Tag: Instant Noodles Lierary Magazine

CONGRATULATIONS TO GABBY and THANK YOU!

Published on by diannePLeave a comment

Hi All~

Today we celebrated the launch of Gabby Gilliam’s book: NO OCEAN SPIT ME OUT with a reading on Zoom by Gabby and Robert and Alan.

I am going to guess that many of the guests were friends/family of the authors, and I am so grateful for their kindness as we navigated our first live event since 2020, in a different house, on different equipment, and on the opposite coast. I’m not going to say we were a well-oiled machine, but our hearts were in the right place. 😉

Within the coming week we will create a nice video of the event and post it here, as well as send it to the participants.

If you attended, or if you missed, please consider coming to future events. It meant so much to me to hear the authors read the books live that Dave and I often work on alone, in silence. I tend to read the books we publish a few times, but this is a whole different and rich experience.

So, if you were able to attend, I thank you for doing so, and being such a gracious guest.

If you were unable to attend, not to worry, as we will be posting the event here ASAP.

And don’t forget to visit the catalogue page and see what OSP books are available! The OSP authors keep 100% of their royalties, so help them earn a little coin at this writing game.

Also, next week, if you’re feeling game and supportive, join us again for the live reading of INSTANT NOODLES… VOLUME 4 (has it been 4 years???) ISSUE 1.

The writing for this issue, chosen by Gabby Gilliam, Anthony Doyle, Nadja Maril, and with visuals chosen by Robert Fleming and Alan Bern, is not to be missed!

Thank you for supporting indie authors.

Much love~

Dianne & David

INSTANT NOODLES IS UP!

Published on by diannePLeave a comment

Check out the wonderful writing and art: curated by Old Scratch Press!
Lot’s of poetry for National Poetry Month plus other literary delights await you!

Just like a great lunch you can get it in an instant!

Do Poets and Writers of Short Prose Need an MFA?

Published on by Nadja Maril1 Comment

By Nadja Maril

Attend any writer’s conference or weekend of workshops and invariably a topic raised amongst the attendees, (those aspiring to be published writers), is a discussion on the value of an MFA.

Will an MFA is help me professionally?

Will graduate school provide me with useful introductions to members of the publishing industry?

Will the process of earning a Masters degree serve to teach me useful skills I couldn’t learn independently?

No simple answer exists, because every writer and their aspirations are different. And every MFA program is different.

Photo by Gu00fcl Iu015fu0131k on Pexels.com

I found pursuing an MFA  to be a rewarding intellectual experience, as an older adult. I received my MFA  from the Stonecoast  Low Residency Writing Program at in University of Southern Maine in literary fiction in January 2020.  

Low residency didn’t start up with the internet or the pandemic. For decades, many scholars have recognized that much of a graduate student’s work consists of independent study and research under the tutelage of a mentor. Low residency programs convene in person each semester for one or two weeks and the remainder of communication is done by email, snail mail and video conferencing.  The set-up enables students to continue with another professional career and family responsibilities.

While I wished I ‘d attended grad school in my twenties or thirties, sometimes you appreciate something more when you are forced to wait.

When I asked some of my colleagues at Old Scratch Press if they could share some of their thoughts  about MFA’s,  Collective  member Robert Fleming  told me about Mark Fishbein, who he met at the Poetry Academy of the District of Columbia poetry critique workshop. To join contact Mark at mark@poetwithguitar.com

To Mark Fishbein, Robert posed the following questions:

Why did you choose an MFA?:

M.F.: As retired, the purpose at the age of 74 means deciding to buy your container of milk before or after your nap. As a young man I thought to live the life of poet/academician, but got sidetracked and spent my life differently. But as a lifelong poet, I now give lectures in poetry workshops and I would like to teach it. In order to do so I must have, at minimum, an MFA.

Mark began in the Fall, 2023 an in-person MFA in creative writing: poetry at Columbia College in Chicago, IL. This is a traditional residential full-time program.

Why did you chose this specific school? :

M.F.: The program is well received; it’s walking distance from home, the price is more reasonable and the vibe less full of itself as I have experienced. It’s in the heart of downtown. No campus fraternities.

Mark is the chancellor of the Poetry Academy of the District of Columbia and most recently published Reflections in the Time of Trumpius Maximus, by Mark Fishbein | Atmosphere Press

So what is your thoughts on the topic? We’d be happy to hear from you.

Thank you for reading. Check out the latest submission call from Instant Noodles Literary Magazine here.