October 21st, 2012 § § permalink
If you missed last week’s Literary Firsts, I can’t stress enough the talent that was in that room (minus my reading from a work-in-progress that is sure to change). We had a heartrending essay from Jennifer De Leon, a slew of smart and touching poems from Erica Anzalone, and a startlingly funny, yet vulnerable confessional from Ilan Mochari. You can watch the videos here and check out the photos below.
Carissa Halston reads from her work-in-progress novel.
Jennifer De Leon reads her essay, “Mapping Yolanda.”
Erica Anzalone reads her poetry.
Ilan Mochari reads his confessional essay.
Photo credit, as usual, goes to Randolph Pfaff.
This was our final reading for 2012! See you in January for the reading that will close our third year!
October 20th, 2012 § § permalink
Until then, enjoy this image of confessional reader, Ilan Mochari, from Monday night’s reading, which involved a hula hoop, a lot of laughing, and even more sighing.
October 15th, 2012 § § permalink
I’m sad to say that, due to a medical emergency, Myfanwy Collins won’t be reading at Literary Firsts tonight (but I’m looking forward to having her read at a future event).
That said, I’ll be wearing my fiction reading shoes tonight. So, if you’re in Boston and want to hear me read, I’ll see you at 7pm at Middlesex Lounge!
October 14th, 2012 § § permalink
We’ve got poetry from Erica Anzalone, non-fiction from Jennifer De Leon, fiction from Myfanwy Collins, and a confessional tale from Ilan Mochari. It is all for you. All you have to do to get it is be at Middlesex Lounge tomorrow night at 7pm.
I’ll be the one in the crazy necklace.
September 7th, 2012 § § permalink
Erica Anzalone is an impromptu gala.
Erica Anzalone is currently a Schaeffer fellow and Ph.D. candidate at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She holds an MFA in poetry from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop at the University of Iowa. Her manuscript, Samsara, is the recipient of the 2011 Noemi Press Book Award for poetry. It will be published in the fall of 2012.
Erica is the poet for the October 15 reading.
September 7th, 2012 § § permalink
Myfanwy Collins is a mile a minute.
Myfanwy Collins lives on the north shore of Massachusetts with her husband and son. Her work has been published in The Kenyon Review, AGNI, Cream City Review, Quick Fiction, and Potomac Review. Echolocation (Engine Books, 2012) is her debut novel. A collection of her fiction, I Am Holding Your Hand, is forthcoming in 2013 from PANK Little Books. Learn more about Myfanwy at her author site: http://www.myfanwycollins.com.
Myfanwy is the fiction writer for the October 15 reading.
September 7th, 2012 § § permalink
Jennifer De Leon is an urban legend.
Jennifer De Leon is the winner of the 2011 Fourth Genre Michael Steinberg Essay Prize. Her stories have appeared in Ploughshares, Ms., Briar Cliff Review, Brevity, Poets & Writers, Guernica, The Best Women’s Travel Writing 2010, and elsewhere. She has published author interviews in Granta and Agni, and she has been awarded scholarships and residencies from the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, Hedgebrook, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Vermont Studio Center, and the Sandra Cisneros Macondo Writers’ Workshop. The editor of the anthology, Wise Latina: Writers on Higher Education (University of Nebraska Press, 2013), she is also working on a memoir and a novel.
Jennifer is the essayist for the October 15 reading.
September 7th, 2012 § § permalink
Ilan Mochari is a tall order. (photo credit: Kelly MacDonald)
Ilan Mochari‘s debut novel, Zinsky the Obscure (Fomite Press), is now available for pre-order on Amazon. His short stories have appeared or are forthcoming in Keyhole, Stymie, Ruthie’s Club, and Oysters & Chocolate. He has a B.A. in English from Yale. He used it to wait tables for nine years at various restaurants in the Boston area.
Ilan is the confessional writer for the October 15 reading.
September 5th, 2012 § § permalink
I’m thrilled to announce the readers for the next Literary Firsts reading.
Please join us on October 15 at Middlesex Lounge when Erica Anzalone will read poetry, Myfanwy Collins will read fiction, Jennifer De Leon will read an essay, and Ilan Mochari will share a confessional tale. As always, I’ll be your host. Come help us say goodbye to 2012 in style.