Julie Matsen: Laurie Notaro Talk

Laurie Notaro“There’s a dead guy over here!” she frantically tells her audience. The usual reaction to a statement like this is not to laugh, but laugh we do. Laurie Notaro, bestselling humor writer and ASU alumna, is telling the audience about the importance of putting the crux of a humor piece in the story’s beginning. “You don’t bury the lead,” she admonishes audience members, especially the ones as familiar with journalism as she is.

Laurie Notaro was at the Polytechnic campus on the evening of September 17 to discuss humor and sign copies of her latest book, The Potty Mouth at the Table. The event was co-sponsored by Superstition Review as part of that week’s Project Humanities lecture series on humor.

Laurie Notaro2One of the highlights of the night is her reading of Don’t Make Me the Asshole, a nonfiction piece in her latest collection. (Potty Mouth seems aptly named in places.) Perhaps reading is not the right word, as it is more of a dissection, a step-by-step explanation of what writing conventions are used to maximize the humorous retelling of the time she discovered her bath puff had been tampered with. “‘Using someone else’s bath puff is like using someone else’s hairbrush, or toothbrush, or the gum on the underside of a table,'” she reads. “What I did there was build tension. You don’t want to lead with the gum, but you want to build up to it.”

AudienceLaurie eventually built up to the question-and-answer session, artfully answering (and sometimes dodging) questions like “What is your writing process?” and “What does your workspace look like?” (“Messy” was the answer to both. She was kind enough to wait for the audience to laugh before elaborating.) A question she did not shy away from was “What is something you shouldn’t write about?” Inside jokes should be avoided. If the backstory is longer than the joke, it’s not funny. An example she brought up is the gallows humor she uses with a friend who has a terminal illness. How can terminal illness be funny? I thought. “My friend says to me, ‘Laurie,’ she says, ‘I’m going to haunt you.’ And I said, ‘Okay. Well, let’s set some ground rules.’”

Laurie Notaro3The night ended with a book signing of Laurie’s various collections, including the Idiot Girls short story collections; There’s a (Slight) Chance I Might Be Going to Hell: A Novel of Sewer Pipes, Pageant Queens, and Big Trouble; It Looked Different on the Model: Epic Tales of Impending Shame and Infamy; and of course, her latest collection, Potty Mouth. ASU Bookstore employees had set up a maroon table adorned with several of Laurie’s titles, but many fans of Notaro’s had brought their own copies, a few complete with creased spines and dog-eared pages.

Lauro Notaro and Trish

I think I speak for the audience when I say we were glad she was able to make it, and would be happy to see her come back. Thank you for the laughs, Laurie.

ASU Polytechnic hosts TED2012 webcast with Lee Gutkind

ASU Polytechnic hosts TED2012 webcast
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
9:30 a.m. – 7:45 p.m.
Student Union, Cooley BallroomsASU’s Polytechnic campus will host a live webcast of TED2012 from 9:30 a.m. – 7:45 p.m., Feb 29. TEDx is hosted by Barrett, The Honors College at Polytechnic campus and will be held in the Cooley Ballrooms.Live speakers at ASU Polytechnic:

Lee Gutkind: (11:15 a.m. – 12 p.m.) Dubbed by Vanity Fair as “the Godfather behind creative nonfiction,” Gutkind is an author and founder of Creative Nonfiction, the first and largest literary magazine to publish nonfiction exclusively. His latest book, “Almost Human: Making Robots Think” was featured on the Daily Show with John Stewart. Gutkind spent six years as a fly-on-the-wall researcher at the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Melon University in Pittsburgh where scientists and students are working to design, build and test robots so advanced that will work alongside humans. “Almost Human” is a portrait of robotic subculture. Gutkind is the Distinguished Writer-in-Residence in the Consortium for Science, Policy & Outcomes at ASU and a professor in the Hugh Downs School of Human Communication.

Jennifer Gale: (1:45 – 3:15 p.m.) Gale is a local advocate for sustainability and co-founder of “Paper or Plastic? Neither One Please!” Her work addresses the volume of plastic disposables as a vital issue for the planet.

Solutions Exhibition: (5 – 6 p.m.) Sponsored by Changemaker Central and the Programming and Activities Board, the Solutions Exhibition is a forum for students to showcase new ideas and learn how to transform ideas into reality.

Attendees at TEDx may stay for the entire day’s schedule or drop by for a shorter time period throughout the day. Workstations will be set up, and attendees are welcome to work on laptops during the event. Admission is free; food will be served throughout the day.

For more information, visit http://barrettpoly.asu.edu/2012/01/tedxbhcpoly/ or call (480) 727-5399.

A list of speakers for TED event can be found here.

Meet the Interns: Lauren Brown, Art Editor

Lauren Brown is about to graduate from the Literature, Writing, and Film program at ASU’s Polytechnic campus.

Superstition Review: What is your position with Superstition Review and what are your responsibilities?

Lauren Brown: I am one of two Art Editors for Superstition Review. My job is to review the art submitted to the magazine and choose which pieces to include in Issue 5. I also created a list of artists whose work I would like to solicit and interview questions for two artists.

SR: How did you hear about Superstition Review and what made you decide to get involved?

LB: I was a student in Professor Murphy’s beginning poetry workshop and she announced internship opportunities for Superstition Review. I had worked for my high school’s literary magazine and really enjoyed it, and I was really interested in getting a chance to work on a professional literary magazine.

SR: What are you hoping to take away from your Superstition Review experience?

LB: I hope to take away many things from Superstition Review: experience working for a professional literary magazine, learning about publishing a magazine, working in online publishing. I am looking forward to working with writers and artists and working within the writing community.

SR: Describe one of your favorite literary or artistic works.

LB: I don’t think its possible for me to pick a favorite literary work, both my parents were educators and instilled a love of books in me from a young age. I feel like for each stage of my life there is a book that goes along with it, Charlotte’s Web in kindergarten up to Pride and Prejudice my senior year of high school, and every book in between and since then. I feel the same way about art, but I will always have a special place in my heart for Monet, especially his landscapes. Monet’s work taught me so much about the use of color and all his paintings give me a feeling of peace.

SR: What are you currently reading?

LB: Currently I am reading a collection of poems by Langston Hughes, I fell in love with his work during my American Poetry class last semester, and since then I have read any work of his that I can get my hands on.

SR: What other position(s) for Superstition Review would you like to try out?

LB: If I weren’t an Art Editor, I would love to try the position of either Poetry or Nonfiction Editor. I think it would be great to read such a large variety of work from so many different authors.

SR: Do you prefer reading literary magazines online or in print?

LB: I used to feel like reading online versions of literary magazines was too difficult and hard on my eyes. However, with new technology preventing glare from the computer screen and the many different types of devices to read electronic media on, I have come to depend on online media for most of my reading. I feel the easy accessibility of the work and the ability to take many books, journals, and magazines with me on my phone, laptop, or electronic reader really makes online versions my preferred option.

SR: Do you write or create art? What are you currently working on?

LB: I enjoy both writing and creating art, and I like to combine the two whenever possible. I am currently working on a portfolio of work which includes art, poetry, and nonfiction elements. In addition, I am working on a portrait series of my nieces and nephews using photography and pastels.

SR: Besides interning for Superstition Review, how do you spend your time?

LB: I have two part time jobs outside Superstition Review, I am a Habilitation Therapist for special needs kids and a bookseller at Barnes and Noble. In my work as a Habilitation Therapist, I work to include art and writing therapy for both stress relief and to develop fine motor skills. I have worked for Barnes and Noble since I was in high school and realized if I was going to read as much as I did I need to find a way to pay for it, and what better way to pay for books than to work at a bookstore and receive a discount.

SR: What is your favorite mode of relaxation?

LB: Whenever I am not working I am usually reading. I also enjoy taking my camera and my two dogs, Louie and Ringo, on hikes around Phoenix.

Meet the Interns: Chris Schmidt, Interview Coordinator

Chris Schmidt is a Literature, Writing, and Film student at ASU’s Polytechnic campus set to graduate in December 2010.

Superstition Review: What is your position with Superstition Review and what are your responsibilities?

Chris Schmidt: As Interview Coordinator, my responsibilities revolve around coordinating and managing the author interviews. This includes maintenance of prospect spreadsheet; solicitation of interviews; collection of responses, bios, and photographs; and transfer of all content for publication.

SR: How did you hear about Superstition Review and what made you decide to get involved?

CS: I heard about Superstition Review in my beginning creative fiction workshop last semester, and about that time I was thinking of publishing as an area I’d like to learn more about. I was more than thrilled to be accepted in the internship!

SR: What are you hoping to take away from your Superstition Review experience?

CS: From my Superstition Review experience, I’m hoping to take away a working knowledge of all the elements that go into the production of a literary magazine, and then bring that expertise into the job market.

SR: Describe one of your favorite literary or artistic works.

CS: My (new) favorite literary work is anything written by author Dan Chaon, particularly Passengers, Remain Calm.

SR: What are you currently reading?

CS: I am currently reading Philip Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? for a Literature on Film class I’m taking this semester.

SR: What other position(s) for Superstition Review would you like to try out?

CS: I’d be interested in trying out any of the other positions for Superstition Review in order to achieve a well-rounded background in the publication process.

SR: Do you prefer reading literary magazines online or in print?

CS: I’m not picky…either online or print depending on where I am at the time.

SR: Besides interning for Superstition Review, how do you spend your time?

CS: Besides interning for Superstition Review, my time is spent as wife to my husband of 21 years, mother of a teenage daughter and three felines, as well as a part-time transcriptionist and full-time student with more credits than I should be taking in one semester.

SR: What is your favorite mode of relaxation?

CS: One word: reading!

SR: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

CS: That’s a fun question…I had to answer that 25 years ago as a high school graduate, and back then one of my three goals was to become a “famous author.” I achieved one of my other two goals, so I’ll stick with that one, trade out the little red Ferrari for a black Jaguar, and add publishing/editing guru to the vision.

Issue 4 of Superstition Review

We apologize for not announcing it on the blog sooner, but Issue 4 of Superstition Review is up and running!

Brought to you by Fall 2009’s 23 student interns through the B.A. program in Literature, Writing, and Film at the ASU Polytechnic campus, Superstition Review‘s fourth issue features excellent new work from established and emerging artists and writers.

In our Art section, we present work from Christopher Jagmin, Eric Penington, and José Bechara.

For Fiction, we have stories from Allen Kopp, Cary Holladay, Charlotte Holmes, Jen Knox, Juli Henshaw, Karen Brown, Kate Kostelnik, Leslie Epstein, Sherril Jaffe, Sudha Balagopal, and Vytatuas Malesh.

In Interviews, our interns speak with Carol Ann Bassett, Judith Halberstam, Leslie Epstein, Michael Martone, Robert Ekiss, Robin Hemley, Tania Katan, and Wanda Coleman.

We present Nonfiction essays from Anna Viadero, Carol Ann Bassett, Christine Steele, Jo Scott-Coe, Joseph Lombo, Rachel Yoder, Rick Steigelman, and Tania Katan.

Our Poetry section features poems from Aaron Fagan, Barbara Kingsolver, Billy Collins, Deborah Bogen, Emily Ferrara, James Kimbrell, Katherine Soniat, Kathleen Hellen, Keith Ekiss, Kelli Russell Agodon, Richard Bronson, Sarah J. Wangler, Stefanie Silva, and Timothy Liu.

Check it out and enjoy!

Meet the Interns: Scott Sivinski, Development Coordinator

Scott Sivinski is a Senior at Arizona State University majoring in Literature, Writing and Film.

Superstition Review: What do you do for SR?

Scott Sivinski: I am formatting the work we have to be sent out to Amazon to use on Kindle.

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

SS: I heard about the Review in an email, probably from the English department.

SR: Who is your dream contributor to the journal? Talk about him/her.

SS: David Sedaris who is one of my favorite authors and memoirists would be a great contributor. He has stories for everything.

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

SS: I would like to be involved with the nonfiction group, probably as editor.

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

SS: I just can’t wait to read all of the submissions and just see the issue in its entirety since it is something I helped produce.

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

SS: Weekend by Christopher Pike was the first book I remember loving. It was a mystery and involved people just a little older than me and it really kick-started my reading habit. I still mostly read mysteries or thrillers along with the occasional memoir.

SR: What are you currently reading?

SS: I am currently reading the new memoir by Kathy Griffin who I find to be hilarious.

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

SS: I like Entertainment Weekly’s website because it covers all aspects of entertainment including music, film and book reviews. I also like a site called dlisted because it makes fun of our cultures obsession with celebrities and his blogs are always hilarious.

SR: Do you write? Tell us about a project you’re working on.

SS: I do write on my own and keep a journal, but right now all I am writing is papers for other classes. I have six classes and five of them are English courses so I’m doing a lot of drafts and stuff right now and working on my applied project for graduation.

Superstition Review’s Fourth Issue Reading Series, Second Reading

The second reading of the semester took place as part of the Homecoming festivities on the lovely Polytechnic Campus. It was lovely, sunny, but a bit colder than the last few days, and quite blustery. The wind was blowing things around and making it more than a little difficult for all of the departments and organizations with tables set up about their programs.

We hosted our program (thankfully indoors) in the absolutely beautiful facility of the Black Box theater in the Applied Arts Pavilion. Due to a shifting situation on where we wanted/were permitted to hold the reading, the location had changed multiple times, resulting in a series of emails updating our readers. Probably confused me more than anyone else really. Even though I am the reading series coordinator, I had never spent much time on the Polytechnic campus, and did not really have much conception of where all the places were located, though I did eventually find my way to where we needed to be.

I started off by welcoming everyone to the reading and introduced Patricia Murphy, our managing editor and staff advisor. She then proceeded to explain the mission of SR and how we work, operate the magazine, and take submissions.

I then was able to introduce Laura Tohe, who was kind enough to drive out from the Tempe campus to share the written word with interested attendees out at our event at the Polytechnic campus. Laura read a variety of poems, including some beautiful poems from her most recent book, Tseyi, Deep in the Rock, which included poetry in both Navajo and English. She followed this with some assorted other poems, including assorted poems from a collection she is developing that she is calling her Bluebook collection, named because she started them in a blue notebook.

Laura finished the event by reading us a piece of a short story she wrote for Phoenix Noir, a recently published collection of noir mysteries all set in the Phoenix metro area. Mrs. Tohe laughed as she told us that she had never before written a mystery, but when she asked the editor how she should do it, drugs, sex, and murder were apparently the basic ingredients. I truly enjoyed the excerpts she read, and plan on buying the anthology to read the rest of the tale.

SR Reading 2: featuring Laura Tohe

WHEN: Thursday, October 29 @ 4 p.m.

WHERE: Applied Arts Pavilion @ ASU Polytechnic Campus

The reading will take place as part of the 2009 Homecoming celebration, featuring events such as a free concert by Arizona rock band Authority Zero and the Taste of the East Valley food fair. For more information on the Homecoming festivities, visit the ASU Polytechnic Homecoming Website.

Superstition Review is proud to announce Reading 2 of our Fall Reading Series, which will feature award winning author Laura Tohe as part of the 2009 Homecoming celebration at ASU’s Polytechnic Campus.

A current resident of Mesa, AZ, Tohe has received high acclaim for her book Tséyi’ / Deep in the Rock: Reflections on Canyon de Chelly, which received the 2007 Arizona Book Association’s Glyph Award for Best Poetry and Best Book and was named a Top Pick on the Southwest Books of the Year 2005 by the Tucson-Pima Public Library. She has also written a commissioned libretto, Enemy Slayer, A Navajo Oratorio, which made its world premiere as part of the Phoenix Symphony’s 60th Anniversary Season in February of 2008. She has also written essays, stories and children’s plays that have appeared in the U.S., Canada and throughout Europe.

Please click here for a video of Laura detailing her libretto Enemy Slayer, A Navajo Oratorio.

Raised by her family and relatives on the Navajo Indian reservation, Tohe grew up near the Chuska Mountains on the eastern border of the Diné homeland. She received her Bachelors degree from the University of New Mexico and her Masters and Doctorate degrees in Creative Writing and Literature from the University of Nebraska in Lincoln.

For the event, she will read poems and an excerpt from her new short story in Phoenix Noir. Admission is free.

http://www.lauratohe.com

Local Event: Arizona English Teachers Association Annual Statewide Conference

It’s only one month until the Arizona English Teacher Association holds their annual statewide conference at ASU Polytechnic Campus, hosted by ASU’s College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. The AETA is the local branch of the National Council of Teachers of English, but because its focus is regional, caters to interests of not only English teachers, but by natural extension, students and readers in our state.

You may be wondering why this conference is of interest to you, and I’ll tell you now–the guests expected to go to this year’s conference are phenomenal. Just to name a few, authors PJ Haarsma and Frank Beddor, and keynote speaker Professor Beverly Chin, will all be attendance. This is an exciting opportunity to listen to these authors discuss their works, interact with them, and get more insight into their craft. Not only that, but it’s an opportunity to hear emerging authors read their work and, if you’re involved in education, to gain new teaching models and theories used in the classroom.

Former attendees include Superstition Review-featured author and poet Sherman Alexie, so their guests are generally of interest to our readership. They look for the freshest, most interesting faces available in new literature particularly of interest to teachers and educators in the state.

Ticket prices vary, but there are discounts for students, and admission is not limited to those involved with the organization–anyone can attend the conference with paid admission. The conference dates are October 16 & 17 with open enrollment until the date of the event.

AETA’s Official Website (conference link on the left side)

Conference registration form

PJ Haarsma’s Official Website

Frank Beddor’s Official Homepage

Beverly Chin’s Educational Profile

This Past Week: Call for Contributors Begins

This week has been a little crazy for the interns at Superstition Review–the semester’s just taking off and things have been getting busy!

The prose and poetry editors have completed their solicitation lists this week and are preparing to email writers we’re all hoping will contribute to the fourth issue of SR. They’ve also been working on a list of writers they’d like to interview for the journal. This is an exciting time for these editors because right now they’re working with infinite possibilities on who to ask for contributions, and who to interview–it’s not until next week, when they send out emails to their lists of people, that the anxiety sets in while they wait for replies.

The art editors are working along those same lines. They’re reviewing artists’ works, looking at suggestions and their lists of solicitations, and trying to figure out whom they would like to approach for a contribution.

These editing teams, the prose, poetry, and art, have also alerted the Content Team of their full lists of solicitations and interview-hopefuls in order to let these interns keep tabs on what’s going in and out at the journal. The Content Team must keep track of what will be featured and what’s making the editing cut, so it’s equally important they get the foundational work done now.

The Web Design team is continuing to discuss how to improve the site for increased ease of navigation and aesthetic appeal. The interns in this group are working on getting photos of all the interns up, new site design, and, of course, keeping you up to date on what’s going on via the blog, our Twitter account, and our Facebook fan page.

Our administrative interns are busy with all things media this week: they’ve been planning the upcoming Reading Series, coming up with a contest for the journal, researching advertising opportunities, and, perhaps the most exciting for our readers, working on a Kindle-based version of SR.

Trish, our Editor-in-Chief has been attending meetings with the individual teams, keeping us updated with podcasts, and making sure things run smoothly, all while handling her normal full teaching load at ASU Polytechnic this semester.

That about wraps it up for this week. Next week, with solicitations leaving the desks of the interns, it’ll be a high-anxiety, nervous, and, frankly, exhilarating time as we keep our fingers crossed to see who decides they’d like to submit to SR.