J. Hope Stein reads from her work with her daughter.
By Brendan O’Meara
Hey, this is the Creative Nonfiction Podcast, the show where I talk to badass writers (like Mary Karr), filmmakers (like Lisa D’Apolito), and producers (like Scott Neumyer) about the art and craft of telling true stories. I try and unpack their origin stories to see how they became the artists they are. You might even learn a thing or two worth applying to your own work.
I’ve got J. Hope Stein for you today. Her latest book of poetry is titled Little Astronaut and it is about early motherhood. I don’t have nor want children. That is a spouse-approved sentence, and I loved this little book about being a parent. That should tell you something right there.
Leanna James Blackwell wrote an essay. It’s good. Real good.
By Brendan O’Meara
Tweetables by Leanna James Blackwell (@baypathmfaCNF)
“Don’t worry if you go through a fallow period. It doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with you.”
“When that idea comes, don’t wait, grab it, run.”
Okay, this is The Creative Nonfiction Podcast, the show where I talk to badass writers (like Laura Hillenbrand), filmmakers (like Emer Reynolds), and producers (like Alexandra DiPalma) about the art and craft of telling true stories, how they became who they are, and the habits and routines that make them special, so maybe you can apply those tools of mastery to your own work.
Harrison Scott Key came back to the show to talk about his amazing work. Since that day way back in 2013, Harrison has published his first memoir The World’s Largest Man about his father, which also won the Thurber Prize for the funniest book in the country. And his latest book, Congratulations, Who Are You Again?, Was my single favorite book from 2018.
This one was so funny, inspiring, and entertaining that I took it with me on walks and when I found a crack in my schedule I’d pick this thing up and read a few pages if I could while my boss wasn’t looking.
But we’ll get to that. I guess I forgot to mention that this is The Creative Nonfiction Podcast, the show where I speak to badass writers, filmmakers, and producers about the art and craft of telling true stories. I also unpack their origins and how they approach the work in the face of day jobs and crippling self-doubt. Am I projecting. Perhaps.
Do you subscribe this here podcast? You can find it just about anywhere and if you dig this show and others, link up to it on your social media platforms. You are the social network, CNFers. Rage Against the Algorithm. And if you have a minute or two, please give the show a rating over on Apple Podcasts. Follow the show @CNFPod on Twitter and @BrendanOMeara on Twitter.
What else, oh, yes, subscribe to my monthly newsletter. It’s chock full of my reading recommendations and what you might have missed from the world of the podcast. Once a month. No spam. Can’t beat it.
So Harrison came back to the show and as always I try and cut down these interviews by about 10-15% and I simply couldn’t do that with this one. Couldn’t do it, so I hope you enjoy the big man himself, Harrison Scott Key.
Don’t forget to Rage Against the Algorithm with my monthly up-to-11 newsletter. First of the month. No spam. Can’t beat it.
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Today’s episode is also brought to you by the noun despair, “Driven to despair, he threw himself under a train.” despair: the complete absence of hope.
I don’t know what to say, man. Happy New Year, that’s a start. How are YOU? What’s going on with YOU? It’s just you and me here, man. I’m Brendan O’Meara and this is my podcast, The Creative Nonfiction Podcast, the show where I speak to badass writers, filmmakers, and producers about the art and craft of telling true stories.
