Behind the Prose
50 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 5 years ago - ★★★★★ - 5 ratingsBehind the Prose explores and illuminates the craft of writing and its process through interviews with emerging and established writers.
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Episodes
Playing on All 88 Keys: Phillip Lopate, Part 2
October 16, 2018 09:00 - 22 minutes - 19.7 MBWhat writing advice can one mine from a two-hour interview with prolific essayist, author, and professor Philip Lopate? If you read the July 2018 issue of The Writer, you learned about Lopate's overall approach and philosophy in "Playing on all 88 keys: The prose playbook of Phillip Lopate" who was my former grad school writing teacher. In part two, we go further into that philosophy, and you'll hear tips that didn't make the article. I love this episode because it starts with the question...
Episode 49: Playing on all 88 keys with Phillip Lopate
August 20, 2018 19:30 - 44 minutes - 39.4 MBYou might recognize the title of this podcast if you picked up the July 2018 issue of The Writer. In it, you'll find my article on my former grad school writing teacher Phillip Lopate. I interviewed Lopate last December about his career and in the next two episodes, I'm sharing some of our chat with you. In it, we talk about his latest book, A Mother's Tale, the usefulness of code-switching, the importance of anticipating the readers' objections, and much, much more!
Episode 48: Engineering the short story with author (and engineer) Nick Arvin
January 05, 2018 21:00 - 1 hour - 67.6 MBIn April 2017, I invited author and engineer Nick Arvin to the school where I work. Over two days, he gave several talks on writing, and I recorded one of them: “Nick Arvin and The Short Story.” In this episode, I'm giving you that recording! Nick discusses his short story “Along the Highways.” He gives one of the most thorough, honest, and humorous sessions that I’ve ever heard on writing. He talks about his career in engineering and as an author and how each informs his work in the other...
Episode 47: The Novel, the Novella, and Scott Alexander Hess
November 27, 2017 23:00 - 54 minutes - 48.9 MBWelcome to this special episode of Behind the Prose. Special, because I bet you didn't think it was coming! More special, because it features former guest, literary historical fiction writer and fellow New School Creative Writing MFA Grad Scott Alexander Hess. This time, I talk to him about how he wrote his latest novella, Skyscraper, while he was in the middle of writing a novel. In this episode, besides hearing me butcher the name of his publisher, Lethe Press, you’ll learn why I disappeare...
Episode 46: Memoirists Mandy Len Catron and Bob Brody
June 27, 2017 23:30 - 1 hour - 78.3 MBToday's episode is brought to you by: coincidence. It's how I met both of these great writers. Last year, I covered Bob Brody's essay panel at the American Society of Journalists and Authors for The Writer Magazine. His book Playing Catch with Strangers came out on Father's Day this June on Heliotrope Books. This year, I interviewed Mandy Len Catron for my book proposal on Modern Love essays. Her new book How to Fall in With Anyone comes out on June 27 on Simon and Schuster. Listen below o...
Episode 45: A discussion with humor writer Adam Rotstein
May 15, 2017 03:30 - 30 minutes - 27.2 MBHey Prosers, I know. I know. Let's not talk about that lil' missing in action thing. The important thing is that I'm here now and so are you! This episode features a humor writer that I discovered earlier this year on McSweeney's. Adam Rotstein has an undergraduate degree in - get this - neuroscience - but he abandoned the field to pursue his love of comedy and humor writing and now he's in LA working on a pilot. In this show, which was recorded in March but fell victim to my unbalanced w...
Episode 44: Geeta Kothari, author of "I Brake For Moose"
March 13, 2017 01:30 - 54 minutes - 49.1 MBIn this episode, I talk to Geeta Kothari, an English professor and author of the new short story collection I Brake For Moose, out now on Braddock Avenue Books.
Episode 43: Gilli Messer shares how she landed her first clip on McSweeney's
March 01, 2017 05:00 - 36 minutes - 32.9 MBIn this episode, we’re venturing into the land of humor. I discovered actress, singer, and writer Gilli Messer during my daily reading. I loved her piece on McSweeney’s: "Young Couple Shares Vows Amidst State Sponsored Chaos." Listen to learn how she landed her first clip on a major humor site and nailed the voice of New York Times’ wedding beat writers. In this episode you’ll also learn: How an anthropology degree at Barnard College helped Gilli become a better writerThe great new term fo...
Episode 42: From the page to the stage with writer Alyssa Sorresso
February 19, 2017 03:30 - 52 minutes - 47.3 MBI met Alyssa Sorresso at the Creative Nonfiction Writer’s Conference in 2015 (not 2014 as I think I said in the podcast). Alyssa’s essay had just been published in Creative Nonfiction, and she approached me after the magazine’s founder and the “Godfather of Creative Nonfiction” Lee Gutkind announced that I was looking for people to interview. Though one of her websites uses the word “tactless” (ironically paired with her middle name, Grace), that’s not the word that comes to mind when she in...
Episode 41: How to be an editor with Plume's Kate Napolitano
February 08, 2017 15:30 - 21 minutes - 18.4 MBPlume Senior Editor Kate Napolitano recorded this in October 2016, right before my schedule went to hell in a Coach bag, but I'm happy to finally share it with you. A graduate of The College of New Jersey, Kate's got a girl-next-door vibe and she gives us an honest look at working your way up the ranks in the world's oldest apprenticeship style career. (Not sure if it's actually the world's oldest, but it has to be close.) Kate purchased Phoebe Robinson's debut book "You Can't Touch My Hair a...
Get your book life right w/Liz Pryor: Writing advice from the life advice guru
September 03, 2016 23:00 - 1 hour - 69.9 MBLiz Pryor, author of the new memoir Look At You Now, kicks off season two of Behind the Prose. In this episode, I interview Liz with one of my new interns, associate producer and co-host Sarah Lorish. If you don't feel like you can write a book and get it published after you listen to this, then listen to it again. The feeling is bound to surface. Check out the season two debut of Behind the Prose below or subscribe to Behind the Prose on iTunes to make sure you get every episode. Read the f...
Write This Way: Find and Develop a Niche in Your Writing - LIVE from CNFWC 2016
May 29, 2016 18:00 - 27 minutes - 24.3 MBWrite This Way: How to Find and Develop a Niche in Your Writing, A Roundtable Discussion Writers are an eclectic group of people and often have a range of interests. This roundtable discussion, moderated by Keysha Whitaker, explores whether writers should clarify and narrow their interests to develop a personal brand and gives advice on how to develop their own beats. The roundtable features writers Jason Bittel, Kristina Marusic, and Shannon Reed. Jason Bittel writes about weird animals fo...
Ask an Editor Panel moderated by Ellen Ayoob live from CNFWC 2016
May 28, 2016 18:00 - 28 minutes - 24.9 MBAsk an Editor Panel moderated by In Fact Books Associate Publisher, Ellen Ayoob. The panel features Hattie Fletcher, Creative Nonfiction’s own managing editor, and editors Jessica Bylander and Geeta Kothari. Get an insider’s view—our panel of editors answers your questions about the revision and editing process. Learn how pieces change in revision with an editor's help, and how you can apply these guidelines to your own work. Hattie Fletcher has been the managing editor of Creative Nonfict...
Structure for Longform Nonfiction presented by Lee Gutkind - LIVE from CNFWC '16
May 27, 2016 18:00 - 1 hour - 78.7 MBLast year Creative Nonfiction Magazine and Behind the Prose teamed up to bring you special excerpts from the amazing 2016 Creative Nonfiction Writers’ Conference (CNFWC). (Remember Lee Gutkind’s feature panel on how Law and Order teaches story structure to creative nonfiction writers?) This year, if you couldn't join us in Pittsburgh, PA from May 27 – 29, we hooked you up with the chance to listen live via a special Behind the Prose episode. Here is an excerpt from the master class Structu...
Episode 36: Erik Deckers and The House That Jack Built (Kerouac, that is)
May 18, 2016 01:00 - 32 minutes - 28.6 MBInterviews with Erik Deckers, humor writer, author, and resident #60 of The Kerouac ProjectGeoff Binge of The Kerouac Project
Episode 35: Salon editor Kim Brooks discusses her debut novel The Houseguest
April 12, 2016 00:00 - 47 minutes - 43 MBIf you’ve ever wondered how to write an alternating point-of-view historical novel with prose that wields similes like samurai swords, then Kim Brooks’ second appearance on Behind the Prose is for you. Brooks graces the virtual studio a second time to discuss her debut novel The Houseguest, out on April 12, 2016 on Counterpoint Press. (Her first time here featured a candid chat on her work at Salon as the personals essays editor.) I enjoyed The Houseguest because I was completely enchanted ...
Episode 34: Elana Rabinowitz talks bylines in The New York Times and more
April 01, 2016 02:00 - 55 minutes - 50.3 MBFor full show details, visit www.behindtheprose.com
Episode 33: Jacki Skole merges memoir and investigative journalism in new book
February 29, 2016 21:00 - 54 minutes - 49.2 MBFor full show page, visit www.behindtheprose.com Jacki Skole is an award-winning journalist and adjunct professor of communication. She launched her journalism career at CNN, first as a news writer, then as a producer in the network’s documentary unit; she’s also produced programs for Animal Planet and HGTV. Jacki has taught at La Salle University, Rider University, and Raritan ValleyCommunity College.
Episode 32: Salon editor Kim Brooks goes behind the prose of “Life” essays
January 30, 2016 05:00 - 57 minutes - 51.8 MBKim Brooks is the new personal essays editor at Salon, a baton passed on to her from Sarah Hepola. I met Kim (virtually) after I interviewed Sharisse Tracey who had an essay published in Salon. Oh, and by the way, Sharisse Tracey just had another piece published on Yahoo! Parenting - "Why I Moved Out of State and Didn't Take My Children With Me." I recorded this interview with Kim in November, but due to several issues (see last podcast for update), I’m just bringing it to you. Nevertheless...
Episode 31: Washington Post reporter Jessica Contrera schools future journalists
January 12, 2016 04:30 - 59 minutes - 53.5 MBHappy 2016 Prosers! We've been rocking for almost a year now! Check out the very first Behind the Prose with essayist Tavonne Carson. I'm kicking off 2016 with two great episodes. Today's show features reporter Jessica Contrera who works at The Washington Post. She talks reporting and writing in this episode recorded live with students at Penn State Berks. In two weeks, you'll get an interview with Kim Brooks, Life Editor at Salon. Jessica discusses her new job and how she crafted an awa...
Episode 30: Author Dinty W. Moore talks process, persistence, and prose
November 20, 2015 06:00 - 1 hour - 61.3 MBI recorded this episode in September when Dinty W. Moore’s latest book, Dear Mister Essay Writer Guy: Advice and Confessions on Writing, Love, and Cannibals hit the stands. We talk about that book and his classic memoir Between Panic and Desire. In this interview you’ll learn how to: Craft universality in memoir,Create “character” in nonfiction, andTrust your ear in the drafting process. Plus, I’ve got the Writers' Check-In and a great giveaway for THE INTROVERT ENTREPRENEUR: Amplify Your S...
Ep#29 Sharisse Tracey reveals how she got bylines on The New York Times and more
November 04, 2015 06:00 - 1 hour - 79.4 MBThis week’s episode goes behind the prose of Sharisse Tracey, a fellow New School Creative Writing Program alum. Sharisse recorded this show in the middle of one of her best writing weeks ever! If you’re not on the email newsletter - why not? - here’s a reminder of why that week in early October was so amazing. (And I do mean amazing. Listen to the show and you’ll get it.) In an email, Sharisse wrote: "Last week was the best week of my writing career. I published four pieces back to back st...
Humor and the House of Kerouac with author and columnist Erik Deckers
October 27, 2015 05:30 - 57 minutes - 51.3 MBWhat do you get if you cross a syndicated newspaper columnist with a business book author on a Pearson imprint with an entrepreneur who owns Pro Blog Service and novelist who's the Spring 2016 writer-in-residence at the Jack Kerouac House in Orlando, Florida? Erik Deckers, this week’s guest of Behind the Prose. I interviewed Erik in August, just before he relocated to Florida. (Ironically, he was already planning a move there just before learning that he won the coveted residency). By now,...
Episode 27: Chasing down the narrative with short story writer Sean Ennis
October 12, 2015 02:30 - 1 hour - 75.4 MBLet me just start off by saying that after transcribing writer Sean Ennis' interview (Yeah, I'm back on that again!), I've decided that he's the most conscious self-editor I've interviewed this year. As soon as the words leave his mouth, he’s already assessed whether it’s actually what he means, whether it’s “a dumb pun” or “too dramatic.” He often doesn’t retract what he says, just adds a disclaimer and keeps going. Somehow, the listener sees actually what he meant initially and what he mea...
Episode 26: How to write literary fiction with author Scott Alexander Hess
September 27, 2015 05:00 - 1 hour - 57.5 MBIn this meta-writing hour, author and fellow New School alum Scott Alexander Hess, dissects his use and balance of language to create scene and character in his latest book, a historical novel, The Butcher’s Son (a literary fiction hell-of-a-work if I do say so mahself.) The author of three books, Hess masters juxtaposing elements of nature to “aggravate and propel things that are already happening” in the plot. The novel, set in 1930s in New York City, gains its viscosity from something H...
Episode 25 Bestselling author Susan Shapiro goes behind her genre crossing prose
September 11, 2015 04:00 - 42 minutes - 38.2 MBIn this Behind the Prose exclusive, I interview Shapiro, who was my thesis mentor while I was an MFA student in the Creative Writing Program at The New School, where she's taught writing since 1993 and won a Distinguished Teaching Award. The first time I took her highly popular "Instant Gratification Takes Too Long" Journalism course, I - like many of the other students -published a personal essay (on the website The Frisky.) I have to credit Shapiro with guiding my foray into the world of c...
Part Two: How to write a For Dummies book with Gwen Hernandez
September 09, 2015 02:30 - 55 minutes - 49.8 MBHey Behind the Prosers, I know you've been waiting for part two of the awesome interview with Gwen Hernandez, and here it is! In this episode we talk about crafting introductions, how the writing software Scrivener helps "plotters" and "pantsers" - (listen to find out which one you are), how Hernandez uses Scrivener to structure her books with four parts, and what about self-publishing appealed to her and how she's done so successfully with her romantic suspense novels. I've got many great ...
How to write a For Dummies book with Gwen Hernandez, Scrivener For Dummies
August 12, 2015 03:30 - 35 minutes - 31.3 MBMany writers might covet a byline on one of the most popular educational, instructional series ever, the For Dummies line published by Wiley. But not many can snag that gig. For Gwen Hernandez, her story shows how a writer follows a passion that puts her in the “right place at the right time” to compete for a contract on Wiley. In other words, it’s the magic of the universe and Gwen’s quite familiar with the serendipity of things. In this candid interview, which will be released in two par...
Episode 22: How to write a novel when you don't know how with Neil Smith
July 28, 2015 03:00 - 1 hour - 90.2 MBHere's the craft-packed episode you've been waiting for - the exciting and extended episode featuring the award-winning international-selling humble and personable Neil Smith. Neil is the author of Bang Crunch, a wildly successful book of short stories. A few weeks ago, he stopped by the virtual Behind the Prose studio to discuss his new novel Boo, a captivating and imaginative Young Adult whodunnit. In this interview, which promises to show you how he wrote a novel when he didn't know how, ...
Lee Gutkind’s Creative Nonfiction Law and Order Yellow Test Writers’ Prompt
July 12, 2015 04:00 - 1 hour - 54.1 MBIn May, nearly 200 folks descended on the historic city of Pittsburgh to rub writing elbows with authors, essayists, journalists, and editors at the 2015 Creative Nonfiction Writers’ Conference. Maybe you were there. Maybe you weren’t. If you find yourself in the latter, shame on you. Your penance is to listen to this great episode of Behind the Prose featuring an amazing structure analogy by the “Godfather of Creative Nonfiction” Lee Gutkind. If you’ve ever struggled with how to pull togeth...
Episode 20: Writing intimacy, pain, and hope with memoirist Kate Walter
June 27, 2015 04:30 - 58 minutes - 52.5 MBSerendipity. Noun: the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way: a fortunate stroke of serendipity, a series of small serendipities When I interviewed writer and teacher Kate Walter in the second week of June, I’d already delayed the recording at least a week or two. Then, after a great interview about her memoir, Looking for a Kiss: A Chronicle of Downtown Heartbreak, a story about her struggle to understand a mysterious breakup after a 26-year relationsh...
EP#19 Memoir meet Poetry: Kira Lynne Allen crafts debut book in two genres
June 14, 2015 17:00 - 26 minutes - 23.3 MBIn May, I interviewed author Kira Lynne Allen about her new book Write This Second out now on Prashanti Press. In this episode, Kira explains how she used various strategic moves to recreate voice and pace in her work. She tells you what she thinks of the publishing process (as opposed to self-publishing) and whether it helped or hurt her work. You'll also hear what obsession fueled her desire to finish the book by October 2014. Kira is an artist in the most robust sense of the word. In the ...
Episode 18: Get your grown writer on with editor of Full Grown People
May 24, 2015 04:00 - 58 minutes - 52.2 MBHello from Pittsburgh, PA! I'm way past my bedtime and I still have homework to do for Dinty W. Moore's Master Class at the Creative Nonfiction Writers Conference 2015. But the show must go on. And boy is it a show. Jennifer Niesslein, a founder of Brain, Child Magazine, discusses her latest venture, an online literary journal, Full Grown People and anthology of the same name. I interviewed on of Jennifer's essayists, Andrew Bomback in February, then pitched her myself. She accepted! In th...
Episode #17: Running across genres with Rachel Toor, Part Two
May 17, 2015 04:00 - 48 minutes - 43.8 MBIt's the most anticipated podcast episode of the season . . . Part Two of Rachel Toor's amazing interview which aired in April. I interviewed Rachel a few weeks ago and we had a great conversation about the magic of fiction. Though On the Road to Find Out is her first novel, the mystical experience she recounts jives with what I've heard other fiction writers say, including Natalie Baszile, author of Queen Sugar, in episode 7 of Behind the Prose. To borrow Baszile's words, "it's magic." In ...
An intimate conversation with Lee Gutkind, "Godfather" of Creative Nonfiction
May 04, 2015 04:00 - 1 hour - 67 MBYes, you read it right. The legendary Lee Gutkind graces the Behind the Prose virtual studio for a chat with yours truly. In this interview, we discuss everything from what time he goes to bed to how he crafted an overall narrative in a collection of stand-alone essays in his book Forever Fat: Essays by the Godfather. Plus, you get the scoop on what he's working on now and hear the answer to a question that he's never been asked before! Here's a preview of some of the great lessons he give...
Episode 15: Songwriting 101 with Gandhi, a musician with a mission
April 29, 2015 13:30 - 1 hour - 57.1 MBThis episode of Behind the Prose is more like Behind the Lyrics. Indiana-born, New York-based singer/songwriter Gandhi takes us on a journey that starts when he taught himself how to play the guitar and write songs. That was 15 years ago. Today, like prose writers, Gandhi says through an process of experimentation and practice, he’s found his voice and is preparing for the release of Rebel On, an EP that reflects the musician with a mission he’s become. In this interview, you’ll learn there ...
Episode 14: Rachel Toor, author of On the Road to Find Out
April 21, 2015 02:30 - 54 minutes - 48.6 MBThough she hesitates to call herself a “writer” (she thinks it sounds self-important), author and columnist Rachel Toor has written her way into a new Young Adult novel and onto my list of writers I want to be when I grow up. You’ll remember I blogged about her wise but rude writing advice, and as soon as I hit publish, I emailed her to invite her to the show. Not only does she write monthly and bi-monthly columns for The Chronicle of Higher Education and Running Times Magazine respectively,...
Episode 13: A candid convo with Washington Post reporter Soraya N. McDonald
April 14, 2015 01:30 - 40 minutes - 35.8 MBThis week’s episode features a candid conversation with Washington Post reporter Soraya McDonald. In this interview, you’ll recognize right away the wit that shades much of her prose. Soraya is a graduate of Howard University and began covering the high school sports desk as an college intern. After traveling across the country completing journalism fellowship, internships, and eventually employment, Soraya returned to the Washington Post where she eventually became a staff reporter. I disc...
Episode 12: Chelsey Clammer author of BodyHome
April 05, 2015 03:30 - 56 minutes - 51 MBThis week's episode has all kinds of literary good stuff: - a Q&A with Lisa Cron, the author of Wired for Story - a feature interview with writer and editor Chesley Clammer - The Writer's Check-In Visit BehindtheProse.com for the episode show page that includes links and transcripts for this episode.
Episode 11: Kenny Porpora, author of the memoir The Autumn Balloon
March 29, 2015 03:00 - 1 hour - 77.8 MBIn this week's episode, I talk to author and journalist Kenny Porpora about his debut memoir The Autumn Balloon. The show also features: An interview with Emily Griffin, Kenny's editor at Grand Central Publishing Writers on Writing Radio Show My New School MFA classmate Erin Harris Writer's Psych with Dr. Ike Listen on demand or download on iTunes. ABOUT KENNY PORPORA Kenny Porpora’s work can be found in The New York Times, New York Daily News, Newsday, and The Huffington Post, and is...
Bad sentences beware of Washington Post nonfiction book critic Carlos Lozada
March 22, 2015 04:00 - 57 minutes - 52 MBWoe be unto you writer, should you land in a Washington Post article titled “The five worst sentences I read in January.” When I read that post written by the new nonfiction book critic Carlos Lozada, I knew two things. First, I needed to interview Lozada. Second, I was afraid to write him an email. Lozada’s voice engaged me because in addition to rhetorical smarts, he’s pretty funny. Though he’s been at the paper for several years, he began his new role at Book Party in January. I’m proud ...
NPR Best Books 2014 author Cameron Conaway talks poetry and prose
March 15, 2015 03:30 - 1 hour - 54.4 MBAuthor Cameron Conaway is a triple threat. He writes. He teaches. He fights. The latter was literal several years ago when he stepped into the ring as a Mixed Martial Artist but now his battles are on the world stage, raising awareness for preventable diseases like malaria through poetry and prose. His latest book, Malaria, Poems, is born of that call to advocacy. NPR selected the book, which is “spliced” (his science-influenced word) with facts about malaria, as a “Best Books of 2014.” In ...
Live your best literary life: Writer Joan Dempsey shares how on Behind the Prose
March 08, 2015 22:00 - 59 minutes - 53.5 MBBesides having one of the best writer’s websites I’ve ever seen, Joan Dempsey has successfully merged the craft she loves with a business model that helps others reach their writing goals. On March 8 at 6 PM EST, she joins me on the Behind the Prose Radio Show to tell us how she lives the literary life oh-so-well. There are things I want to know like: what is a "writing shed” and how does one get one? How do writers decide which genre to focus on? And can you really teach an old writer dog ne...
Natalie Baszile's Queen Sugar picked up by OWN; Baszile talks craft on 3/1
March 01, 2015 23:00 - 1 hour - 64 MBIt is with great Behind the Prose pride that I share awesome news about Natalie Baszile's first novel. Queen Sugar is moving to Oprah Winfrey's OWN network under the helm of "Selma" director Ava DuVernay. I am proud, but I'm not surprised. Days before the news broke, I wrote "If there ever was a novel that surely will be a movie, Queen Sugar is it." I met Natalie at the 2012 VONA Voices Workshop. In a nonfiction workshop taught by Faith Adiele, I had the pleasure of reading excerpts of Nat...
Sarah Gerard juxtaposes chaos and control to craft narrative in first novel
February 22, 2015 23:00 - 1 hour - 108 MB*** UPDATE #2 - AFTER THE SHOW *** This episode is filled to capacity with awesomeness. First, you'll hear the rest of Associate Senior Editor Roxanne K. Young's interview about her work at the Journal of the American Medical Association and Dr. Andrew Bomback's essay "Errands" which ran in the "A Piece of My Mind Column" in JAMA. (BTW: His episode was named most popular writing episode by BlogTalkRadio. JAMA generously has made Andrew's episode available at no cost of a limited time.) Ne...
Physician and writer Andrew Bomback discusses writing craft and commitment
February 15, 2015 23:00 - 1 hour - 54.4 MBUPDATE ---- JAMA PROVIDED FREE ACCESS TO BOMBACK'S ESSAY FOR A LIMITED TIME!! --- THANK YOU JAMA! Think you don't have time to write? Andrew Bomback is a physician and writer (with toddlers and a wife) but he's still managed to write a novel, a textbook, many academic papers, and first-person essays. On Sunday, February 15, we'll discuss his two nonfiction essays, "I Know That Elmo is Not a Child Molester" and "Errands" published on Full Grown People and in JAMA, respectively. "Errands" rea...
This Monstrous Narrative: Writer Aimee Baker weaves three story lines in essay
February 08, 2015 23:00 - 59 minutes - 53.8 MBI've never read Frankenstein. And honestly, I never wanted to. But then I found "This Monstrous Heart" by Aimee Baker. By the time she finished weaving in and out of three narratives in the creative nonfiction essay, I not only wanted to read Mary Shelley's legendary tome and every autobiography about her messy life, I wanted to devour anything Baker wrote, including her grocery lists and text messages. On February 8, 2015, Aimee will join me on my Behind the Prose Radio Show to discuss her ...
Location, voice, and tone in creative nonfiction with writer Soo Na Pak
February 01, 2015 23:00 - 1 hour - 54.5 MBThis episode of Behind the Prose features an interview with writer and artist Soo Na Pak. Soo Na Pak lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her essays and prose appear in The Butter; TheRumpus.net; AlterNet.org; “Outsiders Within: Writing on Transracial Adoption” (South End Press); Hamilton Stone Review; and Digital Artifact Magazine. On Sunday’s show, we’ll analyze her two pieces “Woman” - a tribute to Amy Winehouse and “Osiris.” We will discuss Soo Na's use of voice and tone in her narrat...
Go Behind the Prose with Jennifer Genest, fiction and nonfiction writer
January 25, 2015 23:00 - 40 minutes - 35.9 MBOn Sunday, January 25, 2015, Jennifer Genest, MFA will join me on Behind the Prose to discuss two of her recent publications in the genres of fiction and creative nonfiction. We will be close reading and discussing her flash fiction story "Ways to Prepare White Perch" and her creative non-fiction essay "Her Fighting Weight - A Postpartum Experience," published in New Delta Review and The Doctor T.J. Eckleburg Review. Genest holds and MFA from Antioch University Los Angeles and was a Pete...
The Writing Process with essayist Tavonne Carson
January 17, 2015 19:00 - 35 minutes - 31.2 MBIn the pilot episode of Behind the Prose, I interview writer Tavonne Carson who has her MFA from The New School. Tavonne's essay "Closer," which features her unique ability to convey details with rich description, was published in Gastronmica, The Journal of Critical Food Studies. She lives and writes in New York City and is pitching her first manuscript of essays. Today's instrumental, Rusty Trees, was written and produced by Redvers West-Boyle.