Blog
As Gun Violence Awareness Month draws to a close…
Photo courtesy of Mary Sobczak. There's always lots going on in June in the gun violence prevention movement as we head outdoors and into the streets to raise awareness of the toll that gun violence takes in the United States every day -- an average of 120 lives and...
Vermont Writing Retreat for Creative Nonfiction
Is there an essay or memoir chapter you've been struggling to complete? Could you use a change of scenery and supportive feedback in a beautiful New England setting? Please consider joining this Word Garden Writing Retreat for women and non-binary creative nonfiction...
CNF Writing Retreat in VT: Who’s In?
Can’t make AWP Seattle? Word Garden Workshops is offering a weekend writing retreat for women and non-binary CNF writers this March at Prospect Street Writers House in North Bennington, VT.
Word Garden Launches with Weekend Writing Retreat
I am thrilled to announce some exciting, new literary endeavors for 2023! I am now available for freelance writing projects, editorial assistance, manuscript evaluations, and coaching, and will also be offering classes and workshops online and in person. I am so...
MASS, the movie, explores emotional trauma in survivors
A couple weeks ago I participated in a talkback at the Teaneck International Film Festival as a representative of the gun violence prevention organization for which I do a fair amount of volunteering, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. I appreciated the...
HippoCamp22!
It's been a couple of weeks since HippoCamp22 took place in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and I am still basking in its glow. This was my first large, in-person event in the past few years, and even though I proceeded with some caution, I was also excited to present/teach...
Book news!
It's been awhile since I've posted. In late December 2021 I heard back from a literary agent who was interested in my manuscript. We had a few emails back and forth and then a phone conversation about how to make the work stronger. So the first quarter of 2022 had me...
Joan Didion has died and I am sad.
Of all the remembrances about Didion that are flooding my social media feed and news sites in the past 24 hours, what has stuck with me the most was the acknowledgment by Francine Prose in a piece at WHYY, Philadelphia’s NPR affiliate, that Didion’s anxiety is always on the page, that even for all her intelligence and sharp observations and commentary, she was an anxious person and this quality infused her work.
“Pandemic Thoughts, Racing” published in The Keeping Room
I am so grateful to The Keeping Room for publishing my essay, "Pandemic Thoughts, Racing." I've been so immersed in finishing my memoir that I have not had an essay published in a while. Feels good to have this out in the world -- something unrelated to my memoir....
On yard sales and learning to love unwanted things: an online reading
I recently had a recording of a reading go live as part of the Local Writers Read series. The series features writers from Maine, and was sponsored by LA Art Walk, which takes place monthly during warm weather months in Lewiston/Auburn, cities in Maine. Due to the...
Reading today on Facebook livestream
Hi! It's been awhile. I'm reading a new essay live this afternoon on Facebook -- at 3 pm on the topic of "Borders." More on that below! I hope this finds you and your loved ones safe and well, although I know there is so much suffering everywhere. I have been sticking...
Why I Am Begging You To Stay Home
Well. The last time I posted here, I wrote about deleting some news and social media apps from my phone in order to get more writing done... in my local coffee shop. There was no mention of the novel coronavirus or COVID-19 or sheltering in place. I was acknowledging...
Long Walks
Photo by David Beale on UnsplashWoman with long, wavy dark hair in a plaid shirt,looking down a country road with trees on either side. I took a long walk yesterday on the rural roads around my house. I passed or saw in the distance about 10 other people, which is...
The food and music that sustain us
When I went upstairs to go to bed last night, I realized I had not gotten dressed all day. Hmm… I only stay in my comfy sweats/sleep clothes when I'm sick. But I'm not sick! That I know of. In fact, I actually got a lot done yesterday. I'm nearing completion of a...
Nesting instinct hits the kitchen
I stocked up pretty well with two big grocery shopping trips -- one at the beginning of March and another one this past Thursday. I don't think I over-bought, just tried to gauge what we might need for 3-4 weeks (just in case the 2-week self-quarantine period proved...
It’s March 16th & I’m launching this blog…
… in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic from a little spot in southern Maine, kind of off the beaten path, but within a 10-minute car ride of lots of people and economic activity. While I love towns and cities--people! cultural activities! food! action!--I also love...
Welcome to my COVID-19 Online Journal… after the fact
Near the end of March, I started an online journal called COVID-19 Chronicle, where I periodically post about how my shelter-in-place life is going. Even if I didn't post every day, I wanted to keep some kind of a record. After the fact, I realized it might be nice to...
Resisting the Siren Song of Social Media & News
I've been on a pretty good roll the past month, writing my way through this memoir with an outline that's tethered to a narrative arc that feels right. I've done some of my best work in local coffee shops! But I was still spending too much time on social media and...
A Writing Residency & A New Outlook
I have never been one for January 1st resolutions beyond a vague "do better, do more." This is probably due to being critical of myself nearly every day of the year. Why would I need to formalize that and attach expectations to it?? I'd rather avoid the whole...
Resistance poem featured in Scoundrel Time
Back in the 2000s, I didn't think I could be any angrier at our national political scene. It was the Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld-Rove era. Remember that? My outrage was toddler-sized compared to the past three years... I was mad at Washington, mad at women, in general, who I...
Essay “What A Bullet Can Do” wins 2019 Maine Literary Award!
On June 13th, Maine writers, readers, editors, publishers, and librarians gathered at the Bangor Public Library for the announcement of the 2019 Maine Literary Awards. I was there to meet and mingle with the Maine writing community and to find out if “What A Bullet...
Michele Filgate at Portsmouth Public Library
I had a wonderful time last night hearing Michele Filgate in conversation with Liberty Hardy about Michele's new anthology What My Mother And I Don't Talk About: Fifteen Writers Break the Silence, one of the most highly-anticipated books out this spring. The anthology...
Short Nonfiction Finalist in 2019 Maine Literary Awards!
I'm so excited to share that one of my essays is a finalist for a 2019 Maine Literary Award!! The annual awards are one of the many ways the Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance supports the literary community of Maine. I submitted two essays, and I'm not sure...
Gearing back up
Hey, there. It's been a tumultuous couple of weeks. My parents have been struggling with health issues, my mom especially. I've just returned from PA after helping out there and I'm so grateful to my employer for the chance to be there with my family. While it's hard...
Beat Night – Lunation
Hey, it's been awhile. I was just getting through the winter term. And re-working my book proposal. And worried about the health of some people I love. That's just how it was. But now here comes spring and the release of Lunation, a fabulous collection of poetry by...
I did it! First draft of book proposal is done!
I still need to print it out and deliver it to a dear friend, who is also a literary agent, who will be reading/commenting on it, but just to have gotten to the point of having a completed draft of a proposal is huge for me. For those of you who may not know, a...
Today’s the day…
... I finish a proposal for my memoir. It's the last day of 2018, and I will not ring in 2019 until a draft of this proposal is done. I'm close, so it IS going to happen. Came across this poem as I sat at my desk, and I'm feeling it. I've been diving into the wreck...
Be SMART Forum held in MidCoast Maine
I had the chance to present the Be SMART gun safety message to members of the communities of MidCoast Maine at a public forum held in Brunswick yesterday. Richard J. Rizzo, Brunswick Chief of Police, and Shamera Simpson, Area Director for the American Foundation for...
NFN Panel Discussion: “What We Talk About (Or Don’t) When We Talk About Guns”
It was such a pleasure to present on a panel at the NonfictioNOW conference in Phoenix the other day. The other panelists and I have all written about, or are currently researching and writing about, some aspect of gun violence. While our presentations and the...
Browsing the Detroit Art Book Fair 2018
I have to admit: as much as I love to read and to hold actual books in my hands, I have never really explored the world of the art book. But on this, a long weekend in Detroit, I had the chance to check out the Detroit Art Book Fair at Trinosophes. It was kind of...
Catching up with August
August went by in a blur -- not just because I traveled to two conferences and visited family, but also because I was battling upper respiratory symptoms. I powered through several days, then spent many days in bed on antibiotics, and had a handful of days where I...
“Standoff” appears in Aquifer: The Florida Review Online
Hey, y'all. It's been awhile, what with school ending and summer travel kicking in and lots of reading, writing and gardening... I put this news out on social media at the time, but not here, so now I'm letting the blogosphere know that on May 28th another essay of...
“What A Bullet Can Do”
Here it is: "What A Bullet Can Do," another essay about an unintentional shooting from my childhood, in which I write about various works of literature that helped me, as an adult, to process the shooting and its aftermath. Along the way, readers learn more about...
Headed to HippoCamp 2018!
This August 24-26th I'll be attending a writer's conference known as HippoCamp for the first time and leading a breakout session with my partner Parker Blaney. The session is called Writing Home. HippoCamp is in its fourth year and is an outgrowth of Hippocampus...
Another notable essay in Best American Essays 2017
I'm thrilled to announce (quite belatedly) that my essay, "The Gun Show," which appeared in The Southeast Review (Vol. 34.2), was named a notable essay in the latest edition of The Best American Essays, edited by Leslie Jamison. “The Gun Show,” tells about my first...
Essay appears in The MacGuffin
I'm belatedly reporting here that my essay, "To Suckle on Fear," appeared in the Spring 2017 issue of The MacGuffin, a great journal out of Schoolcraft College in Livonia, Michigan. This piece is what is known as a hermit crab essay - an essay that takes the form of...
New essay “Last Chance” online at Tributaries
Hey, I just got done digging my car out of the ice/snow and almost forgot that today was the day that a flash essay was going live! It's called "Last Chance," and it's at Tributaries, which is an online section of the journal The Fourth River. Now, The Fourth River is...
Legendary Locals now available at ArtFusion 19464
It's that time of year when we think of home and childhood and twinkling lights on the Christmas tree. For those family and friends who may have moved away from Pottstown, but might like to take a trip down memory lane, please consider buying them a copy of Legendary...
“The Gun Show” in The Southeast Review
I'm really happy to have an essay in the current issue of The Southeast Review (Vol. 34.2), among the work of many fine poets, artists, and writers of fiction and nonfiction. The Southeast Review is a literary journal run by the graduate students and a faculty advisor...
“Detours” named Notable Essay in Best American Essays 2016!
I'm so honored and excited to announce that my essay, "Detours," which appeared in the Spring 2015 issue of Literal Latte has been included as a Notable Essay in The Best American Essays 2016, edited by Jonathan Franzen, and released this week. This series, which has...
“Gun-Sitting” up at Hippocampus Magazine
I'm thrilled to report that a new essay of mine, "Gun-Sitting," is up at Hippocampus Magazine, a really wonderful nonfiction journal based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and featuring writing from around the world. I offer my heartfelt thanks to founder and publisher,...
Reading at The Word Barn
This post does not bring "new" news, but I wanted to document this wonderful event here.... On November 15, 2015 I had the pleasure of reading an excerpt from my memoir to a packed house at The Word Barn in Exeter, New Hampshire. Also reading that afternoon was Peter...
Essay up at The Common Online!
I am thrilled to report that my essay, "The Bodhisattva of Route 128" is now up at The Common Online. This essay was many years in the making, recalling my meeting H. Ballard Harris, a legendary figure who lived his life north of Moab, Utah, dispensing wisdom and...
Summer Reading
I got off to a pretty fast start with my summer reading… until my move to Maine intervened.
Publishing news!
Well, it's been a long time since I've posted an update, but that doesn't mean I haven't been sending out work and getting a few pieces picked up! My most recent publications include a review of Motherland by Maria Hummel at The Common online and a flash essay,...
Legendary Locals of Pottstown available for pre-order!
I am so excited to announce that the Legendary Locals of Pottstown is now available for pre-orders at Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and Arcadia Books. It will be released Oct. 14, 2013. Arcadia Publishing, the largest publisher of local history books in the country was...
South Atlantic MLA conference
This past Saturday I delivered a paper entitled, "Escape and Re-Invention: The Automobile in This Boy's Life and Anywhere But Here" for a panel at the 2012 South Atlantic Modern Language Association conference in Durham, NC. The panel theme was "Horseless Carriages...
Reading at Cornelia Street Cafe: August 31
I'm totally stoked to be on the program for the debut of the Bennington Writers Series. It's happening Downstairs at the Cornelia Street Cafe in Manhattan on Wednesday, August 31 at 6 pm, hosted by the incomparable V. Hansmann. See details below and come on down... or...
Publication news
Feels like I've been walking in the desert a long time. Although I'm blogging all the time and churning out writing that at least some people are reading, it felt like I hadn't snagged a literary credit in quite some time. I'm happy to report some good news! I'd...
What I’m reading this term
I'm in my second of four terms in The Bennington Writing Seminars (nonfiction track), and below is a list of what I've read so far and plan to read through December. The reading list is devised by the student and the mentor for any given term. I was thrilled when my...
Imperfection in the writer’s life
I read the passage below at Rosh Hashanah services last Thursday morning. For those of you who are wondering why I was observing the High Holidays: while I was raised as a Catholic, I married a nice Jewish man. I haven't converted, but we did raise our sons in the...
On returning to “the real world”
I've been holding melancholy at bay the past few days. First, absolutely first, I miss my Bennington people, my "tribe," as I think Nick Flynn described it. And the rhythm of those days. The morning stretch, the pounding heart and then the racing thoughts, all day...
The conversion is almost complete.
I can't even remember when I first put up suerepko.com. During the late 1990s, I think, when I was writing that nanny novel that never sold. I've always been one to conceive of a full-scale marketing plan before I even have a book to sell. Business cards used to...