Contest!
hey all,
I have a reading coming up on Wednesday (more info below) and I would love it if you could make it. There's just one teeny problem, though.
I have NO IDEA what I'm going to write about to read.
Seriously, I've been so caught up in other crap that my mind is NOT coming up with any ideas. It should be memoir, it should be funny, and it should be universal. usually I'm pretty good about that stuff -- after all of my readings, people have come up to me and said, "Your story reminded me of the time when I..." and that's the greatest. But now... I have nothing. Absolutely nothing.
I'm sick of politics and I'm sure everyone else is, too, so that's out. I stay home mostly these days, so I have no new wild hijinks. And I used to be able to think of some rotten mishap from junior high that I could write about, but maybe I'm just too scarred and blanking out.
So... I have a contest for you. If you can think of something for me to write about and deliver on Wednesday night, and I use your topic, I will send you a present. A really fabulous present.
It can't be about sex (ew), drugs (done that) but rock'n'roll could have potential, even though I did that last time.
Like a life saver, throw it out there. Anything. I beg of you. And thank you.
And here's the information:
HELLO BAY AREA!
This month we’re mixing things up a bit with some delicious prose.
November’s writers are electric with humor, grace and pizzazz - just what you’ll
need to heat up these chilly autumn nights!
So, please come out and support these talented writers (and have a bowl of yummy
soup or a steaming cup of tea while you’re at it!)
Your Host,
Anh-Hoa Thi Nguyen
THE MIXING BOWL
LITERARY READING SERIES
The Word is Out: Oakland’s Emerging Writers Mix it Up!
“The Word is Out: Oakland’s Emerging Writers Mix it Up!” - a literary reading series
featuring some of Oakland’s most talented emerging writers. A mixture of poetry
and prose, this series includes a range of writers from Oakland’s diverse artist
communities and Bay Area Creative Writing programs. Come mix it up at The Mixing
Bowl Cafe and experience great food and contemporary works from Mills College, California
College of Art (CCA), Stanford University’s Stegner Program, Deep Oakland, Voices
of Our Nations (VONA) and more.
EVENT HIGHLIGHTS
WHEN: 2nd Wednesdays of the Month
TIME: 7 PM
WHERE: The Mixing Bowl Cafe,
4920 Telegraph Avenue, Oakland, CA 94609
READERS: Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Melanie Hilario is a freelance writer, editor, and writing coach. Constantly on
multiple projects at once, she feels sort of like the Samuel L. Jackson of the writing
world. Mel loves her dog Gogo, kung fu, grammar, and the city of Oakland. Her novel
misses her terribly, but they have frequent one-night stands in between jobs.
Diana Ipis completing her first collection of stories and starting a novel based
on a short story. She is a graduate of the Mills MFA program and has attended residencies
and workshops at Hedgebrook, Blue Mountain Center and Voices of Our Nation Arts
(VONA). She was the recipient of an Elizabeth George Foundation grant in 2008. She
published her first story "Drunken Chicken" in Hyphen Magazine this spring.
Karen Finlay(not to be confused with the performance artist who spells her name
with an "EY") received her MFA in Creative Writing from Mills College,
where she wrote serious, hard-hitting pieces about buying Go-Go's records and
getting her period for the first time. Since then, her work has been seen in many
emails, myspace comments, and on her blog, 97thingstodobeforeiturn97.blogspot.com. She
has also aired some dirty laundry as part of The Rebel Reading Series and has been
featured on dublit.com. A Gemini who loves pina coladas and hates getting caught
in the rain, she has a deep love/hate relationship with The Twilight series by Stephenie
Meyer.
Cleavon Smith, a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and the Mills College Creative
Writing MFA Program was born and raised in Mississippi and moved to the Bay Area
while still serving as an officer in the U.S. Navy. Cleavon has been a National
Endowment of the Humanities Fellow and his prose and poetry has been published in
the “Potomac Review,” “The Best Gay Asian Erotica,” and “Nine Lives,” a collection
of essays about the lives of Bay Area elders in facilitated care. He lives in Oakland
with his fiancée and their cat Cedric and teaches in the English Department at Berkeley
City College.
UPCOMING READERS:
December 10, 2008
Prose
Grace Loh
Ly Nguyen
SianJones
Caroline Kim Brown
Contact: Armando Koghan at 510-655-5630 (The Mixing Bowl) or Anh-Hoa Thi Nguyen
at poetesshoa@yahoo.com
I have a reading coming up on Wednesday (more info below) and I would love it if you could make it. There's just one teeny problem, though.
I have NO IDEA what I'm going to write about to read.
Seriously, I've been so caught up in other crap that my mind is NOT coming up with any ideas. It should be memoir, it should be funny, and it should be universal. usually I'm pretty good about that stuff -- after all of my readings, people have come up to me and said, "Your story reminded me of the time when I..." and that's the greatest. But now... I have nothing. Absolutely nothing.
I'm sick of politics and I'm sure everyone else is, too, so that's out. I stay home mostly these days, so I have no new wild hijinks. And I used to be able to think of some rotten mishap from junior high that I could write about, but maybe I'm just too scarred and blanking out.
So... I have a contest for you. If you can think of something for me to write about and deliver on Wednesday night, and I use your topic, I will send you a present. A really fabulous present.
It can't be about sex (ew), drugs (done that) but rock'n'roll could have potential, even though I did that last time.
Like a life saver, throw it out there. Anything. I beg of you. And thank you.
And here's the information:
HELLO BAY AREA!
This month we’re mixing things up a bit with some delicious prose.
November’s writers are electric with humor, grace and pizzazz - just what you’ll
need to heat up these chilly autumn nights!
So, please come out and support these talented writers (and have a bowl of yummy
soup or a steaming cup of tea while you’re at it!)
Your Host,
Anh-Hoa Thi Nguyen
THE MIXING BOWL
LITERARY READING SERIES
The Word is Out: Oakland’s Emerging Writers Mix it Up!
“The Word is Out: Oakland’s Emerging Writers Mix it Up!” - a literary reading series
featuring some of Oakland’s most talented emerging writers. A mixture of poetry
and prose, this series includes a range of writers from Oakland’s diverse artist
communities and Bay Area Creative Writing programs. Come mix it up at The Mixing
Bowl Cafe and experience great food and contemporary works from Mills College, California
College of Art (CCA), Stanford University’s Stegner Program, Deep Oakland, Voices
of Our Nations (VONA) and more.
EVENT HIGHLIGHTS
WHEN: 2nd Wednesdays of the Month
TIME: 7 PM
WHERE: The Mixing Bowl Cafe,
4920 Telegraph Avenue, Oakland, CA 94609
READERS: Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Melanie Hilario is a freelance writer, editor, and writing coach. Constantly on
multiple projects at once, she feels sort of like the Samuel L. Jackson of the writing
world. Mel loves her dog Gogo, kung fu, grammar, and the city of Oakland. Her novel
misses her terribly, but they have frequent one-night stands in between jobs.
Diana Ipis completing her first collection of stories and starting a novel based
on a short story. She is a graduate of the Mills MFA program and has attended residencies
and workshops at Hedgebrook, Blue Mountain Center and Voices of Our Nation Arts
(VONA). She was the recipient of an Elizabeth George Foundation grant in 2008. She
published her first story "Drunken Chicken" in Hyphen Magazine this spring.
Karen Finlay(not to be confused with the performance artist who spells her name
with an "EY") received her MFA in Creative Writing from Mills College,
where she wrote serious, hard-hitting pieces about buying Go-Go's records and
getting her period for the first time. Since then, her work has been seen in many
emails, myspace comments, and on her blog, 97thingstodobeforeiturn97.blogspot.com. She
has also aired some dirty laundry as part of The Rebel Reading Series and has been
featured on dublit.com. A Gemini who loves pina coladas and hates getting caught
in the rain, she has a deep love/hate relationship with The Twilight series by Stephenie
Meyer.
Cleavon Smith, a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and the Mills College Creative
Writing MFA Program was born and raised in Mississippi and moved to the Bay Area
while still serving as an officer in the U.S. Navy. Cleavon has been a National
Endowment of the Humanities Fellow and his prose and poetry has been published in
the “Potomac Review,” “The Best Gay Asian Erotica,” and “Nine Lives,” a collection
of essays about the lives of Bay Area elders in facilitated care. He lives in Oakland
with his fiancée and their cat Cedric and teaches in the English Department at Berkeley
City College.
UPCOMING READERS:
December 10, 2008
Prose
Grace Loh
Ly Nguyen
SianJones
Caroline Kim Brown
Contact: Armando Koghan at 510-655-5630 (The Mixing Bowl) or Anh-Hoa Thi Nguyen
at poetesshoa@yahoo.com