>Sewanee Writers’ Conference — Day 10

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On Thursday, the first event was Jill McCorkle’s craft lecture in which she employed an extended anatomical metaphor for writing fiction–using the heart and brain working together to create and the lungs to breathe life into the result. (It went on from there: imagine food for thought–the stomach–and the intestines as editors, etc. The bottom line: “Don’t keep anything you can live without.”

There was an editors’ panel after that, but I had work to do and have heard the panel before, so I excused myself. Our workshop gathered and we discussed two stories–with less than our usual efficiency. I think our concentration is failing us as we near the end of the Conference.

I went to Rachel Hadas’s reading later in the afternoon and we all attended the Conference reception at the French House before dinner–I took a bunch of pictures, ate, drank, etc.

The final event of the day was Randall Kenan’s amazing reading. He read from the prologue of a book he’s been working on for a long time. I hope it’s finished soon so we can read the whole thing!

About the author

I am the author of three novels--THE LAST BIRD OF PARADISE, OLIVER'S TRAVELS, and THE SHAMAN OF TURTLE VALLEY--and three story collections--IN AN UNCHARTED COUNTRY, HOUSE OF THE ANCIENTS AND OTHER STORIES, and WHAT THE ZHANG BOYS KNOW, winner of the Library of Virginia Literary Award for Fiction. I am also the co-founder and former editor of Prime Number Magazine and the editor of the award-winning anthology series EVERYWHERE STORIES: SHORT FICTION FROM A SMALL PLANET.

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