Author: Cass Murphy

SR Pod/Vod Series – Authors Talk: Author Brianna Bjarnson

Cass Murphy

Brianna BjarnsonToday we’re proud to feature SR contributor Brianna Bjarnson as our twenty-first Authors Talk series contributor with her podcast “Writing the Human.” In it, she discusses her non-fiction piece “Gone” and touches on writing “as a process, craft, and compulsion.”

Brianna’s Authors Talk covers these things with great breadth and purpose. She begins by addressing the importance of being read to as a child, through which she herself “discovered the world of stories.”

She then discusses her process behind writing “Gone,” and shares her philosophies on writing to discover and getting “at the heart of what it is to be human.”
“I think that any writing you do no matter the genre – even if you come to it with a plan – it should change somehow and end up surprising you, or it probably isn’t any good.”

You can listen to the podcast on our iTunes Channel, #203.

 

You can read Brianna Bjarnson’s nonfiction piece “Gone” in Superstition Review Issue 16, and listen to her read it aloud in SR podcast #202.

 

More About the Author:
Brianna Bjarnson is a multi-genre writer whose childhood daydreaming once caused a frustrated, second-grade teacher to bite her. Since then, she has better learned how to positively channel her overactive imagination. Brianna teaches and tutors writing in the alluring San Francisco North Bay, where she enjoys getting lost in the woods with her dog.

 

About the Authors Talk series:

For several years, we have featured audio or video of Superstition Review contributors reading their work. We’ve now established a new series of podcasts called Authors Talk. The podcasts in this series take a broader scope and feature SR contributors discussing their own thoughts on writing, the creative process, and anything else they may want to share with listeners.

 

 

SR Pod/Vod Series – Recording: Author Brianna Bjarnson

Cass Murphy

Brianna BjarnsonThis Tuesday, we’re proud to feature SR contributor Brianna Bjarnson reading her nonfiction piece “Gone” on the SR podcast.

You can listen to the podcast on our iTunes Channel, #202.

You can follow along with Brianna’s work in Superstition Review, Issue 16.

Also check out Brianna Bjarnson’s Authors Talk podcast (#203), announced March 25th.

 

More About the Author:
Brianna Bjarnson is a multi-genre writer whose childhood daydreaming once caused a frustrated, second-grade teacher to bite her. Since then, she has better learned how to positively channel her overactive imagination. Brianna teaches and tutors writing in the alluring San Francisco North Bay, where she enjoys getting lost in the woods with her dog.

 

SR Pod/Vod Series – Author Talk: Poet Laurie Filipelli

Cass Murphy

laurie-filipelli-bw-600Laurie SToday we’re proud to feature SR poetry contributor Laurie Filipelli and poet Laurie Saurborn in the twentieth installment of our Authors Talk series.

Fittingly, their podcast “’Potalk’ with Lauries: Memory and Nostalgia in Poetry” returns again and again to the idea of using memories as building blocks to create something new. This includes what, why, and how we remember, and also how these can be used to create art. In one instance, the Lauries laugh about the potential of getting confused by the embellished bedtime stories parents tell their children.  In another, Laurie Filipelli talks about her poem “Warrior” and the emotional connection to her father, a former POW – simultaneously recalling an earlier conversational thread about how “whether the memory is factual or imagined, it’s the emotional resonance of whatever our earlier experiences were” that influence us today.

You can listen to the podcast on our iTunes Channel, #201.

You can read Laurie Filipelli’s poem “Warrior” in Superstition Review Issue 16, and listen to her read it aloud in podcast #200.

 

More About the Authors:

Laurie Filipelli is the author of a collection of poems, Elseplace, released by BrooklynArts Press in 2013. Her poems and essays have appeared or are forthcoming at apt, BOAAT, Coldfront, The Pinch, Redheaded Stepchild, The Rumpus, Salamander, So and So, and Xavier Review. She is the recipient of a Yaddo fellowship, and lives in Austin where she works as a writer, editor, and writing coach.

Laurie Saurborn is the author of two poetry collections, Industry of Brief Distraction (Saturnalia Books, 2015) and Carnavoria (H_NGM_N BKS, 2012), and a limited-edition chapbook, Patriot (Forklift, Ink.). A 2015 NEA Creative Writing Fellowship recipient, she is a graduate of the MFA Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College. Her poetry, fiction, essays, photographs, and reviews have appeared in publications such as American Microreviews & Interviews, Denver Quarterly, jubilat, Mississippi Review, Narrative Magazine, The American Reader, The Rumpus, and Tupelo Quarterly. She has been awarded residencies at Brush Creek Foundation for the Arts, and Madroño Ranch: A Center for Writing, Art, and the Environment. Laurie teaches creative writing at the University of Texas, Austin, where she also directs the undergraduate creative writing program. (Pictured right. Photo credit Patti James.)

 

About the Authors Talk series:

For several years, we have featured audio or video of Superstition Review contributors reading their work. We’ve now established a new series of podcasts called Authors Talk. The podcasts in this series take a broader scope and feature SR contributors discussing their own thoughts on writing, the creative process, and anything else they may want to share with listeners.

SR Pod/Vod Series – Recording: Poet Laurie Filipelli

Cass Murphy

laurie-filipelli-bw-600This Tuesday, we’re proud to feature SR contributor Laurie Filipelli reading her poem “Warrior” on our podcast.

You can listen to the podcast on our iTunes Channel, #200.

You can follow along with Laurie’s work in Superstition Review, Issue 16.

Her Authors Talk podcast with Laurie Saurborn was released March 15, #201.

More About the Author:
Laurie Filipelli is the author of a collection of poems, Elseplace, released by Brooklyn Arts Press in 2013. Her poems and essays have appeared or are forthcoming at apt, BOAAT, Coldfront, The Pinch, Redheaded Stepchild, The Rumpus, Salamander, So and So, and Xavier Review. She is the recipient of a Yaddo fellowship, and lives in Austin where she works as a writer, editor, and writing coach.

SR Pod/Vod Series – Authors Talk: Poet Trina Young

Cass Murphy

Trina Young2Today, we’re proud to feature SR contributor Trina Young as our nineteenth Authors Talk series contributor with her podcast “Never Forget the Basics.”

‘The basics,’ those ever-elusive things about which creative writing students are accustomed to hearing, encouraged to practice, and – speaking from personal experience – eager to upgrade. They’re something Trina wants to remind us of as we aspire to new sets of skills, leave the classroom, and strike out on our own.

Trina explains, “I was speaking to young writers like myself who may have hit a rough patch in their process, and many of the tips I had were the things you seem to learn early on in writing and are essential, but perhaps can be forgotten or not practiced enough.”

She hopes the truth of the titular sentiment will resonate with listeners, and speaking from personal experience (again), I’ll say it definitely does.

You can listen to the podcast on our iTunes Channel, #199.

You can read “The Body” in Superstition Review Issue 15, and listen to Trina Young read it aloud in podcast #155.

 

More About the Author:

Trina Young is a graduate from DePaul University with a passion for many kinds of writing. She was one of the winners of the Pegasus Young Playwrights competition in 2010, and has had one poem published by Afterimage Online’s Inklight gallery. She recently received the honor of placing third as a Gwendolyn Brooks Poetry Award Winner in the Illinois Emerging Writers Competition. She continues to submit to journals in order to build her credits and be included among many other talented people. She currently writes for Blavity, a site for black millennials to fight the stereotypes against them, and is pursuing a career in television writing as well. She lives in Chicago, IL.

 

About the Authors Talk series:

For several years, we have featured audio or video of Superstition Review contributors reading their work. We’ve now established a new series of podcasts called Authors Talk. The podcasts in this series take a broader scope and feature SR contributors discussing their own thoughts on writing, the creative process, and anything else they may want to share with listeners.

SR Pod/Vod Series – Recording: Poet Trina Young

Cass Murphy

Trina Young2Today we’re proud to re-feature SR contributor Trina Young reading her poem “The Body” on our podcast, with her related Authors Talk forthcoming.

You can listen to the podcast on our iTunes Channel, number 155.

You can read Trina’s work in Superstition Review, Issue 15.

Her Authors Talk podcast was released on March 4th, #199.

 

More About the Author:
Trina Young is a graduate from DePaul University with a passion for many kinds of writing. She was one of the winners of the Pegasus Young Playwrights competition in 2010, and has had one poem published by Afterimage Online’s Inklight gallery. She recently received the honor of placing third as a Gwendolyn Brooks Poetry Award Winner in the Illinois Emerging Writers Competition. She continues to submit to journals in order to build her credits and be included among many other talented people. She currently writes for Blavity, a site for black millennials to fight the stereotypes against them, and is pursuing a career in television writing as well. She lives in Chicago, IL.

SR Pod/Vod Series – Authors Talk: Author Luke Muyskens

Cass Murphy

Luke MuyskensToday, we’re proud to feature SR contributor Luke Muyskens as our eighteenth Authors Talk series contributor with his interview-style podcast “Discussing Knock-Out Drum.”

“When my friend told me this story, I thought immediately, ‘that’s something that needs to be told; that’s something that I need to write about, because if I don’t, it’s just another story that’s going to disappear into the ether,’” Luke says in his podcast regarding the origins of his fictional story.

Unfortunately, the premise is real: An oil rig hand in North Dakota actually faced harassment at the hand of his co-workers for being gay. It’s a fact that makes “Knock-Out Drum” even more haunting. Luke’s discussion on its writing is similarly grounded, touching on the need to fictionalize events and characters as well as the responsibility he felt to the true story and the real people who became his characters.

But as Luke notes, his story is about more than a character’s sexual orientation. It’s about the challenge of not fitting it, the “clashes between who we were – who we’re going to be – as individuals, and as a collective whole.”

You can listen to the podcast on our iTunes Channel.

You can read “Knock-Out Drum” in Superstition Review Issue 16, and listen to Luke read it aloud in SR podcast #197.

 

More About the Author:

Luke Muyskens’ fiction, poetry, and humor has appeared in McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, Digital Americana, and One Throne Magazine. He was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, though he now resides in Saint Paul, Minnesota. He is pursuing an MFA through Queens University of Charlotte, and earned a bachelor’s degree from St. John’s University.

 

About the Authors Talk series:

For several years, we have featured audio or video of Superstition Review contributors reading their work. We’ve now established a new series of podcasts called Authors Talk. The podcasts in this series take a broader scope and feature SR contributors discussing their own thoughts on writing, the creative process, and anything else they may want to share with listeners.

 

SR Pod/Vod Series – Recording: Author Luke Muyskens

Cass Murphy

Luke MuyskensThis Tuesday, we’re proud to feature SR contributor Luke Muyskens reading his story “Knock-Out Drum” on our podcast.

You can listen to the podcast on our iTunes Channel.

You can read Luke’s work in Superstition Review, Issue 16.

Also check out Luke Muysken’s Authors Talk podcast, posted Friday February 26th.

More About the Author:
Luke Muyskens’ fiction, poetry, and humor has appeared in McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, Digital Americana, and One Throne Magazine. He was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, though he now resides in Saint Paul, Minnesota. He is pursuing an MFA through Queens University of Charlotte, and earned a bachelor’s degree from St. John’s University.

SR Pod/Vod Series – Authors Talk: Author Jon Pearson

Cass Murphy

Jon PearsonToday we’re proud to feature Jon Pearson as our seventeenth Authors Talk series contributor, sharing his thoughts on harnessing creativity in his podcast, “Our Minds All Have Giant Backyards.”

Nothing kills creativity more than the desire to do well, Jon says in his Authors Talk podcast, adding “talent wants to know what the rules are so it can succeed. Genius wants to know what the rules are so it can break them and shoot for the stars.” But his advice is more complex than ‘throw all the rules away and start over:’ he’s fond of imagery in particular, and encourages writers to be polishers rather than editors.

The repeated idea of an “eternal Saturday that is at the heart of powerful writing” conjures up a number of situations common to artists of any medium. It’s representative of an Authors Talk that examines what it means to be a creative person, and the mindset in which art flourishes.

You can listen to the podcast on our iTunes Channel, #196.

You can read Jon’s story “Saturday” in Superstition Review Issue 16, and listen to him read it aloud in SR podcast #195.

 

More About the Author:

Jon Pearson is a writer, speaker, artist, and creative thinking consultant. He was nominated for a 2014 Pushcart Prize and a 2014 Million Writers Award and his work has appeared in Barely South Review, Barnstorm, Carve, The Citron Review, Crack the Spine, Critical Pass Review, Cultural Weekly, Existere, Faultline, Fiction Fix, Lake Effect, Penmen Review, Psychoanalytic Perspectives, Reed Magazine, Shark Reef, Sou’wester, Tower Journal, West Wind Review, and Wild Violet. Jon writes now for the same reason he played with his food as a kid: to make the world a better place. Feel free to contact Jon at jonstuartpearson@gmail.com

 

About the Authors Talk series:

For several years, we have featured audio or video of Superstition Review contributors reading their work. We’ve now established a new series of podcasts called Authors Talk. The podcasts in this series take a broader scope and feature SR contributors discussing their own thoughts on writing, the creative process, and anything else they may want to share with listeners.

SR Pod/Vod Series – Recording: Author Jon Pearson

Cass Murphy

Jon PearsonThis Tuesday, we’re proud to feature SR contributor Jon Pearson reading his story “Saturday” on our podcast.

You can listen to the podcast on our iTunes Channel.

You can follow along with “Saturday” in Superstition Review Issue 16.

Also check out Jon Pearson’s Authors Talk podcast, posted Friday February 16th.

More About the Author:
Jon Pearson is a writer, speaker, artist, and creative thinking consultant. He was nominated for a 2014 Pushcart Prize and a 2014 Million Writers Award and his work has appeared in Barely South Review, Barnstorm, Carve, The Citron Review, Crack the Spine, Critical Pass Review, Cultural Weekly, Existere, Faultline, Fiction Fix, Lake Effect, Penmen Review, Psychoanalytic Perspectives, Reed Magazine, Shark Reef, Sou’wester, Tower Journal, West Wind Review, and Wild Violet. Jon writes now for the same reason he played with his food as a kid: to make the world a better place.