Southern Writers & Writing Contests

An amazing thing has happened - not a single entry for the March MAC contest, so either all you great writers have spring fever or you've been busy submitting entries to those big contests. I hope many of you have submitted entries to the Baldwin Writers Group's anthology contest to raise money for Nolan White, local writer and editor, whose family lost everything they owned to fire last December. The topic is courage and endurance and you can find info at www.baldwinwritersgroup.com. Info on the April MAC contest will be posted Sunday, April 1.

As for my year of focusing on Southern writers, I've been reading several older publications by well-known author, Katherine Anne Porter. Porter grew up in Texas and Louisiana, won a Pulitzer for her short stories, a National Book Award, and four Gold Medal Awards, had three fiction nominations for a Novel prize in literature and wrote Ship of Fools which was made into a movie starring none other than Vivien Leigh, Simone Signoret, Lee Marvin, George Segal, Jose Greco, and Werner Klemperer. And that is one of my better long sentences, which cj loathes, and I love.

I found Ship of Fools an excellent character study of a group of people isolated on a ship for months. Porter gives readers an indepth view of the passengers in late 1931, some of which are headed for what they imagine to be heroic returns to Germany and others banished from Cuba to other islands. The reader knows full well what those returning to Germany are about to face, and I found myself wanting to yell at them to turn back before it was too late. Porter's use of the self-contained, different communities on the ship was a brilliant tool to analyze the huge variety of prejudices we humans use to stratify each other, e.g. religious and political beliefs, wealth, country of origin, languages, age, and so forth. Porter gives me another Southern writer to be brag about, one I should have known about long ago.

And for a current-day read, take a look at the work of Jan Karon, the author I turn to when I need comfort food. Whether you read her Mitford series, her children books, or her non-fiction work, it will feed your soul, make you laugh, give you faith in humankind, and reveal how a good book captures the reader’s attention and holds it across every page. (Sorry cj, another great long sentence, if I do say so. Need to catch your breath, go to www.mitfordbooks.com.

Grab book and head outside at this special time of the year. Mahala

Ancient Goddess in Old Mobile

If you like historical fiction, you will enjoy Vincent Cortright's debut novel, An Ancient Goddess in Old Mobile. Cortright, with his unique tongue-in-cheek style, takes the reader on a bon vivant voyage through Civil War history blended with Greek tragedy and a wisp of the paranormal. Clearly, Vincent knows a great deal about the Mobile, Alabama of that period and is quite well read in Greek mythology, which makes his book a delightful experience from front to back. If you don't like history, you may feel the book drags in places, but if you love history, you will be in the proverbial hog heaven of storytelling.

Cortright follows the trail of many literary, Southern writers with richly appointed settings and thoroughly detailed characters to keep you entranced with the broad sweep of lifestyles in Old Mobile. His portrayal of both the priest and his nemesis are astonishing in their intricacy.

Reviving the practice of art in books, Cortright asked local artist, Francis Ashcraft, to add views of his characters and settings via drawings throughout the book.

Self-published, Cortright's book can be purchased through Bienville Books and Anders Bookstore in Mobile or from Page & Palette Bookstore in Fairhope, Alabama.

Congratulations to Vincent and Francis!

Mahala

February Winners of MAC Contest

Rebecca Barrett is our Grand Prize winner for the month of February. Rebecca is one of the founders of the Deep South Writers Salon, a lively group of authors who critique each other's work and, I believe, they have all been published. Rebecca writes on her barrettonbooks blog: "The arrival of the bookmobile in the small community where I grew up was the beginning of a lifelong passion for reading. The discovery of The Bobbsey Twins and Little Lord Fauntleroy rescued me from the boredom of long summer days on the farm." Her flash fiction piece shows an active imagination and a dry sense of humor no doubt honed on the thousands of books she has read and critiqued.

Eco Friendly
Roger stared at the burrito and sighed. His heart wasn’t really in it and he didn’t much like Mexican food. But given his current circumstances this was the logical lunch choice. Not only because this was the daily special at La Hacienda but he was a good twenty-four miles from the office and his Leaf, fully charged, only traveled twenty-two miles.

Mary Palmer is new to the contest and her sense of fun comes through in the piece. Mary is an avid traveler: "I love to travel and have been fortunate enough to visit all 50 of the United States and every continent except Antarctica--a little cold for a southern gal." You can see more of her adventures on maryspalmer.com and read about her numerous publications with more to come in the Spring of 2012.

A Hearty Burrito
Sitting beside Don in the swing on the front porch of my mission-style home, I looked at the heart-shaped box of Valentine's candy he'd given me and blinked back tears. Candy wasn't what I'd expected. I'd bought this house six months ago hoping to share it as his wife.
"I brought dinner." He handed me a burrito. "Made it myself."
As I unwrapped it, I forced a "Thanks," from the corner of my mouth.
"Wait!" he yelled. "Check the special cheese I put on it."
When I looked inside, it wasn't cheesy at all. A diamond ring was right in the center on top of a blob of sour cream.

Our other second place winner for February is Mary Ivey, a three-time winner in the MAC contests. Mary is an artist and writes sci-fi most of the time, but she had some fun with the words heart and burrito and wrote something along the same lines as Mary Palmer, which I find amazing. What are the odds of this happening?

I am deeply in love with a beautiful Spanish girl who has laughing brown eyes and a smile that touches my heart. For days, I have been trying to visualize the perfect place to propose. It finally came to me. I took her to the most romantic Latin restaurant in town and by candlelight, we dined on luscious steak burritos and Chiles Rellenos. For dessert I ordered Sopapillas dripping with clover honey. When she broke hers open there was a diamond ring inside. This time her smile threatened to make my heart explode. “Yes!” she said, “sticky ring and all!”

Congratulations to you all! It's rewarding to see the humor and the romance in your work, and Rebecca brought in the "green" aspect this month.

Mahala

Contests: MAC & cj

The winners for the February MAC contest, which required the use of the words heart and burrito, include Mary Ivey, Mary Palmer, and Rebecca Barrett. The two Marys apparently both have a romantic interest in engagement rings floating in melted cheese and sour cream and tied for second place. Each will receive a 20% coupon to use for future editing or writing projects from Written Word (aka as Mahala Church). Mary Ivey is a consistent winner on this site, and I'm convinced she is working on having a free project from me.

Rebecca Barrett is the grand prizewinner this month and since she owns over 3,000 books, she will have a new one to add to her collection, Writing from the Heart by Nancy Slonim Aronie, plus a coupon from WW.

Congratulations to all of you! I will post their pieces shortly.


A big shout out to cj whose poetry has been published online at www.deadmule.com/poetry. The Dead Mule School of Southern Literature says, "We are — arguably— the last true bastion of individuality left in the US. The Dead Mule Southern Legitimacy Statement is about describing those things which are uniquely southern, wherever you are." Rebecca Barrett is the grand prizewinner this month and since she owns over 3,000 books, she will have a new one to add to her collection, Writing from the Heart by Nancy Slonim Aronie, plus a coupon from WW.

Congratulations to all of you! I will post their pieces shortly.


A big shout out to cj whose poetry has been published online at www.deadmule.com/poetry.

The Dead Mule Society says, "We are — arguably— the last true bastion of individuality left in the US. The Dead Mule Southern Legitimacy Statement is about describing those things which are uniquely southern, wherever you are." cj's poems are "Day Dreams" and "Land's End," and for this poetry novice, they are understandable which is a requirement to get me to read poetry. Much past Dr. Seuss and I'm lost, but not in cj's work. Like Martin Luther, who translated the Bible into German so the everyday people could read it, cj translates poetry into an inspiring read that every person can relate to. Oh, by the way, do not look for cj; these poems are under one of her non-de plumes - em a Olsen. I'm making a list of her alter egos so I can keep track of her and all her accomplishments. Well done, writing buddy.


cj's poems are "Day Dreams" and "Land's End," and for this poetry novice, they are understandable which is a requirement to get me to read poetry. Much past Dr. Seuss and I'm lost, but not in cj's work. Like Martin Luther, who translated the Bible into German so everyday people could read it, cj translates poetry into an inspiring read that every person can relate to. Oh, by the way, do not look for cj; these poems are under one of her non-de plumes - em a Olsen. I'm making a list of her alter egos so I can keep track of her and all her accomplishments. Well done, writing buddy.

Mahala

March Contest & Reading for 2012

The March MAC contest is posted to the left. Note the number of words is up to 120. Your two words for March are wind and shamrock in celebration of St. Patrick's Day on the 17th. Have fun! The February winners will be posted this week.

Last year my focus was on reading debut novels, and as you know I found a lot of disappointment in my selections, but I also found a great deal of encouragement in the future of writing.

This year I'm focusing on Southern writers - some of my absolute favorites - and will keep you posted as I read my way through the new year.

To kick things off, I suggest you check out Flannery O'Connor, but a word of warning, her work is not for the faint of heart. Her work is despotic and troubling, but within the confines of her complex work is some of the most succinct writing to be found. She makes her points without wandering about like Faulkner (another of my all time favorite Southern writers.) It is impossible to read her work and not wonder how the Lupus that afflicted her from young adulthood or how her domineering mother or strong Catholic faith impacted her work.

Speaking of Faulkner, if you want to see the essence of a one-sentence paragraph that doesn't weigh the prose down, look at any of his books and you are bound to find one. The authenticity of his characterizations leaves no doubt who they are, what they think, or how they look.

We Southern writers revel in our characters and their idiosyncrasies. We adore our crazy relatives and never shun them; rather we bring them to the front room (living room or parlor for the rest of you) and introduce them with pride. They add the charm and humor to our folklore and front porch stories. Don't believe me? Then go to other well-known favorites of mine - Eudora Welty and Fannie Flagg and laugh yourself silly. Janet Evanovich may be from New Jersey but I think she must have read some of Welty or Flagg or Rick Bragg to see the humor in our relatives and friends: the humor that enriches our lives.

My goal in continuing to write is to see my name appear in someone else's blog one day, a blog that touts my excellent, Southern storytelling.

Mahala