Authors Talk: Timothy Reilly

Today we are pleased to feature author Timothy Reilly as our Authors Talk series contributor. In this podcast, Timothy discusses the inspiration behind his short story, “The Task at Hand,” calling it a “nod to the old Grail romances.”

Timothy states that “‘The Task at Hand’ is not a ‘Baby Boomer’ story,” even though it concerns a protagonist from that generation. Instead, he says,  it is “an internal quest… framed within a common 21st-century excursion.” During that quest the protagonist “deals with the challenges of age and memory,” as well as “the fickleness of pop culture.”

Timothy, hearkening back to his lifelong interest in Grail legends, declares that “myths are about truth, not facts.” He ends by referencing a quote from C.S Lewis, saying that when he realized this fact and “was old enough to read fairy tales again,” he began to write short stories of his own.

You can read Timothy’s story, “The Task at Hand,” in Issue 16 of Superstition Review.

 

 

 

#ArtLitPhx: Piper Writers Studio Fall 2017 Courses

Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing

The Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing at ASU is proud to offer creative writing classes through the Piper Writers Studio. Classes are taught by acclaimed and award-winning writers from the community, and they cover topics such as memoir writing, the relationship between art and writing, contemporary poetry, the relationship between politics and poetry, the reveal of information, inspiration, writer’s block, intimacy, flash fiction, and fairy tales.

The classes and workshops offered in Fall 2017 are the following:

Classes are open to individuals of all backgrounds, skill levels, and experiences, and are designed to fit around the schedules of working adults (taking place weekday evenings or weekend afternoons). Most classes are held at the Piper Writers House, the historic President’s Cottage on the ASU Tempe Campus. 
Class sizes range between 8 and 12 students in order to ensure an intimate, individualized educational experience, and fees range from $50 to  $250 (with discounts for students and individuals who are members of the Piper Circle of Friends). Classes can also qualify for professional development credit with the Arizona Department of Education. Individuals can register for classes through the Piper Center’s website, where they can also find more information about the courses.

Meet the Interns: Nicole Dunlap, Photoshop Editor

nicoledunlap_1Nicole Dunlap is a English Literature Senior at Arizona State University. She is currently the Photoshop Editor for Superstition Review.

Superstition Review: What do you do for SR?

Nicole Dunlap: So far I have been formatting headshots and designing various banners and logos for the website and advertisements. I plan to continue these activities throughout the semester and I also plan to do any miscellaneous tasks that will be given to a Photoshop editor.

SR: How did you hear about or get involved with Superstition Review?

ND: I first heard about Superstition Review through an advertisement for needed interns.

SR: What is your favorite section of SR? Why?

ND: I like the nonfiction section, just because I tend towards the creative nonfiction genre.

SR: Who is your dream contributor to the journal?

ND: I would love if my friend Kara would contribute some of her artwork. She does mostly performance art, but her paintings and prints are amazing; I would love to help publish some of her art.

SR: What job, other than your own, would you like to try out in the journal?

ND: I would love to be a nonfiction editor. I would love to read submissions and get a feel for the behind-the-scenes operations of the publication process.

SR: What are you most excited for in the upcoming issue?

ND: I’m excited to read the submissions, of course. But I’m mostly excited to see how the redesigning of the website will look.

SR: What was the first book you remember falling in love with and what made it so special?

ND: I’ve had several favorite books but the earliest one that I can remember is a book called Sirena. It was a young adult novel about the Siren mermaids–the author wrote a series of novels that reworked common stories or fairy tales. She put her own twist on them, added in a bit of drama and made them all great for teenagers to read.

SR: What are some of your favorite websites to waste time on or distract you from homework?

ND: www.stumbleupon.com (if you don’t have an account here, you need to make one), www.etsy.com, www.flickr.com.

SR: What are your feelings on digital medium?

ND: I’m hoping that being involved with Superstition Review will help rid of me this opinion, but it’s hard for me to take digital literary pieces seriously. Blogs have to be especially entertaining or humorous for me to like them. And similarly, literature needs to be especially engaging to hold my attention. I’m also a person who prefers a photo to a digital file, a printed page over a PDF. I just like tangible things better.

Do you create art? Tell us about a project you’re working on.

I’m always tweeking my own photographs, trying to decide on a series to shoot, a series to put together.  Currently, I’m working on putting together a poetry/photography book.  I’ve printed out a sentence or two on a transparency so I can bring it into the darkroom with me to make it a part of the printing process.