Leadoff Hit for Bonazelli

“Despite the stopwatch efficiency that cast a pall of mechanical inevitability over the game, there was one moment of transformative emotion to be had, and everybody had it,” writes Andrew Bonazelli, managing editor of music mag Decibel, editor-in-chief of multiple in-store music magazines, including Monitor This in Gallery of Sound locations, and now, debut author of his first book, “Mechaniks.”

While the 162-page novella is based on a news story Bonazelli read a few years ago about Morgan Ensberg, then a third baseman for the Astros, and Bonazelli admits being a baseball (Mets) fan since he was 9, the reader can expect to strike out if they think that “Mechaniks” is only another typical baseball story. Rather than baseball being the focus, it is more the venue through which the real story begins. Bonazelli refers back to Ensberg’s story as inspiration: “Apparently, when he was in the minors, he and four of his roommates were held up at a hotel room. One of them disarmed the mugger. So, [Ensberg] had a pretty serious crippling life experience. I just remember reading about that and thinking, this is a good diving off point for something a bit more sinister between the players.”

Only the reader and teammates, Flynn Marlowe and Heath Hunter, share the truth of what happened as Bonazelli writes, “The fuzz very kindly bit the line Flynn Marlowe had cast — that two bums looking for cash and jewelry broke into the room during a poker game, and shot Mick and Ramon when they resisted. It was feasible enough.”

With terse and episodic influence of Flannery O’Connor’s Southern style and Dennis Cooper’s progressive storytelling, Bonazelli shows his reader pieces of photographs “in chapter form.” He writes, “Just before the boys took the field, Heath Hunter was visited in the bullpen by a man in obsidian sunglasses and a starch-hardened dress shirt. They shook hands, held a hard shoulder-to-fist embrace for 15 seconds and shared whispers. The whole while, Heath Hunter stared over the man’s back into the outfield like a pilgrim at the frontier. Nobody applauded or carried on at the sight of these two; the world simply sat on its hands and let two lost souls find one another. ‘Your signing bonus. Then you get the gun.’”

From this moment, Bonazelli allows the unfolding events to carry his reader ravenously to the next innings in his characters’ lives. Readers will struggle to put the book down and instead they’ll entertain just one more chapter, delving deeper into the “twisted and parasitic brotherhood” of Heath and Flynn. Bonazelli writes, “These were mechanics issues, small procedural irregularities that conspired to ruin everything. They could be fixed.” By the bottom of the ninth, Bonazelli has set the batting order down, loaded the bases with plot and sent his readers a grand slam story.

Check out: http://www.thedeciblog.com/?p=831 and http://digg.com/baseball/Review_of_Mechaniks_by_Andrew_Bonazelli/ who for comments about the book and a mention about my article!

Anthology Bookstore: A Grand Gathering

Anthology Bookstore’s owner, Andrea Talarico, pages a used Gabriel Garcia Marquez book inhaling the air slowly as if enjoying a bouquet of roses. She holds her coffee mug with both hands, curls her fingers around the handle, and admits, “I love the smell of books. As a teenager, I always drove down to Tudor Bookstore in Kingston. It was my favorite place to be. When I skipped school, it wasn’t to do bad things; it was to go drink chai and read at Tudor. I fell in love with that atmosphere.”

The written word has lead Talarico to various levels of management at chain bookstores while writing her chapbook, Spinning with the Tornado. After publishing her chapbook locally through Paper Kite Press, and hosting the Test Pattern poetry series, which has become the largest poetry reading in the Valley, Talarico now prepares for the Grand Opening of Anthology, her own house of words, in the Casey Laundry Building this Friday.

From its East Village, New York City décor, exposed pipes and painted brick, turquoise and mauve walls, and orange curtains, Anthology is a part of Scranton’s new image, presenting the feeling of modern city expanse meets classic hometown neighborhood.

As you follow the organization of her alphabetized shelves, you’ll notice handpressed section signs above the shelves made by Sheri Alexander Rempe and Stacy Giovanucci (from Outrageous) and Jen Bell’s handmade tiles on Anthology’s walls leading you from section to section. “Fiction is my favorite because that’s what I fell in love with at a young age. That’s what I think most people fall in love with before they really explore other areas. I’m trying to incubate young readers into literary fiction, then expand from that point.” The 1500 feet of Talarico’s store includes various works from local authors and extends from mystery to business to mythology, and spans children’s and young adult literature to anthologies and poetry.

While guiding us through her poetry section, Talarico brightens as she mentions that she embraced the name of her store after reading the definition and etymology of the word anthology in a poetry dictionary. “Anthology is Greek for ‘collection of flowers.’ The Greeks started using the term in reference to poetry collections as flowers of verse. I liked that the Greek’s first used flowers (pretty things) in regards to poetry and overall I feel that a bookstore is a collection of pretty things.”

In the glass case at the register, you can view her bouquet of autographed, first edition, and rare books from authors: Kurt Vonnegut, Carl Sandburg, Ru Paul, Virginia Wolfe, John Irving, and James Jones. It also holds a signed Dana Gioia, The Illustrated Museum of the Animal World (an old animal encyclopedia with illustrations), and a great picture edition of The Red Pony by John Steinbeck.

When you have finally chosen a book and are ready to settle down and sip your coffee, Talarico’s reading area keeps you gathered for hours around her fireplace. But instead of snuggling next to a glowing fire, you can curl into a good book amongst the comforting ambiance that radiates from a ball of orange lights cradled by a brown argyle scarf. Blossoming above the fireplace is a vase of peacock feathers, while a green couch with matching blue chairs and oriental rug, frame the area.

But don’t let the great look of Anthology detract you from the importance of what’s under the book covers. Talarico says, “I think it’s really important to keep people reading, to educate the masses and that’s why I have a lot of strong titles high on the literary end.”

Talarico offers 4,000 new and used titles that are sold side by side (the used are marked with a green dot stating the price— new are priced as is). Talarico received most of the books from The Strand Bookstore in New York City but she says, “people can bring in books for trade credit in the store or they can get it for cash. I’ve had a lot of people donate books and that is such a blessing. I just think that people are starting to realize where their money goes and they see that if they buy into the community, it stays in the community. Buying local is better off for you, your children, and your community and I really wanted to make that happen with a bookstore.”

At the end of the tour, Talarico takes a sip of her coffee smiling at a misplaced book in the history section. As she reaches out to slide into in an open space between two covers, she says, “its officially a bookstore, things are out of place.”

Anthology Bookstore’s Grand Opening will have free food and wine from Vida Tapas Bar as well as music from Roy Williams, Ian O’Hara, and Coleman Smith. It is a free event on Friday, October 12 from 6 – 9 p.m. at the Casey Laundry Building, 515 Center Street Scranton. Talarico has already planned book signings in November, with local authors, Jim Warner and Barbara DeCesare. There will be two children’s story hours starting in December, which includes acting and puppet theater from local actor Conor McGuigan, and Patrick Holmes, the character designer from sesame street, as well as a local musical female trio who will have Spanish/English storytime. A local poetry circle will meet at her store on Saturday mornings, and Sam Blynn’s handmade bookbags and totes will also be featured.

Anthology’s business hours are Monday through Wednesday 10-6, Thursday through Friday 10-9, and Saturday 10-5. To find out more information about the events please call: 570-941-9630 or email scranthology@gmail.com. Anthology will also be online soon at www.anthologybooksonline.com and www.myspace.com/scranthology.

Wilkes-Barre's Desert Rose

“People always ask me where I get my ideas. I think of inspiration as dominoes. You just need that one idea to knock over that first domino and then it all spirals into a novel,” says Wilkes-Barre native and sophomore at Elizabethtown College, Kat Momenzadeh. She published Desert Rose, her first novel, with Edwardsville Indie Press, McCarren Publishing just before her senior year of high school. Now, just after turning 19, Momenzadeh has published the second novel in her Desert Rose trilogy, Midnight Rose.

In Midnight Rose, the main character, Princess Neterra, leaves her home, and must masquerade as a servant to protect the heir to her kingdom. As a deadly plot is uncovered and old enemies are revealed, Neterra’s journey becomes more than just an effort to protect the heir, she must also protect herself. In the first book of her trilogy, Desert Rose, the feisty Princess Neterra finds herself sold into slavery, where she discovers a world of vampires and other beings, and how they play a part in her own bloodline.

While the overall setting in her trilogy is based on Medieval times, what makes Momenzadeh’s trilogy special is how her own life experience has inspired her novels.

The summer before her senior year of high school, Momenzadeh got involved in a program called People to People, a student ambassador group. The group invited Momenzadeh to tour England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales for three weeks. She discusses how the trip created a more realistic and personal approach to her second book.

“Neterra goes from being the princess of her own land to pretending to be a servant in a new kingdom that she’s never been to before. So when I first wrote Midnight Rose, I kind of took for granted that Neterra would be able to adapt easily to the whole change of setting and social class. After I went to England, I realized that it was difficult for me to adjust, and it would also be hard for Neterra—who’s completely changing where and how she’s been raised and growing up.”

Another element to Momenzadeh’s writing involves one of her hobbies, dancing. She began dancing as a child and continues in Elizabethtown’s dance company, called Emotions. “I like to create the mannerisms of a dancer in my characters—very strong and confident in themselves, and in what they’re doing. The characters don’t stay as dancers once I rewrite, but I keep those dancer-like characteristics and qualities. In fact, the setting for Desert Rose,” Momenzadeh explains, “was inspired after watching a middle eastern infused modern dance to Sting’s song, ‘Desert Rose.’ ”

Aside from dancing, Momenzadeh’s age has also been a major factor in her writing. Being a teenager when she published her first book, and tailoring her books to a teenage audience has changed her life. While most teens were riding bikes, playing video games, or practicing musical instruments or sports, Momenzadeh was home studiously scribbling notes for her books. She says, “I’m not crazy, I swear. I just love writing.”

Luckily, for Momenzadeh and her readers she kept working hard. She was very modest when reflecting on the difficulty involved in being a young and published author entering a university setting. “I tried to keep my publishing experience a secret because I wasn’t sure how people would react. I didn’t want my professors or peers to treat me differently because I was published. But my attempts at hiding it didn’t stay a secret for long. I was relieved when the teachers still graded me fairly and the school ended up writing a few articles on me for the paper. All of the sudden, I heard comments like: Kat, you’re that girl whose book is in the campus bookstore. It was all very flattering.”

Now Momenzadeh’s books are for sale nationwide and can be found on MySpace and Internet bookstores as well. Desert Rose and her new book, Midnight Rose, are also available direct from the publisher at http://www.mccarrenpublishing.com/. For those of you who are interested in meeting an up and coming, well-spoken local author, Momenzadeh will be reading and signing copies of her work at Barnes & Nobles on South Main Street in Wilkes-Barre at 1:00 pm—Saturday September, 15th.

Reconstructing Humanity

When most of us hear the phrase Plastic Surgery, we imagine glamorous Hollywood stars with new pouty lips, dappled cheekbones, and perky breasts. But plastic surgery isn’t all aesthetics. Every year, thousands of selfless doctors, like Dr. Marshall T. Partington, and other experienced medical staff, provide another service in plastic surgery: reconstruction.

Reconstructive surgery is performed on abnormal structures of the body, caused by birth defects, trauma, injury, tumors, or disease. The procedures are performed to improve bodily functions, but may also be done to create a natural appearance.

Dr. Partington is the former director of Microsurgery at the University of Pennsylvania where he learned the intricacies and dexterity of his craft. His work lead him to establish his own plastic surgery practice in Redmond, Washington.

Twice a year, Dr. Partington offers full reconstructive surgery to children worldwide with a group of multi-international doctors and nurses through Interplast, a non-profit medical organization. “We take care of exposed bones, toe transplantation, scalp reconstruction, cosmetic burns, and cleft palates. I know the experience has made me a happier and fulfilled person. It reinforces my original calling to be a physician. It challenges you to see if that flame is still burning.”

His first overseas undertaking was in Shanghai, China in 1991, and during his sixteen years of service with Interplast, he has done work throughout Mongolia, Brazil, Ecuador, and the Philippines. Partington recalls the first time he met the locals. “Traveling to a new place through doing service is the best way to travel because you are immediately integrated into a community. You are introduced to families. People are entrusting their children, their dearest belongings, to you.”

Partington’s recalls working in Ecuador with a two-year-old burn victim, named Paulina. “She was begging in the market with her family and had a big bubble of scar tissue. The damage fused her arm to her body. Anxious to help her, we asked the family for permission to do the surgery. But she was the breadwinner because of her pitiful appearance and the family was torn about losing the income. We personally had pooled resources to support the family and were allowed operate on the little girl. Now, I have this wonderful picture of her. Her arms are pointed straight up in the air. It is this kind of gratitude, without even understanding their language, that makes performing plastic surgery rewarding.”

But Dr. Partington and Interplast’s teamwork doesn’t end when the patients have recovered. The skilled group cultivates an international relationship through education and follow-up visits. “Our primary purpose is to empower the site. A lot of our effort is to demonstrate how to do procedures. Our goal is to have local doctors perform their own surgeries, which we very carefully follow.”

In Nepal, Dr. Partington engaged in one of Interplast’s most successful educational ventures. “We set up a cleft palate program and there was a general surgeon, Dr. Rey, who showed such an interest that he trained in plastic surgery. He now has organized initiatives with at least five different fellows. Dr. Rey has also become one of our volunteers. It is a nice picture of that giving and receiving cycle.”

In the United States, Dr. Partington continues to create awareness throughout his daily life. He comments, “I use plastic surgery as a conversation to help people understand the greater context of this practice.” He also informs and educates every client that comes to his office for cosmetic surgery by donating ten dollars in their name to www.nothingbutnets.net. Established by the Gates Foundation, the program supplies African villagers with mosquito netting to prevent malaria. He recalls, “my father always taught me that success was finding satisfaction in who we are rather than in what we have.”

Dr. Partington is brushing up on his French, getting his shots, and is reorganizing his schedule for his next volunteer trip to Mali, Africa. His wife, Jeanette, is a nurse and is a member of Interplast, and the Partington’s 15 year-old twins, Trevor and Olivia are finishing their summer working with Littlebit, a therapeutic riding center for kids and adults with physical disabilities.

How We Work

(One of my articles was recently published in the Philadelphia City Paper under the cover story titled: How We Work: An informal survey of the ways we earn our daily bread. It is both in print and online at http://www.citypaper.net/articles/2008/01/24/how-we-work). Below is the opening from Editor Duane Swierczynski and then my story follows.)

Published: Jan 23, 2008

So what do you do? Yeah? Wow. Never heard of that before. You actually make a living doing that? Get outta here. For real? I mean, I've heard of some weird jobs, but not like that one. I got a pal who models nude. Swear. To. God. And then there's this lady I know who gets paid to play with blood and dung all day. But it's not all about the pay with some people. You've probably seen that street preacher lady, who stops you as you drive by, talkin' gospel and shit? The things people in this town will do. Anyway, I'm really impressed. Sounds like you've got a good gig. Anyway ... who, me? Ah, you don't want to know what I do. Just makin' ends meet. Looking for something better, tell you the truth. Say ... you don't know anybody who needs a molecular biologist, do ya? —Duane Swierczynski

Most Revealing Job

Jon Stothfang, figure model

For the past seven years, art students have been paying thousands of dollars every year to see Jon Stothfang naked. Jon began his work as a figure model back in Cincinnati, Ohio, after responding to the "models coordinator" ad in a local job listing.

Stothfang's artwork is what initially uncovered his interest in posing, and staying disrobed motivated him to keep a steady exercise routine. He says, "What most people don't realize is that anyone can be a figure model. There is no ideal body type for this work. You don't have to lose those last 10 pounds. You don't have to be a supermodel. Some classes, like anatomy, do prefer you to be fit, but most students I've talked to enjoy voluptuous models with mass to spare."

But there are some restrictions. "The more tattoos you have, the more limited work you can do," says Stothfang. "Tattoos take away from the body's contours and hide natural shadows. A friend of mine is a good model, very attractive, but she can only do portrait work because she has full sleeves."

The most important rule of posing is that you have to hold still and keep quiet. "It definitely takes patience, muscle control, and a willingness to chuck the conventions of repressive modesty out the window. If you can get past that, then figure modeling can actually be a really amazing way to fall back in love with your body, regardless of what it looks like."

Sum it up in Six

Words have power. They contain a multitude of meanings as well as positive and negative connotations. So when you read any body of writing, especially a poem, each word is specifically chosen by the writer to take into account those layers. But as new trends in technology speed up the attention spans of modern society, like bands cycling through our radios and New Year’s Eve drinks going through our bladders, creative writing must also be quickly evolving.

First, to see where the trend is headed, let’s take a look at some old and new writing based on being succinct.

Flash fiction is a short story with a brief word count, usually between 250 and 1,000 words. Some micro-fiction, or nano-fictions, are even shorter, containing specific amounts of words, such as a “Drabble” (100 words) or a “69er” (69 words). The limited word usage allows for the writer to imply certain elements within the story. Some flash fiction publications are trying to infuse the six-word memoir into their genre.

The epitaph, a statement that epitomizes a period of the past or a deceased person, can tell about a life in a concise way. For example, Emily Dickinson’s tombstone reads, “Called Back,” Jack London’s states, “The Stone the Builders Rejected” and Dean Martin’s states, “Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime.” Each phrase creates a simple and distinct characteristic element about the person’s life that they are commemorating.

Now, take a look at the traditional haiku. Because of its brevity, it works on using specific words and rhythm. The first line has five beats, the second has seven and the third line has five. The poem itself should raise larger questions to the reader than the first read-over, such as this traditional haiku by Basho: “On New Year’s Day/ each thought a loneliness/ as winter dusk descends.” It can be seen as a sad poem, as a solitary quietness or maybe Basho just knows that champagne-induced mind-throbbing hangovers don’t always make for a pleasant New Year’s Day. Similarly, here is a haiku containing the same traditional rhythms with a modern twist: “Sex in the City / Sarah Jessica Parker / We don’t need more puns.”

Now, what if you could only use six words to describe your entire life?

Whether it’s known as the “American Haiku,” according to The New Yorker and NPR, or called flash fiction or epitaphs, the Six-Word Memoir is the newest trend in writing. This new style is quite possibly inspired by Ernest Hemingway’s response to write a full story in six words: “For Sale: baby shoes, never worn.” The concept of the six-word memoir is pretty self-defining, as it is to create a story within the confines of six words. Those words are chosen to allow the reader to think beyond the surface level. For example, referring back to Hemingway’s story, “baby shoes, never worn,” one defining idea might be that the character might have been pregnant but didn’t have the child. Another possible meaning might be that the story could reference the phrase “to know someone is to walk a mile in their shoes.” The character has never had the chance to be a child and is obviously ready to move on with that part of their life (“For Sale”). As a whole, we see many different interpretations can be given for that same simple phrase.

While there are now thousands of Web sites devoted to the six-word form containing six-word fiction, six-word science fiction and six-word illustrated memoir reminiscent of postsecret.com, at www.smithmag.net (named for the notoriously general surname “Smith”), writers have a chance to create and submit their own six-word memoirs with the possibility of online and hardcover publication. Smith Magazine’s site contains thousands of six-word memoirs and numerous six-word projects to get involved in. For example, submit your best inspirational political guidance for President-elect Barack Obama to “Six words for America,” swallow a six-word challenge about your personal food life in “A life in bytes” or bring back emo with “Six-Word Memoirs on Love & Heartbreak.” With Smith Magazine’s first major call for submissions in the traditional vein of six-word memoir, the result has created “Not Quite What I Was Planning” and includes authors such as Dave Eggers’ “Fifteen years since last professional haircut” to Nikki Beland’s “Catholic school back fired. Sin is in!”

So, for 2009, instead of creating ordinary lists about what you accomplished in 2008 followed by more lists on what you hope to complete this year, try writing a six-word memoir to commemorate the special occasions, like New Year’s Eve. On www.sixwordmemoirs.com, Emily Gordon writes, “My little red dress; partied out.”


Here are a few samples of my Six-Word Memoir:

• Breathing into me without a touch.

• Born Tuesday, not meek and mild.

• New Years resolutions don’t include you.

• Yes we can! Yes we did!

Check out more of my Six-Word Memoir at Smith Magazine

Remembering Snail Mail

SECTION UPDATE!!
Wendy from A Passion for Letter Writing and a handful of her readers have begun a correspondence with me based on Wendy's writing prompt called Let's Freak Someone Out!

I received 5 letters: Bonnie from Pittsburgh PA, Lisa from Flower Mound TX, Danielle from Rochester NY, Ilona from Newport RI, and Monica from Chicago IL. Each letter was more exciting than the last. Thank you for the amazing letters. I'll be getting back to you all soon.




Remembering Snail Mail

In this throwaway world, do you even remember the last time you actually got something in the mail that was worth keeping? Something that wasn’t a bill? Something that wasn’t a pre-scripted card? When was the last time you actually scripted or received a letter? Not a business letter such as a cover letter for a job, but a hand-written cursive letter just discussing or contemplating the day’s events without fear of judgment?

For most of us, we might recall that we had a pen pal in elementary or middle school. I personally remember for over a year, I wrote to another girl my age that was living in England. While, I’d lost contact with her in my teens, especially after learning to drive, I still kept all of her letters in a box under my bed. Last fall during a cleaning spree, I pried open the box of memories and rediscovered them. As I read through each of the letters, I was flooded in memory. While her letters took almost a month to arrive, as soon as I mailed mine, I would check the mailbox excitedly for her response in the red white and blue international envelope with the words “Par Avion Air Mail” strewn across the front near my scribbled name. I recall once, after the lengthy correspondence, I received a phone call from her. We talked for approximately 2- 5 minutes and then her phone card ran out. It was one of the most exciting moments of my life. It was more wonderful than any of the other random memorabilia (blank concert wristbands, photographs of strangers, the dateless dried flower) that remained forgotten inside the box.

Over the last month, I have been reading “Love in the Time of Cholera.” The majority of the important correspondence appears in letter form between the two main characters. Suddenly, I had the striking realization that letter writing had become a lost art form. Since the only excitement in the post office box is a paycheck (as long as you don’t have direct deposit) and the hopes of a random postcard leave you feeling quite depressed since you aren’t the one on vacation, in an effort to regain enjoyment of opening the post box, I have begun corresponding. Now my words are inspired by the gentleman I write who lives in Kingston, a mere 15-minute drive from my home.

I began sending and receiving letters almost three months ago. This might be seen as ridiculous considering the more simple forms of communication: phone call, email, Facebook, MySpace, text messaging, and meeting in person. However, pre-generated text and email is easily disposed of, phone conversations are faceless communications, and I am convinced that the importance of words is lost to the ease of innovation and business side of communication. So while the “snail mail” pace of communication is a laughable amount of time considering the day or two it takes the postman to hand over my thoughts from days prior, there is just something about the magic of the letter that I keep close to my heart. It may be the swirls and swooshes that slow the mind when I make pen strokes that force me to consider spelling, word choice, and most importantly, a deep thought or two, because those things that are easily brushed over with spell checks, networking business letter structures, and the stiffly blocked fonts of computer programs. It may also just be the ever-so-rare excitement of receiving a letter.

No matter what the reason, this letter writing must continue. Receiving a handwritten letter is reliant upon a meager.43 cent stamp. And so, I am giving all writers a call to action. Hunter S. Thompson’s books did not take off until after the Fear and Loathing film. Many were published posthumously after carbon copies of every letter Thompson ever wrote were found, thus publishers discovered that the author had major talent beyond journalism. So this week, write one letter to someone and mail it from your local post office. Write a friend, pick a name out of the white pages (that’s the phonebook for you who use 555-1212 or 411 too often), or even write yourself a letter under a different name. Write the letter in your own handwriting and pour out your day, your heart, your soul, your hopes, your beliefs, and your dreams. Try writing more than one page and staying on topic.

*Published in The Weekender

Other interesting links:

Give your best wishes to Ilona's sister Esmerelda and future brother-in-law for their wedding:
http://www.wildpostcards.com/2009/04/send-a-postcard-to-a-wedding/

Give this guy your address and he'll write you a letter: http://www.iblogbetterthanyourmom.com/2009/04/letter-writing-project-day-1.html