Extract(s) of The Language of Men by D’Aries
Extract(s) has a sneak peak of The Language of Men, a memoir by Massachusetts writer Anthony D’Aries:
My father speaks his own language. A hillbilly twang of the Looney Tunes dialect – Foghorn Leghorn, Yosemite Sam – mixed with the African-American jive of the dirtiest comedians – Redd Foxx or Richard Pryor. His swearing is part of a well-oiled machine, except when a driver cuts him off – then higher-octane terms explode from his mouth. He cuts words in half, stresses whichever syllable he wants. Verbs become nouns and vice versa. He throws in song lyrics, movie quotes, even slogans from TV commercials. It all swirls together and all you can do is try to keep up.
Read more of The Language of Men at Extract(s). Visit the website of Anthony D’Aries.
Local authors reading at Brookline Booksmith
Speaking of, D’Aries will be at the Brookline Booksmith this Tuesday, Aug. 28, at 7pm for a reading from the memoir. So, too, are these fine debut authors:
- Monday, August 27th at 7pm: Grub Street instructor Tim Horvath, author of the collection Understories, with Verlyn Klinkenborg
- Wednesday, August 29th at 7pm: Debut novelist Judith White, of Brookline, author of The Seventh Etching
And earlier this month, local debut novelist David R. Gillham read from City of Women, Maryanne O’Hara read from Cascade, and Brookline local artist Joe McKendry read from One Times Square: A Century of Change at the Crossroads of the World.
Short story nominated for Best of the Net anthology
Writer Tim Weed announced his short story Snarl has been nominated for Sundress Publications’ 2012 anthology.
Interview with Harrington on her Harvard-set novel ‘Penelope’
Rebecca Harrington, author of Penelope. Photo by Michael Lionstar.
EW’s Shelf Life has an interview with 26-year-old author and Harvard grad Rebecca Harrington on her new novel, Penelope, about a young, socially awkward girl trying to navigate the culture at the Ivy League campus.
Penelope was inspired more by the tradition of British campus novels than her own experiences. “I was reading a lot of novels set at Oxford and Cambridge, like Lucky Jim and Decline and Fall, which viewed education less as this kind of transcendentalist, transformative experience and more as a series of absurd accidents happening over and over again,” says Harrington. “I decided to transpose that form and see if I can do it in an American setting. … Sometimes college can be more absurd and alienating than it is transformative and really fun. In America, you have these models of college where it’s either like Animal House or Good Will Hunting.”
Steve Almond judges Fringe’s inaugural flash fiction contest
Pushcart-Prize-winner Steve Almond will judge Fringe Magazine’s first flash fiction contest. First prize is $350 and publication in Fringe, second prize $100, and third prize is $50. All entries will be considered for publication. Submissions are now open and will close at midnight on October 15, 2012.
Pub & Grub member mixer: Comedy night pics
Writer/comedian Steve Macone
Grub Street members were treated to free drinks and snacks and a taste of live stand-up comedy by Tim McIntire (one of the most popular and prolific comedians in New England for over a decade), Steve Macone (contributor for The Onion), and Alingon Mitra (comedian-in-residence at the Comedy Studio in Harvard square). It was a wonderful night of drinking, mingling and shooting the lit. A slideshow is up at Grub Daily.
Video of Mira Bartok reading at Harvard Book Store now online
Mira Bartok, children’s book writer and essayist, reads from her memoir “The Memory Palace,” her first book for adults. She explores the relationship between herself, her sister, and their mentally ill mother.
WGBHForum has uploaded videos of readings and lectures from forum-network.org onto its YouTube site.
Boston Writers Review 