©Photograph by Clapboard House
*BEST OF THE WEB—2008—Steve Almond, Editor ,
We are now accepting submissions until—15 April 2010 for a special issue, inspired by the beautiful work of the lady from Jackson, Mississippi.
EUDORA WELTY
2009 was the Centennial year of the birth of Eudora Welty. Clapboard House will recognize the 101st anniversary of her birth, April 13, 2010, with a special issue celebrating the work and life of Miss Welty.
FICTION
We ask writers who wish to submit short stories to read the two Eudora Welty quotes below and reflect on their submission selection.
“Greater than scene is situation. Greater than situation is implication. Greater than all of these is a single, entire human being, who will never be confined in any frame.”
“Writing fiction has developed in me an abiding respect for the unknown in a human lifetime and a sense of where to look for the threads, how to follow, how to connect, find in the thick of the tangle what clear line persists.”
Although we are not calling for Weltyesque stories or even southern themed stories, we will be looking for that “thread” Miss Eudora talks about.
NONFICTION
We are calling for essays that celebrate the beauty and genius of Welty’s work. We are not looking for scholarly, biographical or adoration pieces. We hope to read essays examining some aspect of Miss Welty’s work that will enlighten readers, while inspiring writers to improve their craft as storytellers. We know this is a tall order, but we also know there are many talented essayists who will submit, after mining Eudora Welty’s tremendous legacy of work and craft.
POETRY
Eudora Welty was a photographer whose photographs were hauntingly beautiful, sometimes strange, but always interesting. We hope poets will look through her photography volumes and discover a photograph that inspires them to write. While this is not a requirement for this submission call, we will give priority to those poets who accept the challenge.
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Thanks to the many writers who submitted their work for this issue. As usual, we were fortunate to receive finely crafted stories and poems.
This is a double issue, featuring the undergraduate work of creative writers at Georgia Southern University. The Students of the Writing and Linguistics program submitted nonfiction, poetry, and flash fiction.
They also submitted their short stories to the Clapboard House Undergraduate Short Story Contest, judged by Dorothy Allison, acclaimed author of BASTARD OUT OF CAROLINA.
The students and faculty wish to dedicate their contributions to this issue to two professors who were tragically taken from them, David Starnes (left)—May 15, 2007 and Peter Christopher—April 15, 2008. They were beloved by the student writers they mentored and by the faculty with whom they formed a close-knit team of teachers devoted to their students. The fact that the program of which they were such integral parts endures and thrives is testimony to the legacy of their hard-work and commitment.
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Peter Christopher
2224B
(No office hours until further notice)
My office is adjacent to his
My office is adjacent to his
I leave the door open just enough to hear everything.
I leave the door open just enough to hear everything.
I leave adjacent to everything.
My office door is open just enough to hear.
He would look at Hannah, Hempel and Crews.
He would look at Hannah, Hempel and Crews.
Avoid the cliché. No lips smiling. No eyes rolling.
Avoid the cliché. No lips smiling. No eyes rolling.
Hannah, Hempel and Crews avoid the cliché.
He would look at lips smiling, eyes rolling. No. No.
Close to your bones. This hits pretty damn close.
Close to your bones. This hits pretty damn close.
He’d say fiction is writing the truth truer.
He’d say fiction is writing the truth truer.
He’d say writing is pretty damn close.
Truer fiction. The truth. To your bones, this hits close.
Avoid writing? No! The adjacent truth? My office? No!
To the open door, to your Hannah, Hempel and Crews.
Eyes rolling, look, lips smiling. He’d say this hits the cliché. I would leave bones open just enough to hear everything. His fiction is the truth truer.
So he is close, pretty damn close.
C. J. Krakeel
2009 Senior
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Our intent in featuring the GSU Creative Writing Program, and others in the future, is to highlight those turning out vibrant writers of great promise. We will be featuring another university writing program in the fall.
(Note: The archives will return after this double issue.)
