July 29, 2007

First Drafts

So I’m trying a new thing today – I submitted an essay to Marginalia, and I didn’t edit it 20 times first. I’m sure that fact will come back to bite me in the proverbial ass in two days when they reject the essay, but I thought I’d give it a go. At least something new is out in the world.
That said, my students will probably be horrified that I sent out a first draft (okay, horrified implies that they care, but mostly they don’t so) because I keep saying – revise – revise – revise. But then I’ve got eight years more education in English than they do, so . . . .
I’ll keep you posted on how this goes.

* Filed by Andi at 7:58 pm under Written and Wrought
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July 27, 2007

Gayle Brandeis’ Brilliant Study on Self

I just finished reading Brandeis’ newest novel Self-Storage, and I’m on fire like I haven’t been for words in a while. Maybe it’s that I read the book in two days because it was that interesting; or maybe it’s that Brandeis keeps the novel well-paced, always interesting, and complex – whatever it is, I loved this book.
She successfully weaves together a first-person narrator’s story of her life as a mother, odd entrepreneur, and personal activist (read the book to see what I mean) into a story that I can relate to without having kids, running a business or ever taking much political action. I saw myself in each of her characters and then hated/loved/sighed at the other characters with each character. No one is given reprieve, and no one is condemned in this novel. It’s lovely.
So go to and get a copy of Gayle’s book.

Self-Storage by Gayle Brandeis – Cover of Self-Storage

* Filed by Andi at 8:23 pm under Book Recommendations
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