Unpublished Beauties: Celebrating Rough Drafts at The Rough Draft Reading Series

Luke Gentile

Join us on May 1 to share your “unpublished beauties” at the inaugural Rough Draft Reading Series kickoff event, which will be held from 7 pm to 8:30 pm at 2 Roots Art & Wine Gallery, 216 South Barstow Street, Eau Claire, WI, 54701. No advance registration is required to read or attend. Just show up and we’ll share until our time runs out

The Rough Draft Reading Series was created by Katie Venit, a professional freelance writer and instructional designer at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire . 

Katie Venit agreed to answer the following questions in advance of the event.

Luke Gentile: What is the purpose of this event? And how does the event's name connect to that purpose?

Katie Venit: Getting the writing community together is always a reason for a get-together. But the specific purpose of this event is to give folks a chance to share with each other our works in progress--those unpublished beauties that haven't found a home in print yet. The popular retreats that the CVWG runs have always included an opportunity for folks to share informally something, either something they wrote on the retreat or that they came with. It's always a highlight of the event. And so we thought it would be fun to do that outside the retreats. Plus, I love hearing about what my friends are working on. We have such a variety of writers here in the Chippewa Valley.

LG: Is there a sign-up process for those who wish to participate?

KV: It'll be open-mic style, so people can sign up there on a sheet of paper. But all are welcome to attend even if they're not reading. Come and hang out and enjoy a beverage! 

 LG: Do you have any advice to decrease anxiety for participants?

KV: I've done a few readings, and I shake like a leaf before, during, and after each one. In fact, I'm halfway hoping so many people come that I won't need to read from my own WIP.  :)  It helps me to remember that everyone there has nothing but goodwill for readers. We're all there to have a good time, enjoy each other's company, and nerd out about writing. Absolutely no one is there to judge. 

LG: Could a participant share multiple pieces (if time allows)? And if so, could they share all their pieces at same time or do they have to sign up for a separate time slot?

KV: We're asking folks to limit their selection to no more than 5 minutes. If there's still time after everyone goes, sure, folks can read again. They can just put their name on the list again. 

LG: Should participants be prepared to share content warnings prior to reading their piece(s)?

KV: That's a good idea. I'd prefer if the readings were kept at a PG-13 level or below, anyway, but that's not a rule. It's a best practice for readings (unless you know in advance that the event welcomes strong content) to avoid topics that are likely to traumatize the audience.   

LG: Will this be a continual event, i.e., monthly, quarterly, annually?

KV: If it goes well, sure, we'll have it again! BJ and I talked about possibly having it twice a year. But we'll see how this one goes first.  
LG: Are there any fees required, i.e., entry fee, minimum purchase, etc.?

KV: Nope! No fees, although I have to say that 2 Roots offers some delicious beverages for purchase.  

LG: Is there additional information that should be shared?
KV: After the event, folks are welcome to stay longer and hang out! I turn into a pumpkin around 9 pm, but the wine bar is open until 11 pm.

Chaya's Top Three Chippewa Valley Book Festival Picks

 Chaya Gritton

There’s nothing I love more than curling up with a good book and a fuzzy blanket. To me, reading is a breath of fresh air away from the real world. There are so many genres of books that it’s hard for me to choose one favorite, but I tend to gravitate toward fantasy, historical fiction, and adventure.

Every year the Chippewa Valley Book Festival hosts an inspiring week jam-packed with literary events., which cover a wide array of genres. This festival is a great chance for writers and book lovers alike to learn the behind-the-scenes stories of these books by the authors who wrote them. Keep reading for my three top picks for this year’s festival!

When Memory Becomes History: Mourning and Remembrance in Writing with Nghi Vo

This event will take place in the Riverview room at the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library from 6 to 7 p.m. on October 13th. Vo will dive into the concepts of history and personal narrative, and explore how these concepts influence each other.

This event instantly piqued my interest, the title alone pulls you in straight away. Vo is a writer that I personally look up to. Her writing just takes you to another dimension. One thing that stands out in this event is that she touches on the concept of power and how one uses this to choose what stories to write.

Vo has won the Crawford Award and the Hugo Award. She focuses on writing fantasy, science fiction, and horror.

The Craft of Writing Lives- Our Own and Others with Melissa Faliveno

Excitingly this is Melissa Faliveno’s debut essay collection Tomboy Land. It will take place on October 14th from 1 to 2 p.m., at the Riverview Room in the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library. If you’re interested in learning about the process of how to write about personal experiences, you should check it out. She’ll plunge into her own process.

Her work has been highlighted in many major publications such as Oprah magazine and NPR. It has gained a lot of attention for her queer narrative. She’s an editor, writer, and a teacher. Through the essays, she explores her childhood in Wisconsin and what it’s like to grow up in the Midwest.

I’m always interested in learning about regional authors and am curious to learn more about her life and writing process.

Brotherless Night: Political Fiction of the Recent Past with V.V Ganeshananthan

Ganeshananthan explores the importance of research for a book even if it’s not non-fiction. This event is a great opportunity to learn about historical fiction writing. She draws examples from her book Brotherless Night. You can find this event at the University of Wisconsin Stout in Harvey Hall Theatre, October 16th from 4:30 to 5:30pm.

Ganeshananthan has works that can be found in established locations such as The New York Times and The Best Nonrequired American Reading. She currently teaches at the MFA program at the University of Minnesota.

 I am a huge fan of historical fiction, and this event is a great opportunity for future writers to get a lot out of this event. Historical fiction especially surrounding research can be challenging, but Ganeshananthan’s introduction will be a great first step.

All three of these events will take place in person and virtually.

For more information, visit the Chippewa Valley Book Festival website.  

Sneak Away For A Day of Writing at This Year’s Writers Retreats

Laura Carew

Mark your calendars for your favorite morning-to-night writers retreat, coming to you in October and January!

Packed with like-minded writers, food, and an end-of-day live reading, the upcoming 12-Hour Writers Retreat is planned for Saturday, October 28. Tucked in the heart of downtown at Eau Claire’s very own Forage, host and writer-in-residence Nickolas Butler will lead participants through workshops and freewriting sessions. Registration opened on September 11, and spots filled quickly, but the live reading at 7 p.m. is free and open to the public—you’ll still be able to get a taste of the goings-on.

Don’t get too discouraged if you didn’t snag a spot for October’s retreat. We’ll be back on January 27 with YA author Nicole Kronzer hosting our winter retreat.

If you haven’t heard of this all-day event, or whether you’ve been on the fence about joining the fun, here’s your sign. We writers are constantly bogged down by the weight of everyday responsibilities—and that pesky thing called writer’s block—thus making it hard to schedule time for uninterrupted writing.

This is what our Writers Retreat is all about! When it feels impossible to get any work done amidst the busyness of life, the Writers Guild hopes to make it easier to turn your mind off about your outside life and awaken your writing brain without any interruptions.

While the weather starts cooling off and the cozy writing days get nearer, we’re already looking ahead to our January retreat, with Nicole Kronzer as its host. You might recognize Kronzer from her debut YA novel, Unscripted, or her most recent release, The Roof Over Our Heads.

““There’s nothing quite like a writer’s retreat for me to realize how many times per hour I get interrupted at home. A twelve-hour writer’s retreat, on the other hand, eliminates those distractions.””

— Nicole Kronzer

“There’s nothing quite like a writer’s retreat for me to realize how many times per hour I get interrupted at home,” Kronzer writes. “A twelve-hour writer’s retreat, on the other hand, eliminates those distractions.”

Our retreat is meant to foster those writing skills throughout the entire day without the possibility of getting pulled away and risking the loss of inspiration. Surrounded by writers and like-minded individuals, it’s the perfect spot to let yourself sink into the creative flow that produces your best work.

The retreat will start at 9 a.m., with guided writing exercises, plenty of freewriting time, supportive workshops, and a live showcase reading at the end of the night. “Take a day and prioritize yourself and your art,” Kronzer says. “See you there!”

We hope you can join us and put yourself and your writing at the front of your mind, if only for a day. Stay tuned for when registration opens in December!

Friendship, Art, and Honoring Your Seasons: In Conversation with Toya Wolfe

Elan Mccallum

In her debut novel, Last Summer on State Street, Toya Wolfe chronicles four friends experiencing the life-changing summer the Chicago Housing Authority demolishes their neighborhood and how they must reckon with the fallout years later. Poignant and engaging, it was named a 2023 PEN/Open Book Award finalist, a Stephen Curry Underrated Literati Book Club Pick, and a Best Book of Summer by Good Housekeeping, Chicago Magazine, The St. Louis Post Dispatch, Chicago Tribune, Veranda, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Publishers Weekly, and more–-and did I mention that the paperback is coming out? It’s been a busy year for Toya.

And things haven’t slowed down yet. Fresh from the Merky Books Literature Festival in the UK, Toya took a moment to let me ask some questions while preparing for an event in Eau Claire.

Elan Mccallum: So the first question I had is about your portrayal of girlhood friendship. It was so authentic and really resonated with me. Were there friendship dynamics in your own life that inspired this–did you mine those kinds of dynamics from your life or was this something that you drew from other spheres of your life, other people?

Toya Wolfe: Yeah, I have always been a part of so many different friends circles–I joke that I'm a floater. I am so extroverted, which is not typical of most novelists. But when I think back to my childhood, I always had a group of girlfriends. And I wanted to explore in this book the dynamics of friendship–what it's like to have one friend and then you and that one person do everything together. What it's like when you invite someone into this duo, you become a trio. Sometimes with that things can fall apart. In this specific story it just so happens that the person who's doing all this inviting is Fe Fe. Her friend Precious is real chill, she's a Christian–she's very inviting. She's trying to be like Jesus and just kind of welcome people in. And they have a friend who is not going to behave that way when they invite a fourth person in. So I wanted to explore the dynamics of friendship and how private a group of friends can be–and what kind of happens when you've got people in the friend group who don't really like each other very much. So you'll see a whole lot of those dynamics of what it means to have a best friend and then if those best friends are going to share or if they're going to just be total jerks about it.

EM: Yeah, I mean, trying to balance an already developed friendship while developing a whole new friendship–especially within a group–can be so tenuous because things are shifting, right? 

TW: And also think about places like a housing project, right? You think those people are poor, but there are levels to it. You've got people who–because their family is a part of the neighborhood gang that gives them a kind of like hood royalty–they have status. And then what does that mean for them to be friends with somebody who doesn't have that level of status. So there’s all this different socio-economic stratification. And imagine when you smash some people together who feel, you know, “I'm cooler than this person,” or “You shouldn't be breathing the same air as me”--that happens even amongst people who don't have a lot of money.

EM: If you have potential friends who are scattered across these different socio-economic strata, then there are different levels of personal and emotional development. One of the things that really jumped out at me at the beginning of the book was this sort of  retrospective observation. And that was, “We didn't know then that the practice of burying emotions created adults who struggled to build meaningful relationships. Some of us would eventually completely forget how to access true feelings.” So was this an observation that you knew from the beginning that you would include, or did it come later on in edits? 

TW: I started this book so long ago, so… I feel like that's a line I added later because I have a very hands-on literary agent, and she would ask me these questions. I'd write a line, and she'd say, “Well, how does that affect these characters?” and “What do you think that means for them?” or just whatever. I feel that line came out of her pushing me, asking me a question, and then me deciding. There's this balance, right? When you're writing a story, and the narrator has distance and knows what's going to happen. You have this challenge of not telling too much, but reminding the reader that the narrator is not in that moment anymore. And this was one of those literary devices where I took the narrator and let her be in her 30s and be wise–because essentially what she's saying is that some of these folks are never going to learn how to let people in. I actually think that comes from being single and being someone who's been on the dating scene, dating guys who don't have any emotional intelligence, or they're working so hard to keep these walls up. And I imagine that somewhere in their childhood they had to put up those walls, but they never took them down. I think that's what it looks like. I think as a child you decide you're going to pretend you don't have feelings, but you do that for so long that you never come back from it. I think that's kind of where that line came from.

EM: So what was your approach writing the adult characters who struggle with meaningful relationships?

TW: For the longest time this book was just in a kid’s perspective, and everybody kept telling me “Toya, you should age them up.” People I respect–teachers, my thesis advisor–telling me if I made them older, I can do a lot more with the narration. And so for many, many years, the story was told by a 14-year-old about a time when she and her friends were 12. I'm a person who will take advice, but I'll also take a minute to digest it. So I decided to try out a draft where the narrator was older, and at the very end or close to the end, we jumped to her adult life. I think because I started this book when I was about 25 and knew very little about life, or men, or anything about writing, this book sort of grew up with me. I got wiser, my narrative got wiser. We're not the same, but I think when you're in your 30s you know a lot more than when you're like 20 years old, and definitely when you're 12 years old, right? So I think when I decided to include adult characters in this book, and when I decided to change the narrative to an adult perspective very, very late, it was… Hmm, I probably started this book in 2005, and I think it would have been about 2016 or 2017 when I decided to make the narrator in her early 30s and have chapters where characters were adults. So way, way later, I think. And yeah, by the time I started adding sort of wisdom into the book, it was stuff I already knew. I think I became wiser, and then as a writer I started making my narrator wise.

EM: It's interesting that you say that because I feel there's a lot of emphasis placed in publishing on the up-and-coming young writer. You know, they’re hot and easy-to-market. The “wunderkind.” But there are incredible writers at every age. What are your thoughts on that, being an incredibly successful writer not in your 20s? What is your experience and your thoughts on that aspect of publishing?

TW: I think this is a beautiful question, Elan, and I'm so excited to talk about this. I wanted this book published back when I was 25. But I'm 42 right now. When the book was sold, I was 41, which means the last few years of polishing the manuscript happened when I was in my late 30s, turning 40–all of that. This would not be the book that we know if I had gotten a book deal back when I was 26 years old. Even the way that we've promoted this book, the conversations I've been able to have–they're all a direct result of my work experience. I've been on the literary scene in Chicago since the year 2000. That means I've shown up for so many fiction writers, having three jobs, leaving a shift at a restaurant sweaty, and I pop up to a bookstore to hear somebody read from their debut novel. I've been in this game for over two decades, right? I've sat in so many workshops. I've paid for one-off workshops where you spend two weeks with a celebrity writer, learning everything you can. I have an MFA in Creative Writing, which means I spent years sitting in workshops, getting stuff torn down and built up. I studied with Audrey Niffenegger, and that's because I went to school when she just happened to have left the art department and moved to the fiction department. I just think so many stars had to align for this manuscript to have this much wisdom in it from other people. For me to watch other writers and their careers. Famous writers showing up to empty bookstores, and then me asking the question, “What happened there?” so then when I set up my tour, I made sure there were 10 people who said, “Yes, I'm coming” from my inner circle to show up and have butts in the seats of these bookstores. And then if nobody else came, there were 10 people in this bookstore. So I  think we are obsessed with youth–I'm gonna go ahead and step on my soapbox right now–but what youth does not have is wisdom. Because when you've only been on earth for a couple decades, if you compare that to somebody who's in their late 30s, or in their 40s, or in their 50s, we know a lot more people. We have had a lot more marked up short stories and novels, and that makes a more well-informed, well-adjusted person. And if you can find a way to take all of that and put it in your work, I think it makes your work so much richer. And sometimes people say, “Yeah, I'm looking for ideas,” but you live and you learn and you find ways to write about it, whether it’s a memoir or fiction, whether it's essays or poetry. So, I think to answer your question, I am so glad that God did not give me what I had been begging for, which was a book deal since I was 25 years old, because I got to mine not just my life–I am a fiction writer, I did create these characters–but I lived in all the places that I write about in this book. And it's one thing to live in a place and to write about it. It's another thing to live in a place and have the distance to reflect on it, meditate on it and then write about it. 

EM: I mean, I feel like a lot of times when you're writing fiction, oftentimes the conflict is really just a question and the ending is some attempt at an answer. But if you are writing a novel, there's going to be a central question that is being asked. So then having that wisdom, that experience, the time to reflect… Would you say that is what's necessary sometimes to more effectively answer the question?

“Yeah, things happen. You’ve got to work your way through the trauma, and then you’re going to process what happened.”

— Toya Wolfe

TW: I think it's the time, but it's also the practice of reflecting. We don't all live examined lives. I think stuff happens to you, and then you have to think it over. It takes time to deal with the trauma of the thing that happened to you, whether it's something really major or just a terrible breakup. Yeah, things happen. You've got to work your way through the trauma, and then you're going to process what happened. And I think that we don't all have the practice of that. Of having things happen to us, acknowledging that a thing happened to us, and then trying to figure out what happened. And then the fourth step is to actually write about what happened. I didn't know how to do that when I was in my early 20s. There are a lot of young talented people. That's why you do have these debut novelists who are fresh out of the MFA programs, and they are praised for it. But I just think it's harder. Even dealing with success–it's harder if you've never experienced what it means to say no, or to understand what you as a human need. Everybody wants something from you. I think that comes with time. It comes with working. I've had so many different kinds of jobs. I had to communicate to my bosses what I think ought to be paid–or if something happens, how to sit down and really talk about how they've offended me and how we're going to move forward. There's just all these life skills that you don't even know that you don't have until you've lived for a while.

EM: Okay, this is making me think about how the personal inspires art. But I've heard a number of different writers say that while writing is art, publishing is business. What has been your experience with that? 

TW: So let's say that's mostly true. And I think one of the reasons that I've had a pleasant publishing experience is because I have communicated. I think I learned from having regular jobs. I communicated with the powers that be what my expectations were, and what my thoughts are about different things. Case in point, my contributions to the book cover. When you do final copy edits you–for lack of a better phrase–you have to fight for your words. And oftentimes the final copy edits get shipped out to someone who's not your actual editor, who doesn't know you at all. And sometimes they question you about things that you've said, or places that you've mentioned, if they can't verify with research. Like, “Are you sure about this place?” And so you have to put on really thick skin during so many phases of the publishing conversations. I didn't design the cover–there was a very brilliant artist at HarperCollins who designed the cover–but I sent a Pinterest board with colors and other covers, fonts that I liked, and kind of like the feelings that I thought would be really cool based on creating and spending years in this manuscript. I thought that there should be colors that represent the sunset on the cover because the book is really about sunsetting a neighborhood, but there's also several sunsets that the narrator witnesses herself. I also thought about little girls in the summertime, especially little Black girls. We’re wearing the brightest colors you can find, right? So this cover needs to look like it's ablaze, and that's kind of how I pitched it to them. But then, whoever you're talking to at your publisher, they have to go back and have several other conversations with people that you'll never see or you'll never meet. Those people don't know you. Oftentimes those people haven't even read your book yet. So when your editor or whomever goes back to convey your vision, they're only thinking about what they've done before and dollars essentially. And I don’t say that to demonize them–they've got a job to do, right? Every decision that's made in publishing is so that they can sell books. Before you get to that conversation, it's your job as a writer to take what's in your head and put it in the book. At that stage, you shouldn't be thinking about your cover, and you shouldn't be thinking about all these random people you're gonna have a conversation with. It's a really great case of staying in your lane. When it's time to talk business, talk business about the thing, right? Let them be business people, you are still an artist. Then when it's time for you to add the things that help them do their job better, that's where you take your artistic self and help them translate your vision so that you can sell books. Because you guys all have the same goal at that stage to sell books. And for my book specifically, people look at my cover and they want to pick it up. They're drawn to this beautiful work of art that's not even my words yet. I mean, if they did take any of your suggestions about the cover, then your vision’s on it a little bit, but it's your name and somebody else's art and the title. I think sometimes we demonize the business side. You hear a lot of people who go to a lot of conferences and they're like, “Publishing’s all about business,” and yeah, because you gotta get paid–like, we have to sell these books. But don't let them stray too far from your artistic vision and respectfully find ways to fight for what you want.

EM: That's a great point because, I mean, a business is looking at their bottom line. But of course you as a writer, the artist, you're looking out for your vision. So there's a kind of collaboration that has to occur, and you do have the same goal in mind to sell the book.

TW: There is a way to have balance. If you have industry people who are not hearing you, then it's your job to go figure out how to get them to hear you, how to speak their language. I think throwing tantrums or not saying what you feel is not helpful. You have to advocate for yourself. I've never had a job where I didn't negotiate my salary, even when I was working at a restaurant because I know my worth. And I knew it's also my employer’s job to pay me as little as they can because they have a budget that has to stretch very far or whatever. I took those skills from my regular life and used them in publishing. Like, "What is the goal we're trying to accomplish here and how do I get you to hear me?"

EM: Ooh, so you said that when you’re in your lane, you shouldn't be thinking about all the things that will happen until after you start working with the publisher. But at what point do you really get a sense that your time in your lane is coming to an end and it's time to start merging?

TW: I think once you've sold the book. Once you get industry people involved, it's time to think like them. But I think the problem is when it's just you and your computer or your story, we've got other people in the conversation who don't belong there. I have a friend who recently decided that she's going to write a story, and one of the things I'm going to drill into her head is that only you and this story exists right now. Do not share pages with no body. Okay? You don't think about who's gonna publish it. You're in a season where it's just you. You know what, I'm gonna quote CV Peterson. CV is a visual artist, right? And the two of us, our worlds of art cannot be further apart. I'm a writer. She's a painter, sculptor. Like, she's a visual artist. We get together and we talk process in a very pulled back way so that we can encourage each other and kind of have art therapy. We really are art therapy for one another. And I have been on a tour longer than I thought I would be. I was having a lot of conversations, speaking engagements, just ripping and running all over the place at a time when I thought I'd be working on my next book. January, February is always the time when I start a new thing. It's cold and stupid outside. I got my cup of cocoa, I'm writing down and looking at the snow–it's great. This year, I was traveling, I was speaking, I was exhausting myself. So I'm up visiting CV in Eau Claire, we're chatting and she's like, “Toya, the problem is you're not acknowledging that you're still in "showing season," and you're trying to go to "making season" when you're not in "making season."” She has "showing season," "making season," and "research season"–that's kind of the chunks of her artistic life. We call it book promotion or the tour or whatever, but essentially, I have been in "showing season" longer than I ever thought. And it's a privilege and it's an honor. And I have to just fall back and acknowledge that I'm not in a season where things are still and quiet and it's just me, and I can start writing my next book. People want to ask you, “What's next? What are you working on?” And no one wants to hear you say, “I'm working on telling more people about this book,” but it's real. I was in the UK because the book came out on March 23rd. I was able to go to a string of bookstores in London, and I was able to sit on a panel about girlhood. And the other folks on the panel were from London, they were from Jamaica, they were in their 60s, I'm in my 40s, and the other girl’s probably in her late 20s, if I had to guess. So whatever season you're in, you have to stay in it and honor that. Man, I forgot your original question. Why did I go off on this tangent?

EM: The question was–oh my gosh, I was just so swept up. Oh yeah! When do you know that it's time to come out of your lane?

TW: Yeah, so right now I am still technically in the publishing lane. All up in it. I have an independent publicist. I have a publicist at my American publisher, HarperCollins. I have a publicist at Penguin UK. I spend most of my time talking to publicists because we are still promoting all the versions of Last Summer on State Street. The paperback version is going to be out. So I'm still in the publishing lane right now, and I am hoping that this summer I get to come out of their world and back into my very small, quiet space, where I'm just creating and throwing a mess on the wall and being like, “Oh, I like how that's dripping!” I'm so excited because that's the stuff I love. But it's also a privilege to have a book–to still be in conversation. The book was published on June 14 of last year, and people still want to talk about it, people are still finding it. And I think for people who are writing a book there is this temptation to think about who's going to buy it. What publisher, who's the audience–all those things. But you're gonna have people whose specific job is to think about that stuff. They can't write the book–you have to write the book, you know. So that is your first lane, first and foremost. And if you decide to change lanes for a time because it's necessary, don't forget that you're gonna go back into the lane of writer. And then again, you've got to box out and keep everybody out until it's time to have to let them come over into your lane.

EM: I love that interweaving answer! But, okay, you are probably one of the most outgoing and friendly creatives–particularly a writer–that I've ever met. Being in your lane, writing your book, your story–that's just you and the chair, interacting with the page or the screen. But eventually, your creative community is going to be a part of that. You've been in the game for over 20 years. What's been your journey building a creative community? And how does your community sustain and influence your work, especially since you have an ever-expanding circle of friends? I feel like I could look away for five minutes and you've made 10 new friends. 

TW: You know what it is? I think you have to hold on to people. When I studied creative writing as an undergrad, I went to a school called Columbia College Chicago, and it was one of the only schools in the country that had a bachelor's degree in fiction writing. I always knew that this program existed, but it was in Chicago and I was trying to flee Chicago. I wanted to get out of the housing projects and get as far away from Chicago as possible. I failed, but it was a good thing. So I always knew that Columbia had an actual fiction writing major, and I was so fascinated by that. I would be in workshops, and I would always pay attention to who got excited. Because in our program you had to actually write in your notebook in class, and then you would read a little bit of it back. So over the course of 16 weeks you really get to know somebody’s work really well. You're like, “Oh, we're back to that same monster.” You will look up and see whose eyes are twinkling when you're reading your stuff. And those are the people you want to stay in touch with because they get what you're trying to do and are excited about it. I learned early on that you need to grab a few writers who are going to make up your sort of writing community. Maybe you'll be in a workshop with them, or maybe sometimes you'll talk process with them on a break. You'd be sharing, “Yeah, I'm really struggling with this character. I just don't like them.” And I think I learned in childhood about friendship–when you connect with people, you should keep them. I think when I started studying writing, it became that you need to figure out which writers you want to hold on to. I have a mentor friend who jokes that my life is full of these concentric circles of friends and community, and it's because I don't let good people go. Whether they are creatives or just folks who have a similar faith tradition. It’s just the practice of holding on to good people that I learned a long time ago, and I sort of apply it to my creative life as well.

EM: That's a powerful way of being. That's not just art-sustaining, that's life-sustaining.

TW: Yeah, yeah. I think now that I have a book out, there are people who genuinely are cheering me on because they know I showed up for them but also know this is a big deal. I've been working on it for a long, long time, and they're all “Look at you go!” and they're informed cheerleaders. They're not just here for the magic of it all. They're saying, “Man, this woman–she held onto this book forever!” I mean, I have friends who had a book they worked on for a while and they set it aside and started a new thing. But for some reason, I just decided to keep hammering away at this thing obsessively. So, people know my story. They know this. I started a long time ago, and a lot of them have read drafts, they've given me notes. A lot of them are on my acknowledgments page because it's been such a journey. I've kept some of the same people, but along the way I picked up some new folks too. 

EM: I remember the first time I read any of your words, I had never met you in person. In fact, I don't think I met you until months after. I was staying at Envisage Retreat for one weekend, and when I walked in, I saw the “They landmarks” quote and asked, “Who wrote that?” because I thought it was so powerful. And CV said, “Oh, that's from my friend Toya. She's from Chicago. She's working on this manuscript,” and I knew I had to read it. From then to now, it's been so incredible to see you come along and blow up!

TW: And Eau Claire and Chippewa Falls–these towns have been such an important part of the creation of this book. Because since 2018, I've been coming up just to work on it in the winter. It's sort of full circle.

Join Toya Wolfe for a reading and conversation Thursday, May 4 at 6:30 PM at the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library.

"Kuv Yog Hmoob": Coming Together To Celebrate Hmong Writers and Storytellers

McKenna Dutton

What makes a writer? Is it the number of words they write? The stories they tell? The number of rejections they get? I think writers are those courageous enough to proclaim that they are one. For S.Z. Putnam, her love for writing blossomed through reading. At the age of eight or nine, she had read almost the entirety of books in her house. Reading helped her feel seen, heard, and inspired. Witnessing others who achieved the dream of publishing made it seem possible for her.

S.Z. Putnam hopes to bring that same inspiration to the Hmong community of writers in Eau Claire. On May 6th at 2:00 PM, in partnership with the Eau Claire Area Hmong Mutual Assistance Association, she will host “Kuv Yog Hmoob (I Am Hmong): Hmong Writers and Storytellers”, an event celebrating and showcasing Hmong writers and storytellers in our community and beyond. I recently had the chance to chat with S.Z. about writing, community, and the Kuv Yog Hmoob event.

McKenna Dutton: Can you share a bit about your background in writing?

S.Z Putnam: I was one of those kids who had a very active imagination. I absolutely loved reading. Anything I could read I was reading. I think I had read all the books in my house by the time I was eight or nine. I am a first generation born child of my parents here in the U.S. and I just realized that I would never pursue a career in journalism because I was never going to leave town. Because I could never leave my parents behind. Giving up writing is what I thought I needed to do to “grow up.” I’ve come full circle and I feel like writing is something that I was meant to do. I’ve always been passionate about it and what I’m hoping for is to show other young writers, or just any writer that may feel like they can’t have a voice in this space that they can. I want to help champion that and leave some footprints behind for them.”

MD: Tell me more about the structure of this event.

S.Z: I was a part of another event that I thought was amazing. We had a bunch of Chinese individuals that were here reading poetry and it was really in that space that I was really able to connect with so many of them.  [BJ Hollars] said, “Why don’t we host something?” I just jumped on it because there’s something about wanting to connect with other individuals and kind of wanting to lead them. Because when I started writing again about two years ago, my biggest fear was: “It’s been so long. I haven’t written anything in so long. What if I’m not any good anymore? I’m not saying anything people want to hear. How do I judge myself amongst my peers?” It’s a terrifying thing to put your work out there and have people you know judge it much less strangers judge it. That for me was really huge and I’m just hoping that by hearing my story and how I felt about my own writing I hope it really gives them hope that they have words that need to be heard. That needs to be shared and it’s only through the sharing of our words as humans that we really can realize how much more similar we are than we are different.

MD: What is your intention for this event?

“I would love to showcase the talent we have in the Eau Claire area, you know, especially with the Hmong community. Because we are a people of folklore, stories, and everything in my culture has been passed through language forever.”

— S.Z. Putnam

S.Z: I’m hoping to get writers out. I’m hoping that they see other writers like themselves. That they can see themselves as each of these writers come out and share either pieces of themselves or of other people. I just hope they feel inspired to write more or they bring a friend along who’s maybe a closeted writer or journals, and that that individual starts to do something. I would love to showcase the talent we have in the Eau Claire area, you know, especially with the Hmong community. Because we are a people of folklore, stories, and everything in my culture has been passed through language forever. Because our written language is fairly new, and they’re all in American letters, and they were never like that before because our language was destroyed. I know we have a lot of storytellers out there because our ancestors were storytellers. We just have to get them there.” 

MD: What do you hope your audience gets out of this event?

S.Z: I tend to write about trauma, mental health, and healing. Those are things I touch on a lot because generational trauma is a huge thing. My parents grew up in wartime. They came to the U.S. with barely anything while carrying all these images of trauma with them. I just want their voices to be heard. I want the kids growing up who don’t think they are Hmong enough and don’t know if they are American enough, I want them to know that their voices are heard. And that we are just like them and there is compassion in this world. Even with so much division, there is so much love to be found. I would love to bridge that somehow and if I can do it with my writing then that’s how I’m going to do it. If I can inspire others to do it too, that would help me push this movement. I think it’s also so important for this community, which has a fairly large Hmong population, to know that there is beauty in being different and there is beauty in sharing different cultures, different viewpoints, and different words.

 “Kuv Yog Hmoob (I Am Hmong): Hmong Writers And Storytellers” will take place on May 6th from 2:00 - 3:30 p.m. at the Eau Claire Area Hmong Mutual Assistance Association. Come and join to celebrate Hmong writers! For additional information about the event, click here!

Rediscovering Family: Behind-the-scenes of "Searching for Mike Teclaw: An Unauthorized Biography"

By McKenna Dutton

For some, “family” has an enduring meaning. For others, “family” might feel distant. Whether your family is blood or found, everyone needs one and it’s nice to know where you come from. That’s what motivated the Eau Claire writer-in-residence Ken Szymanski to learn about his late grandfather Mike Teclaw. Before Szymanski was born his grandpa Teclaw passed away. Later in life, Szymanski’s son was born around the same time his own father passed away. Szymanski knew he wanted his son to better understand his late father in the same way he wanted to better understand his late grandfather. Ken grew curious about the infamous grandfather he never knew, and over the years, he began collecting stories from family members and friends. So many that he wrote an unauthorized biography of the grandfather he never met.

“It took a long time,” Szymanski says of the project. “-My son was born sixteen years ago and that’s when I started… I thought only my relatives would be interested in this, but I showed it to someone outside of the family and she said this is really interesting. There was a more universal appeal than just my family,” Szymanski says.

Over time, Szymanski realized this story was too big to be told on the page. That’s where musician Derick Black came into the picture. Szymanski and Black met through their mutual passion for teaching. When Szymanski pitched the idea of creating his manuscript into a live reading with music, Black was skeptical.

“When Ken originally pitched the idea to me I thought, ‘“So I’m kinda like the commercial between the different acts of your story.’”

 Szymanski clarified that the music was, in fact, foundational to the story. After a bit of practice, the pair found their groove, with the words and music complementing each other.

“It’s a pretty cool marriage between the two,” Black says.

“Searching for Mike Teclaw” is a celebration of life to the people we call family. Those we know now, and those we wish we could’ve known better.

““What I’m doing with these types of stories is a form of genealogy.””

— Ken Szymanski

 “What I’m doing with these types of stories is a form of genealogy,” Szymanski says, “Instead of just the names and dates [I] find the stories behind [them]. The stories of [peoples] lives are what should be worth searching for and I hope people reflect on their own grandparents and their own ancestors… If the person isn’t around or if they never met them it’s still not too late to get to know them and discover their story,” Szymanski says.

“Searching for Mike Teclaw: An Unauthorized Biography” will be performed live on April 20th, 6:30-7:30 in the Riverview Room at the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library. Come for a great show and leave inspired to explore what family means to you.

Poetry and the Planet Coming into Alignment with Local Reading Event

McKenna Dutton

Living in the Midwest we appreciate the transition into spring. After a much-too-long winter, the endless snow finally thaws and the elusive sun finally returns. Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Eau Claire will host “Poetry for the Planet,” not only to spring us into the new season but to employ poetry as a means to shine a light on sustainability. April isn’t just National Poetry Month; its also the month for Earth Day. By hosting this event, UUC Eau Claire reverend Julianne Lepp plans to bring these two great celebrations together.

Readers for this event represent a diverse array of our literary community. The line-up includes Lopamudra Basu, Laurel Kieffer, Erna Kelly, Jan Carroll, Jessi Peterson, Woody Myers, Karen Loeb, and Max Garland. Many of the readers have published full-length collections, including Carroll (Enough of a Path To Get Through), Peterson (Century Farm), and Garland (whose latest collection, Into the Good World Again was just released in March). Additionally, Laurel Kieffer recently published a piece in Barstow & Grand, Karen Loeb served as Eau Claire’s Writer in Residence (among other accolades) and Erna Kelly has edited the Wisconsin Fellowship of Poet’s annual calendar.

By bringing these talented writers and poets together, Lepp hopes to encourage the community to participate in something new; exposing them not only to Eau Claire's illustrious writing community but, to the potentially unknown areas of poetry and planet sustainability.

“I hope people get a chance to see the talents of local writers. We have a really strong writing community in Eau Claire,” says Lepp. “We can showcase people's creativity for a good cause which is Earth Day and environmentalism and help people remember that they should be mindful and love the world around them.”

“Listening to poets read is a transformative experience because you hear it in their own words, in their own piece, their own inflection, their own voice.”

— Rev. Julianne Lepp

While acknowledging that some people tend to find poetry intimidating, Lepp hopes that this event will diffuse any such feelings. “Listening to poets read is a transformative experience because you hear it in their own words, in their own piece, their own inflection, their own voice.” Lepp hopes community members will come out, not only to support local writers, but also to be reminded of, and inspired by, Mother Earth.

Join the Unitarian Universalist Congregation and fellow writers and poets on April 2 at 7:00 p.m. in person or virtually to celebrate Poetry for the Planet.

Retreat Into Writing: Meet the Writer-in-Residence for the CVWG’s Next 12-Hour Writers Retreat

Atalissa Wells

In twelve hours, a lot can happen. 720 minutes, 43,200 seconds. Imagine having the space to devote 12 hours to writing amidst the craziness of an overwhelming schedule. The Chippewa Valley Writers Guild 12-Hour Writers Retreat is designed to do just that! Envelop yourself in a community of other writers from the area who are ready and willing to work and refine their craft, setting aside distractions and the inevitable writer’s block to spend time writing.

With the Chippewa Valley Writers Guild’s 12-Hour Writers Retreat on May 13th from 9 am – 9 pm, writers will get the opportunity to devote 12 hours to their craft–discussing with other writers in the community, engaging in guided writing exercises, and getting direct support from the retreat’s writer-in-residence, Amy Fleury, the author of two published poetry collections with more work on the way. 

Amy Fleury is relatively new to the Eau Claire area but has deep ties to the community through her husband and his family. They moved to the Chippewa Valley in August 2022 after an extended time in Louisiana where Fleury was the director of the M.F.A. creative writing program at McNeese State University. In the 90s, she was a student in the program and then had the opportunity to take over her mentor’s position. “That meant a lot to me because he was very inspiring and influential,” she says. “I cared a lot about the program, and I welcomed the opportunity to perpetuate something so important to me.”

While at McNeese State, Fleury published two poetry collections: Beautiful Trouble, focusing on the intricacies and intimacies of life in the Midwest, and Sympathetic Magic, which centers on the idea that all things that come into contact with each other are bound across space and time. She’s currently working on a manuscript called Stardust and Luck. One poem from this yet unpublished collection is PICU Pietà. Another sample of Fleury’s work is The Summer of Small Boys.

“Being a poet helps with prose writing because it makes me concentrate on my choices on a microlevel. Writing prose can help expand the storytelling aspect of poetry.”

— Amy Fleury

In addition to poetry, Fleury is currently working on a memoir titled What We Call Home, about the short but incredible life of her son, Graham. With her experience in multiple genres of writing, Fleury utilizes skills needed for prose and poetry to amplify her art. “Being a poet helps with prose writing because it makes me concentrate on my choices on a microlevel,” she says. “Writing prose can help expand the storytelling aspect of poetry.”

Even Fleury’s writing process pays homage to her skill sets in both prose and poetry. She comments on being language-driven, keeping a notebook on her so she can write down phrases or individual words that spark inspiration throughout the day. “As a poet, I’m a line writer. As a prose writer I’m a sentence writer,” Fleury says. “I tend to follow one link after the other.”

“Let the material find the genre.”

— Amy Fleury

Due to Fleury’s multi-faceted interests in genre, writers of all kinds will be able to find something helpful and encouraging by working with Amy Fleury. “Let the material find the genre,” she says. “The way I talk about writing applies to prose and poetry both.”

At the 12-Hour Writers Retreat, Fleury aims to achieve a spirit of curiosity, exploration, and openness, supporting individual writers and the community of writers in attendance. There will be a focus on appreciating language with writing activities and intentional freewriting time. Amy Fleury’s advice for writers who are considering attending is to take the leap. “We are often the biggest obstacles to our own writing and openness to the process,” she says. “Get out of your own way.”

January 2023 Retreat

 Take Amy’s advice and register for the 12-Hour Writers Retreat on May 13th from 9 am – 9 pm at Forage. She is excited for this opportunity to work with fellow writers. “It makes me happy to have moved to this community and found such a vibrant group of people who are interested in writing,” she says. Don’t let this invaluable writing community and experience go to waste and register starting March 31st at 8 am. There are only 20 spots so sign up to secure yours. The cost is $85 which includes meals throughout the day, reservation of space, and instruction from Amy Fleury. Writers 21+ are encouraged to apply.

A Home Beyond the Pages: How Young Adult Fiction Helps Audience Find a Home in the World

Atalissa Wells

One of the many incredible abilities of books is how readers can find a home among the pages. Worlds that only exist in paper and ink, characters that validate personal experiences, and that sense of escapism that many readers treasure whenever they pick up a book. However, there is also the importance of using literature to show readers how to find their place in the world we live in. This is especially prevalent in Young Adult (YA) fiction.

 On Thursday, March 16th from 7 pm – 8 pm, YA authors Ellen O’Clover and Nicole Kronzer will be virtually conversing about the concept of using YA fiction to teach teen readers how to find a home in the world during their book talk Finding a Home in the World. They’ll also cover topics like what it takes from a writing standpoint to focus on the genuine lives of teenagers in their current climate.

““[R]eading has the unique magic of transporting you somewhere else. Introducing you to new ideas that you might resonate with in ways that curb your loneliness or assure you that you do belong.””

— Ellen O'Clover

 For Ellen O’Clover, a large part of the power of literature, or art of any kind, is its ability to relate a situation, feeling, or person to something else, diminishing the sense of isolation that is prevalent in anyone’s life, but especially those of teenagers. “Any feeling you’ve ever had–even the ones you might think are ugly–has been felt by someone else too,” O’Clover says. “There’s a lot of power and peace in that.”

 Through writing YA fiction, O’Clover hopes to connect readers, understanding the feeling of being young and having limited information on the big world surrounding teenagers. She finds that the importance of YA fiction comes from the fact that “reading has the unique magic of transporting you somewhere else. Introducing you to new ideas that you might resonate with in ways that curb your loneliness or assure you that you do belong.”

 Nicole Kronzer, an Eau Claire native, was born in the city, moved around for a couple of years, and then lived here through high school graduation. She credits the city and how her home shaped who she is. “Eau Claire is a big reason I ended up as a confident person who believed she could do anything she set her mind to,” Kronzer says.

 Utilizing her experience as both a part-time high school English teacher and part-time YA author, she can witness and understand the lives of teenagers. She spends time surrounded by her high school seniors and her own teenage children, allowing her to be “tapped into the universal feelings of that exciting, difficult time.”

 Both authors have recently published a YA novel. Ellen O’Clover’s Seven Percent of Ro Devereux is about a girl who dreams of working in tech, but also depicts the fear of what it means to be eighteen. Ro creates an app that predicts the future, causing more problems than anticipated.  O’Clover hopes readers will remember that “we don’t need to have all the answers–or even a solid plan–to be worthy or to find joy. That we can give ourselves the grace to make mistakes and trust ourselves to figure it all out as we go.”

 Nicole Kronzer’s novel, aptly named The Roof Over Our Heads, follows a seventeen-year-old boy who is trying to figure out who he is within a theatrical family and how to earn his place among them. She admits that sometimes the protagonist can be their very own antagonist, a commonplace thing in the world of teenagers when your worst enemy can be yourself. Kronzer says, “Ellen and I both wrote books about kids feeling like they have to do specific things in order to be loved,” and she looks forward to discussing both books with Ellen as they comment on the differences and similarities.

Join Ellen O’Clover and Nicole Kronzer on March 16th from 7 pm– 8 pm. This is a virtual event and registration is required. Registration is open now, so head to the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library website to sign up.

Regional Writers Converge to Connect with Life Stories

McKenna Dutton

Come one, come all to “Life Makes Art: Three Writers on How Life Experiences Shape Writing”—a panel discussion featuring three Wisconsin writers coming together to talk about, you guessed it, how their life experiences have shaped their work. Join in on the excitement on April 13th at 6:30 PM at the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library!

Eau Claire writer-in-residence Ken Szymanski is excited to moderate this event.

“We have three diverse authors, a panel discussion, and there'll be some readings as well,” Syzmanski says, “so I think it’ll really give people the idea of how the authors write about their personal experiences and we get to hear examples of that.”

The “Life Makes Art” discussion is an attempt to connect community members with local writers. It’s also a way for people in the community’s budding writers to learn from experienced writers about their process. It’s a change from the usual one-presenter craft talk model.

““It’s different from a [craft talk and Q&A] with one author because hopefully you’re getting three different perspectives that can challenge each other and play off of each other.””

— Ken Szymanski

“It's different from a [craft talk and Q&A] with one author because hopefully you’re getting three different perspectives that can challenge each other and play off of each other,” Szymanski says. “As the moderator, I’ll throw myself into the mix and hopefully we’ll get a lively discussion rather than a lecture.”

One of the three panelists is Cathy Sultan. She is the author of seven books ranging from fiction to nonfiction. Some of her work includes: An Ambassador to Syria, The Syrian and Damascus Street. Sultan expresses that being able to collaborate with her fellow Eau Claire writers is an exciting opportunity.

“Just being able to talk with fellow writers I find that very energizing and intellectually stimulating,” Sultan says, “I think my fellow authors at the event feel the same way...”

The two other panelists are Patti See and Bruce Taylor. Patti is the author of Here on Lake Hallie: In Praise of the Barflies, The Fix-it Guys, and Other Folks in Our Hometown.  See is also an academic advisor and teaches an honors class in creative nonfiction at UWEC. Bruce Taylor is a poet, an emeritus English professor at UWEC, the city’s former poet laureate, and has published several collections of poetry, including Pity the World  and The Longest You’ve Lived Anywhere.

And so, we invite you again: come one, come all, to this lively exchange on writing life experiences featuring Cathy Sultan, Patti See, and Bruce Taylor. Mark your calendars for April 13th at 6:30 at the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library!

Step Right Up For Some “Death-Defying Acts!”: A Sneak Preview!

McKenna Dutton

The Sound & Stories “Death-Defying Acts” show is coming to Eau Claire! It’s an event for stories and music that will leave you on the edge of your seat. Storytellers Sheng Elizabeth Lor, Kaia Simon, Billy Felz, and Garrett Denney, plus musician Jerrika Mighelle, are stepping onto the stage to share their talents.

CVWG founder and director B.J. Hollars is excited about the latest installment of this popular series.

“The Sound and Stories series has been a hallmark of the Chippewa Valley Writers Guild for the past five years,” Hollars said. “We selected the theme ‘Death-Defying Acts’ to showcase a few of the more harrowing stories from our region’s residence.” He’s particularly thrilled by the thematic collaboration between storytellers and musician Jerrika Mighelle. “It is such a pleasure to watch how the music weaves alongside the stories,” Hollars said.

Jerrika Mighelle is a musician from the Eau Claire area. She has two albums: Like the Sea and Brightest Star. Both albums were outlets for the singer. In 2016 Mighelle’s mother passed away and as a way to cope, Mighelle’s turned to music. The 2017 release of her album Brightest Star was an ode to her grief and loss from her mother’s death the year before. Volume One’s Eric Christenson wrote in his 2021 article about the emotional strength behind Mighelle’s second album, “…she found a way to channel that anger, that regret, that anguish into something real and tangible.” With her raw connection between emotion and music Jerrika Mighelle will be able to let the authenticity of the other “Death-Defying Act'' stories come through.

Another creative showing emotional strength on the stage is storyteller Sheng Elizabeth Lor.  

Lor has a podcast called the Social X Change. It’s a platform where creatives and underrepresented voices in the community can speak out. Lor especially takes pride in representing her Hmong culture on her show. Lor’s other passions involve helping people of creative backgrounds find opportunities to display their craft. Lor explained how bringing the community of Eau Claire together through art can serve as a form of activism. This will be Lor’s first time stepping into the storytelling spotlight.

“I’m a consumer and a producer not a performer,” Lor said.  “This is a moment for me to be vulnerable.”

Lor plans to share a story that captures the experience of people who face every day trauma. She hopes that sharing this will be a way for the audience to “...connect to the families and victims who face trauma in any form. To remind everyone that anyone struggling deserves to feel seen and loved,” Lor said.

Her story centers on mental health, and how though it may not seem like someone is struggling, there is often something going on behind the scenes unknown to others. It’s a story of empathy that she hopes the community can relate to.

 “It's about being a warrior,” Lor said.  “And the ability we have to normalize these stories.”

Sounds and Stories presents, “Death-Defying Acts” on February 21 from 7:00-8:30 p.m. in the Riverside Room at the Pablo Center! Tickets for the show are $10 (fees included) and are available here. Please join us in welcoming Sheng Elizabeth Lor, Jerrika Mighelle, and the other artists take the stage!

"Writing OUT”: A Conversation With Charles Payseur

Atalissa Wells

When we read books or watch movies, we often find ourselves searching for someone who can represent us, someone we can look at, and feel as if we fit in their shoes, their story. However, this is not the case for everyone, including members of the LGBTQ+ community.

Charles Payseur, an Eau Claire resident who has written a plethora of stories and poems, has experienced the difficulty of lacking representation for the queer community.  However, his short fiction pieces contain queer characters, providing him experience as both a receiver and influencer of LGBTQ+ representation in media.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Charles, addressing questions about the event, as well as information about his journey in writing out.

Atalissa Wells: The title of the event is “Writing OUT.”  What does writing out mean to you?

Charles Payseur: So the title was meant to pull double duty, being both about writing out—writing and publishing while being an out LGBTQ+ person—and writing out—using writing as a tool to educate about, advocate for, and feature LGBTQ+ characters and themes in stories and books. Both things are important, and LGBTQ+ writers have to navigate the complexities of both, from how out to be personally and as an author (online and in business spaces) to how to portray LGBTQ+ themes and characters in their works. To me, writing out is a messy but interesting idea that I really want to talk about and examine.

AW: Can you tell me a little more about the panel's authors and publishers (J.M. Lee, Catherine Lundoff, and Kat Weaver)?

CP: All three are amazing writers, and all three are in rather different points in their careers and do a bit different things. I’m a big fan of all of them and I’ll allow them to sort of introduce themselves:

J.M. Lee spent his formative years searching for talking animals and believing he could control the weather. After pursuing nerdy interests in comparative film studies, screenwriting, and Shakespeare, he graduated with a much nerdier degree in linguistics. In addition to writing novels, he enjoys teaching his dog new vocabulary words and updating his snooty coffee blog.

Catherine Lundoff is an award-winning writer, editor, and publisher. Her books include Silver Moon, Blood Moon, Out of This World and Unfinished Business and, as editor, Scourge of the Seas of Time (and Space). Her short stories and essays have appeared in such venues as Queer Weird Western Stories, Divergent Terror, Sherlock Holmes and the Occult Detectives, Fireside Magazine, Nightmare Magazine, the SFWA Blog, and several World of Darkness anthologies and games. She is the publisher at Queen of Swords Press and teaches writing and publishing classes at the Loft Literary Center, the Rambo Academy and Clarion West Online. Websites: www.catherinelundoff.net and www.queenofswordspress.com

Kat Weaver is a writer and illustrator whose short fiction has been published in Apex Magazine, Timeworn Literary Journal, Lackington’s, and elsewhere. Currently, she is one of the senior fiction editors at Strange Horizons, a Hugo-nominated speculative fiction magazine. Neon Hemlock Press recently published her debut novella Uncommon Charm, co-written with her wife, Emily Bergslien. The two of them live in Saint Paul, Minnesota. You can find her on Twitter @anoteinpink.

AW: As the moderator, what do you hope to bring to your role in the discussion?

CP: A lot of my work as a critic, writer, and editor focuses on LGBTQ+ and LGBTQ+ authored works. And in my work as a part of the Chippewa Valley LGBTQ+ Community Center, I’m constantly thinking about ways both to help LGBTQ+ people find safety and success and ways to educate people about the complicated ways that LGBTQ+ media and LGBTQ+ themes and characters in media are related, and how things have changed over time, both for the better and, well, not so much. I hope to be able to guide the conversation through these rather thorny topics and give the panelists room to dig into what they do and how it’s amazing.

AW: What is one aspect of the importance of LGBTQ+ representation in media that you are most looking forward to the panel discussing?

CP: I am eager to get a bit more into the idea that LGBTQ+ representation goes beyond the characters that exist in stories and their identities. While that’s a hugely important thing, I also think when talking about representation we have to discuss presence outside the fiction, and how LGBTQ+ representation without LGBTQ+ presence (in the various creative and technical levels of publishing and media) can and has worked historically, and what progress might be getting made to work toward a wider and more diverse vision of what representation is and can be.

AW: Who is someone in the media (fictitious or real) that has impacted or inspired your own life and understanding of representation for the LGBTQ+ community?

CP: The works of LGBTQ+ creators have been incredibly impactful in my life. The short works of Sam J. Miller and R.B. Lemberg not only showed me what was possible to write about and portray, but also gave me characters and language that helped me to better understand myself. And they opened a door that had been largely closed to me because of the suppression of LGBTQ+ works, revealing histories and communities I hadn’t known I was a part of.

AW: How has the idea of representation in media influenced your own writing and the queer characters in your stories?

“It’s such a complex thing, because on the one hand there are stories you want to write to speak your truth, to really show something about yourself that doesn’t ever really get portrayed. On the other hand, those stories often have very difficult roads to publication, and can face resistance from editors and even readers who either aren’t comfortable with those stories, or feel they might lose business or revenue by publishing them.”

— Charles Payseur

CP: It’s such a complex thing, because on the one hand there are stories you want to write to speak your truth, to really show something about yourself that doesn’t ever really get portrayed. On the other hand, those stories often have very difficult roads to publication, and can face resistance from editors and even readers who either aren’t comfortable with those stories, or feel they might lose business or revenue by publishing them. There can be a kind of pressure to tone things down, or write trying to appease an assumed “general reader” whose opinions on LGBTQ+ issues might not be compassionate or informed. And sometimes you write precisely out of anger and frustration about that assumed “general reader,” refusing to hide or take fewer risks. And sometimes that really pays off, and sometimes you end up with a story that never gets published.

AW: What is something you’d want people to know about the event before they arrive?

CP: That the panelists are amazing and that we’re all very lucky to have them here to speak! Beyond that, if people aren’t familiar with the panelists yet, I think there will be a chance not only to ask questions, but to purchase some of their work or get something signed. It’s going to be wonderful!

Join Charles, J.M., Catherine, and Kat in the Riverview Room at the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library on February 25, 2023 from 11 am-1 pm to discuss the important topic of LGBTQ+ representation in media at the event Writing OUT.

A Celebration of Chinese Poetry and Music at Artisan Forge Studios

By Carlee Shimek

For poet enthusiasts, Chinese cultural enthusiasts, and enthusiastic people in general, come and experience the magnificence that is Chinese poetry at “A Celebration of Chinese Poetry and Music.” This Sunday, December 18 from 2-3:30pm at Artisan Forge Studios, a culmination of Chinese poetry, local poetry writers, and an accompanying Chinese musical group will be hosted by local tea (and of course poetry) enthusiast Xin Obaid.

“I want to show the difference between Chinese poetry reading and American poetry reading,” Obaid said. “For myself, I feel Chinese poetry is more musically than English. It’s really a performance.”

Xin Obaid, event organizer

Obaid owns a tea shop—MingXin Chinese Cultural Exchange—in Artisan Forge Studios, teaches a Chinese language class at Artisan Forge, and is herself a popular poet and writer published in China. The event is also an early celebratory exchange for the upcoming Chinese New Year on January 23. Obaid said that every time Chinese New Year comes around, she has wanted to do something with the Eau Claire community in celebrating it. Now, her opportunity has arrived.

““I just want to let Eau Claire people know more about the Chinese culture.””

— Xin Obaid

“I just want to let Eau Claire people know more about the Chinese culture,” Obaid said.

Two long-distance travelers, friends of Obaid, will be coming to Eau Claire, purely for this event: Fan Xiaoming all the way from China and Dr. Li Xiaohong from New York. They love poetry that much and are excited to showcase it with Obaid.

Local writers, Karen Loeb, Yvette Flaten, Sara Bryan, SZ Putnam, and BJ Hollars will all be reading some of their own work along with their favorite Chinese poem.

In addition to poetry, a Chinese musical group from Minneapolis will be performing. Music and Chinese poetry are often intermingled, Obaid shared with me over a delicious cup of tea made from her family’s tea farm back in the Hunan province of China.  This tradition will be continued during Sunday’s show.

Xin Obaid

In addition to contemporary poems, readers will also feature Chinese poetry from the Tang and Song Dynasties. This event truly has it all: local poetry, ancient Chinese poetry, and music—a culturally rich way to spend a Sunday in Eau Claire.

“If you want to learn or know Chinese culture, or special Chinese poetry, you need to come here, it’s totally different [from] American culture and American poetry reading,” Obaid said. With 5,000 years of history residing in the vastness of Chinese culture, it is certainly worth it to promote and showcase it to the world. Obaid is bringing her Chinese home to her second home of Eau Claire.

As far back as the Song Dynasty, a saying has persisted throughout Chinese history: “firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, and tea”. It is the Seven Necessities, where if you have these seven things when you wake up, you will have a decent day. Obaid would like to add one more thing to the list: poetry. 

“[When] I moved here from China, some people told me Eau Claire is a diverse city, that make me love Eau Claire more. So then I thought if it’s that way, then we shall share every kind of culture.””

— Xin Obaid

“I feel honored to share my motherland culture,” Obaid said. “[When] I moved here from China, some people told me Eau Claire is a diverse city, that make me love Eau Claire more. So then I thought if it’s that way, then we shall share every kind of culture.”

To learn more about the event, go to Chippewa Valley Writers Guild.

A “Joy to the Word” Sneak Preview: Love, Belonging, and Community for the Holidays

Thomas DeLapp

Wintertime in Eau Claire came hard and fast last week, tossing new snow and cold temperatures at us just two days after it was a balmy 65 degrees. Luckily for us, this signals that the Chippewa Valley Writers Guild’s favorite holiday event: Sound & Stories: Joy to the Word is less than a month away!

Combining spoken word stories with festive music from the Eau Claire UKE Klub, Joy to the Word is a cozy holiday get-together. Bundle up and trundle down to the Pablo Center on December 15 to share some cheer with the CVWG. This year’s readers are Allyson Loomis, Nicole Kronzer, Justin Patchin, and Ken Syzmanski — all ready to deliver some stellar seasonal stories.

Syzmanski, Eau Claire Writer-in-Residence, and Joy to the Word veteran will share a family story set to live music by Derick Black. Szymanski’s 81-year-old uncle, he explained, still owns and runs a Christmas tree farm. Customers pick out trees, and he will deliver them straight to their living rooms.

Kronzer, an Eau Claire native who now lives in Minneapolis, is returning to share a story about her love of historic homes.

“My best friend and I love going to historic homes whenever we visit a city,” Kronzer said. “She lives in Milwaukee, and I live in Minneapolis, which is way too far away. So sometimes we’ll meet in the middle, in some small town and then we’ll just have a long weekend in a town we’ve never been to.”

Historic home exploration ties in deeply to Kronzer’s forthcoming second novel, The Roof Over Our Heads, whose main character’s family lives in and takes care of a historic home (based on the James J. Hill house in St. Paul).

One of the reasons historic homes so engage Kronzer is the importance of understanding history itself, especially the overlooked roles of women during now-romanticized times like the Victorian era and the Gilded Age.

In comparison to Europe, Kronzer said, “where an Aldi could actually be a two-thousand-year-old castle,” American architecture and history are much more recent and quickly forgotten. Historic homes are one of our few places to connect with that history.

“These largely female spaces are some of the only actual [historical sites] we have in America, but because they are female spaces, we discount them,” Kronzer said. “But they’re vitally important.”

Maybe a trip through historic homes doesn’t sound particularly holiday-centric, but it’s all about connection and love — perfect for Joy to the Word.

“I can’t even begin to explain how happy making this is, coming back to Eau Claire and being involved in the CVWG. It has filled this hole in my heart that I didn’t know was there. They say you can’t go home again, but I’m coming home in a new way. ”

— Nicole Kronzer

“I can’t even begin to explain how happy making this is, coming back to Eau Claire and being involved in the CVWG,” Kronzer said. “It has filled this hole in my heart that I didn’t know was there. They say you can’t go home again, but I’m coming home in a new way. This isn’t who I was when I left Eau Claire. Everyone has been so accepting and loving and generous. You look at Roof, you look at Unscripted [Kronzer’s first novel]: love and belonging are really the backbone of everything I write. It's just so special, being accepted and loved by your hometown.”

As Syzmanski sagely put it, there’s just something about the holidays that makes people crave stories. New ones, old ones, and even the same stories year after year. It’s being together and celebrating that makes the season.

“I just love the combination of music and the spoken word, “Syzmanski said. “They just elevate each other. As the universal language that music is, they’re just a natural fit together. If it’s all music, it can be one-dimensional. If it’s all story, it can be one-dimensional. Together, it’s magic.”

The CVWG Sound & Stories: Joy to the Word is at 7 pm on December 15th at the Pablo Center. Buy tickets online at the Pablo Center website.

Write. Retreat. Repeat: Chippewa Valley Writers Guild Offers New 12-Hour Writers Retreat for Local Literary Enthusiasts

Hold on to your pens, papers, and keyboards—the Chippewa Valley Writers Guild is preparing an exciting, brand-new event for the writers of all levels in the Chippewa Valley and beyond! Come one, come all to the 12-Hour Writers Retreat! Join the Writers Guild at Forage, an event venue in downtown Eau Claire, from 9 am-9 pm on Saturday, Jan. 14, for a day filled with fun, food, fellowship, and of course, writing.

“The event offers the chance to network and connect with fellow writers, ample time to chip away on a long festering writing project,  or the chance to start something new! ”

Registration, available here, opens on Nov. 1 for one of the 20 spots available. The event offers the chance to network and connect with fellow writers, ample time to chip away on a long festering writing project,  or the chance to start something new!  Those who need some help getting started are welcome to follow the writing prompts provided by the event’s host. For the finale, writers will be given the opportunity to present their writing to the public in a fun-filled performance. It will be a day for any and all kinds of writing. Lunch, snacks, and dinner will also be provided!

“The purpose is to create the conditions for writers of all levels to thrive,” said Professor BJ Hollars, director of the Writers Guild and host for the event. “Our daily life provides so many distractions; a writers' retreat is the chance for us to push those distractions to the back-burner so that our creative work can receive the time and attention it deserves.”

In tandem with the Writers Guild and Forage, the Wisconsin Writers Association is also sponsoring the 12-hour retreat. The idea for the retreat began when the Writers Guild, unfortunately, had to say goodbye to their annual 3-day writers retreat at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire’s the Priory.

“While we loved our three-day retreats (and are certainly envisioning future retreats of that length), it occurred to us that we could use this as an opportunity to better support those writers who can't sneak away for quite so long,” said Hollars. “We decided to experiment with a one-day ‘12-hour retreat’. It's enough time to do some real work, but it's not so long that it will take up a full weekend or break the bank. We hope it'll appeal to locals and people within a three-hour radius.”

The 12-Hour Writers Retreat is especially exciting for the venue it will be taking place at, Forage on 403 S Barstow St. in Eau Claire, WI. The business offers private and public rentals for its space for birthdays, baby showers, wine tastings, holiday parties, open-mic nights, and now writers retreats! An event venue for anything and everything for local community members, Forage is the perfect place to host a literary gathering.

Lydia Park, Event Manager for Forage, described the community venue as “a welcoming and inclusive space, that’s nonjudgmental, very open minded, willing to work with you if you have a dream event that you want to make happen, and provides fun, enjoyable experience for whoever wants to come.” You can contact Park at events@forageeauclaire.com to learn about booking the space for your event.

Park is excited to be working with the Writers Guild by providing a space to create a community for neighborly writers in the surrounding Chippewa Valley. “It’s a very versatile space that offers so many different price points and so many different opportunities to experience what we have here as a community,” she said. “[And] a writers retreat seems to be very specified. So [it’s] geared toward people who want to improve their writing or get something out of that retreat related to writing, or even just build that community, finding folks that are like-minded and wanting to take their writing to the next level.”

To participate in this new and innovative event, a registration fee of $65 is required. Included in this price is delicious coffee from SHIFT Cyclery and Coffee Bar, lunch from the French Press, and dinner from Chef Michelle Thiede. Click here for the daily schedule.

“Some participants will surely be well-published; others may be preparing for their first public reading ever. We’ve got room for both, and in fact, prefer both. Everyone has something to offer. We hope that we, too, have something to offer everyone.”

— BJ Hollars

“The CVWG is somewhat unique in that you needn't be the ‘best’ writer to feel at home here,” said Hollars. “We pride ourselves in creating a supportive and inclusive space for all writers of all levels and genres. Some participants will surely be well-published; others may be preparing for their first public reading ever. We've got room for both, and in fact, prefer both. Everyone has something to offer. We hope that we, too, have something to offer everyone.”

This is the place for a writer to feel connected to their community and get some hard work done in an enjoyable, comfortable environment.

“I hope people leave our retreat feeling rejuvenated, inspired, and proud of their work,” said Hollars. “Writing isn't easy, but it's a little easier with 20 of your new best friends.”

To learn more about the 12-Hour Writers Retreat and registration, click here.

Barstow & Grand Comes Of Age: Celebrating 6 Issues!

Thomas DeLapp

Fresh-faced from a day of teaching and the latest round of journal-proofreading, Eric Rasmussen dropped into a chair at SHIFT with a kombucha and a smile.  The editor and founder of Barstow & Grand, now six years deep into publication, is looking forward to the release of the sixth edition this November.  This year, things have gotten a little bit easier.

“It’s the passage of time, you know,” Rasmussen said. “Hey, we’ve been doing this for a while.  It feels like there’s a little less pressure than in the past.” 

Founded in 2016 to establish a local, community journal for Chippewa Valley writers, Barstow & Grand has had to change with the time — expanding to a more general “upper Midwest” audience in 2020 — but still maintains its hometown roots and support. 

This year, the book release will again be at Lazy Monk Brewery on November 16th.  Mark your calendars! As always, the release will feature time for contributors to read their piece, talk about their process, or just use the open floor.  Literature and camaraderie will abound.

2016, Rasmussen said, was a sort of watershed moment for the Valley’s writing community.  The founding of the Chippewa Valley Writers Guild and Barstow & Grand brought together Eau Claire’s writers in ways they hadn’t been connected before.

“Eau Claire has always been a rich literary place, but now we are all more aware of each other and more comfortable interacting,” Rasmussen said. 

Barstow & Grand has held a unique position as a hometown journal that allows it to be both personal and accessible.  The expansion to the “upper Midwest” was born out of necessity, Rasmussen said, but has worked out excellently. 

“The writing world is ultimately pretty small, so there’s usually those six degrees of separation back to Eau Claire,” he said.
That expansion helped to bring many new voices into the Chippewa Valley alongside those already established community writers — which Rasmussen said has both perks and drawbacks.

“My goal has always been to support this writing community, give them those stepping stones. On the other side of the coin, it’s kinda terrifying to be the person that says yes and no to friends, contacts, former professors of mine.  But it’s a responsibility I take very seriously. ”

— Eric Rasmussen

“My goal has always been to support this writing community, give them those stepping stones,” he said.  “On the other side of the coin, it’s kinda terrifying to be the person that says yes and no to friends, contacts, former professors of mine.  But it’s a responsibility I take very seriously.” 

Elizabeth de Cleyre

credit: Alexandra Mae

Luckily, Rasmussen isn’t the only one on the Barstow & Grand team — and they are welcoming some new members this issue: new prose editor, Elizabeth de Cleyre, and prose reader, Scout Roux.

de Cleyre, besides being a well-established writer and editor, is also the co-founder of Dotter’s Books in Eau Claire.  Roux is Barstow & Grand’s first non-local staffer ­— a Madison based writer who is fiction editor for Nightingale and Sparrow Magazine.

“Elizabeth is a writer and editor at a level that’s just way above us, so that she is willing to work with us is just great,” Rasmussen said. “She’s infused the journal with such an energy.  And we are so happy to have Scout on board — they’re helping us spread out a little bit, fulfilling that ‘upper Midwest’ coverage instead of just local people.”

For her first issue, de Cleyre also contributed the issue’s editor’s note, which reflected on the newly remodeled of the L.E. Phillips Memorial Library and the vitality of such spaces.  She and Rasmussen agree: the library has long been a cornerstone of Eau Claire’s literary community and character.  The remodeling gives them hope for a future full of writing, literature, and conversation.

The library is also, directly, a supporter of Barstow & Grand, and will contribute sound equipment for the book release event on November 16th. 

The Chippewa Valley literary community is largely made up of those whose first profession isn’t writing.  Balancing writing, then, with other responsibilities isn’t the easiest thing to do — which Rasmussen knows well.  However, there are some parallels between teaching high school English and running a literary journal.

A significant percentage of high school teaching is trying to get kids excited about the process, he said.  Until they have investment in the material and process, nothing will get done — which is similar to interest in literary journals.  It’s hard to keep writing, keep submitting, keep reading.

So how does Rasmussen: teacher, writer, and double editor (he is also fiction editor at Sundog Lit) keep everything balanced?

“People ask that question a lot, and I’ve tried a lot of different answers,” he said.  “Bottom line, the people who have a passion just figure it out.  Someone who loves to garden, they just figure out how to garden, they don’t sit around and lament that they don’t have time for gardening.  You do what you love, and you figure out how to do it.  My formula wouldn’t work for anyone else anyways.”

One thing that keeps him going, year after year, is being able to spend extra time with the pieces in the journal.  Often, he said, the initial read through of literature isn’t where you find what is impressive.  It’s in rereading and reflection that the meaning and value of pieces are revealed. 

On the other side, Rasmussen knows the struggles of submitting — he is a writer too, after all.  Part of the process is getting pieces accepted, but most of the time: rejection.  He even wrote a blog post about his 100th rejection in 2016.  So even when writers are rejected from Barstow & Grand, Rasmussen wants them to keep submitting even more. 

““If I could visit each local author to say, ‘thanks for your submission, please submit again,’ I would do it.””

— Eric Rasmussen

“If I could visit each local author to say, ‘thanks for your submission, please submit again,’ I would do it,” he said. “I don’t want anyone in the community to stop submitting because we didn’t take a piece or because we’re not the right home for them. I want to remain as welcoming as possible, and make sure to avoid any illusion that we are too good for you or your writing, or not welcoming of writers that write what you write.”

So, writers: keep writing and submitting.  Eric Rasmussen said you have to.  After six years of Barstow & Grand, one of the biggest things he’s learned was just how important the personality and connection the Chippewa Valley literary community are.

“I have learned, lately, that anything impressive takes a long time to get established,” Rasmussen said. “I’m confident there will always be literary folks around town trying different projects and doing what excites them.  If this was a business, and I needed to feed my family, I’d be worried about how we evolve.  But that’s not what we are.  This is a passion project, and we’ll do it this way until it doesn’t make sense.”

The 6th issue of Barstow & Grand will be released on November 16th at Lazy Monk Brewery.  For more information, visit the Barstow & Grand website. 

Get Ready for Five Days of Literary Events with the Chippewa Valley Book Festival!

Grace Schutte

When asked about the staples of fall and autumn’s most iconic characteristics, the general population resorts to the usual: the changing leaves, the shorter days, the air’s crisp stinging of toes (and biting of noses); however, folks in the Chippewa Valley know that list is incomplete without the Chippewa Valley Book Festival.

That’s right, folks, the Book Festival is back for their 23rd year with events slated to start up Oct. 20. Get your pumpkin spice lattes ready and sit back for five days of literary goodness.

The festival will host several authors—both regional and from across the nation—to read their works, chat about their craft and the importance of their works, all in the autumnal glory of Eau Claire and Chippewa Valley.

A Mini-Interview with Madison Poet Laureate Angie Trudell Vasquez

Angie Trudell Vasquez, the City of Madison Poet Laureate, is one of those authors who will be presenting at the festival, alongside Dorothy Chan, a fellow poet and professor at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.

Trudell Vasquez has been writing poetry since she was seven years old and has since then earned an MFA in poetry at the Institute of American Indian Arts. Her works have gone on to be published in several journals and a number of them are even listed on the Poetry Foundation’s website.  

“Poetry helped me define myself on the page when I was a young person growing up...”

— Angie Trudell Vasquez

“Poetry helped me define myself on the page when I was a young person growing up in Iowa,” Trudell Vasquez said. “As an adult it has made my life so rich and full. I am fortunate to have had these experiences I have had as a writer and to make connections across the United States.”

Her latest poetry collection, My People Redux, came out earlier this year and covers topics she has yet to share with the world. As a proud activist and long-time environmentalist, Trudell Vasquez discusses our human connection with nature, and how she is concerned about the earth and all its inhabitants.

“There’s a line in the poem, ‘My People Redux,’ ‘My people, forgot they rose from the earth,’” Trudell Vasquez said. “I am not just talking about my family, I am trying to say something about those of us who live in the world right now and do not realize we too are nature.”

She hopes audience members will leave the event feeling lighter, connected, and more aware of how precious their life and time on earth is, that they should do the best they can with the time they have left.

Through conversations like these and events like the Book Festival, Trudell Vasquez believes we can become better connected with not only each other, but with the world, too. Reading, writing, and conversations about them help close the distances between people and aid us in understanding the world around us.

“I am most happy when discussing poetry with poets,” Trudell Vasquez said.

The same goes for us! Join in on Chan and Trudell Vasquez’s poetry exchange and conversation from 7:30 to 8:45 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 21 at the Unitarian Universalist. No pre-registration required.

---

Grace’s Top Three Book Fest Events Picks

While all the events are going to be a most wonderful and educational time, there are a few that have piqued my interest, ones where you’ll be able to find me scribbling down notes madly in my notebook.

Should you come to any of these, find me after and we can discuss—that’s what these things are all about, after all.

Reclaiming Our Stories with Nadia Owusu

The virtual event will be held from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 20 and audience members must register before the event to attend.

Owusu will be presenting on her memoir Aftershocks, a genre-bending piece that explores identity and trauma through cultural history, according to the omnipotent Goodreads.

Those in attendance can expect to learn we harbor more stories in ourselves than we thought, and that power can be claimed when we acknowledge and tell them. Register here for the event.

America’s Narrative Breakdown with Barrett Swanson

Join us in the new Riverview Room at the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library from 2:15 to 3:15 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 22, for a journey on how the last ten years have affected communities around the United States in their hunt for life’s meaning in the rumerroll that was—and is—the 2010s.

Swanson is no stranger to the literary escapades happening in and around Eau Claire, having served as one of our Writers in Residence at the Chippewa Valley Writers Guild’s very own Priory Retreat.

There I met the Lost in Summerland essayist and heard all his wisdom and swanky jargon on the obligation we, as writers, have to readers, and how we are not so different as these titles may lead us to believe.  

A writer wise beyond his years, get ready for sage wisdom and a breakdown of the political, emotional, and psychological state of our nation.

Better than Paradise with Kawai Strong Washburn

From 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 24, Kawai Strong Washburn will take us into the topsy turvy realm that can be magical realism and the world of fiction.

Sharks in the Time of Saviors is a national favorite (if The New York Times and former President Barack Obama liked it, it’s got to be good, right?), having risen to national stardom since its release in 2020.

I am particularly excited for this event because of both the craft element—exploring this next level of fiction writing—but also to hear Washburn transform history, the history of Hawaii, in a way that shapes the way we understand it.

I would be remiss to say fall in Eau Claire is my favorite season solely because of the chai tea lattes, sweaters, and good views—the Chippewa Valley Book Festival is a must. Bring your notebooks, a pen, an open mind, and get ready for a wonderful bookish time.

History and Fiction Coalesce: Phong Nguyen Brings Ancient Warrior Sisters To Life in His Latest Novel, Bronze Drum

Carlee Shimek

Within the mind of Phong Nguyen lies an adventurous true telling of the ancient Trung sisters of Vietnam, who rebelled against the Chinese occupation of their home in the first century AD. Spanning years of research and writing, Nguyen seamlessly combines fiction and nonfiction in his latest novel Bronze Drum. Hailed as “a riveting bildungsroman about Trung Trac and Trung Nhi,” by NPR, the book’s “nuanced yet visceral reimagining of the sisters’ trajectory fully captures the shifting nature of war and peace, life and death, feminine and masculine.” Released in August, this historical fiction novel is based on the true events involving a pair of warrior sisters whose memory lives on in modern Vietnam as symbols of patriotism, feminism, and bravery.

In a recent interview with the Guild, Nguyen shared that he’d wanted to write about the Trung sisters, Trung Trac and Trung Nhi, for years. Now, he’s sharing their story. Join the Chippewa Valley Writers Guild at 6 pm on Monday, Oct. 10, at the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library for the chance to meet Nguyen and learn about Bronze Drum. Read below to get a sneak peek into the author's mind before the upcoming event this Monday. 

Carlee Shimek: The Trung sisters, the protagonists of your book, are iconized in Vietnam as national heroines and hallmarks of Vietnamese independence and culture. What was your inspiration for writing such a book about them?

Phong Nguyen: Their story always appealed to me ever since I was young, and I have always wanted to read books and stories about the Trung Sisters, but there weren't any written or published in English when I was growing up, so it became clear to me that if I wanted to read them, that I would have to write them myself. It took me many years to feel up to the task of writing such a big-canvas story as this, so even though this is my fifth book, it has been on my radar for decades.

CS: The book’s genre is classified as historical fiction, but the Trung sisters were real figures in Vietnamese history. Which aspects of the story remain true, and which aspects were fictionalized?

PN: To properly answer this question would take very long-- perhaps another book in itself!-- but the short answer is that the Trung Sisters and their family members (Trung Trac, Trung Nhi, Lord Trung, Lady Man Thien, Thi Sach) as well as those who participate in the battles (Phung Thi Chinh, Phat Nguyet, and the rest of the thirty-six generals; as well as, on the other side, Governor To Dinh and General Ma Yuan) are all historical; other characters such as Kha, Duy, Phan Minh, Mai, and Wan Fu are all invented. Importantly, the tiger-hunting scene is historical; as is the episode of Phung Thi Chinh giving birth on the battlefield and continuing to fight.

CS: What kind of research did you have to do for this book, and how did you go about meshing together fictional aspects and nonfictional ones?

PN: Most of my research on this episode of history came from three books that pertain to the ancient history of what is now known as Viet Nam. I struck up a correspondence with the author of one of those books, named Nam C. Kim, and worked with him extensively on building up a base of knowledge about this period. Beyond that, I have several documents in Vietnamese translated into English, and of course I worked from sources that included individual chapters on the Trung Sisters. As far as meshing it together with fiction, that was the task before me over the span of about 4-5 years, in which I tried to balance the mythic dimension of the story with a kind of contemporary psychological realism. I had to choose many times between the contemporaneous historical Chinese account and the national myth of Vietnam, so adding a fictional dimension felt like just making another narrative choice except instead of choosing between history and myth, I was choosing invention.

CS: The story is about fighting for and taking pride in one’s country and home. Besides this, what do you hope people experience from your book? How do you hope they feel or react after they read it?

“One thing I hope that people take away from the story is that the power of women is not new, nor is it an invention of the Western progressive tradition. It is deeply ingrained in civilizations around the world”

— Phong Nguyen

PN: One thing I hope that people take away from the story is that the power of women is not new, nor is it an invention of the Western progressive tradition. It is deeply ingrained in civilizations around the world, but especially in the ancient history of Viet Nam. I would hope that readers come away from reading the book inspired, or at the very least with a greater acceptance of women leaders and leadership.

CS: You’ve written many genres, from historical and experimental fiction to alternate history to dirty realism. What is your purpose for writing such multifaceted and versatile stories?

PN: In order for me to get excited about a new book project, it needs to be a departure from everything else I've done. If it's not a departure, it feels stagnant. When it represents an exciting new direction, then I find it easier to throw myself full-body into the next project and focus on it exclusively. I also enjoy writers, like Italo Calvino, for whom every book is a different sort of adventure; so that is the kind of writer that I aspire to be.

CS: You’ll be at Eau Claire’s L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library this Monday, Oct. 10, at 6pm for an author reading and conversation. What do you hope to discuss or share with the people coming? What do you hope to accomplish with the event?

PN: I hope to entertain and even inspire people. But more importantly, I hope to share this journey with like-minded people who take an interest in history, literature, or storytelling in general. I'm open to discussing any questions about the book, or writing fiction, or the writer's life. I live for this stuff!

CS: What advice do you have for anyone wishing to write historical fiction like the Bronze Drum?

PN: Know yourself. Stay curious. In your dark moments of doubt, just remember what a blessing and a gift it is to be sentient and literate-- to be capable of this strange striving to create literary art.

Click here for more information on Nguyen’s reading and presentation at the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library at 6pm, Monday, Oct. 10. Books will be available for purchase.

Open Yourself Up to the Power of Poetry at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation’s Local Poetry Showcase

Elaina Myers

It’s fair to say that the last few years have been hard for all of us due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Carrying the stress of not knowing what each day will bring caused the whole world to hold their breath, but as we finally seem to be reaching the end of this exhausting journey it’s time for us to breathe again. What a better way to celebrate this transition back to “normal” life than during National Poetry Month at this year’s Local Poetry Showcase!

 The Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Eau Claire has partnered with CVWG to host a showcase of local poets on April 20th from 6:30pm to 8pm. The event is open to the public and people are encouraged to attend in-person, although there will be a live online streaming on the UUC Facebook page. The theme of this showcase is centered around “Awakening,” which is defined as the act of coming into existence or awareness in not only a spiritual way, but an emotional and physical realization as well.

 There will be an array of local poets performing at this event including Lopamudra (Lopa) Basu, Debbie Campbell, Max Garland, two UWEC students Dawson Jollie and Carlee Shimek, and a handful of others. Each poet will be reading original poetry that they feel captures their own interpretation of the theme “Awakening”.

 “Honestly, I'm just ecstatic having another opportunity to meet more local poets. Sure, I'm happy to present, but I'm looking forward to being immersed in an environment filled with such creative minds,” said Dawson Jollie, one of the CVWG interns. “For me, the concept of awakening is like a "call to arms" for the body: the mind shouts into the deepest corners of the heart, telling it to get up once more. It's a wonderful feeling, but in these uncertain times I fear we need more of it.”

 Although poetry is something that should be recognized every day, this showcase comes at a unique time of growth and conversion from the unknown to the familiar. Reverend Julianne Lepp, main coordinator of the event, recognizes the impact that poetry can have and hopes that those who attend the event feel a deeper connection to the poets and their words.

““I think we’ve all been through a collective trauma with the pandemic and we are all encountering different challenges reentering into community, so I hope the power and inspiration that poetry contains will touch something in each of us and awaken our realities.” ”

— -Rev. Julianne Lepp

“I think we’ve all been through a collective trauma with the pandemic and we are all encountering different challenges reentering into community, so I hope the power and inspiration that poetry contains will touch something in each of us and awaken our realities,” said Lepp. “I believe this will be a beautiful event and I am excited to be apart of this safe space that allows us to process our feelings and dig deeper within ourselves.”

 For more information on the event visit https://www.cvwritersguild.org/events/2022/4/20/local-poetry-showcase.

“Widening the Way Forward”: A Sneak Preview of Verse in the Valley

By Dawson Jollie

 We all know the old saying: April showers bring May flowers.  But no one said it has to be just about rain and flowers…especially when it’s National Poetry Month!

Of course, you could spend the day cleaning floors or dusting shelves; but why not take a break from all the spring cleaning and join a host of poetry enthusiasts at Artisan Forge for their upcoming event: “Verse in the Valley!”

Co-sponsored by the CVWG and L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library, on April 12 at 6PM Artisan Forge Studios is welcoming visiting poets Abraham Smith and Mark Ehling for a night dedicated to a love for the lyrical! They, along with a host of local poets such as Asha Sen, Xin Obaid, Sara Bryan, and more, look forward to sharing their poetry live.

In addition, those who come to enjoy a bit of poetry will have an opportunity to share their own at the open mic! Because what good would this awesome poetry event be without audience participation?

B.J. Hollars, founder and executive director of the CVWG, sees Verse in the Valley as an opportunity to emphasize a special unity in the writing community: one that goes beyond the accolades and professionalism that society strives for.

““What I love about Verse in the Valley is that it provides an opportunity for nationally recognized poets to read alongside newer readers in our community.””

— BJ Hollars

“Inclusion is at the core of our mission, Hollars said, “What I love about Verse in the Valley is that it provides an opportunity for nationally recognized poets to read alongside newer readers in our community.”

Alone, a single poet can write and read their work; but when you put a whole group within the same room, a synergy develops between minds. Poets and audience members can support one another, and inspire a collective motivation to utilize their art in a way that makes them most happy.

Author of the poetry collections Dear Weirdo, Bear Lite Inn, and several more, Abraham Smith expands on the communal benefits of events such as Verse in the Valley.

““Poetry widens the way forward...one of its many sweet fruitions is embodied empathy… all of us joined together can’t help but be a dear thing: a deepening of the senses….””

— Abraham Smith

“Poetry widens the way forward,” Smith said, “one of its many sweet fruitions is embodied empathy… all of us joined together can't help but be a dear thing: a deepening of the senses….”

Although the genre deserves attention year-round, National Poetry Month is a particular time to highlight poets of all levels.  This was what inspired Hollars, Smith and Ehling to collaborate to create a “safe, supportive, and free event for the whole community.” Artisan Forge was the ideal partner for that proposal: a location teeming with art that embodies the epitome of artistic expression.

Therefore, with so many disciplines converging in one event, it only makes sense that visual art from Mindy Huntress and live music by Lee Mynott will be accompanying the festivities on April 12!

And did I mention this is all free?! And will include snacks?  What are you waiting for? Save the date, spread the word, and see you at Verse in the Valley!

Verse in the Valley will be held on April 12 from 6:00-8:00 pm. Click here for more information and directions to Artisan Forge! (just off Clairemont Ave.)

For more on other events happening this month, visit the Guild’s events page!