SER Online, Summer 2010

Richard BickelRichard BickelRichard BickelRichard Bickel

Inside this Issue:

From A Q&A with Skip Horack:

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Nothing about writing really comes easily for me—though, it’s true, if I do have any kind of comfort zone it is in writing about place. And I suppose of all the different landscapes I’ve moved through in my life, that stretch of Interstate 10 between, say, Houston and Jacksonville, is the one that I know best. It captures my imagination for some reason, and I find that if I think hard enough on a particular dot on that Gulf Coast map a story will eventually come to me. 

Skip Horack

Summer descends on Tallahassee early and with a fury. Long before the sweltering heat settles in and wraps us in its humidity blanket, we start dreaming of boat rides down the Wakulla, taking in the cool breezes and fresh oysters of Apalachicola, and skipping off for Saturdays at St. George Island. This summer, we are painfully aware that our Gulf Coast dreaming has turned nightmarish for many. Tensions are running high for Gulf residents, and the continuing bad news is heartbreaking.

In light of the oil spill disaster plaguing the waters just south of us, The Southeast Review is devoting our entire summer issue—one we hope will turn into an ongoing discussion—to the Gulf Coast. It's a tribute and an attempt to raise awareness about the region so many call home and repeatedly turn to for their subject matter. We only wish we could do more. 

To start your own Gulf Coast dreaming, you can visit our Tribute to the Gulf Coast feature where authors intimately connected to the area share their love for the region and thoughts on the disaster occurring there. Then, read a new interview with Florida writer Connie May Fowler. We are also pleased to feature the work of Apalachicola resident and photojournalist Richard Bickel. The photographs you see here are from his Last Great Bay and Apalachicola River Series.

Finally, to continue our celebration of the Gulf Coast, we have combed through our archives and invite you to revisit Q&As with Skip Horack and Tom DeMarchi and The FSU English Department's 2005 Hurricane Katrina Benefit, featuring readings by James Kimbrell, Ken Foster, Elizabeth Dewberry, Virgil Suarez, Janet Burroway, David Kirby, and Robert Olen Butler. If you would like to participate in our tribute to the Gulf, or would like for us to link to relief information, please email the editors. Thank you, in advance, for reaching out to help.


Introduction text by Jessica Pitchford, former Editor-in-Chief of The Southeast Review.

Photography by Richard Bickel.


SER Online, May 2010

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"More Books" by artist Mickey Smith


IN THIS ISSUE 

Richard Garn
interviews
Debra Monroe

&

Katherine Burgess
interviews
Ryan Boudinot


Meanwhile...from our ongoing Podcast series:

Listen to
Margaret Atwood
speak candidly to students, professors and fans at Florida State University


Also, check out these fresh reviews of small/independent press titles:


Joe Sacksteder
reviews
Blake Butler’s Ever (Calamari Press)

J.A. Tyler
reviews
Evan Lavander-Smith’s From Old Notebooks (BlazeVOX)

Brandi George
reviews
Mary Jo Bang’s The Bride of E (Graywolf) 

Stephen Tully Dierks
reviews
Zachary German's Eat When You Feel Sad (Melville House)
and
Brandon Scott Gorrell's during my nervous breakdown i want to have a biographer present (Muumuu House)

Lily Hoang
reviews
Roberto Bolaño's Monsieur Pain (New Directions)


And in closing, a few important announcements...

The Southeast Review has shut down Poetry, Fiction, and Nonfiction submissions until August 1st, but please send us book reviews for recent works by clicking here!

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The re-run of our most recent Writer's Regimen for Adults will be starting on June 1st, so click here to sign up now! Then read the winning pieces from our April Regimen, prose by Ethel Rohan and poetry from Marilyn Cavicchia!

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Here is the winning entry from our AWP Post-It Competition
written by John Nieves:
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Welcome to The Southeast Review Online, home of The SER 30-Day Writing Regimens and one of the richest resources on the web for all things literary. The Southeast Review is published by Florida State University’s Creative Writing Program.