Madam Mayo to Mexico City

Yes, for the Mexican Presidential elections. No, she's not going to blog about it because she is much too busy blogging about ever-so-much more interesting things... for example, Rob Brezsny and the 5 minute writing exercises and anything and everything that has to do with her new book; unusual new books and especially unusual new Mexican books; also, pugs, Baja California, and the occasional Gone to the Litblogs column. (Well, if you must read about the Mexican elections, click here.) On Saturday July 8th she'll be giving a reading and book signing for her new anthology of Mexican fiction and literary prose, Mexico: A Traveler's Literary Companion, at the English/ Spanish bookstore La Sombra del Sabino in Tepoztlan. (Isn't this a neat photo? It's of a market in Neza. Click here to visit Helipilot's webpage and view more of his amazing Mexico City pix.) Back blogging after July 13th. Hasta la vista.

Thank you, Rob Brezsny, For Being You

Yes, this is a picture of him handing out free cash at a highway exit ramp. He'll give you your free-will horoscope for free, too. Don't leave his website without visiting the link to his essay, The Literary Equivalent of a Sex-Change.

Leslie Pietrzyk Recommends Duotrope's Digest

My amiga the novelist Leslie Pietrzyk writes that Duotrope's Digest (Markets for Writers) "is an amazing resource... You can search through their database of lit magazines and find out, say, which journals take long stories. Or which journals are closed for the summer. Or what upcoming special theme issues are. All free!" And for those planning on submitting work, I have a bucket of cold water for you (but it's bracing in the best way): my article on publishing in literary journals.

Gone to the Litblogs: Chris Abraham's "A Blog of Your Own"

It's just after midnight: Here in DC the Potomac is running so high that-- really -- I got a phone call from the DC government advising me of possible flooding between 9 pm and midnight. (Yes, a phone call!) Earlier this evening, I got in the car to drive up to Chris Abraham's "A Blog of Your Own" workshop at the Writers Center, and when I saw that Rock Creek Expressway was closed going north, I made a U-turn just in time. Spent the evening hauling my priceless collection of Baja California books (many very rare antiques) up out of the basement storage, just in case. I was sorry indeed to miss Chris Abraham's workshop-- I know I haven't begun to figure out the technical aspects of blogging. I was also looking forward to meeting some of my fellow DC area writers who are also bloggers. A little bird told me that Ken Ackerman might be attending... If you've got a blog, check out Chris's website-- he's got wheelbarrows of helpful information for bloggers. To read my previous posts on literary blogging, click here. Hasta pronto.

Time: The Top of the Top Ten

The top ten nouns in the English language-- that's today's 5 minute writing exercise. Time is number one. How 'bout that.

Field Notes from a Catastrophe

Just finished reading Elizabeth Kolbert's Field Notes from a Catastrophe. Interestingly, I found out about it by way of a Mexico City banker, and the day after going to see the Al Gore movie, "An Inconvenient Truth". Splendidly written and deeply researched, Kolbert's book grew out of a series of articles for the New Yorker. What I found most compelling and suprising was the first chapter, on the nature and consequences of the ongoing melting of the permafrost. Kolbert concludes the book: "It may seem impossible to imagine that a technologically advanced society could choose, in essence, to destroy itself, but that is what we are now in the process of doing." But I don't think the right word is "we." Not everyone is suffering from cognitive dissonance. God help us all.

"Manta Ray" is On-Line

"Manta Ray," my short story from Natural Bridge and, subsequently, Richard Peabody's anthology, Grace and Gravity, is finally on on-line. To read it, click here. It's mostly set in the Watergate, and it's about swimming with giant manta rays. (Swimming with manta rays--- it's beyond far-out. Check out Phillip Colla's photos taken near Mexico's Revillagigedos.)

C.M. Mayo & Robert Giron Poetry Reading @ Kensington Row Bookshop

Wednesday, 28 June 2006, 7 pm, Robert L. Giron and C. M. Mayo will read their poetry at Kensington Row Bookshop, 3786 Howard Avenue, Kensington, Maryland. Come early to browse and chat. Refreshments provided. An open reading will follow. Free. Robert L. Giron, trilingual editor of the award-winning English-Spanish-French Poetic Voices Without Borders, is co-poetry editor for Potomac Review and editor of Gival Press. He has five collections of poetry, and teaches at Montgomery College, Takoma Park.
C. M. Mayo, c'est moi. Click here to read more. A few of my poems are on-line, by the way, among them: Man High; In the Garden of Lope de Vega; and a batch in Beltway. To read my Q&A with Robert Giron, check out my article, Vida la Vida Literaria! Resources in the Washington DC Area for Spanish Language Writers and Readers. Note: The next Kensington Row Bookshop reading will be Wednesday, 27 September 2006, 7 pm, with Grace Cavalieri and Donna Denize. Thanks to Judy McCombs! More anon.

Richard Peabody's Novel Workshop

Just a hop across the Potomac, in Arlington Virginia, my esteemed amigo Richard Peabody is offering a a novel workshop-- by which he means, yes, the whole enchilada. Here's the info:

Critique for Your Complete Novel, Not Just a Couple of Chapters: Limited to 5 students. Starting June 28th. Former Peabody students include: Katharine Davis (from the fall 2003 class) recently sold her novel to St. Martin's Press. Alumni from Peabody's 20+ years of university and Writer's Center classes with books in print (or filmed screenplays) include: Mark Baechtel, Doreen Baingana, Toby Barlow, Jodi Bloom, Sean Brijbasi, Robert Cullen, Priscilla Cummings, Lucinda Ebersole, Cara Haycak, Catherine Kimrey, Adam Kulakow, Nathan Leslie, Redge Mahaffey, Charlotte Manning, Meena Nayak, Matthew Olshan, William Orem, Mary Overton, Carolyn Parkhurst, Sally Pfoutz, Nani Power, Lisa Schamess, Brenda Seabrooke, Julia Slavin, and Yolanda Young. Barbara Grosh won the Xerox Aspiring Author contest.

Richard Peabody wears many literary hats. He is editor of Gargoyle Magazine (founded in 1976), has published a novella, two books of short stories, six books of poems, plus an e-book, and edited or co-edited fifteen anthologies including Enhanced Gravity: More Fiction by Washington Area Women.

More info at www.gargoylemagazine.com.

Literary Travel Writing Workshop This Sunday

I'm offering a literary travel writing workshop this Sunday the 25th at the Writers Center (Bethesda MD), from 1- 4 pm. Here's the boilerplate:

C.M. Mayo's "Literary Travel Writing Workshop"
One of the Writer's Center's most popular workshops. Take your travel writing to another level: the literary, which is to say, giving the reader the novelistic experience of actually traveling with you. For both beginning and advanced writers, this three hour workshop covers the techniques from fiction and poetry that you can apply to this specialized form of creative nonfiction for deliciously vivid effects. For more information and to register, click here.

Check out my website's workshop page for lists of recommended books (on craft, on the creative life, and travel writing), as well as articles and many useful links. I'll be back blogging Monday the 26th. Hasta entonces.