The mindfulness with which we engage with literature is crucial to creating, deconstructing, and recreating our worldview as we move through life. How do our cultural blindspots influence the stories we tell?
That’s why, several years into my teaching career, I laid down the Red Pen, thanks to some good advice from a colleague, and changed the way I looked at writing instruction entirely. I had to stop working for my students as their copy-editor. Neither of us wanted me to do that job in the first place. In other words, instead of tearing the writing apart, I had to focus on developing what was already there. If I was going to evaluate someone’s writing, it was just as important for me to identify strengths as it was to identify weaknesses. Maybe even more so.
It has been an honor to work with all the homegrown submissions we received. Inside this newest magazine you’ll find a greater variety of subjects than we’ve seen in the past. Beautiful odes to nature pave the way for stories of hope, as well as heartbreaking words on loss and change. We were challenged and inspired while creating this collection and hope that you, the reader, enjoy the same immersive experience.
Finding the right beta reader can take some time and thought. Like any relationship, it can be complicated and there is the risk of feelings being hurt. It’s important to take the time to choose the right person and establish the right tone in moving forward. I can say from personal experience, I have benefited tremendously from my beta readers, not only their feedback, but their support in validating the work I am doing.
Even in the digital age, books still make the best gift. They are thoughtful, personalized and wonderful keepsakes. If you’re looking for a last minute gift for someone in your life, check out these books by local authors, which are in no particular order.
Local Literary Event Series: Author David Taylor Historian and Writers Block Group participant David Taylor completed a 280-page book entitled The Way We Were: Brookville, Pennsylvania through the Camera’s Lens.…
Last month, Brockway writer, PJ Piccirillo came to the Rebecca M. Arthur’s Library in Brookville to talk about his latest book, The Indigo Scarf, which was recently published with Sunbury…
The 72 page account of Gourley’s experiences as an air balloon pilot is divided into a series of stories that are written conversationally, like stories you would tell to your friends, sitting around the living room or at an evening campfire.
While Through the Woods offers a large assortment of local antiques dated all the way from the late 1800s to a few 1990s collectibles, several vendors are local people looking to sell their handmade goods. The store offers Sam Hill Coffee Company, Simple Goods’ lavender neck and body pillows, Susy Bee’s handmade soaps, Wicks and Knits handmade candles, Farm Fresh Stitches needlepoint, Flaherty’s Maple Products, and The Watershed Journal literary magazine featuring local artists, photographers, writers and poets.
Visitors to Fusion Atelier are always sure to find something interesting happening at this creative space, which partners with many community organizations and individuals to support regional art and culture. Both Hoffman and Stein say they are often inspired by the exchange of ideas, experiences and stories that happen around them.