December Announcements
~ From My Writerly World ~
It’s the last day of Hanukkah! Discover the significance of this Festival of Lights in “Finding Hanukkah in the Happy Holidays”—my 2019 cover feature for The Bohemian and Pacific Sun:
“Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer blares over the loudspeaker as I wade through a sea of Christmas trees and Frosty the Snowman figurines. A store clerk leads me to a shelf of scented cinnamon tapers, but the candles I’m looking for are for lighting my menorah, a candelabrum used by Jews for more than 2,000 years.”
upcoming workshops
I’m gearing up to lead several more (virtual) women’s creative writing workshops—most likely starting the third week of January and lasting 8 weeks. Each series of Writing From Memory or Imagination follows the Amherst Writers & Artists (AWA) method, with prompts and reflective responses to bolster our creative practice. AWA’s core belief is simple: every person is a writer, and every writer deserves a safe environment in which to experiment, learn, and develop craft. Prior participants have described my workshops as warm, encouraging, positive, respectful, supportive, gentle, and thought-provoking. Maybe you’re a novice or shy writer. Maybe you’re an experienced author with writer’s block. Rest assured you’ll find “exercises that automatically tease out the artist within.”
In the words of AWA founder, Pat Schneider:
“Whether your purpose for writing is artistic expression, communication with friends and family, the healing of the inner life, or achieving public recognition for your art, the foundation is the same: the claiming of yourself as an artist/writer and the strengthening of your writing voice through practice, study, and helpful response from other writers.”
New to AWA? Please fill out an Inquiry Form (& be sure to include a phone number). If you’re new to my workshops but we already spoke by phone, or you’re a prior participant who may want to return—I’ll be reaching out by email with scheduling details the week after Christmas! Self-identified women with any level of writing experience are welcome.
publication news
“The Bachelors” appeared December 1 in Still Point Arts Quarterly. The 67-page magazine, edited by Christine Brooks Coate, boasts a beautiful layout including an Art Gallery featuring work such as photography by Jinna Kim, who received a Best in Show award for “Quarantine Korean American Breakfast” featured on the cover. Click on specific stories or flip through the entire digital issue (Winter 2020 #40) on the theme of Food and Memory.
San Francisco residents might recognize some of the age-old establishments I mention:
“Sometimes he took us to Original Joe’s where we watched the line cooks move fast pans over the flames from our counter stools. Otherwise it was Tommy’s Joynt on Van Ness or the Jewish deli on Polk where I’d order a block of cream cheese wedged between two halves of a bagel. For my father: corned beef on rye, a little yellow mustard, but otherwise dry.”
Sadly, “Case Management,” which was accepted by the Sonora Review in July for a special online issue on gender-based violence, is still awaiting publication. Dates were initially scheduled for September, then October, then November, but delayed due to pandemic-related hiccups. Nothing but radio silence since a group email received at the end of October: “stay tuned.”
bragging rights
2020 was a boon for completing, submitting, and publishing my creative writing. I had as many pieces accepted this year as during the last seven years combined! Dare I say it’s been a personal silver lining of this pandemic? With less time doing paid work and more time writing in the basement, I got some shit done. Here’s a look back:
Two poems generated from prompts in my workshops were published: “Porch Time” under Isolation Shorts at The Dewdrop and “California Poppies” via Through the Eyes of Nature at Tiny Seed Literary Journal.
“Late Bloomer” appeared in the 50th issue (Milestones) of Halfway Down the Stairs.
“Please Don't Climb: Controversy at the Heart of Australia” was published in the Practices of Hope issue of About Place Journal.
“The Nature of Beginnings” appeared in the Those Who Wander section of Under The Gum Tree.
“All Hands on Deck” appeared in print and online at Made Local Magazine.
“Hope Against Hope” appeared in the anthology Sunset Sunrise: A Collection of Endings & Beginnings.
“Romantic Getaway” was a 2nd place winner of the Redwood Writers Wish You Were Here contest.
“Politeness Will Not Protect You,” an essay contest finalist at Hypertext Review, was also nominated by the magazine for The Best American Essays.
“Fallen,” a New Millennium Writing Awards finalist, was published at The Rumpus and selected as ‘best of the week’ for Memoir Monday.
Read more at https://www.nicolerzimmerman.com/.
writers grotto
Looking for a holiday gift for that writer in your life? Check out The Writers Grotto 2020 Holiday Gift Guide. Process the emotions of this year with Write It Down: Coronavirus Writing Prompts, by Mary Ladd, a Grotto member. This writers community in San Francisco had to vacate its South of Market space at the end of October. However, the 140+ members are still at work writing and teaching online classes. I’m considering Lyzette Wanzer’s 6-week workshop, “Funding Your Creative Writing Project,” which covers creative writing grants, fellowships, and residencies. Since my application has been declined by three residencies (Hedgebrook, Mineral School, and Writing By Writers), I could use some guidance on writing a compelling Project Statement and Work Plan for such dreamscapes as the Wellstone Center in the Redwoods, The Mesa Refuge, and The Mastheads.
covid-19 neologisms
Neologisms (newly coined words or expressions) are added to or revised in the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), which is updated on a quarterly basis. July was the second OED update to cover linguistic developments relating to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“As a historical dictionary the OED has an obligation to tell the whole story of a word, but our constant monitoring of language also allows us to see (and tell) those stories as they emerge and change. . . The impact of Covid-19 on our lives and our language is an ongoing story. As we learn more about the nature of the virus and the social impact of the pandemic, the associated vocabulary changes, and the terms themselves change in meaning and usage.”
COVID-19 is the only actual neologism. Coronavirus, first described in 1968, was first included in the OED in 2008. However, many previously defined terms have increased in usage due to their familiarity: elbow bump, social distancing, flatten the curve, self-quarantine, social isolation, and shelter in place, to name a few. Learn more about the latest OED updates.
KQED image by Siouxsie Wiles and Toby Morris
final word
Untitled by Emily Kamminga
I shall write and write
and write and write
until my fingers forget
the gentle loops of the letters;
until my soul forgets how to feel;
until there is no more material to write about.
—published in Vol. III of Yellow Arrow Journal, 2018
Thanks for reading installment #15 of monthly Announcements From My Writerly World. Starting in March 2021, this newsletter will be sent quarterly—just like estimated taxes! Please share it, read the archive, or click “Unsubscribe” below. Have a safe holiday season & new year.