Vintage photos of NYC c. 1987

Classic b & w prints.

Six Sexy Short Stories

Check it out

Enrichment Reminder for 1st-Semester Students

Get your enrichment project proposal to me by the end of the month. You can download the prosposal form in the Forms section of the MFA web page.

Reminder: One Month Until Anthology Deadline

Just a reminder that the deadline for the Press Pause Anthology, featuring nonfiction works by women writers, is a month away (September 25.) So far I've received more than 30 submissions from 14 states and two countries outside the U.S. I know a few writers associated with the WestConn MFA have already submitted. It was nice to see familiar names come through.

If you are interested in submitting your work, I suggest you read the overview and guidelines at http://www.ppnanthologyseries.wordpress.com. If you have any questions regarding the anthology, you can email me at anne@presspausenow.com .

Glimmer Train Best Start Competition

Just a blip to share that I entered Glimmer Train's First Start Competion in June and have received notification that my entry made it to the "Top 50" list and the top 5%of all submissions. (My submission was the first 1000 words of my novel that I read at the residency.) My meeting at the residency with the agent, Emilie Stewart,went well, so my plan is to spend the next few months reworking my novel and then submit it to her. So, we'll see...

So nice to see you all at the residency!

Kathy

Friendly Syllabus Reminder

Tomorrow, Friday the 21st, is the syllabus deadline!

TEACHING OPPORTUNITY

ATTENTION! Asnuntuck Community College in Enfield is looking for an adjunct to teach ENG 101-English Composition that meets Tuesdays, 9-11:55 a.m. The only reason I can't do it is because the CT Community College System restricts adjuncts to two courses per semester and I'm teaching two sections of digital photography this fall.

MFA graduates in the area contact me immediately if you're interested at LisSmOverton(at)comcast.net.

Lisa Smith-Overton

My latest endeavor

For those who are part of my possee on Facebook, you probably already know about this. So you can stop reading this post right around...here!

Anyway, I'm looking for a few good men and women for my latest endeavor...specifically a few good chefs and bakers who are looking for a venue to showcase their talents in the kitchen.

Those who know me know I love doing macro photography of food and writing about it. So I'm starting a blog that allows me to do three of the four things I love to do the most in life: taking pictures, writing and eating (the fourth thing I won't mention since this is a G-rated blog).

So if you know of any caterers, bakers, chefs, restaurants, etc. that would love to have an excellent, passionate photographer come to their place of business and do a mini portfolio of their best dish FOR FREE (a $125 per hour savings I might add, my hourly charge) for them to use in whatever way they wish and write about the dish on my blog, please have them contact me at picturethecuisine@gmail.com Thanks!

Lisa Smith-Overton

Op-ed, Litchfield, CT County Times: WHERE IT'S OK TO STEAL AN ELECTION AND BAN FREE-SPEECH T-SHIRTS

Via
Litchfield County Times

Cool Justice Report Editor's Note: This op-ed appeared Fri., Aug. 14, 2009, PAGE a5, in the

Litchfield County Times.

OK for reprint.

"Laws are like spider webs. They hold the weak and delicate who are caughtin their meshes, but are torn to pieces by the rich and powerful."
-- Anarcharsis, Athenian citizen, 6th century B.C.

"In the halls of justice, the only justice is in the halls."
--Lenny Bruce, author, "How To Talk Dirty And Influence People"


By ANDY THIBAULT

It doesn't matter what the First Amendment says.

What matters -- as in any amendment of the Bill of Rights -- is who has the power to enforce it or ignore it.

I got this perspective from my teacher, Howard Zinn, author of "A People's History of the United States." Howard taught me that history should be written not from the point of view of the president, senator, CEO, bond trader, mayor, police chief, shift supervisor, school superintendent or high school principal. Rather, stories should be told from the point of view of the citizens or other human beings who all too often are at the mercy of those in power.

As I began a career in journalism writing about the cover-up of a hit-and-run death in New London, CT in 1973, I learned that civil rights, truth and justice have no standing in a corrupt regime. The power of the cop on the beat, the teacher in the classroom, the mayor behind closed doors, the oblivious judge on the bench or the boss on the job supersedes any theoretical document. Seldom are abuses corrected and when they are, it might be too late.

I think about this often.

Those in the government class -- school official, judge, prosecutor,cop, legislator -- tend to protect themselves at the expense of others. It is only when citizens rise up, organize and take action against abuse of power, that there is any hope of justice.


Standing up for all of us in Northwestern Connecticut is Avery Doninger, now a veteran of AmeriCorps, the domestic Peace Corps. Many readers know something about "The Famous Douche Bag Case" in which election results were suppressed and free-speech t-shirts were confiscated and banned at Lewis Mills High School in Burlington. As the case goes back to the U.S. Second Circuit of Appeals in New York this fall, readers are learning more about the essence of the free speech case.

Doninger, while a junior at Lewis Mills in 2007, followed a suggestion from her student council adviser and, with several other students, engaged the community in a dialogue about use of the school auditorium. The students knew it was the job of school officials to listen and respond to such communication. If only the administration and board of education had known as much, they would not have so many legal bills.

The students tried to change a decision about the cancellation of a popular music event known as Jamfest. For this, Avery Doninger was punished. It's really that simple.

Anyone who ever visited a town hall or school superintendent's office understands this. Some public officials actually believe in public service and accountability. They realize they work for taxpayers. Others, like former Region 10 Superintendent Paula Schwartz and Karissa Niehoff, work for themselves.

"Mrs. Schwartz wasn't happy with all the phone calls and was very annoyed," Niehoff told Avery Doninger.

"You can imagine how upset she was when parents started calling her," Niehoff told a colleague in an email.

Gee, a public official gets phone calls and emails from constituents and is outraged. In this context, it is easy to see why Schwartz and Niehoff banned Avery Doninger from running for school office and then hid the write-in votes that elected her by a plurality. While they were busy banning free-speech t-shirts and suppressing an election, Schwartz and Niehoff also found time to honor another student for citizenship. This student called Schwartz a"dirty whore" in the same blog post where Avery Doninger, writing on her home computer, referred to officials as "central office douchebags."


New Haven U.S. District Court Judge Mark Kravitz, while refusing to grant an injunction recognizing Doninger's election and revoking her punishment, observed: "The [court] agrees with Ms. Doninger that there is evidence in the record -- particularly when viewed in the light most favorable to her -- that suggests that Ms. Niehoff may have punished Ms. Doninger because the blog entry was offensive and uncivil and not because of any potential disruption at school … The timing of Ms. Doninger's punishment in this case, together with Ms. Niehoff's testimony, creates a disputed issue of material fact as to the [defendant's] true motivation for punishing Ms. Doninger."

"Rallying students and the community to petition the government is good citizenship," Doninger said in a widely-circulated essay. "I failed at vocabulary, not citizenship."

Indeed, Schwartz never acknowledged Doninger's apology for rudeness until she was confronted about it in federal court. Who failed citizenship and good manners?

Whether in Iran, China, Russia or Burlington, despots who squelch free expression have a lot to hide.

Kravitz had scheduled a trial on the seizure of free-speech t-shirts this summer. Region 10 lawyers appealed. Doninger's lawyer, Jon Schoenhorn of Hartford, followed up with a wide-ranging appeal focusing on punishment for protected free speech. The U.S. Second Circuit agreed on July 23 to hear Schoenhorn's arguments. No date has been set for a hearing, but advocates of parental rights are lining up behind Doninger. They are incensed by the intrusion of government into the home.

"We are in this together fighting abuse of authority," said Judy Aron, a home-school activist from West Hartford.

Marine Corps veteran Ron Winter of Hebron, a member of the fundraising group "Poets & Writers For Avery," noted his interest in both the First and Second Amendments, saying, "You can't have one without the other."

To mention yet another Amendment -- The Fourth -- I should note the travails of another member of Poets & Writers For Avery, the poet and Central Connecticut State University Professor Ravi Shankar. Shankar, a tall Indian-American, was wrongly arrested and held for 30 hours recently after a literary event in New York. The police were looking for a shorter white man, but that didn't matter.

Shankar has been meeting with lawyers this week. Those citizens among us who understand that only vigilance keeps the Bill of Rights alive will be following these cases closely.

Andy Thibault, author of "Law & Justice In Everyday Life," lives in Litchfield and blogs at

The Cool Justice Report

BULLETIN: Landmark Free Speech Case Back @ U.S. Second Circuit Court Of Appeals

AmeriCorps Field Hand Avery Doninger Cited For Work In Mississippi Refuge

Poets & Writers For Avery 07 Flyer

Poets & Writers For Avery 07 Announcement

Texas, Florida Papers Pick Up Ravi's Racial Profiling Column

Odds, Ends, and Beginnings

Hi All!

It was great to see some of you at Daniel's reading last Friday. I would like to share my new blog with you. I've been futzing with it for a long time, and if I don't just put it out there -- well, a blog is no fun when you are the only one blogging! Anyway, for now it is a venue to post my writing, share other great blogs, web sites, discussion, etc. Please join me; it will only be as good as the visitors who stop by. I hope to see you there, soon! Just click on the title above :)

Tonia

Job Posting - Writing Specialist P/T 19 hrs per wk

Writing Specialist

Part Time – 19 hours per week

Western Connecticut State University is seeking an energetic and dynamic person to provide assistance to college students with disabilities. Candidate must demonstrate the ability to work effectively with students one-on-one with consecutive appointments.

Qualifications: Experience working as a teacher or tutor preferred. Bachelor's degree required, Master's or Master's in progress preferred. Must possess strong editorial skills; a good command of grammar, punctuation, bibliography formats, outline development and components of research and creative writing assignments; and excellent interpersonal communication skills. Experience/commitment to working with students with disabilities is preferred as is a demonstrated understanding of best practices for teaching writing to students with learning disabilities. The ability to establish and maintain appropriate boundaries with students is required.

Application Process: Send letter of application, resume, and contact information of three professional references to: Ms. Deborah Cohen, AccessAbility Services Coordinator, Western Connecticut State University, 181 White St., Danbury, CT 06810, or via email: cohende@wcsu.edu. Review of applications begins immediately and continues until the position is filled. Western is an AA/EEO Educator/Employer.

Smoke, Fire and Angels

In July 2005 there was a terrible accident during the morning commute on Avon Mountain in Avon, Connecticut. Some of you may know about. You may even know people who were involved or affected by it. One of my former colleagues, who is also a good friend, was on a commuter bus when it happened. She survived the ordeal emotionally shaken but with no life-threatening injuries.

There is an incredible book coming out in September about the accident called Smoke, Fire and Angels: Tragedy on Avon Mountain and the Life-Changing Aftermath by Mark Robinson. All proceeds will be donated to a fund for crash victims and their families. Mark is currently the director of internal communications at ING. He "was in the front row of traffic that morning; he broke 9 bones and punctured a lung; he is incredibly lucky to be alive."

My friend and fellow business writer and CT Communicator Alliance member, Chris John Amorosino, owner of Amorosino Writing LLC, was instrumental in helping Mark develop and publish this book, as was Nancy Simonds, another CCA acquaintance.

More information about the book is at the link above. I also just found out through Chris that people can make a donation of a copy to their favorite library. The information is in the pre-order section of the website.

Sadly this was an accident that could have been prevented. I know many of you have traveled this road and I thought you would be interested in knowing about this book.

Farewell, Danbury!

It was nice to be back in Danbury for a couple of humid days of zipping around town and being writerly and whatnot. Double thanks for the warm welcome given to Seth Fishman, who came out on Friday. Hope to see many of you again in January! (In CT instead of Cali in the dead of winter? What am I saying!)

Two bits before I jam. I'm pleased to announce that I've been nominated for a World Fantasy Award for my editorial work with Clarkesworld Magazine.

Speaking of work, those who enjoyed my reading of "Land Speed Record" on Wednesday, and who might want to experience that story again in the comfort of your own bathrooms, should pick up my collection You Might Sleep... which contains that story and twenty-one others, including a new novella. Sorry it wasn't at the residency on the book table, but these things happen.

The book was recently reviewed on one of the major science fiction sites, and I was called a writer who brings together social criticism, yucks and dark wonder in a way that refuses to limit what can and cannot be done in short stories.

Thanks

Thanks to everyone for a great couple of days at the residency. For those who didn't make it to the reading but would like to take a look at "The Writing Assignment" click on the link above. Any feedback is great. Special thanks to Brian and Laurel (and P.J.) for their warm welcome. Have a great week and a productive semester.
RON (Samul)

The MFA Hotline (203) 739-9380 is now functional!

Driving Directions for Residency Venues

Maron Hotel to Tarrywile Mansion and Return

http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0ATvDj8R-UN_mZGhyN3B6NjZfMTlmdHRtNzNkZw&hl=en


Campus to Campus

http://www.wcsu.edu/campustour/campusdirectionsheet.pdf