnam and her husband first met and fell in love, as well as prose sections placed throughout the book. The prose pieces act as anchor points when shifting to the next phase of the story told within the poems.

“[The book’s] more or less highlighting how to get back into a place where you no longer feel alone, like you’re connected again to the community and people you love,” Putnam said.

Putnam was always a writer at heart, writing personal prose pieces for years. She took a break from writing during her career in marketing, after which she suddenly decided to start writing again around May of 2021, this time as a poet. Without prior poetry experience, and with some assistance from her younger relatives, Putnam set up an Instagram account and started posting mini-poems on the site. With a wide range of content, she soon earned over 1,500 followers.

While getting back into writing, she became acquainted with a publisher and managed to become one of their debut authors in 2022. Though she mentioned wanting her debut book to be about her parents’ journey from Vietnam, she found herself just writing and going through her emotions with that writing regarding her husband’s substance addiction and how she and her family worked through that part of their lives.

Putnam writes about not just interesting or entertaining topics, but ones that can be triggering, difficult, and serious. And that’s important.

“I hope that what [readers] get out of this book is that this is something that happens a lot. And that there is no shame in feeling the way they feel or wanting to get out of it.”

— S.Z. Putnam

“I hope that what [readers] get out of this book is that this is something that happens a lot. And that there is no shame in feeling the way they feel or wanting to get out of it,” Putnam said. “That’s really what I hope, because if they can free themselves from an addictive state whether they are the person with the substance abuse issue or if they are the family member, I think that is the number one thing. I find that addiction itself takes not just the person but the entire family and for generations. It’s not a one time thing, this is a disease that can affect multiple generations down the road.”

Available through Putnam’s website for $20 (each book is autographed!) or Dotters Books for $15, Loose Change: Picking up the Pieces is available to anyone interested in Putnam’s storytelling through poetry or anyone who may have the desire to deal with trauma and find courage like Putnam does in her book.

Hopefully, through Putnam being so open, honest, and creative with her perspective, she will shine a light on such a heavy topic in a manner that can help someone affected by their loved one’s struggle with addiction or the individual themself.

“[It] may trigger [readers] to feel certain emotions, but at the same point it’s good to release emotions,” Putnam said. “And if they’re able to read my book and find the pieces that really resonate with them and will help make them feel stronger and less alone, I think that is really important.”

UWEC Center for Writing Excellence Tutors (and Chippewa Valley Writers Guild Interns!) Take On Vancouver Conference!

By Grace Schutte, Carlee Shimek, and Thomas DeLapp

The International Writing Center Association (IWCA) conference began Oct. 26 and ran through the 29th with Writing Center Directors and students — both graduates on the road to director-hood and passionate undergrads — gathering from around the world to join us in rainy Vancouver for three days of discussion, reflection, and overall nerdy goodness. 

“While attending the multitude of presentations scheduled at the conference was important to us as participants and fellow presenters, immersing ourselves in the atmosphere of our host city, Vancouver, was quite an experience as well.”

While attending the multitude of presentations scheduled at the conference was important to us as participants and fellow presenters, immersing ourselves in the atmosphere of our host city, Vancouver, was quite an experience as well. It was the perfect city for the first IWCA conference held outside the United States.

Vancouver of British Columbia, Canada, regardless of its fancy, modern skyscrapers, possessed a calming air, probably thanks to being a seaport city. We managed to stroll along one of its proudest features, the longest waterfront path in the world, The Seawall. We didn’t have the time (nor the quads) to traverse all 17.5 miles, but we enjoyed the miles, with many beaches and ships in the water, along Stanley Park, a wonderful public park that’s larger than Central Park.

Though not directly along the ocean shore, Vancouver is a marvelous water city with the English Bay, Vancouver Harbor, and Burrard Inlet surrounding it. For some reason, the neighborhood around our conference’s hotel was quite fond of water decor too. We saw at least 6 beautifully structured waterfall architectures while walking to different attractions and locales for lunch.

Speaking of lunch, many delicious, diverse eateries were abundant throughout the city. From Thai chicken to Mexican burritos to Canadian poutine, there was no lack of options for tastebuds. The city prides itself on being one of the most diverse in Canada.

 Another alluring attraction we visited was Granville Island. It’s a misnomer as the location is a peninsula attached to the southern part of Vancouver. The northern peninsula of the city (where our conference was) is separated from Granville by an inlet, False Creek. You can take a teeny ferry to the location (though you literally could swim, it’s that close) where we visited a farmers market, some artists’ galleries, and many local shops.

It felt like the Eau Claire Downtown Farmers Market, just on a larger scale. The view of the city from Granville Island, with its lights twinkling in the darkening sky was very relaxing after days of hard, philosophical thinking on the ethics and innovations of writing centers.

With a progressive and inclusive style, Vancouver is perfect as a weekend getaway for an anniversary or serene family vacation. It has something for everyone, and all with manageable distance from each other (by foot and car). Perhaps we may one day be able to visit again (for another conference, let’s hope!) and experience the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden or the Pacific Arts Market and more.

Within the glass castle-like hotel where the conference took place, many astounding discussions and innovative ideas relating to writing centers were enjoyed.

Those in attendance wore their best button ups, comfortable presenting shoes, and super-dooper official IWCA issued lanyards — an academic sea of smart blazers and slacks. With the schedule posted online, people could choose which sessions they wished to attend. But with twelve different presentations to select from each hour, it was nearly impossible to decide with so many exceptional options.

Sessions began every day at 9 a.m. in the various ballrooms and meeting halls found throughout the conference's hotel. While scurrying from one room to the next, folks would grab a cup of coffee and maybe a little snack between sessions — sometimes a fruit kabob, a semi-gelatinous chia seed yogurt, or a classic peanut-butter cookie. The Wall Center took good care of us.

The last round kicked off at 4:30 p.m., giving us Writing Center folk many opportunities to sit in on various presentations and roundtables — shorter presentations followed by an open discussion between the presenters and audience members (as is our Writing Center nature).

A de facto theme we noticed throughout was the colonial nature of writing: How academia has implemented rigid expectations and standards that invalidate multilingual students, those who don’t fit into the white-sounding “American”-English standard, and who may find sitting down and writing at a desk for extended periods to be inaccessible. 

Throughout the conference, directors and students alike advocated for the decolonizing of writing, spoke on the shifting of societal perceptions of “perfect English” and grammar, and how to ensure Writing Centers can be harborers of this change in not only our spaces and departments but in the world.

It was also brought to our attention how strongly our pedagogy and manner of speech are strongly United States-oriented. On several occasions, directors from Canada and Mexico commented on the U.S.-centered nature of the literature. There is work to be done, not only in how we tutor student writers but in how we continue and grow our scholarship.

“By happy coincidence, we three CVWG interns this semester are colleagues in the university Center for Writing Excellence. Together with our director (and Guild board member), Dr. Jonathan Rylander, we presented a roundtable: “Invisibly Here: The Future of Life Writing in Writing Centers.””

 We, too, wanted to talk about these big issues in our own Eau Claire ways. By happy coincidence, we three CVWG interns this semester are colleagues in the university Center for Writing Excellence. Together with our director (and Guild board member), Dr. Jonathan Rylander, we presented a roundtable: “Invisibly Here: The Future of Life Writing in Writing Centers.”

 One of the reasons we wanted to write to you all today is because each member of the CVWG is doing life writing in their own way, every day. But what is life writing?  That’s precisely what we talked about. Though it’s been used in various contexts for a couple of decades, the term “life writing” doesn’t have a particularly good definition.  And we struggled to come up with one, too.

 Basically, we decided that life writing means any writing involving the writer's life. We typically think about it in academic contexts, where students are writing critical essays, rhetorical analyses, and generally not having any fun at all. We know that students thrive and learn more from meaningful writing projects. Meaningfulness is calculated by the student's engagement with the project, the lasting transfer (will I be able to use this in my life?), and whether or not they feel personally connected to it.

Personal connection to a piece can be most easily accomplished by including some aspects of the writer’s life. Surprise! That can be hard, though. Without getting too into the details, our presentation argued that writing centers have a unique opportunity to be places where students can engage more with themselves, with the person and voice inside their writing. And, we argue, writing centers have already been doing this kind of life writing work all along, without realizing it.

 But life writing isn’t purely in academic contexts. It’s for every writer. How do your identities, insecurities, and personality affect your writing process? How do they affect your writing? No matter how hard you might try to make a piece as dry and ineffectual as you can, spoiler alert: you are still writing it. You are still going to be there.

“Writing matters only because you matter.  ”

 What can we learn if we embrace ourselves in our writing instead of running away?  How will our writing and writing process change? The three of us think these are questions every writer should ask themselves. From historical fiction to journalism, to fantasy, sci-fi, and memoir, you, the author, should be present and comfortable in that text. Your writing is important because of the life that writes it.  Writing matters only because you matter. 

Writing, Fishing, and Cartoons: A Chat with Author Victoria Houston

Fishing and murder aren’t two things you often hear next to each other.  Unless, of course, you are Victoria Houston, avid fisher and author of the Loon Lake Mystery Series.  Then, you hear a lot about fishing, murder, and mystery in the Wisconsin Northwoods.

Houston’s Loon Lake series took place over 19 novels.  Last year, she released Wolf Hollow, the first of the Lew Ferris Mysteries, which shares Loon Lake’s characters and location. But Lew Ferris, the former secondary protagonist, is now the main character. The forthcoming Hidden in the Pines will be the second Lew Ferris mystery.

Houston will be reeling audiences in with her know-how at the Chippewa Falls Public Library at 7PM on November 10th, giving a talk: “The Three Major Life Mistakes I’ve Made that Force Me to Write Fishing Mysteries.” 

The Chippewa Valley Writers Guild sat down for a conversation with Houston about mystery, murder, and being a Wisconsin writer.

This conversation has been edited for clarity.

Thomas DeLapp: There are plenty of authors with long series, but only a few from around here. What’s it been like sticking around with these same characters across 21 books?

Victoria Houston: Well, I love it.  Almost 25 years ago I made a decision, and it was based on my experience with some famous cartoonists — I had worked in publishing with people like Gary Trudeau, who does Doonesbury, Gary Larson, who does The Far Side, and Bill Watterson, with Calvin and Hobbes.  I made a decision not to age my characters. I watched those cartoonists, and the ones who made that decision, it just freed up their work. So my characters, in all these years, have aged maybe two and a half years.  And that works for me, because I’m very comfortable with who they are.  I’m aware of other mystery writers who have written themselves into a corner because all of a sudden, their character is, you know, 90. 

TD: So for 25 years you’ve been writing this series with a pretty regular output.  Has fishing always been a part of your writing routine?  What does your ideal writing day look like?

VH: Well I would say fishing is just a real escape. That’s always been an escape. I mean I've been fishing since I was three years old.  When I was a little kid growing up in Rhinelander, we had a kiddie fish pond.  I was the oldest of eight kids born in 10 years, and trust me, my mother just opened the door in the morning, said “here's your tackle box, get out, go.” My ideal work day is to tackle work first thing in the morning, after a full pot of coffee. Spend several hours on that and then that's enough for the day. If I have an opportunity to go out fishing with friends, I do get out on the water quite a bit.

TD: A constant plague for writers is that big scary word, ‘revision’.  How do you approach revision, how do you see it in your work?

VH: Revision is critical.  I'm not a plot driven writer, so I am not a writer who motors through a first draft, and then goes back to revise. I have a synopsis, what I think the story is, and who I think the first victim will be, and then I get started.  But every day, I go back and rewrite work from a day, or two. or three before. By the time I finish the book, I have already revised consistently, six, seven, eight times. I don't move forward with the story until I'm happy with what has been written.

TD: This is a cliché question, but what is your favorite piece of advice to other writers?  Maybe, to make it less cliché, what is your favorite advice specifically for Wisconsin writers?

VH: I mean I think the advice is always the same, and it's a horrible cliché, and it doesn't matter where the hell you live in the world: you just gotta keep your butt in the chair.  I can tell you; I know people who are better writers than I am, people who are much more talented than I am, but do they sit down and get the work done? No. Because it takes time, it takes a year to write a book.  I mean, I'm not exaggerating. There are people who are very talented, but they just resist putting in the time.  Keep your butt in the chair.

TD: Your website lists some of your favorite literature and film.  What are you reading and watching right now?

VH: Right now I'm rereading a Scandinavian series called the Martin Beck series. There are ten books in the series, and it's written by a couple, (Maj) Sjöwall and (Per) Wahlöö. Both of them have since died, but they really set the standard for Scandinavian mysteries. My other really go-to writer, for just sheer enjoyment, is Ross Thomas. Very, very good writer. Great characters, just a pleasure to read. Right now, because I'm working on a book, I won't read any contemporary mysteries. I don't want to have something accidentally in my head.

I just finished a great series called Bad Sisters on Apple, that was fun. I'm watching an excellent sci-fi show, For All Mankind.  I have a son who is an Emmy award-winning comedy writer, he recommended it and said the second and third seasons are the best. Well, the first season is great; I don't know how it will get any better. I watch Borgen on Netflix, that's a Danish government drama.

TD: Any last pieces of advice?

VH: Okay, so here's my advice for anyone who is interested in entering the world of mystery fiction.  Get out there and do some magazine, newspaper, or online writing.  Investigative work.  Also consider seriously work in public relations and advertising.  The reason I say public relations and advertising is that they teach you how to put a lot of information in very few words.  Being concise is key.

Victoria Houston will present at the Chippewa Falls Public Library on November 10th at 7 pm.  For more information, visit the library website.

A Fond Farewell To The Priory Writers Retreat, and Reflecting on the Good Times

By Grace Schutte

This past June, writers from across Wisconsin gathered at UW-Eau Claire’s Priory Hall for three days of writing, bookish camaraderie, and creative inspiration. Nobody knew it would be their last retreat at the property. But sadly, that has become the reality as the property will no longer be available for rental. In its place, the Guild is excited to begin hosting an array of new retreat models, starting with the 12-Hour Writers Retreat (with sign-ups opening November 1).

While we’ll miss the good times at The Priory, there’s much to celebrate, too. Just ask last year’s attendees.

“I always learn something new about myself and my own writing.” ”

— Scout Roux

“I’ve attended Priory twice,” Scout Roux said. “I always learn something new about craft, thanks to the wide variety of writers-in-residence who have attended over the years. I always meet a bunch of new people I instantly love, whose work I’ll anticipate and support for years to come. I always learn something new about myself and my own writing.”

The second year of the Priory Retreat featured four authors — or writers-in-residence as we dubbed them — one swanky, published professional for each of the four genres covered during the retreat: Nickolas Butler was on for fiction, Nicole Kronzer for young adult, Angela Trudell-Vazquez for poetry, and Barrett Swanson for nonfiction and memoir.

Daily, one of the writers-in-residence would fill an hour by reading excerpts from their works, discussing craft, and fielding questions from attentive retreat-goers. On top of that, attendees could meet one-on-one with the writers-in-residence for a close and personal look at their work, sometimes looking at fresh content written during the retreat itself.

“The writers-in-residence opportunity to interact was awesome,” Nancy Kolb said. “Nicole Kronzer reviewed my writing and I really enjoyed her comments. I learned lots from her.”

Priory Hall is tucked in the woods, away from the hustle and bustle of Eau Claire and writers had a wealth of serene nooks where they could write undisturbed for as long as their pen ink and computer batteries would allow. Looking back on those four days of dedicated writing time nearly five months later, writers long for that committed writing time once again.

2022 Crew

As it stands, most Priory Retreat folk are passionate writers by night and pass their days at office jobs, shepherding their children and grandkids from school to soccer practice and by attending university. Despite the hodgepodge group, all were united by their shared passion for the written word.

““Writing can feel very lonely at times, having a place to meet like this was very helpful for me. Especially so since the pandemic began.” ”

— Melissa Bergum

“Writing can feel very lonely at times,” Melissa Bergum said, “having a place to meet like this was very helpful for me. Especially so since the pandemic began.”

In light of the isolated nature of writing, it was important to host open mics at the end of the day for those who wished to share their works — either pieces from before or what they’d been scribbling away at out on the veranda.

Roux’s favorite memory from the retreat came from one of the open mics. It was June 24, when the Supreme Court declared the overturning of Roe v. Wade. They described a certain shadow hovering over the Priory after the news broke.

However, a kind of light pierced through during that night’s open mic when one of us shared a poem she had written earlier that day, a product of the news.

“It was heartfelt and sad and true,” Roux said. “The poet (and several of us in the audience) cried when she read it. When she went, still trembling, to sit back down, she was immediately surrounded by outstretched hands and kind words and ‘thank you’s. That’s my favorite memory.”

Roux said the moment encapsulated the function of art: How we, as creatives, use art to make sense of the world, to communicate the incommunicable, and to feel less alone.

Even when not in the face of serious national news, writing, and the community, the Priory Retreat fosters more than bringing people together for three brief days.

““I learned there are so many creative people like me out there who love to write. I also learned to Keep on Keeping On!” ”

— Nancy Kolb

“I learned there are so many creative people like me out there who love to write,” Kolb said. “I also learned to Keep on Keeping On!”

While lasting friendships were made at the retreat, for some, the Priory Retreat became a great place to network, with phone numbers and emails being exchanged alongside offers to read future drafts.

“It was at the retreat that a fellow writer put the Hamline MFA program on my radar,” Hastings said. “I was not considering a Graduate Program in writing as anything I was interested in at all but I looked further into the program and applied this Fall and have been accepted to attend starting in January.”

But, regardless of whether writers left with a pipin’ hot manuscript ready for submission, or ideas for where to take the next chapter — the goal of the Priory Retreat was to grow as writers and grant those in the Wisconsin area the chance to do so alongside friends.

“I think the main way Priory has helped me grow as a writer is to give me the permission — the confidence — to prioritize writing in my life when I leave the retreat,” Roux said. “It has taught me, too, time and again, the importance of engaging with the work of those in my community — especially the unpublished, the part-timers, the old-timers, the just-getting-starteds. It taught me that anyone can be a writer so long as they keep writing (and maybe me, too!) I will always, always be grateful for that.”

As am I. Helping out around the Priory Retreat was one of my first official projects as an intern for the Chippewa Valley Writers Guild. It was a wonderful way to kick off my time at an organization that prioritizes this kind of community — one that is so earnest and committed to its residents.

CVWG intern and Priory assistant Gracie Schutte

I met many friends, heard many wonderful stories, and grew as a writer, too—despite that my main duty there was to ensure everyone’s room keys were working, and that the daily schedule was updated, and to answer any questions along the way.

This retreat was a first for me. Never had I immersed myself in a community such as this for so long — I can feel its magic working away inside me still, even five months later.

“[The Priory Retreat] taught (and continues to teach) me that community is an essential part of being the writer I want to be,” Roux said.

For more CVWG related events, check out our website.

Write. Retreat. Repeat: Chippewa Valley Writers Guild Offers New 12-Hour Writers Retreat for Local Literary Enthusiasts

Hold on to your pens, papers, and keyboards—the Chippewa Valley Writers Guild is preparing an exciting, brand-new event for the writers of all levels in the Chippewa Valley and beyond! Come one, come all to the 12-Hour Writers Retreat! Join the Writers Guild at Forage, an event venue in downtown Eau Claire, from 9 am-9 pm on Saturday, Jan. 14, for a day filled with fun, food, fellowship, and of course, writing.

“The event offers the chance to network and connect with fellow writers, ample time to chip away on a long festering writing project,  or the chance to start something new! ”

Registration, available here, opens on Nov. 1 for one of the 20 spots available. The event offers the chance to network and connect with fellow writers, ample time to chip away on a long festering writing project,  or the chance to start something new!  Those who need some help getting started are welcome to follow the writing prompts provided by the event’s host. For the finale, writers will be given the opportunity to present their writing to the public in a fun-filled performance. It will be a day for any and all kinds of writing. Lunch, snacks, and dinner will also be provided!

“The purpose is to create the conditions for writers of all levels to thrive,” said Professor BJ Hollars, director of the Writers Guild and host for the event. “Our daily life provides so many distractions; a writers' retreat is the chance for us to push those distractions to the back-burner so that our creative work can receive the time and attention it deserves.”

In tandem with the Writers Guild and Forage, the Wisconsin Writers Association is also sponsoring the 12-hour retreat. The idea for the retreat began when the Writers Guild, unfortunately, had to say goodbye to their annual 3-day writers retreat at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire’s the Priory.

“While we loved our three-day retreats (and are certainly envisioning future retreats of that length), it occurred to us that we could use this as an opportunity to better support those writers who can't sneak away for quite so long,” said Hollars. “We decided to experiment with a one-day ‘12-hour retreat’. It's enough time to do some real work, but it's not so long that it will take up a full weekend or break the bank. We hope it'll appeal to locals and people within a three-hour radius.”

The 12-Hour Writers Retreat is especially exciting for the venue it will be taking place at, Forage on 403 S Barstow St. in Eau Claire, WI. The business offers private and public rentals for its space for birthdays, baby showers, wine tastings, holiday parties, open-mic nights, and now writers retreats! An event venue for anything and everything for local community members, Forage is the perfect place to host a literary gathering.

Lydia Park, Event Manager for Forage, described the community venue as “a welcoming and inclusive space, that’s nonjudgmental, very open minded, willing to work with you if you have a dream event that you want to make happen, and provides fun, enjoyable experience for whoever wants to come.” You can contact Park at events@forageeauclaire.com to learn about booking the space for your event.

Park is excited to be working with the Writers Guild by providing a space to create a community for neighborly writers in the surrounding Chippewa Valley. “It’s a very versatile space that offers so many different price points and so many different opportunities to experience what we have here as a community,” she said. “[And] a writers retreat seems to be very specified. So [it’s] geared toward people who want to improve their writing or get something out of that retreat related to writing, or even just build that community, finding folks that are like-minded and wanting to take their writing to the next level.”

To participate in this new and innovative event, a registration fee of $65 is required. Included in this price is delicious coffee from SHIFT Cyclery and Coffee Bar, lunch from the French Press, and dinner from Chef Michelle Thiede. Click here for the daily schedule.

“Some participants will surely be well-published; others may be preparing for their first public reading ever. We’ve got room for both, and in fact, prefer both. Everyone has something to offer. We hope that we, too, have something to offer everyone.”

— BJ Hollars

“The CVWG is somewhat unique in that you needn't be the ‘best’ writer to feel at home here,” said Hollars. “We pride ourselves in creating a supportive and inclusive space for all writers of all levels and genres. Some participants will surely be well-published; others may be preparing for their first public reading ever. We've got room for both, and in fact, prefer both. Everyone has something to offer. We hope that we, too, have something to offer everyone.”

This is the place for a writer to feel connected to their community and get some hard work done in an enjoyable, comfortable environment.

“I hope people leave our retreat feeling rejuvenated, inspired, and proud of their work,” said Hollars. “Writing isn't easy, but it's a little easier with 20 of your new best friends.”

To learn more about the 12-Hour Writers Retreat and registration, click here.

Carlee’s Top 5 Hangout Spaces at The L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library

Carlee Shimek

If the steady influx of folks entering the newly renovated L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library at 9am on a Saturday is any indication, Eau Claire’s residents are ecstatic to have the library back up and running for business. After an extensive sixteen-month renovation, the downtown community space officially re-opened to the public at the end of September. We thought it’d be fun to share some of the cozy spots for reading (or even napping!) that I investigated throughout the building’s upgraded layout. Read on for Carlee’s Top 5 Hangout spaces!

---

#1 Atkins and Shea Teen Lounge

Teens and tweens, this one’s just for you! This neat little rectangular space on the first floor provides privacy on cool cushions to study, hang with friends, or peruse the latest YA bestseller. The soft blue color tones exude a sense of tranquility.

---

#2: Jay and Rose Phillips Family Foundation Tween Lounge

This open-air spot, nicknamed “The Lookout”, is on the first floor right next to the children’s play area. This space is available to adults who are accompanying minors, with a combination of tables for laptop work or uniquely structured chairs for lounging, as the space’s title encourages one to do so. It also has computers available for those who may need a better bandwidth than what the house offers. The view of outside will look glorious in all seasons, from the spring buds to winter snow.

---

#3: Front Door Lounge Space

To the very right of the front door lies a not-hidden gem. This is the perfect spot for groups of people who want to hang in an environment quieter than say a cafe. The view of the front of the building from the windows and the rest of the first floor allows for casual people-watching, if you enjoy such a hobby. It has a multitude of seating, from singular chairs to tabletops to elongated benches.

---

#4: Second Floor Viewing Lounge

This space didn’t have a name, so I made one up. The view comes from the lovely site of its windows that catch a glance of the river cutting underneath the streets of Barstow, Farwell, and Dewey. This space is certainly quieter and possesses a vibe of independence, being on the second floor. It lies nestled behind the Large Print and Graphic Novels sections of the second floor.

---

#5: Children’s Cave

Okay, yes, by its name and the fact that it’s right next to the children’s books, this was built for the kiddos to enjoy. But I couldn’t help putting it on this list, it looks too comfortable. I could curl up here for hours and forget about my problems easy-peasy. So if you want to crawl into that cave and not care if youngsters look on indignantly, you do you. If you have a bad back, however, I would refrain for safety reasons. The grass-green bench attached to the cave looks just as cool. We should petition the library to incorporate more of these so there’s more of them to share.

---

These were my admittedly biased top picks, but that doesn’t mean the library has no other hidden gems for all folks, if these five don’t pique your interest. The library’s third floor includes a beautiful art gallery with benches and even an outdoor patio, though it probably won’t get much use until spring comes next year. Right outside the front doors of the building are more outdoor tables to soak in the skin-tanning rays while reading, at least for when the sun comes back full-throttle. The basement also has its own hangout chairs and coffee tables, for those who enjoy the groundhog-feeling of being underground.

Along with relaxing spaces for lounging, as an individual or a group, the library has wonderful, additional amenities. They have printing services, computer-access areas, children recreational activities and rooms, private meeting/study rooms, conference rooms for events, and even a “Library of Things” where you can rent out objects like tools, sporting equipment, and cooking utensils just like you would a book.

There’s truly something for everyone at this innovative, updated community space. Come explore the maze of books and more at the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library.

Barstow & Grand Comes Of Age: Celebrating 6 Issues!

Thomas DeLapp

Fresh-faced from a day of teaching and the latest round of journal-proofreading, Eric Rasmussen dropped into a chair at SHIFT with a kombucha and a smile.  The editor and founder of Barstow & Grand, now six years deep into publication, is looking forward to the release of the sixth edition this November.  This year, things have gotten a little bit easier.

“It’s the passage of time, you know,” Rasmussen said. “Hey, we’ve been doing this for a while.  It feels like there’s a little less pressure than in the past.” 

Founded in 2016 to establish a local, community journal for Chippewa Valley writers, Barstow & Grand has had to change with the time — expanding to a more general “upper Midwest” audience in 2020 — but still maintains its hometown roots and support. 

This year, the book release will again be at Lazy Monk Brewery on November 16th.  Mark your calendars! As always, the release will feature time for contributors to read their piece, talk about their process, or just use the open floor.  Literature and camaraderie will abound.

2016, Rasmussen said, was a sort of watershed moment for the Valley’s writing community.  The founding of the Chippewa Valley Writers Guild and Barstow & Grand brought together Eau Claire’s writers in ways they hadn’t been connected before.

“Eau Claire has always been a rich literary place, but now we are all more aware of each other and more comfortable interacting,” Rasmussen said. 

Barstow & Grand has held a unique position as a hometown journal that allows it to be both personal and accessible.  The expansion to the “upper Midwest” was born out of necessity, Rasmussen said, but has worked out excellently. 

“The writing world is ultimately pretty small, so there’s usually those six degrees of separation back to Eau Claire,” he said.
That expansion helped to bring many new voices into the Chippewa Valley alongside those already established community writers — which Rasmussen said has both perks and drawbacks.

“My goal has always been to support this writing community, give them those stepping stones. On the other side of the coin, it’s kinda terrifying to be the person that says yes and no to friends, contacts, former professors of mine.  But it’s a responsibility I take very seriously. ”

— Eric Rasmussen

“My goal has always been to support this writing community, give them those stepping stones,” he said.  “On the other side of the coin, it’s kinda terrifying to be the person that says yes and no to friends, contacts, former professors of mine.  But it’s a responsibility I take very seriously.” 

Elizabeth de Cleyre

credit: Alexandra Mae

Luckily, Rasmussen isn’t the only one on the Barstow & Grand team — and they are welcoming some new members this issue: new prose editor, Elizabeth de Cleyre, and prose reader, Scout Roux.

de Cleyre, besides being a well-established writer and editor, is also the co-founder of Dotter’s Books in Eau Claire.  Roux is Barstow & Grand’s first non-local staffer ­— a Madison based writer who is fiction editor for Nightingale and Sparrow Magazine.

“Elizabeth is a writer and editor at a level that’s just way above us, so that she is willing to work with us is just great,” Rasmussen said. “She’s infused the journal with such an energy.  And we are so happy to have Scout on board — they’re helping us spread out a little bit, fulfilling that ‘upper Midwest’ coverage instead of just local people.”

For her first issue, de Cleyre also contributed the issue’s editor’s note, which reflected on the newly remodeled of the L.E. Phillips Memorial Library and the vitality of such spaces.  She and Rasmussen agree: the library has long been a cornerstone of Eau Claire’s literary community and character.  The remodeling gives them hope for a future full of writing, literature, and conversation.

The library is also, directly, a supporter of Barstow & Grand, and will contribute sound equipment for the book release event on November 16th. 

The Chippewa Valley literary community is largely made up of those whose first profession isn’t writing.  Balancing writing, then, with other responsibilities isn’t the easiest thing to do — which Rasmussen knows well.  However, there are some parallels between teaching high school English and running a literary journal.

A significant percentage of high school teaching is trying to get kids excited about the process, he said.  Until they have investment in the material and process, nothing will get done — which is similar to interest in literary journals.  It’s hard to keep writing, keep submitting, keep reading.

So how does Rasmussen: teacher, writer, and double editor (he is also fiction editor at Sundog Lit) keep everything balanced?

“People ask that question a lot, and I’ve tried a lot of different answers,” he said.  “Bottom line, the people who have a passion just figure it out.  Someone who loves to garden, they just figure out how to garden, they don’t sit around and lament that they don’t have time for gardening.  You do what you love, and you figure out how to do it.  My formula wouldn’t work for anyone else anyways.”

One thing that keeps him going, year after year, is being able to spend extra time with the pieces in the journal.  Often, he said, the initial read through of literature isn’t where you find what is impressive.  It’s in rereading and reflection that the meaning and value of pieces are revealed. 

On the other side, Rasmussen knows the struggles of submitting — he is a writer too, after all.  Part of the process is getting pieces accepted, but most of the time: rejection.  He even wrote a blog post about his 100th rejection in 2016.  So even when writers are rejected from Barstow & Grand, Rasmussen wants them to keep submitting even more. 

““If I could visit each local author to say, ‘thanks for your submission, please submit again,’ I would do it.””

— Eric Rasmussen

“If I could visit each local author to say, ‘thanks for your submission, please submit again,’ I would do it,” he said. “I don’t want anyone in the community to stop submitting because we didn’t take a piece or because we’re not the right home for them. I want to remain as welcoming as possible, and make sure to avoid any illusion that we are too good for you or your writing, or not welcoming of writers that write what you write.”

So, writers: keep writing and submitting.  Eric Rasmussen said you have to.  After six years of Barstow & Grand, one of the biggest things he’s learned was just how important the personality and connection the Chippewa Valley literary community are.

“I have learned, lately, that anything impressive takes a long time to get established,” Rasmussen said. “I’m confident there will always be literary folks around town trying different projects and doing what excites them.  If this was a business, and I needed to feed my family, I’d be worried about how we evolve.  But that’s not what we are.  This is a passion project, and we’ll do it this way until it doesn’t make sense.”

The 6th issue of Barstow & Grand will be released on November 16th at Lazy Monk Brewery.  For more information, visit the Barstow & Grand website. 

Get Ready for Five Days of Literary Events with the Chippewa Valley Book Festival!

Grace Schutte

When asked about the staples of fall and autumn’s most iconic characteristics, the general population resorts to the usual: the changing leaves, the shorter days, the air’s crisp stinging of toes (and biting of noses); however, folks in the Chippewa Valley know that list is incomplete without the Chippewa Valley Book Festival.

That’s right, folks, the Book Festival is back for their 23rd year with events slated to start up Oct. 20. Get your pumpkin spice lattes ready and sit back for five days of literary goodness.

The festival will host several authors—both regional and from across the nation—to read their works, chat about their craft and the importance of their works, all in the autumnal glory of Eau Claire and Chippewa Valley.

A Mini-Interview with Madison Poet Laureate Angie Trudell Vasquez

Angie Trudell Vasquez, the City of Madison Poet Laureate, is one of those authors who will be presenting at the festival, alongside Dorothy Chan, a fellow poet and professor at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.

Trudell Vasquez has been writing poetry since she was seven years old and has since then earned an MFA in poetry at the Institute of American Indian Arts. Her works have gone on to be published in several journals and a number of them are even listed on the Poetry Foundation’s website.  

“Poetry helped me define myself on the page when I was a young person growing up...”

— Angie Trudell Vasquez

“Poetry helped me define myself on the page when I was a young person growing up in Iowa,” Trudell Vasquez said. “As an adult it has made my life so rich and full. I am fortunate to have had these experiences I have had as a writer and to make connections across the United States.”

Her latest poetry collection, My People Redux, came out earlier this year and covers topics she has yet to share with the world. As a proud activist and long-time environmentalist, Trudell Vasquez discusses our human connection with nature, and how she is concerned about the earth and all its inhabitants.

“There’s a line in the poem, ‘My People Redux,’ ‘My people, forgot they rose from the earth,’” Trudell Vasquez said. “I am not just talking about my family, I am trying to say something about those of us who live in the world right now and do not realize we too are nature.”

She hopes audience members will leave the event feeling lighter, connected, and more aware of how precious their life and time on earth is, that they should do the best they can with the time they have left.

Through conversations like these and events like the Book Festival, Trudell Vasquez believes we can become better connected with not only each other, but with the world, too. Reading, writing, and conversations about them help close the distances between people and aid us in understanding the world around us.

“I am most happy when discussing poetry with poets,” Trudell Vasquez said.

The same goes for us! Join in on Chan and Trudell Vasquez’s poetry exchange and conversation from 7:30 to 8:45 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 21 at the Unitarian Universalist. No pre-registration required.

---

Grace’s Top Three Book Fest Events Picks

While all the events are going to be a most wonderful and educational time, there are a few that have piqued my interest, ones where you’ll be able to find me scribbling down notes madly in my notebook.

Should you come to any of these, find me after and we can discuss—that’s what these things are all about, after all.

Reclaiming Our Stories with Nadia Owusu

The virtual event will be held from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 20 and audience members must register before the event to attend.

Owusu will be presenting on her memoir Aftershocks, a genre-bending piece that explores identity and trauma through cultural history, according to the omnipotent Goodreads.

Those in attendance can expect to learn we harbor more stories in ourselves than we thought, and that power can be claimed when we acknowledge and tell them. Register here for the event.

America’s Narrative Breakdown with Barrett Swanson

Join us in the new Riverview Room at the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library from 2:15 to 3:15 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 22, for a journey on how the last ten years have affected communities around the United States in their hunt for life’s meaning in the rumerroll that was—and is—the 2010s.

Swanson is no stranger to the literary escapades happening in and around Eau Claire, having served as one of our Writers in Residence at the Chippewa Valley Writers Guild’s very own Priory Retreat.

There I met the Lost in Summerland essayist and heard all his wisdom and swanky jargon on the obligation we, as writers, have to readers, and how we are not so different as these titles may lead us to believe.  

A writer wise beyond his years, get ready for sage wisdom and a breakdown of the political, emotional, and psychological state of our nation.

Better than Paradise with Kawai Strong Washburn

From 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 24, Kawai Strong Washburn will take us into the topsy turvy realm that can be magical realism and the world of fiction.

Sharks in the Time of Saviors is a national favorite (if The New York Times and former President Barack Obama liked it, it’s got to be good, right?), having risen to national stardom since its release in 2020.

I am particularly excited for this event because of both the craft element—exploring this next level of fiction writing—but also to hear Washburn transform history, the history of Hawaii, in a way that shapes the way we understand it.

I would be remiss to say fall in Eau Claire is my favorite season solely because of the chai tea lattes, sweaters, and good views—the Chippewa Valley Book Festival is a must. Bring your notebooks, a pen, an open mind, and get ready for a wonderful bookish time.

History and Fiction Coalesce: Phong Nguyen Brings Ancient Warrior Sisters To Life in His Latest Novel, Bronze Drum

Carlee Shimek

Within the mind of Phong Nguyen lies an adventurous true telling of the ancient Trung sisters of Vietnam, who rebelled against the Chinese occupation of their home in the first century AD. Spanning years of research and writing, Nguyen seamlessly combines fiction and nonfiction in his latest novel Bronze Drum. Hailed as “a riveting bildungsroman about Trung Trac and Trung Nhi,” by NPR, the book’s “nuanced yet visceral reimagining of the sisters’ trajectory fully captures the shifting nature of war and peace, life and death, feminine and masculine.” Released in August, this historical fiction novel is based on the true events involving a pair of warrior sisters whose memory lives on in modern Vietnam as symbols of patriotism, feminism, and bravery.

In a recent interview with the Guild, Nguyen shared that he’d wanted to write about the Trung sisters, Trung Trac and Trung Nhi, for years. Now, he’s sharing their story. Join the Chippewa Valley Writers Guild at 6 pm on Monday, Oct. 10, at the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library for the chance to meet Nguyen and learn about Bronze Drum. Read below to get a sneak peek into the author's mind before the upcoming event this Monday. 

Carlee Shimek: The Trung sisters, the protagonists of your book, are iconized in Vietnam as national heroines and hallmarks of Vietnamese independence and culture. What was your inspiration for writing such a book about them?

Phong Nguyen: Their story always appealed to me ever since I was young, and I have always wanted to read books and stories about the Trung Sisters, but there weren't any written or published in English when I was growing up, so it became clear to me that if I wanted to read them, that I would have to write them myself. It took me many years to feel up to the task of writing such a big-canvas story as this, so even though this is my fifth book, it has been on my radar for decades.

CS: The book’s genre is classified as historical fiction, but the Trung sisters were real figures in Vietnamese history. Which aspects of the story remain true, and which aspects were fictionalized?

PN: To properly answer this question would take very long-- perhaps another book in itself!-- but the short answer is that the Trung Sisters and their family members (Trung Trac, Trung Nhi, Lord Trung, Lady Man Thien, Thi Sach) as well as those who participate in the battles (Phung Thi Chinh, Phat Nguyet, and the rest of the thirty-six generals; as well as, on the other side, Governor To Dinh and General Ma Yuan) are all historical; other characters such as Kha, Duy, Phan Minh, Mai, and Wan Fu are all invented. Importantly, the tiger-hunting scene is historical; as is the episode of Phung Thi Chinh giving birth on the battlefield and continuing to fight.

CS: What kind of research did you have to do for this book, and how did you go about meshing together fictional aspects and nonfictional ones?

PN: Most of my research on this episode of history came from three books that pertain to the ancient history of what is now known as Viet Nam. I struck up a correspondence with the author of one of those books, named Nam C. Kim, and worked with him extensively on building up a base of knowledge about this period. Beyond that, I have several documents in Vietnamese translated into English, and of course I worked from sources that included individual chapters on the Trung Sisters. As far as meshing it together with fiction, that was the task before me over the span of about 4-5 years, in which I tried to balance the mythic dimension of the story with a kind of contemporary psychological realism. I had to choose many times between the contemporaneous historical Chinese account and the national myth of Vietnam, so adding a fictional dimension felt like just making another narrative choice except instead of choosing between history and myth, I was choosing invention.

CS: The story is about fighting for and taking pride in one’s country and home. Besides this, what do you hope people experience from your book? How do you hope they feel or react after they read it?

“One thing I hope that people take away from the story is that the power of women is not new, nor is it an invention of the Western progressive tradition. It is deeply ingrained in civilizations around the world”

— Phong Nguyen

PN: One thing I hope that people take away from the story is that the power of women is not new, nor is it an invention of the Western progressive tradition. It is deeply ingrained in civilizations around the world, but especially in the ancient history of Viet Nam. I would hope that readers come away from reading the book inspired, or at the very least with a greater acceptance of women leaders and leadership.

CS: You’ve written many genres, from historical and experimental fiction to alternate history to dirty realism. What is your purpose for writing such multifaceted and versatile stories?

PN: In order for me to get excited about a new book project, it needs to be a departure from everything else I've done. If it's not a departure, it feels stagnant. When it represents an exciting new direction, then I find it easier to throw myself full-body into the next project and focus on it exclusively. I also enjoy writers, like Italo Calvino, for whom every book is a different sort of adventure; so that is the kind of writer that I aspire to be.

CS: You’ll be at Eau Claire’s L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library this Monday, Oct. 10, at 6pm for an author reading and conversation. What do you hope to discuss or share with the people coming? What do you hope to accomplish with the event?

PN: I hope to entertain and even inspire people. But more importantly, I hope to share this journey with like-minded people who take an interest in history, literature, or storytelling in general. I'm open to discussing any questions about the book, or writing fiction, or the writer's life. I live for this stuff!

CS: What advice do you have for anyone wishing to write historical fiction like the Bronze Drum?

PN: Know yourself. Stay curious. In your dark moments of doubt, just remember what a blessing and a gift it is to be sentient and literate-- to be capable of this strange striving to create literary art.

Click here for more information on Nguyen’s reading and presentation at the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library at 6pm, Monday, Oct. 10. Books will be available for purchase.

Touchdowns, Homeruns, and a Good Book: Joe Niese on Sports Writing and New Book, Gridiron Grit

Thomas DeLapp

Joe Niese isn’t your stereotypical librarian.  When he finishes work as director of the Chippewa Falls Public Library, he goes home to write about sports.

An avid sports fan since childhood (something his older brother instilled in him), Niese collides his love of reading and learning with his passion for sports.

“I made my transition off the field and into writing in the early 2000s,” Niese shared. “My first article was in 2007, about a baseball player from the area, and I stumbled into books from there.”

Since then, he’s become a reliable sports biographer, writing nonfiction books like Zack Wheat: The Life of the Dodgers Hall of Famer and Gus Dorais: Gridiron Innovator, All-American, and Hall of Fame Coach.  

Niese’s most recent touchdown book, though, was a bit different. Gridiron Grit is a fiction, middle-grade chapter book about a young footballer who struggles when he finds he is no longer the star player.

“It was quite a left turn” from nonfiction biography to middle-grade fiction, Niese said. “As my kids were reading more, I saw what they were reading, and as a librarian with books as part of my daily life, I wanted to try something different.”

Such a left turn, in fact, that the book, published by Jolly Fish Press, was published under a pseudonym: J.N. Kelly, to mark the divide between his nonfiction and fiction work.

““You know, in nonfiction, you’re relying on sources, but in fiction, it all comes from your head.  It’s much more vulnerable, especially because I’m just beginning.””

— Joe Niese

“You know, in nonfiction, you’re relying on sources, but in fiction, it all comes from your head,” Niese said.  “It’s much more vulnerable, especially because I’m just beginning.”

Gridiron Grit is part of a series by Jolly Fish called “In the Clutch,” where readers are tossed into a “do-or-die moment” in sports before flashing back to show the young athlete’s journey to that pivotal, game-changing play.

The stresses of a ticking clock in a tense game weren’t lost on Niese: given six weeks to produce the 5000-word book, he said it was a real test of his writing — “every word counts.”

Niese knows that persistence is key.  Over 15 years ago, he started working on and off on his first fiction book, another middle-grade novel about baseball.  Now, after Gridiron Grit, his second novel will be published in the spring.  Niese is happy to share that Eva Paulus — a local young artist known for her work on Volume One’s “The Rear End” with her dad, Mike — will be designing the cover art. 

“It’s great to work with her.  Honestly, sometimes I wonder who is hanging on to whose coattails,” Niese said, laughing.

Writing about sports, he said, is not just important for him — a librarian at heart, Niese wrote Gridiron Grit for the reluctant young reader; a sports lover that hasn’t yet found something that grabs them. 

“You gotta find those books that interest you, and they will take you elsewhere,” he said. “You can read about sports all the time, but maybe something will stick and that leads you to read something else.”

His advice rings true for readers of any age.

“You have to read what you enjoy,” Niese said.  “I just hope this is a book that a reluctant reader can pick up and blossom into their joy of reading.”

Gridiron Grit, other books, and more information about Niese can be found at joeniese.com

A New NOTA: A Discussion With the Newest Editors for None Of The Above

Carlee Shimek

Say hello to UW-Eau Claire’s newest literary team for NOTA. Last spring semester, the three literary editors of None Of The Above graduated and had to say goodbye to the student-run literary magazine they’d fostered. Thankfully, three current students took up the mantle, all of whom we’ll learn about today.

Meet Editor-in-Chief Emma Friend, a junior majoring in Integrated Strategic Communications with a focus in Public Relations and a minor in Creative Writing. Learning about NOTA while being a writing tutor in the Center for Writing Excellence and beginning her NOTA career as the assistant prose editor, Friend had the experience necessary to take on this leadership role.

“I think it’s good to have a place that’s free of a rubric.”

— Emma Friend

“I really love that NOTA is a space to be creative on campus without doing it for a professor,” Friend said when asked about why she wanted to be involved in NOTA. “I think a lot of us [are] doing a lot of creating for our professors because that’s all we have time for. But I think NOTA is like an excuse to write something that isn’t for your professors. I think it’s good to have a place that’s free of a rubric.”

Friend also talked about ideas to contribute to this new NOTA year, such as bringing back pocket NOTAs (a mini-book featuring prose), creating submissions for themed pieces, and other collaboration projects. Hopefully, this new team will make their great ideas for NOTA come to fruition. She also mentioned a new faculty advisor joining the team this year.

“I’m really excited about Dr. Chan joining us this year. She’s now co-advising with BJ Hollars. She just has so much experience and knowledge that I think is really going to enrich the magazine in a great way.”

Next up, there is newly minted Prose Editor, Mckenzie Minter, a fourth-year Critical Studies major and Creative Writing certificate. Wanting to be involved in the English opportunities on campus, Minter sounds like the perfect person for this job.

“I’m looking forward to reading a lot of the other work that people submit this semester and next semester,” she said. “I think it’s going to be exciting to see the process and the work that goes into actually creating the book.”

Minter has the dedication and appreciation of literature necessary to take on a leadership role in NOTA. She’s expressed her excitement for the selection committee meeting later this semester and what writers and readers can gain from NOTA.

“For those who are submitting, I hope they’re able to produce a piece of work they’re proud of and be proud of themselves for getting published,” she said. “And I hope for those that are reading, they’re able to connect to at least one of the prose pieces or poems or art submissions. I hope that people are just proud of the work that they put into it and can see the hard work that people put in to producing [it].”

Minter also proposed incorporating hybrid art in NOTA, where prose or poetry is combined with a visual art piece.

Last but certainly not least, meet the new Poetry Editor, Claire Bradley. She’s a senior with a Creative Writing Major. An aspiring future publishing editor, Bradley is quite excited to experience the ins and outs of publishing and formatting a literary magazine, as are the above-mentioned editors. Bradley highlighted the creative environment NOTA provides students and her desire to grow that community.

“I would like more people to find out about NOTA,” she said. “So I’d love to help get word out there, get more people to do open reads, and try to encourage people to submit work, even if they’re kind of on edge. I think just getting that experience would be really nice for a lot of creative students on campus.”

It will be exciting to see how NOTA evolves with three new editors at the wheel. All expressed excitement in learning about the process it takes to publish creative magazines and the amazing contribution and opportunities NOTA provides its students. Based on their love of literature and appreciation for this organization, they will achieve great things.

NOTA’s next open read is Oct. 18, which takes place at 7:30 PM in The Cabin in UWEC’s Davies Center. Additionally, submissions are open for UWEC students until Oct. 6. Students can send up to five unpublished poetry pieces, up to three unpublished prose pieces (1,500 words or less), and  They encourage writers of all styles and stories to submit their prose, poetry, art, and even music. Send submissions or any questions you may have to ENGL72@uwec.edu or ENGL64@uwec.edu. The editors are excited and ready to read the amazing work students create.

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.