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A late-summer literary grab bag with flowers

One of my favorite childhood memories is of a midsummer community picnic in Green Lake, Wisconsin. It included a kids’ corner where we lined up to throw a clothespin attached to a rope over the top of a makeshift partition, and when the person on the other side threw the rope back, a brown paper sack filled with candy was fastened to the clothespin.

Inside my prized bag was a roll of those old, fruity Charms hard candies and a few strips of pastel candy buttons. I can’t remember what else was in there, but the bag, which was generously filled, was an almost unbearable delight to my six- or seven-year-old self.

I remember wanting to return for a second go, but whichever aunt or uncle was with me on that afternoon sagaciously put their young foot down—one gigantic sugar rush was enough for one day.

Necco candy buttons - 1 lb. for $24 (!?)

Today’s post is something of a grab bag too.

At the end, you’ll find information about the memorial celebration (which is later today, Aug. 25) for Don De Grazia, author of the novel American Skin and beloved Columbia College Chicago professor, who died suddenly this past June.

Microessay from Harper’s February 2024

Several days ago, I came across the following micro-essay/museum placard. It’s one of the most beautiful works of nonfiction I’ve read in a while.

Nonfiction Contest for Emerging Writers

Submissions are open through September 30 for Boulevard Magazine’s nonfiction contest for emerging writers—entries accepted through the mail or via Submittable. More details here.

Fall Short Story Workshop

Beginning Wednesday, September 25 (6-8:30 PM PT), I'll be teaching a 10-week short story workshop on Zoom, "Four Beginnings, One Ending," for Stanford University Continuing Studies. Registration details here.

Course description:

The best short stories have the emotional heft of a novel and the narrative energy of a page-turner. The short story is the fictional equivalent of the bouillon cube, the novel the big pot of broth. While novelists can take their time easing readers into the narrative, a short story’s opening must be especially gripping—it has so much work to do within a few paragraphs, introducing readers to the who, what, where, and often the why of the story. In this course, students will write and workshop four openings, receiving feedback to help land on the most engaging one before writing and workshopping the remainder of the story.

During the course, we will also discuss characterization, voice, and point of view, pairing these craft elements with writing exercises. Along with workshop sessions, we’ll read and discuss the work of contemporary short story writers, including Edward P. Jones, Lori Ostlund, Mary Gaitskill, Saïd Sayrafiezadeh, and Bonnie Jo Campbell, with special focus on their stories' beginnings and narrative structures. The goal, by the end of the course, is to have a new short story that’s so immersive, your readers won’t be able to stop turning the pages. (Guest speakers in weeks 2 and 3: Matthew Lansburgh and Angela Pneuman.)

Favorite bookish quotes

“Fiction is like a spider’s web, attached ever so lightly perhaps, but still attached to life at all four corners.” - Virginia Woolf

“Any writer, I suppose, feels that the world into which he was born is nothing less than a conspiracy against the cultivation of his talent.” - James Baldwin

“Oh! It is only a novel! …only some work in which the most thorough knowledge of human nature, the happiest delineation of its varieties, the liveliest effusions of wit and humor are conveyed to the world in the best chosen language.  - Jane Austen

“When I discovered libraries, it was like having Christmas every day.” - Jean Fritz

“The road to hell is paved with adverbs.” - said Mark Twain portentously

Recent Travels

Last weekend I was in Green Lake for a family reunion, and my aunt Wendy and Uncle Don took me to Pineapple Hill Orchard. If you’re in that part of the country or plan to be soon, I highly recommend a visit. They’re open Thursday through Sunday, and some of the trees, Zestars and Paula Reds, are already being harvested.

Along with hundreds of apple trees (of more than 10 varieties, including Honeycrisps, Galas, and Cortlands), they have stunning gardens. Below I’ve shared a few photos.

Apple trees nearing harvest time

Some of the dinner plate dahlias in the orchard gardens

Pineapple Hill store with front garden

Don De Grazia

If you too were a student, friend, or admirer of Don De Grazia, a celebration of his life will take place today, Sunday, August 25 at Metro, 3730 N. Clark St. in Chicago, from 2 - 6 PM. More information at this link.

Don De Grazia