A legendary fiddler passed away last week. Mr. Jim Brock of the small town of Aliceville, Alabama, was a much more influential figure than many who knew him casually probably realize. In recent years he had recorded a couple of CDs locally (Me and My Fiddle and The First 55 Years), but hadn’t been active onContinue reading “In Memoriam: Jim Brock”
Author Archives: Kendall Dunkelberg
Book Review: Gumbo Life by Ken Wells
Gumbo Life: Tales from the Roux Bayou by Ken Wells My rating: 4 of 5 stars I need to preface my review by saying that I’m a vegetarian. This book is more aimed at carnivores, and I’m sure Wells would find my vegetarian gumbo sacrilegious, though he proves to be an adventurous eater. And no,Continue reading “Book Review: Gumbo Life by Ken Wells”
Book Review: When you Learn the Alphabet by Kendra Allen
When You Learn the Alphabet by Kendra Allen My rating: 5 of 5 stars Kendra Allen’s essay collection When You Learn the Alphabet is an important collection of essays on race in America. Allen writes in several forms, ranging from memoir, to lyric essay, to poetry. What I admire most about these essays is Allen’sContinue reading “Book Review: When you Learn the Alphabet by Kendra Allen”
Book Review: Biloxi by Mary Miller
Biloxi by Mary Miller My rating: 5 of 5 stars Disclaimer: Mary Miller is my colleague in The W’s MFA program in Creative Writing. I’m a big fan of her work. Biloxi is a hilarious read, though it’s not laugh-out-lout funny, outlandish, or bawdy. Mary Miller’s humor, to my mind, consists more of taking wry,Continue reading “Book Review: Biloxi by Mary Miller”
Word Processors for Poets
Today’s my birthday, so my gift to you is a recommendation of free software. Poets get a bum rap for never having money (it’s true!), but that’s not why I’m recommending two free word processors today. And it’s not because poets are so anti-establishment we have to fight against Microsoft’s domination with alternatives to MSContinue reading “Word Processors for Poets”
Book Review: Heavy by Kiese Laymon
Heavy: An American Memoir by Kiese Laymon My rating: 5 of 5 stars Kiese Laymon’s memoir is an important book for our time and a great read! It is immediately more personal than many since he addresses each chapter to his mother. Understanding that relationship is the lens through which Laymon examines race, gender, sexuality,Continue reading “Book Review: Heavy by Kiese Laymon”
How to Prepare to Apply for an MFA Program, Part 2
So you’ve been writing, revising, reading magazines and books (as I suggested in Part 1 of this series), and you feel like you’re ready to start the application process. How can you navigate the difficult journey to an MFA? Fortunately, there are a lot of resources that can help you choose a program and figure outContinue reading “How to Prepare to Apply for an MFA Program, Part 2”
How to Prepare to Apply to an MFA Program, Part 1
Okay, so you want to apply for an MFA in Creative Writing, but you don’t know whether you’re good enough or where to start. You want to brush up on your writing and you want to put together the best application you possibly can. But how? In this post, I’ll try to give you someContinue reading “How to Prepare to Apply to an MFA Program, Part 1”
Meet Me at the Book Festival
One of the great developments for writers in recent years has been the inception of state-wide or regional book festivals across the country. Mississippi holds its @MSBookFest in August on the Capitol lawn, and I’ll be there next weekend, August 17, for the fifth year. My first time, I went as a volunteer. My second year,Continue reading “Meet Me at the Book Festival”
Learning from My Students
When I first started The W’s MFA in Creative Writing, I wrote in our Student Handbook (which I’ve been editing this summer) that the students are our colleagues, perhaps the teachers are a little further along in their writing careers (though not always older), but the students shouldn’t feel like they are any less becauseContinue reading “Learning from My Students”
Kendall Dunkelberg 