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Episode 290: ‘Only in Oregon’: How Drawing Political Cartoons is All About the Writing with Jesse Springer

This week, Jesse Springer, an Oregon-based political cartoonist and graphic designer, comes on the show to talk about his new book of cartoons Only in Oregon 1996-2021: 26 Years of Oregon Political Cartoons.

He came by the studio and brought his own very good microphone, so the two of us got to make eye contact. What a concept!

Sure, this is a very specific book that will have appeal largely — if not only — for Oregonians, but we do riff on whether or not political cartoons are journalism, his creative process for working through ideas, getting people to have better “art self esteem,” and a lot more.

The show has a new Instagram handle, @creativenonfictionpodcast, and you can always keep the conversation going on Twitter @CNFPod.

And you know I’d rather you sign up for my Up-to-11 Newsletter. Signup form is below you and to your right. Book recs, book raffles, cool stuff curated by me for you, CNFin’ happy hour or writing group, writing prompts, fun and entertaining. First of the month. No spam. Can’t beat it.

Consider supporting the show via Patreon patreon.com/cnfpod. Shop around if you want to support the community. I just paid out the writers from the last audio magazine. You make that possible. The show is free but it ain’t cheap.

Episode 289: The Atavist’s ‘Feast for Lost Souls’ with Annelise Jolley and Zahara Gomez

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By Brendan O’Meara

Annelise Jolley and Zahara Gomez teamed up to create “A Feast for Lost Souls” for this month’s piece for The Atavist Magazine.

What an incredible story about a group of women who hunt for the bodies of their “disappeared” loved ones, but find ways to honor them through cooking. The Memory Recipe Book is what Zahara helped develop, along with the widows and mothers, to pay tribute to their lost sons and husbands.

Zahara also created a few mini-documentaries as part of this story to go along with Annelise’s incredible reporting and writing of the piece.

Audio Magazine Issue 2: Summer

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By Brendan O’Meara

After much deliberation and deep thoughts (haha), I’m taking the audio magazine 100% public.

Why?

Well, it comes down to reach. Writers want to be read (in this case heard). The Patreon audience is going to be significantly smaller than the public feed for the podcast.

Issue 1 was downloaded about 800 times. Issue 2 went out to about 15, 16 people, since it was Patreon-only.

I polled the Patreon audience because I didn’t want to violate their trust and what they signed up for. 100% of them said to take it to the largest possible audience.

They will get other goodies and perks as a result.

That’s a conversation for another time.

So, for now, enjoy original work from Jake Gronsky, whose essay deals with the end of his minor league baseball career, Krystina Wales, whose day at the beach reveals more than she bargained for, Carrie Hagen, whose found a savior in the unlikeliest of places, and Matthew Denis, who takes us to a special place of his childhood summers. Add to that three original poems from Jorah LaFleur, and you have you a summer-themed issue bound to warm you up.

Hope you brought your sunscreen!

The Patreon audience makes it possible to pay writers for their work, so please consider becoming a member and all that comes with it. Lots of bang-for-buck, IMO!

Episode 288: And the Category Is … Ricky Tucker!

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Sponsor love: West Virginia Wesleyan College’s MFA in Creative Writing

By Brendan O’Meara

Ricky Tucker (@Rick_Tuck_Lit) is a writer, teacher, and voguer. That last one is significant because he’s the author of And the Category Is … : Inside New York’s Vogue, House, and Ballroom Community (Beacon Press).

In it, Ricky takes us into the subculture of ballroom and refuge and freedom it provided the LGBTQ+ community. In this conversation we talk about the fine line between appreciation and appropriation, house mothers and fathers, finding family, writing as service, and how Ricky found his way to being a writer.

Episode 287: Boomerang with Achy Obejas

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Sponsor love: West Virginia Wesleyan College’s MFA in Creative Writing

By Brendan O’Meara

Achy Obejas is a Cuban American writer, translator, and activist whose work focuses on personal and national identity.

She’s here to talk about her book of poetry Boomerang/Bumeran (Beacon Press), which is English and Spanish.

Achy also is the author of the novel Days of Awe and the story collection The Tower of the Antilles.

In this conversation, we talk about:

Episode 286: Jen Winston on Essay Collection as Memoir

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Sponsor love: West Virginia Wesleyan College’s MFA in Creative Writing

By Brendan O’Meara

This was a treat, getting to speak with Jen Winston, the debut author behind Greedy: Notes from a Bisexual Who Wants Too Much (Atria).

In this episode we talk about:

Episode 285: Tony Perrottet and ‘The Butcher of Havana’

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By Brendan O’Meara

Tony Perrottet is a journalist, historian, and author of six books.

His latest piece is “The Butcher of Havana,” this for The Atavist Magazine.

We talk about the central figure, Herman Marks, an American who became the chief executioner for the Cuban revolutionaries. It’s an incredibly gripping read.

Episode 282: Jeannine Ouellette on Wanting to be Devastated, Self-Scrutiny, and Her Memoir ‘The Part That Burns’

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By Brendan O’Meara

Jeannine Ouellette (@_elephantrock) is the author of the memoir The Part That Burns, a devastating book about childhood, sexual abuse, motherhood, and so much more. It’s published by Split/Lip Press.

It was a book I couldn’t wait to get back to because I needed to know how Jeannine managed to — I don’t know — survive. She broke my heart a number of times, but not in a self-pitying way.

In any case, she’s here for Ep. 281, this after we met at Hippocamp in August.

Here’s a little blurb from Jeannine’s website:

Episode 279: Athena Dixon on Opening Doors, Day Jobs, and the Personal Essay

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Sponsor love: West Virginia m Wesleyan College’s MFA in Creative Writing and The Facing Project’s Empathy Prize for Nonfiction

By Brendan O’Meara

What a treat!

It’s Athena Dixon (@AthenaDDixon), the author of the essay collection The Incredible Shrinking Woman (Split Lip Press).

Had a great chat about day jobs and threading the work you want to do around that, how there’s no “writer’s life,” but rather just a “writer living.” That’s a direct quote from her Hippocamp talk this year.

Her essay collection delves into her identity as a Black woman, divorce, relationships, sex, the masks we where, and so on. Highly recommend.

Episode 276: Earl Swift Takes Us to the Moon

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By Brendan O’Meara

Earl Swift returns!

He’s back as we take a deep dive into Across the Airless Wilds: The Lunar Rover and the Triumph of the Final Moon Landings, an epic book that details the creative genius and the people behind the “moon car” and the three greatest feats of human exploration, largely forgotten.

Earl is an incredible reporter and writer, spinning intrepid yarns that are densely packed but not weighed down. Incredible stuff.

In this episode we dig into:

Writing and reporting the book during the pandemic
Breaking up longer chapters into shorter chapters
What surprised him about his moon research
And his incredible collaborative relationship with his book editor
And much much more.

Brendan’s Monthly Newsletter: First of the month! No spam! Can’t beat it!

Brendan’s Monthly Newsletter: First of the month! No spam! Can’t beat it!