Tag: newsletter

Artists & Mothers: Talking with Susan Conley, author of ELSEY COME HOME

February 2, 2019

Hearing Susan Conley, author of ELSEY COME HOME read from and discuss her novel was a great way to close out a busy January 2019 calendar of events. Conley’s novel about an expat American living in China deals with issues of artistic and personal identity, addiction, marriage, and motherhood.

Elsey, the novel’s protagonist is trying to figure out how to reconcile the divergent needs of marriage, motherhood with small children and art. Her husband suggests a yoga retreat in the mountains where Elsey meets a cast of characters, who, among other things, depict women dealing with different kinds of issues and challenges.

“Elsey’s problem is that she can’t cohere all the parts of herself,” Susan said. Painting and parenting both call for a kind of obsession, focus, that it is hard to divide. Art calls for a kind of recklessness – and more than anything else – for time.

And, though, Susan herself is now the mother of teenagers rather than young children, she says that need for time doesn’t go away. But while children require the alteration of artistic habits, Susan says they have also been a gift to her work as a writer. “A deeper sense of empathy, a more expansive emotional bandwith, I am more committed to my work,” she said.

~ Robin Wood, Associate Manager

Planting Seeds with Andrew Furman, author of GOLDENS ARE HERE

February 2, 2019

by Robin Wood

Inspired by true events surrounding an historic Florida citrus season and the civil rights struggle, Andrew Furman’s GOLDENS ARE HERE offers a glimpse of the sea changes occurring in Florida and the nation in the 1960s through the prism of one family’s negotiations with the land, their neighbors, and each other. Leading up to his reading and book signing Feb. 6, we had the opportunity to chat with him about his background and new book.

Q: Please tell us a little about how you came to write GOLDENS ARE HERE?

A: I’ve lived here in south Florida for the past 22 years and one of my favorite things to do is hop in the car with my family and visit some of the more scruffy out-of-the-way outposts of our Sunshine State. The seeds for GOLDENS ARE HERE, if I might use a botanical metaphor, originated in one of these trips with my family to the small town of Titusville and its rural outskirts. As I walked the streets of this historic town and visited the remaining orange groves along the nearby Indian River, I found myself imagining what the place must have looked like and meant to the people who lived there in what might be considered the region’s hey-day, the 1960s when the space-race was hitting its stride, the citrus industry was booming, and, as my research would uncover, the Civil Rights struggle was impacting black and white lives in significant ways. It seemed like a rich time and place to direct my creative energies. It wasn’t too long before a cast of characters and a story emerged in my mind that would allow me to engage with the intersections between the social and environmental realms, which has long been a primary interest of mine.

Q: You’ve also written a memoir about Florida? Can you say a little about how you decide to cast a subject as fiction or nonfiction and how you think readers respond to those narrative choices?

A: This is an excellent question that preoccupies much of my attention these days. In fact, I’m currently teaching a graduate writing workshop at Florida Atlantic University entitled, Writing Across Genres, which examines the work of writers (e.g., Colson Whitehead, Marilynne Robinson, Jesmyn Ward) who write both nonfiction and fiction. The aim, ultimately, is for my students to contemplate their own choices, vis a vis genre, more deliberately. Most of my writing—both nonfiction and fiction, and as my answer above suggests—originates in place. From there, I might choose the essay form if I feel that my own personal experiences in and of a particular place stands the chance of resonating with readers in a powerful way, and/or the real-life experience of another person associated with that place demands attention, or if some feature of the place (an animal or plant, say) intrigues me so much that I’m compelled to research and reflect upon this feature in earnest. BITTEN, my recent memoir, documents my experiences coming to know various fascinating aspects of my adopted home state.

I think I turn to fiction when there’s something about a place that inspires me to imagine an entire story and set of characters outside my own personal experiences, when to imagine a place as fully as I desire, I require the freedom of the “make believe” realm. As I review this response, I realize that I’ve positioned fiction, perhaps, as the more “creative” genre. I resist this notion, in theory, as I believe that the essay form can be every bit as creative as fiction, and as some of my most creative work, certainly from an aesthetic point of view, exists within the pages of my essays. But there we are.

In terms of how readers respond to these narrative choices, this is an even tougher question. But if I understand the question correctly, and given all the scandals in the realm of nonfiction lately (James Frey, Margaret B. Jones, et. al.), I will say that I believe that writers enter into a sort of contract with their readers when they purport to write nonfiction, that writers implicitly promise to be telling the truth (not to be inventing characters or events out of whole cloth, for example) and that readers have a right to be disappointed when writers are discovered to have violated these essential terms. In my creative nonfiction classes, my students and I spend a good bit of time brooding over the more nuanced terms of this contract.

Q: If you can boil it down, what’s the top piece you’d give aspiring writers?

A: This one’s easy. Don’t give up! That is, if you love the writing part of writing, keep at it and don’t be discouraged by the obstacles that come your way as you seek publication. I find that many aspiring writers simply don’t realize how many false starts, how many drafts, how many rejections by agents and editors, how many years, in short, go into a typical book. Perseverance pays.

Q: What are you reading and recommending currently?

A: The best novel I read recently is Richard Powers’ THE OVERSTORY, in which several interconnected characters and plot-lines beautifully evoke the long and tangled relationship between trees and us. On the nonfiction front, I was fascinated and moved by Sy Montgomery’s THE SOUL OF AN OCTOPUS, which forced me to look at octopuses (not “octopi,” I learned) in an entirely new light, and to rethink my alimentary choices at Greek restaurants and sushi bars!

Finally, upon learning of Mary Oliver’s recent passing (who was living just up the coast in Hobe Sound), I’ve been re-reading many of the poems I’ve so admired over her long career and reading some of her newer work in DEVOTIONS, a fairly comprehensive recent anthology of her poetry.

Q: What are you working on next?

A: Funny that you ask. I’m delighted to report that I’m currently working on a novel manuscript and a related collection of stories set in the Florida Keys! While I don’t like to talk too much about my current projects, I will say that I was inspired by my several bird-watching visits to the Dagny Johnson Key Largo Hammock Botanical State Park. As some of your readers surely know, this hammock and much of north Key Largo was slated for residential development in the 1970s and 80s, and some construction had ensued. Thanks in no small part to the tireless efforts of various environmental groups, including the Izaak Walton League, Friends of the Everglades, and the Upper Keys Citizens Association, led by Dagny Johnson, the land was finally acquired by Florida’s Conservation and Recreational Lands Program. The 2,421 acre park, which I encourage readers to visit, is now home to 84 protected species of plants and animals.

~ Robin Wood, Associate Manager

Practicing Yoga with Michelle C. Johnson, author of SKILL IN ACTION

February 1, 2019

by Robin Wood

Michelle C. Johnson will read from her book SKILL IN ACTION: RADICALIZING YOUR YOGA PRACTICE TO CREATE A JUST WORLD on Friday, February 8, at 6pm. We had the opportunity recently to ask Michelle a few questions to give you an idea of the concepts she will discuss during her presentation.

Q: Please tell us a little about the links between yoga and social justice work?

A: Yoga is a transformative practice physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. The practice of yoga is about more than our individual transformation, it is also about our collective liberation. The principles of yoga invite practitioners to consider how to live in ways that decrease harm, increase being truthful about the cultural context and our social location and to live with an awareness of our devotion to something bigger than us. Given these times, it is important for yogis to consider how they can live into their yoga and transform the world.

Q: How did you come to this combined practice of yoga and social justice work?

A: I was an activist before a yogi. I entered into my teacher training with an anti-racism lens and a liberatory framework. With each introduction of the tenants of yoga I heard justice infused in them. I have only practiced yoga in this country and my experience as a black yoga teacher has reflected my experience as a black woman navigating the dominant culture. Yoga can be exclusive and a I don’t fit the norms of yoga in the U.S. based on race and body type. Given my experience of oppression in the world and oppression in the yoga room I saw the need for the yoga community to begin to explore the ways in which it is exclusive and not living into the universal truth of our oneness. I have had times when I experience liberation on my yoga mat but in the room I don’t feel free because I am the “only one” or I don’t see myself reflected in the class or teacher.

Q: What will people who aren’t yoga practitioners get from your presentation?

A: Justice is created through social change. Each one of us moves on this planet and needs to be thinking about our identities, our power, our privilege and the healing that needs to happen based on the identities that are oppressed by dominant culture. My presentation is for everyone because yoga and justice are for everyone. I speak about yoga as a way of living and being, not as a physical practice. Often the practice begins when we roll up our mat or step off our meditation cushion. Everyone can relate to navigating a culture with an awareness that we are moving in different ways. The presentation is for anyone interested in social change, creating a just world and deepening their understanding of power and privilege.

Q: What are you reading and recommending currently?

A: EMERGENT STRATEGY by Adrienne Maree Brown
RADICAL DHARMA by Rev. Angel Kyodo Williams
THE HEALING by Saeeda Hafiz

~ Robin Wood, Associate Manager

Knopf presents: A Conversation with Susan Conley, author of ELSEY COME HOME

January 28, 2019

by Robin Wood

Publishing company Alfred A. Knopf put together an excellent Q & A with Susan Conley, author of ELSEY COME HOME to get you ready to meet her in store on January 31 at 6pm.

Q: How would you describe Elsey to readers meeting her for the first time?
A: Elsey is someone you want to talk to at the dinner party, because she’s self-deprecating and also bitingly funny. She can read a room and has a warm smile, and what might really attract you to her is that she’s curious about you and asks good questions. But she doesn’t want you to ask questions about her, because she doesn’t want to give her secrets away. She’s known great success as an acclaimed painter, so she moves through the world with a certain level of confidence on the outside. In this way she seems self-possessed, but by the time we meet her she’s struggling, and her life is unraveling, and she’s trying hard to hide it.

Along with her reading and book signing on Jan. 31, Susan Conley’s ELSEY COME HOME is our current Virtual Book Club pick. Read the book along with us and interact with us on social media by posting and following the hashtag #bbkwbookclub. Share your thoughts and photos on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. We’re @booksandbookskw.

Read the full Q & A from Alfred A. Knopf at: Conley Q&A

Maximizing space with Key West Designer Debra Butler

January 24, 2019

by Robin Wood

Don’t just take our word for it. Leaf through a copy of SOME LIKE IT HOT. More than 220 color images from the work of Florida interior designers will give you tons of ideas to create your own Florida style. We caught up with Key West designer Debra Butler, one of the book’s contributing designers, prior to our meet & greet and book signing on Tuesday, January 29, at 6pm, to talk inspiration and storage.

Q: How did you end up in Key West?

A: Sorry, it’s a long but not interesting story. I’m sure, not different from many others. I moved here in 2000, was supposed to be here for a year or so, while I decided on my next city… I never left.

Q: What tips do you have for pulling together a Keys style that isn’t too stereotypically beachy?

A: I don’t really approach design from a beachy or really any trendy perspective. I spend a lot of time working with my clients & learning how they live or plan to use the space. I like to combine natural textures with colors also found in nature. When I juxtapose these with bold accents either material or color & let as much natural light or views become part of the accessories. If we have a lush garden or ocean view to balance beautiful art or unusual piece of furniture even better.

Q: Do you find that your background in custom cabinetry is particularly useful in dealing with small space living?

A: Yes, absolutely. Understanding function and maximizing space & often storage is so important to all my designs.

Q: What are you reading and recommending currently?

A: Right now I prefer fiction (thrillers & suspense) & books on spirituality… I know I should probably read more design & art… but I haven’t lately… reading is a big part of the time I spend away from work.

Going Viral: Talking to Caitlin Kunkel, co-author of NEW EROTICA FOR FEMINISTS

January 4, 2019

by Robin Wood

If you haven’t visited comedy site The Belladonna, “a comedy and satire site by women and other marginalized genders, for everyone,” go check it out.

No really, we’ll wait.

Okay, come back now. You’re welcome.

We are excited to present comedy writer Caitlin Kunkel, co-founder of The Belladonna and co-author of NEW EROTICA FOR FEMINISTS. Kunkel will appear in-conversation with local comedian and journalist Gwen Filosa Saturday, January 19, at 6pm, followed by a book signing.

Kunkel is visiting Key West for the first time and we had a chance to ask her a few questions about transforming a web-post into a book, staying busy and checking out iconic movie locations.

Q. Tell me a little bit about The Belladonna. How did it come to be? How did you come to be working with your partners? Besides being funny, what’s your goal with the site?

A. The Belladonna is a site that features comedy and satire written by women, for everyone. The four co-founders (myself, Brooke Preston, Fiona Taylor, and Carrie Wittmer) were each part of a private Facebook group for female comedy writers, and there was increasing discussion about how there seemed to be a dearth of reputable satire sites that accepted outside submissions from contributors, and even fewer that celebrated or nurtured specifically women’s talents and voices.

A number of members in that group mentioned they’d stopped writing comedy entirely, because their early efforts had been met with unnecessarily cliquish or exclusionary behavior, or negative feedback, or no feedback at all. Other members had occasionally piped in to suggest that women from that group should start their own publication, but no one had taken the reins.Then in November 2016, Carrie posted “I want to start a website, who wants to start one?” I responded, so did Fiona, and I looped in Brooke who I knew in real life. So it was completely chance how to came to be – we just each had the same purpose and desire! We actually ran the site and got the book deal prior to all four being in the same room together. So a lot of trust and remote working was involved!

Our goal is to provide a space where beginning writers can get feedback (we tell every submission why it’s not right for us), and writers at all stages of their careers can benefit from a growing platform to showcase their unique voices.

Q. How did you come to write the original post that became NEW EROTICA FOR FEMINISTS? Any hint that it would take off the way it did? What’s your sense of what captured people’s imagination and made it go viral?

A. It truly felt like the piece chose us! We were deep in daydream schemes about how to potentially monetize The Belladonna (a frequent topic of conversation for us), cheekily dreaming about having our favorite flavored sparkling water company (LaCroix–wildly popular in the US, a real cult following) somehow just foot the bill for everything and send us truck upon truck of the stuff. And why not have, say, Tom Hardy make those deliveries? Is that not how corporate sponsorship works? Perhaps we don’t understand commerce after all.

One of us said (in jest) ‘you know, that’s our million dollar idea–that sounds like erotica the women of New York would pay good money for’. We decided then and there to write a comedy piece in that vein–what would erotica for feminist women look like–and it flowed out of us so quickly and naturally as we realized all the ways actual romance and porn tropes are in service to traditionally cisgender male desires and urges, and the women are largely there as objects to be had rather than protagonists.

We did NOT expect it to go viral – we wrote the whole thing in about a day, and we thought we would get some views back to The Belladonna from McSweeney’s [where the piece was published], but that was about as big as we dreamed. It started to take off the same day it was published, and then we watched, mouths agape, as it kept spreading. We think that the format of erotica lets people slip into each vignettes themselves, and the central of ideas of fantasies that should be reality can be expanded to SO many different scenarios and areas of life. So people could appreciate the piece, but also appreciate the main satirical point of view pretty easily.

Q. What was the expansion/revision process like? What does the book do that the original post couldn’t?

A. One of the interesting things we saw in the response to the initial McSweeney’s piece was that people tended to prefer completely different vignettes for different reasons. Typically in a humor piece, there are a few lines that people cluster around, but here, different elements were sticking out to people. So looking at the initial group of 12, as well as our early brainstorms of new material to put into the proposals, we started to see groups and methods of classifying them. There were a lot that skewed pop culture, we knew we wanted to touch on parenting, and being able to look at historical sources gave us a lot of inspiration. Building out a table of contents helped us show publishers how this 800-word piece could become a 10,000 word-plus book. We could then also brainstorm and write around each chapter heading and see where we needed more and less entries, rather than write an amorphous bunch of jokes and try to organize them.

The book also let us write some significantly longer vignettes, mostly in the Historical and Literary sections. It’s hard to do a literary parody of Lolita in four lines, so having a little more space to have a clear point of view really helped! It also lets you vary tone a bit more – in a piece with 12 vignettes, they each have to play the game pretty clearly to fit together. But the 47th vignette in the middle of the book could break format a little, or be weirder. So it let us build in more variety.

Q. What are you reading and recommending?

As we wrote our comedic book, I read a lot a serious books on women and/or society this year! The three that stood out to me were Men Explain Things to Me by Rebecca Solnit, Good and Mad by Rebecca Traister, and So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo. Each of these is excellently written with the author’s particular voice clearly shining through.

For fiction, I’m a huge Stephen King fan (I thank him in the acknowledgments of the book!), and I reread The Stand this year, as I do most years. I loved Carmen Maria Machado’s Her Body and Other Parties, which is like feminist sci-fi/dystopian fiction, and in somewhat of that same vein I truly enjoyed the thought experiment of reading Naomi Alderman’s excellent book The Power.

Q. What are you working on now?

A. We’re working on continuing to grow The Belladonna and create more opportunities for women in comedy! Personally, I’m taking a hiatus from teaching satire, which I’ve done for The Second City in Chicago via online teaching for seven years, and I’m focusing on my own writing full-time. I’m the writer for Live Wire Radio, a variety show that airs on public radio across the country, and that is extremely fun and challenging job. I’m also one of the producers of the very first Satire and Humor Festival, coming to NY in March of 2019! And I’m continuing to tour and talk about the book. So I’m focusing on my own writing as well as community building. I love to keep busy.

Q. Have you been to Key West before? What are you most looking forward to here?

A. I have NEVER been to Key West, and I just want to walk to the end and stare out over the ocean at the southernmost point of the continental US! I grew up in Rhode Island, and being close to the water never ceases to give me a major thrill. I also saw the movie True Lies pretty young, and the iconic scenes on the Overseas Highway gave me an appetite to drive on that road someday.

~ Robin Wood, Associate Manager

Meet Andrew Simonet, TSKW Artist in Residence, author of Wilder

December 6, 2018

by Robin Wood

Andrew Simonet, author of debut young adult novel Wilder and current Artist-in-Residence at The Studios of Key West will give a talk Tuesday, December 11, at 6 pm at the store. The presentation “13 Thoughts on Writing and Fighting,” is geared towards teens and adults and will include excerpts from Wilder, stories from Andrew’s life, and reflections on masculinity and violence.

Andrew draws from a wide range of professional and artistic experiences from his work as a writer, choreographer, teacher, documentarian and artist advocate. We recently sat down to talk about writing process and the importance of artists having the skills, knowledge and community to build sustainable lives.

One of Andrew’s projects, Artists U, is a collaborative professional development workshop for and by artists designed to equip them with the tools for the business side of managing an artistic life, including financial and strategic planning. Andrew has written a book called Making Your Life as an Artist and, as part of his Studios residency, is teaching a workshop called “Building a Sustainable Life as an Artist.”

He has had a multifaceted career, running a dance company, teaching high school, building Artists U, and now publishing a YA novel. I asked him how all the pieces fit together and how he ended up following this particular path.

“I started dancing when I was 19 and it changed my life,” Andrew says. He’d always participated in theater and sports. “For me, dance has the physical movement and energy of sports combined with the creativity and artistic expression of theater.”

About 14 years ago, as Andrew was serving as choreographer for his dance company, Headlong Dance Theater, the desire to write “just showed up.” Writing, he says, is very different from the collaborative, social process of dance, but creatively the process felt seamless.

Since leaving the dance company to focus on fiction writing, Andrew has participated in a number of residencies, enjoying the opportunity to meet different artists and experience different communities. He thought spending time in Key West would have the added benefit of helping him flesh out the setting he planned for a follow-up to Wilder, but things didn’t work out quite as expected.

Though he completed the sequel, it didn’t get picked up by his publisher. That’s one of the things you have to know and accept about publishing, he says, “there are a lot of gatekeepers.” Knowing how to deal with rejection and move on to the next project is one of those key skills in building a sustainable life as an artist. “There is value in doing the work. [That project] made me a better writer,” Andrew says.

~ Robin Wood, Associate Manager