Welcome to the Poetry Hotel

Write short, said all the experts. Be concise. 

I first heard this advice as a student reporter for my university paper. Give me 500 words. Give me 750. Later, when I covered high school sports for a big city daily, I sometimes had to rush back to the office and knock out a piece in 15 minutes or file by phone or via the Jurassic fax machines of the 1970s. Keep it short. And for God's sake, get the score right. 

Naturally, I went on to write a novel and a passel of short stories which weren't very short. It was nice to have all those words to work with. A well-crafted short story can still be a challenge. You have to limit the number of characters and set the story in a few scenes. Still, a 5,000-word story gives you some room to breathe.

I've reached 106,000 words in 424 pages on the historical novel I'm writing now. I am not finished with the draft. Not sure what the final count will be before I query publishers. Much revising to do.

My latest published works are much shorter. They're prose poems featured in YU News Poetry Hotel, Paul Fericano prop. Five pieces. The longest is "Flying Nurse," which comes in at 340 words. The shortest is "Welcome to Zan Xlemente, Zalifornia" with 182 words. Each tells a story and might be labelled flash fiction if they were on another site. I don't see how it makes much difference if people read and enjoy them. Maybe not enjoy so much as make you think about worlds not your own. Read them at https://www.yunews.com/mike-shay-poetry-hotel.

A writer uses different techniques with each form. A novel requires expansion while a short-short involves winnowing. If a traditional short story is a slice of life, a short-short is a slice of a slice. Some of mine start life as a short piece and stays that way as I've said what I wanted to say. "Zan Xlemente" is an example. Some, however, start life as longer pieces that I take the scalpel to. "The Future of Surfing in Wyoming" started  as a multi-part story, "The History of Surfing in Wyoming." In it, I imagined the surf scene 1,000 years from now if global warming does its worst. I added rewritten versions of surf songs and turned it into a performance piece I presented at readings in Casper and Sheridan. It wasn't easy to transform a 4,000-word piece into one with a mere 252 words. Check it out on the Poetry Hotel site and see what you think. I'm in Room 66.

Readings begin Nov. 18 for Blood, Water, Wind, and Stone: An Anthology of Wyoming Writers

Made in Wyoming (and published here too): This new anthology from Jackson's Sastrugi Press features a great line-up of the state's writers,

Attached is the latest info on readings and book signings for Blood, Water, Wind and Stone: An Anthology of Wyoming Writers. My story, "George Running Poles," was selected for inclusion by editor and poet Lori Howe. Sastrugi Press is the publisher. Great to have a Wyoming-based press (Jackson) and a Laramie-based editor. The rest of us are scattered all over the state. 

I will read with others at the Dec. 8 event in Laramie. Not only that -- goodies will be served. And Night Heron is a great place to buy Christmas presents for those readers in your life. Order now at Sastrugi Press.

Cody Opening: Friday, November 18, 5-7pm. Legends Bookstore, 1350 Sheridan Ave. Cody, WY 82414. Ph: (307) 586-2320, website: www.legendsbooks.com.

Casper Opening: Saturday, November 19, 6-8pm. Backwards Distillery, co-hosted by Wind City Books. Hosted by Backwards Distillery at 158 Progress Circle, Mills, WY 82644. www.windcitybooks.com or www.backwardsdistilling.com, (307) 472-1275.

Sheridan Opening. Sunday, November 20, 2:30-5pm. Sagebrush Community Art Center, 201 East 5^th St. Sheridan, WY. Ph: (307) 674-1970. website: www.artinsheridan.com

Cheyenne Opening: Saturday, December 3, 3:30-5:30pm. Laramie County Library, 2200 Pioneer Ave. Cheyenne, WY 82001. Ph: (307) 634-3561. Website: http://laramiecountylibrary.org.

Laramie Opening: Thursday, December 8, 6-7:30pm. Night Heron Books, 107 E. Ivinson St., Laramie, WY 82070. Ph: (307) 742-9028. Website:  www.nightheronbooks.com.

Jackson Opening: Saturday, December 10, 5-7pm. Valley Bookstore, 125 N. Cache St. Jackson, WY 83001. Ph: (307) 733-4533. Website: http://valleybookstore.com

See you at the Music & Poetry Series in Casper Monday night

Each summer, ARTCORE in Casper sponsors the Music & Poetry Series. It features a performance by a musician or music group and a reading/performance by a poet or prose writer. On Monday, Aug. 11, at 7:30 p.m., at Metro Coffee Company, 241 S. David, the series features Chad Lore on guitar and vocals and me as the prose writer. Usually, the musician takes turns with the writer -- 20 minutes of deathless prose followed by 20 minutes of fine music. Intermission for caffeinated beverages. Then 20 more minutes or prose and the warm summer night wraps up with music, as it should.

Get a preview of Chad's music by going here and here. You can preview my writing by reading many years worth of blogging on this site. That consists mainly of snatches of memoir and humor interspersed with liberal political musings. I rarely include fiction on my blog because I still am skittish about publishing my work online before it is published in book form. I published my first book of short stories with a small publisher and, for the past two years, I have been pitching my second book to small and medium-sized publishers with no success. Short stories are not always welcome fare at the offices of publishers. I sit down to chat with industry professionals at writing conferences to discuss my work. The conversation usually goes something like this:

Me: "I write short stories."

Publisher gives me a look usually reserved for poets, English majors and plague victims -- a combination of pity and boredom. Their response usually is this: "We don't do short stories" or "Short short collections don't sell."

Me: "Oh."

Publisher: "Do you have a novel?"

Me (lying): "Yes."

Publisher smiles: "Send me a synopsis and a couple of chapters."

I don't. I could, I suppose, as I have several novel manuscripts propping open doors and serving as foot rests. But they are ancient history, written when I was learning how to write and then abandoned for other projects. I don't even have electronic versions, as they were written on ancient mechanical devices, such as the Smith-Corona portable typewriter and the first of many electronic typewriter/word processors. I could scan them and then proof them with my eagle-eyed editing. But I'd rather write.

What will I bee reading Monday night? Come to Metro Coffee and find out. It will be short, as in short story. If you see me carrying in a huge manuscript, don't worry -- I like to prop up my feet while listening to music.

See Dick write a book

The blogosphere and twitternet are abuzz with news about Dick Cheney's book deal.

In Wyoming, any news about the Cheneys is buzzworthy, due to the fact that Dick developed his creepy underhanded political strategies here in Wyoming before sharing them with the rest of the world.

Here are the sordid details from CNN Online:

Cheney has struck a deal with publishing house Simon & Schuster to write his memoirs covering a more than 40-year career in government, stretching all the way back to his roles in the Nixon and Ford administrations. The book will be published by Simon & Schuster's Threshold Editions, where former Cheney aide and current CNN contributor Mary Matalin serves as editor-in-chief.

The deal — which media reports have suggested is worth in excess of $2 million — is the latest to be struck by Robert Barnett, the Washington lawyer who most recently negotiated a book deal for former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. Barnett has also negotiated multimillion dollar deals for the Clintons and President Obama.

Daughter Liz Cheney called her father a "student of history" and said he has already begun collecting his thoughts in longhand and on his laptop computer.

"He wants to make sure that his story is told, and told in a way that his grandchildren will be able to understand and appreciate even 20 or 30 years from now," Liz Cheney told the New York Times.

His book, set to hit stores in the spring of 2011, will come on the heels of President Bush's memoir. That book is slated for release in fall of 2010.

Other Bush administration officials currently working on books including top aide Karl Rove, former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, and former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

One hardly knows where to begin. Cheney a "student of history?" HaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHa, etc. I am glad that he wishes to tell the story in a way that his grandchildren will appreciate in the future. Perhaps my own grandchildren will appreciate it as well. I hope I'm around to translate it for them, to give the lies some perspective. If Cheney really wants to write a book understandable to future generations, perhaps his wife Lynne can put it in the form of a children's book as she does so well with U.S. History. Can you say propaganda, boys and girls?

As a writer, I am jealous about the advance. I once dreamed of million-dollar advances, but that was before all the U.S. publishers became "too big to fail" and decided to sink all their money into "celebrities" with "platforms." People like Condi and Dubya and Rummy and the Alaskan Moose Hunter and Fartblossom. The kind of books that people buy in hopes they can get a signed copy to leave to their grandchildren who then will sell it for a quarter at a garage sale in 2050. Or use it for a doorstop. Nobody reads these books.

I once stood in line for two hours at a Border's store in suburban Maryland to get a signed copy of Newt Gingrich's memoir. Had some real interesting conversations with my fellow line-standers, most of whom were Republicans and liked Gingrich. I got my signed copy and was hurried along to make way for the next sucker. I mailed the book to my father, who liked Gingrich. It was a birthday gift. When my father divided his library prior to his death, I received his books about U.S. presidents (including Ike, Nixon and Reagan) while one of my brothers got books by and about lesser-known politicos. I haven't asked him yet if he sold the Gingrich book at a garage sale.

I've seen several blogs post possible titles. I have a few suggestions of my own:
Dick Cheney, Student of History -- Not!
Vice President Dick Cheney -- Second Fiddle to Nobody.
Dick, We Hardly Knew Ye -- and Liked It that Way.
Notes from the Underground Bunker.
War and Peace War

Other titles?

Dickens tackled epic themes -- you can, too

Too-good-to-be-true investments

Rapacious landlords

Clueless government agencies

Phrases ripped out of today's headlines?

Well, yes, but also themes in Charles Dickens' "Little Dorrit," which hits the screen on PBS Masterpiece Theatre this Sunday.

The New York Times gives it an extremely favorable review. So I may watch it, even though I haven't committed myself to a MT series since "Pride and Prejudice" in the mid-90s. That series, according to the NYT, had the same director as "Little Dorrit." So I may watch now, or save to savor later. Read the Times' review at http://tv.nytimes.com/2009/03/28/arts/television/28dorr.html?hpw

As an English major, I read a lot of Dickens, including "Little Dorrit." In it, Mr. Dorrit spends 20 years in Marshalsea debtor's prison. Dickens knew a bit about debtor's prison, since his family spent some time in one. Mr. Dorrit used to be rich and now is a debtor due to some debts which may or may not be his. Nobody can seem to find an answer at the government Department of Circumlocution. It's modern-day equivalents can be seen in the Bush-era "oversight" and "regulatory" agencies that were charged with keeping track of A.I.G., Citigroup, food safety, disaster relief, etc.

Anyway, Mr. Dorrit is kind of clueless and his daughter, Amy, is an innocent ripe for the plucking. Her sister, Fanny, is a bit of a schemer. There are good guys that turn out to be bad; bad guys that turn out to be good. Dickens was a great storyteller if a bit long-winded. But you would be too if you had to constantly churn out chapters for the London periodicals. Dickens was always writing on the run, which gives his books a certain breathless quality when compared with his Victorian-era counterparts. You may find that hard to believe when you pick up "Little Dorrit," all 1,024 pages and 1.5 pounds of it (Penguin Classics edition). But his humor, cliffhanger endings and odd coincidences keep the reader moving along.

This makes me think that more classics from the English major's catalogue needs dusting off. Dickens has never gone out of print, so he's been with us all along. Tolstoy was another one who tackled the big subjects -- in a spectacular way with "War and Peace," but also in his essays and short novels. Epic -- that was Tolstoy and that was his work. He might just be the thing for a country that's been in minimalist mode for the past couple decades. Or maybe that was only university English departments. The world is always in epic mode -- we writers just have to summon the imagination to deal with it.

Fiddling and fantasy in Casper

I shared the stage with a talented group of musicians from Casper on Monday night. We were all part of the Music & Poetry series at the Nicolaysen Art Museum which is sponsored by ARTCORE. This was the season finale, as we all get ready for September when things get serious.

Tyler Enders led the evening off on fiddle with his father, Dick on guitar. Tyler's a talented fiddler, winner of the 2007 competition sponsored by the Wyoming Fiddlers' Association. Dick's no slacker on guitar, ably backing up his 20-year-old son.

After The Enders' (not their band's name but they might consider it) first set, I read my new prose piece, "The History of Surfing in Wyoming." It's a bit of spec-fic, a bit of fantasy, about the rise of surfing in 31st century Wyoming. It's a about a time when global warming has pushed sea levels to record levels. The United States of America is now the United Islands of America ("U.I.A.! U.I.A.!"). The surf in Wyoming is bitchin'. I think I befuddled the crowd of about 40 with the piece, told from the persona of a writer-researcher talking to a museum crowd in 3007. My teen daughter, the critic, was in the audience and she told me afterwards that she saw many puzzled faces. "You need to explain things better at the beginning," she said, very kindly.

She's right. But I had fun, especially when I had the crowd rise to sing 31st-century Wyoming's state song, "Surfin' U.S.A.," rewritten to reflect life in the WYO islands. Everybody knows the old version of the Brian Wilson song, but I passed out song sheets with the new lyrics.

The Enders then returned to the stage, accompanied by Lila McConigley, who grew up singing in Casper and now lives in London. She has a gorgeous voice and sang a song about a wedding dress, which was appropriate because she just was engaged this past weekend to her London opera singer boyfriend. He was there, too, enjoying the ambience of her fiance's hometown. Love was in the air later as Tyler sang an original song to his girlfriend, who was parked with her family front-and-center.

Now it's on the the State Fair this weekend. Get more info at my web site.