Reviews and Interviews – Robert Vaughan

Candy Crushes in ASKEW

Today, a first piece from my new book, ASKEW, is published at the innovative Atlas and Alice Journal. Thanks so much, EIC Ben Woodward and Fiction Editor Cathy Ulrich, who chose this one.

I wrote the first draft in Jonathan Cardew’s Bending Genres February weekend workshop. It coincided with the final edits on ASKEW that I made with Adam VanWinkle of Cowboy Jamboree.

Here is Candy Crushes at Atlas and Alice: https://atlasandalice.com/2022/04/14/fiction-from-robert-vaughan/

And also, another first for ASKEW- my first published review, from Leigh Chadwick. Full of fun, insights, heart and magic, published at Identity Theory:

https://www.identitytheory.com/review-robert-vaughan-askew/

For more information about ASKEW including where to order, visit my publisher’s website: http://www.cowboyjamboreemagazine.com/books.html

It’s so exciting to have a new book, my first in 5 long years.

Thanks everyone for either purchasing ASKEW, offering to review it, or planning on reading it.

Take care,

Robert

Askew (Cowboy Jamboree Press, 2022)

Here is what some writing stars are saying about ASKEW:

ASKEW

My new book, Askew, has published today, March 8, 2022! It’s been five long years since FUNHOUSE (2017) appeared and so much has happened in that time, both personally, and professionally. Without getting sidetracked, here is the cover:

Artist is David Carter and layout/ design is Adam VanWinkle. Thanks for this terrific image and design!

Thanks for the terrific blurbs: Kelli, Nick, Sara, Alina and Sheldon.

And you can purchase a copy here:
http://www.cowboyjamboreemagazine.com/books.html

New Publications

New Publication

Hi friends! It’s always a good day, deep into Winter, to mention my first publication of 2021. I have two short hybrid pieces up at No Contact Magazine, issue 17: https://www.nocontactmag.com/issue-seventeen. I’m so grateful to editors, Guaraa & Elliott.

I also want to link back to a piece I had published last September, “Illusions,” at Pioneertown Lit: https://www.pioneertownlit.com/robert-vaughan. Thanks for this, EIC Brenna Kischuk.

Next week, my experimental piece, “This Long Day,” will be published at Daily Drunk Magazine.

I’m grateful for several things of late, but to be back in the submission game is truly among the top. It’s great to be writing again, also. Working on my first all poetry collection. More on that to come.

In case you missed it, Bending Genres Issue 19 is live: www.bendinggenres.com.

Also, the wondrous Sara Lippmann is teaching our February Bending Genres weekend workshop, and it’s full. In March, we host Freesia McKee, and in April we welcome Wendy Oleson who taught her “Found in the Forest” in April 2020. More information here: https://bendinggenres.com/writing-groups/

Take care. Stay safe. Be well. See you on the webs.

Spring into Summer

Hi friends! In Wisconsin, we look forward to the longest day of sunlight during each year, which arrives this week, on the Summer Solstice. We’ve had stunning days of searing sunlight, but cooler temps and this makes for frolicking outside a tad easier than holing up in one’s basement.

I’m also excited for my upcoming Bending Genres weekend workshop- Stop Making Sense, June 19- 21. It’s filled up, with 20 writers total, and many older and new friends have signed aboard. I look forward to a variety of innovative explorations. Here is a course description: https://bendinggenres.com/product/robert-vaughan-stop-making-sense-writing-the-absurd-meaningless-whimsical-and-silly-june-19-21/

In July, Meg Tuite will be leading our BG weekend workshop with something to do with violence in writing. More to come on that, and the dates!

Jonathan Cardew, our Microviews Editor, asked Leonora Desar to choose her Fave Five pieces from May and her selections are here: https://bendinggenres.com/2020/06/15/leonora-desar-my-fave-five/

Recently, Michael Maxwell wrote a lovely and creative review of our first Bending Genres Anthology. He notes ten particular pieces, some of which have been read in Jonathan Cardew’s new series, Bending Genres Presents: https://bendinggenres.com/2020/06/17/bending-genres-anthology-review-by-michael-gillan-maxwell/

Soon, we will have our Bending Genres t-shirts available for sale on our Merch page: https://bendinggenres.com/bg-store/

And that, my friends, is a wrap. Stay safe, and love each other.

Bending Genres Issue 15

Hi Friends!

It’s hard to believe we launched our 15th issue of Bending Genres yesterday! With over 35 pieces, hybrid in style: poetry, flash fiction and creative non-fiction. This is a superb issue and I have to thank our excellent, devoted editors: Jonathan Cardew, Emily Bertholf, Corey Holzman, Connie Malloy, Sara Comito, Davon Loeb, Samuel Fox, Len Kuntz, David O’ Connor, and Meg Tuite. Also huge thanks to KJ for the upload, and to Adam Robinson for that and so much more. We are a fortunate team, indeed.

Also, when our Wisconsin BG Retreat location, Cedar Valley, had to close until September 4th, this left us without a location. Within ten days, we secured French Country Inn in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Same dates as originally planned: August 16- 22. A perfect time to create, to generate new work and ideas, to be with like-minded writers and artists.

Our second BG retreat at Synergia, on the high desert outside of Santa Fe, will be September 1- 7. Meg Tuite and I plan to practice all of the safety aspects: distancing, working 6 feet apart, even our meals will be practiced with safety in mind. I can’t tell you what a difference it makes to have these plans. Especially now. There are only a couple of spots open. Join us, and if you have any questions, just email Meg or me. Or both:

Robert- rguyvaugh5003@gmail.com

Meg- mfetuit@earthlink.net

I will be leading the June 19- 21 Bending Genres online weekend workshop, “Stop Making Sense.” More information is here: https://bendinggenres.com/product/robert-vaughan-stop-making-sense-writing-the-absurd-meaningless-whimsical-and-silly-june-19-21/

This is a great time to say thanks, to everyone who has made me a better person. To all of my friends and family. To anyone who thinks change is still possible. You are important. Your life has meaning.

Mid May Update

Hi friends!

It’s middle of May, the trees are leafing, the grass is greener than a dollar bill, the birds are nesting, and gobbling up seeds, insects, suet and whatever else moves. We had a turkey strutting through our yard yesterday, and the occasional deer saunters through the edges of our back yard. Life goes on, and on.

At Bending Genres we have our next online weekend workshop with Tyler Barton, May 22- 24. He’ll be teaching “Artifact Lit,” and the workshop is full, so it ought to be terrific.

I will return to the helm on June 19- 21, with “Stop Making Sense,” and here is the course description and registration page: https://bendinggenres.com/our-online-workshops/

On our Bending Genres blog, Haley Papa reviewed My Autobiography of Carson McCullers

Also, Jonathan Cardew returns with his My Fave Five column for May, asking poet Alina Stefanescu for her favorite reads from April: https://bendinggenres.com/2020/05/15/my-fave-five-with-alina-stefanescu/

Meg Tuite is in charge of our Bending Genres Online Roundtable for May- August, 2020. She has nine writers signed up, and they did their first group ZOOM today: https://bendinggenres.com/bg-store/

And look at all of that new Bending Genres merchandise, mugs, journals/ notebooks, pens, bookmarks. And our first Bending Genres Anthology- Best of our first two years!

Have a terrific time today. Be safe, take care, love yourself.

National Poetry Month Recap

The end of April is always a sad occurrence for me, because National Poetry Month closes. This doesn’t mean poetry can’t be read throughout the year, of course. But the focus on poetry, and poems, especially given the current state of our world, has been such a boon. Here is how I wrapped up the last three days of my National Poetry Month readings:

On April 28th, I read Nick Flynn’s “Emptying Town” from Some Ether (Graywolf Press):

On April 29th, I read Mary Ruefle’s “Little Golf Pencil” from My Private Property (Wave Books):

On April 30th, I read Joy Harjo’s “Remember” from Academy of American Poets:

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And at Bending Genres, we wrapped up our “Found in the Forest” weekend workshop led by Wendy Oleson. So many incredible, innovative pieces were developed, and the support was off the charts. Join us on May 22- 24 when Tyler Barton will teach his “Artifact Lit” weekend workshop: https://bendinggenres.com/product/tyler-barton-artifact-lit-may-22-24/

Also, our fiction editor, Meg Tuite, kicked off a new project called Bending Genres Productions. She selected a poem by Colin Pope from his stunning book, Why I Didn’t Go To Your Funeral. Meg chose “Still Life with Casket in the Distance,” and with a cast of 15 or so writers, a videographer Brian Mihok, they captured this haunting, evocative experience: https://bendinggenres.com/2020/04/30/colin-pope-video/

Get outside. Be safe. Take care of yourself and of each other. Life is precious.

Bending Genres Issue 14

It’s such an interesting journey, living through these daunting times, and I’m buoyed by the creativity and impulses surrounding us. One friend mentioned he’s dipping back through the Twin Peaks series, another is watching the now most popular Netflix projects. I had the longest ZOOM workshop/stimulation/exchange with three of my dearest writer pals yesterday. It’s amazing what we can manifest. And this morning, I had a lovely message from a complete stranger who lives in Serbia: his mission is to send love, and eliminate fear, one person at a time.

Yesterday we reached another Bending Genres milestone: We launched our 14th issue: March/ April. We now have an incredible staff: for fiction we have Meg Tuite, David O’ Connor, and Len Kuntz. Reading poetry we have Samuel Fox, Davon Loeb and Sara Comito. We have added Corey Holzman to our CNF team. And Johnathan Cardew, recently returned from Cape Verde, will re-join Emily Bertholf on MicroViews. Also, thanks Adam Robinson for all that you do, and KJ for your behind the scenes support.

We also sold our 100th copy of the Bending Genres Anthology today, this tally is only from our website, not including the sales from our AWP20 launch in San Antonio.

Coming soon, we will have merchandise and our online store, including the Anthology, Bending Genres mugs (designed by Michael Seymour Blake), BG Journals (also MSB), pens, bookmarks and stickers (designed by MSB and Ron Kibble). Eventually we will have tee shirts (Ron Kibble Design) also.

And that, friends, is it for now. Be kind. Wave at a stranger. Be safe, keep distance. Send a loved one a kind note.

Bending Genres update

We recently launched our July/ August issue of Bending Genres Journal: issue 10! It is our most full issue since we began publishing BG in January, 2018. We have 18 flash pieces, 10 poets (some with more than one poem included) and 6 CNF pieces. A total of 36 all together. And we also reached another high: we had 1,788 hits (reads) on Tuesday, the day we published, and another 1,100 hits yesterday. This is incredible, and I’m so grateful to every person who read, shared, or posted about our new issue. Also, so happy to have the best editorial and IT team assembled: Meg Tuite, David O’ Connor, Jonathan Cardew, Jessica Mehta, Samuel Fox, Davon Loeb, Corey Holzman, Adam Robinson, and KJ. To read our latest issue: https://www.bendinggenres.com.

Our next Bending Genres weekend workshop is August 23-25 with Nancy Stohlman. She is leading a workshop in Absurdity, and says “let’s get weird!” Only five more spots left, don’t wait to register for this stimulating and terrific course! https://bendinggenres.com/monthly-workshops/.

Also, Meg Tuite and I have scored a new location for our very first MIDWEST RETREAT in 2020! This is very exciting! So, in addition to returning to Synergia Ranch on May 10-16, we’ll also be at Cedar Valley in West Bend, Wisconsin on August 16- 22. We will have the Wisconsin webpage up and working very soon! http://retreat.bendinggenres.com. Also, will share some photos from Synergia and Cedar Valley in my next post.

A dear friend of mine is finally free today. Congratulations! It’s been quite a year. Janis Joplin said, “Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose.” Are you free? Truly? Do we ever really know?

I'm Back!

We have some more exciting workshops to check out in our Bending Genres monthly weekend workshops, including Nancy Stohlman on August 23- 25; Robert Russell on September 20-22, and Steven Dunn on October 18-20. More information is available here:

https://bendinggenres.com/monthly-workshops/.

And on July 21-27, we will be back at Mabel Dodge Luhan House for our second Bending Genres retreat. There is more information about that here: http://retreat.bendinggenres.com. We’ve added our very first MIDWEST RETREAT for August 16- 22, 2020. More details are forthcoming! Needless to say, we are so excited.

And we will have our July/ August issue of Bending Genres available at the beginning of August. Some terrific writers are submitting, and we are still taking more fiction, poetry and CNF. Send us your best! www.bendinggenres.com

I hope your summer is rocking your world. Wasn’t it so great to see our Women’s Soccer USA team win the World Cup? Terrific for young girls and boys everywhere. For everyone, really. ]]>