#stevenorr.com

[saintorr]

aka Chris McBeth

https://chrismcbeth.wordpress.com/2018/07/28/74/

[saintorr]

(St.Orr)

[saintorr]

Meeting Clifford Johnson 2-28-19

4:06 AM (13 minutes ago)

to dara920

HI DARYL;

It was great meeting Clifford Thompson. He's a smart, interesting, kinda funny, straight and married black man who writes and is a father of two.

He read from some of his fav. authors, James Baldwin and Joan Didion and Phillip Lopate.

And his site is

https://www.cliffordthompson.info/contact

In terms of self-publishing, he went that route with his first NOVEL   "Signifying Nothing" and he published it via iUniverse a few years ago for six-hundred dollars and that included the artwork.

His next books were both non-fiction and he got someone else to publish the book after that novel. He also teaches at Bennington and at a variety of other places.

Interesting, thoughtful man.

Some topics he also covered were

The best work of a writer is a combo plate of both telling and showing and "going from the general to the specific."

He read from "Notes of a Native Son" essays by James Baldwin

"Slouching Toward Bethlahem" by Joan Didion; re; her memoirs about her first few years living in NYC.

He also talked about creating a sense of wonder when you are writing; creating atmosphere, etc.

Also mentioned "The Boys of my Youth" by Jo Ann Beard

This memoir [?] involves hardly any telling at all but consists of all "scenes" from her life...

He also described what he saw as a simple formula for most novelists, that being "Scene, exposition, scene..."

He also raved albeit very subtly about

http://philliplopate.com/

a famous American essayist who lives in Brooklyn and has won many prestigious awards and who also happens to the be the brother of Leonard Lopate, the famous "underground" Public Radio Talk Show --WBAI--host and interviewer...

https://www.wnyc.org/shows/lopate

Some attendees brought up another self-publishing company Ex Libris. No definite info on that...

We all again concurred that there is no one way to get published although certainly self-promotion or getting published by a publisher who actually has a publicity department is a very good and positive thing.

EVERYONE CONCURRED ON THE IMPORTANCE OF CONNECTIONS...

Our Facilitator Anita brought up "The Writer's Market" as a valuable resource for finding an editor; and the basic steps one must navigate to create a book, i.e., first write it, then edit it, then self-publish. She also talked about her very positive experiences with "Doctoring" a paid-for service provided by Gotham Writer's Workshop in NYC>

I shared info about Pages.com to the group discussion. Thanks for sharing that with me.

Lastly, there's a big "Open Mic" on Sat., info is here The free open-mic, hosted by the National Writers Union, is held on the first Saturday of each month (except in July when it's on the 2nd Saturday due to the July 4 holiday) at the Muhlenberg Library in Manhattan / Chelsea, 209 West 23rd St. (northwest corner of 7th Ave., #1 train station), on the 3rd floor (in the community meeting room). This month (March) it's this Saturday 3/2, from 2pm to 4:30pm. When you arrive on the 3rd floor and you'd like to recite/speak (short story, poem(s), or improv. comedy) or sing, sign up at the door. All writers/speakers are called in order they signed up. If there's time at the end, they'll do a shorter second round. Whoever stayed within the 5 or 7-min. time-limit in the first round is allowed to go again for a second round, though shorter (3 minutes). Good for a short poem or quick teaser/preview of a short story, blah blah blah.

I was going to go to this but I got a private invite to see the Basquiat exhibition at a local hot gallery so I'm going to do that at three and the OM will be

over by the time that's through.

Hope your ankle feels better and don't forget to practice every day or every other day.

You must tell me what a "sugar dump" is...I have been stopping all honey from hot drinks and teas from three days now. Ew.

See you in two weeks on Wed. and our teacher is trying to push library to give us another class...as you may or may not have heard.

best

Steven O

STEVENORR.COM

NYCMASSEUR.COM

Steven Orr, LMT

212-777-7199

Massage

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Acting, media & creative arts

www.stevenorr.com

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