Vintage Typewriter Advertising
I love the art that went into vintage typewriter ads. Here are some nice examples:
“Creative Journalism” – An 8-week Introduction to the Genre
Beginning on October 8, 2013, I will be teaching a night course called “Creative Journalism” which is part of the Creative Writing Program in the Continuing Education division at the University of Toronto. It’s an 8-week introduction to the genre of creative nonfiction/literary journalism that is meant to answer a basic question: “how does creative journalism differ from the […]
“Next Wave: America’s New Generation of Great Literary Journalists”
“The ocean at night is a terrible dream. There is nothing beyond the water except the profound discouragement of the sky, every black wave another singular misfortune. Walt Marino has been floating on his back for hours, the ocean on his skin, his mouth, soaking the curls of his graying hair…” Whew. Those are the […]
Advanced Feature Writing for Fall 2013
My Advanced Feature Writing night course is scheduled to run this fall, beginning Thursday, Sept. 12. The focus is on “literary journalism,” which translates into long-form nonfiction using techniques borrowed from novelists to tell the story. I also emphasize developing ideas that have a high potential of being sold. Often half or more of the […]
Creative Nonfiction MFA Program
At the beginning of August, I’ll be going to Halifax to help launch the University of King’s College School of Journalism’s Master of Fine Arts in Creative Nonfiction. It’s offered jointly by Dalhousie’s Faculty of Graduate Studies and is the only Creative Nonfiction MFA degree offered in Canada. It’s a limited residency program so over […]
Miniature Typewriter Monkey Business I
I sometimes create scenes with items from my miniature typewriter collection and, in this case, my dollhouse desk & office chair. What has happened here? In a scene from a noir thriller, a pulp fiction writer, working late, was surprised by an intruder. A scuffle ensued. This is what police officers found: an overturned typewriter […]
Gay Talese, Fame and Obscurity
Every young writer finds a master to emulate, in the same way that aspiring young guitarists obsessively study Eric Clapton, Ry Cooder or The Edge. What you recognize is a style that feels compatible with what you think you can achieve. While at journalism school in the late ’70s, I liked Tom Wolfe and Hunter […]
Sylvia Plath’s Summer as a Guest Editor at Mademoiselle in New York
Sixty years ago this month, a 21-year-old Sylvia Plath started work at Mademoiselle magazine (at the time billed as a “quality magazine for smart young women”) as one of 20 junior guest editors assigned to the August college issue. In Andrew Wilson’s Mad Girl’s Love Song: Sylvia Plath and Life Before Ted, published earlier this year, Wilson writes that as […]
MagNet 2013: 3 Panels of Interest to Writers & Editors
I’ll be taking part in three panels at MagNet, Canada’s biggest professional development and networking conference for magazine professionals, next week. GOING FOR GOLD: HOW TO CREATE AWARD-WINNING CONTENT – Thursday, June 6, 2-3:15 p.m. http://magnet.magazinescanada.ca/sessions/?sessionInfo=ED5 – (Everyone wants to win awards. This session, with a panel of editors, art directors and writers — well, […]
The Sleek, Space-Age Hermes 3000
My friend and colleague, Lisa Bendall, a talented writer and editor, first typed on her dad’s Hermes 3000. (On her web site there is a sweet picture of her, at seven, using it: http://www.lisabendall.com/about_lisa.html.) Introduced in 1958 by the Swiss manufacturer, E. Paillard & Company, it soon had a reputation for being a reliable, durable and […]