I drafted about 1500 words of memoir this morning, in between reading Seth. It went very fast; it's interesting how quickly one can write when one doesn't have to actually make stuff up. :-) I think the hard part with this book won't be generating prose, but rather figuring out what's actually interesting to write about. Of course, I may just run out of things to say too -- my memory is not so great, which is a bit of a handicap in writing a memoir.
I wish I had a title for this book; referring to it as a memoir isn't really accurate, I think. Memoir/travelogue/cultural commentary is closer, but that's too long to type every time. It's got a working title of Return to Sri Lanka, but I don't love that. Any ideas for a title?
I'd like to keep working on it, but I actually need to do three more job applications this afternoon -- the last few deadlines are coming up. Two tenure-track jobs, one in St. Louis and one in Richmond, VA; one one-semester position, at St. Mary's, in Oakland, CA. I think I misread the deadline on the last one; I should have applied for it a long time ago. Ah well -- we'll see what happens. I should also check the AWP website, which claims to have new job listings, just to see if there are any others I should apply for.
Spent a bit of time poking around at fellowship applications too. I think I'll be applying for three this year -- the Illinois Arts Council, the Stegner, and the NEA in prose. I'm not actually sure I'm a good candidate for either of the last two -- I may be too advanced for the Stegner, and possibly not sufficiently advanced for the NEA. But it can't hurt to apply, I think. Well, except that the Stegner costs $50 to apply for. Hmm...
I have a feeling there are more fellowships I should be applying for, but I just don't know what they are. If anyone out there happens to know of any, feel free to suggest them, please!
One of my doctoral students is on the faculty at St Mary’s in Oakland. If you like, I will put you in touch with her.