Tag: Gessy Alvarez

Announcements, Blog, Writing

Living in the Masked Age – April 2020

We’ve been quarantined since March 13th. Week one, we were hopeful. We began our second round of poetry submission readings. We read and continue reading over 125 (as of today, that number is over 200) poetry submissions, that’s about 300 (600) poems. So far, the caliber and generosity of the poets who submitted work to us have lifted our spirits and have made our quarantine … Continue reading Living in the Masked Age – April 2020

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Announcements, Blog, Cultural Omnivore, Our Community, Reading Series, Volume 7 2020, Writing

Digging Through No. 3

Our third reading event in The Red Room at KGB Bar on March 10, 2020, was an unforgettable soirée. A day before Coronavirus COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, we hosted a sweet lit-loving and respectful crowd in The Red Room at KGB Bar. In an effort to keep everyone safe, we tried our best to avoid hugs and kisses, our bartender wore rubber gloves, glassware … Continue reading Digging Through No. 3

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Announcements, Blog, Cultural Omnivore, Our Community, Reading Series, Volume 7 2020, Writing

Digging Through No. 2

Our second reading event in The Red Room at KGB Bar on February 11, 2020 was an uproarious affair. It was a packed house and the standing room only audience was in very high spirits. The night began with a lyrical series of family poetic portraits by Rachel Horowitz, followed by a chilling and poignant story by Dororthy Barnhouse, and ending our first act was … Continue reading Digging Through No. 2

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Announcements, Blog, Cultural Omnivore, Our Community, Reading Series, Volume 7 2020, Writing

Digging Through No.1

We launched our new monthly reading series in The Red Room at KGB Bar on January 14, 2020. It was a cool, rainy evening and many of our friends were there to celebrate the works of Paul Beckman, Tamar Eisenman, JP Infante, Christine Kendall, Hadley Moore, and Joanna C. Valente. All our readers gave absolutely stellar performances. As a special treat Tamar Eisenman performed three … Continue reading Digging Through No.1

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Announcements, Blog, Writing

Volume 6 of Digging, Calls for Submissions, & More

Volume 6 of Digging is halfway done! Much thanks to all our 2019 contributors so far: (nonfiction) Andrew Rihn and Simona Zaretsky; (poetry) henry 7. reneau, jr, Lisa Nance, Nolan Meditz, Bryan D. Price, David Midkiff, Thea Matthews, Alex Wells Shapiro, Morgan Peacock, KG Newman, Gabrielle Peterson, Lorraine Henrie Lins, Bina Ruchi Perino, Katherine Lutz, Stephanie R. Nahhas, Annalee Eagerton, and rhea moon. You can … Continue reading Volume 6 of Digging, Calls for Submissions, & More

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Announcements, Blog, Writing

New Book, Chapbook Call for Submission, and More

Last year, we launched our inaugural call for submissions for the Digging Press Chapbook Series. We were overwhelmed by the response the call garnered. Over 250 submissions were entered. We chose one winner, four finalists, and 15 semi-finalists. When we announced Awabi by Mandy-Suzanne Wong as the winner in September 2018, we set a tight production schedule. Our goal was to debut the winning chapbook … Continue reading New Book, Chapbook Call for Submission, and More

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Announcements, Blog, Volume 4 2017, Writing

Literary Magazine Salon at The New York Society Library

We introduced Digging Through The Fat to a lovely crowd of literary lovers at the beautiful New York Society Library. Tobias Carroll, Lauren Hilger, and Bud Smith all gave stellar readings. I was overwhelmed with the response we received for the journal and for these amazing people’s words. Thank you so much to Carolyn Waters, Head Librarian at The New York Society Library for inviting Digging to participate. Much love to Guernica, especially publisher, Katherine Rowland, editors: Raluca Albu and Meara Sharma, and Guernica’s special guests: Carmen Maria Machado and Ann Neumann. It was a great night for all involved. Continue reading Literary Magazine Salon at The New York Society Library

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Announcements, Blog, Volume 3 2016, Writing

Digging Through The Fat – AWP 2016 Edition

If you missed us at AWP 2016 in Los Angeles, don’t fret. Here’s a link to the print journal we created exclusively for the conference. Special thanks to our contributors: Jamila-Khanom Allidina, Jules Archer, Rachel Ronquillo Gray, Dani Purcell, Thaddeus Rutkowski, and Bud Smith. And to Michelle Peñaloza, who co-edited the two poems selected for this edition. Also, much gratitude and love to our Creative Director, Cynthia Alvarez, for lending us her original artwork. Hope you enjoy! Continue reading Digging Through The Fat – AWP 2016 Edition

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Poetry, Writing

Poetry 2015 – Editor’s Note

Thank you, Michelle for your wisdom, insight, and generosity! As always, after reading the work of so many artists, I feel humbled. And grateful. A call for submissions is a call to action. To all the poets who put themselves out there and submitted work to us, thank you. Michelle and I were challenged with the difficult task of selecting among so many wonderful poems.

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Interviews, Volume 2 2015

Ron Riekki – Conversation No. 15

Sometimes writers (virtually) meet each other because they share a publication together. Ron Riekki and I had stories published in Literary Orphans’ Blondie Issue (May 20, 2014, Issue 13). We dug each other’s stories and Ron introduced me to regional writings from a part of the U.S. I knew little about. I invited Ron to have a conversation about Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and the rich literary culture that thrives there, as well as to talk about his own work and what inspires him. Continue reading Ron Riekki – Conversation No. 15

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Interviews, Volume 1 2014, Writing

Nathaniel Tower – Conversation No. 12

Nathaniel Tower is a prolific writer, established editor, and athlete. He writes stories that stay in your head for all the good reasons. His prose style and matter-of-fact tone convince you that what you just read is completely plausibe, at least within the elaborate world Tower creates. He gets away with this because his prose is clear and authoritative. If you choose follow the words on the page, you will be rewarded with a satisfying finale. Continue reading Nathaniel Tower – Conversation No. 12

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Interviews, Volume 1 2014

Gloria Mindock – Conversation No. 10

Gloria Mindock is a name that I became familiar with through friends. Gloria is a brilliant poet, editor, and publisher. She’s a major part of Červená Barva Press, where some of my favorite poets have published chapbooks. She is also a tremendous advocate for emerging and established literary voices. I was very eager to have a chat with her and find out more about her work as artist and literary extraordinaire. Gloria delivered! Continue reading Gloria Mindock – Conversation No. 10

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Interviews, Volume 0 2013

2013 Conversation Series – Favorite Answers

I began the Conversation Series because I wanted to learn more about creative folks, their work, and why they’ve chosen to dedicate time to making art. Here are some of my favorite answers from 2013. Much love, respect, and gratitude to Susan Tepper, Robert Carlos Garcia, Meg Tuite, James Claffey, Jen Knox, Matt Potter, Bud Smith, Robert Vaughan, and CS DeWildt. Continue reading 2013 Conversation Series – Favorite Answers

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Interviews, Volume 0 2013

Robert Vaughan – Conversation No. 8

I hit the wall in 2010. The year before, my first story was published in Pank. In May of 2010, I graduated from my MFA program. That summer, I attempted to write new stories. I failed. By November, I was feeling lost. I joined the online writing community known as Fictionaut. The first writer to welcome me to the site was Robert Vaughan. For the next six months, I read stories by Robert and other established and emerging writers and poets. Robert’s pieces were always at the top of Fictionaut’s Recommended Stories list and the notice was well-deserved. As a minimalist writer, I’ve experienced my share of disparaging criticism for my work, but Robert offered me encouragement and for that I’m forever grateful. Continue reading Robert Vaughan – Conversation No. 8

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Interviews, Volume 0 2013

Matt Potter – Conversation No. 6

Last year, I submitted a short piece about my parents to Pure Slush. Matt Potter responded to my submission in record time. If you are a writer (or poet, artist, performer), you are accustomed to the Wait. So when an editor (or other gatekeeper) answers to a submission quickly, you’re grateful. If the response is an acceptance, you wanna shout down the halls of the … Continue reading Matt Potter – Conversation No. 6

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Interviews, Volume 0 2013

Jen Knox – Conversation No. 5

I first met Jen Knox last September. She read at Susan Tepper‘s Fizz Reading Series at KGB Bar in the East Village. Jen was part of a stellar group of readers, which included Stephanie Dickinson, JP Reese, and Roberto Carlos Garcia. I had an online connection with many writers there that night, but I was meeting most of them face-to-face for the first time. These … Continue reading Jen Knox – Conversation No. 5

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Interviews, Volume 0 2013

James Claffey – Conversation No. 4

Sometimes writers just click. Perhaps it’s a common artistic sensibility, maybe one writer impresses the other with a ballsy technique, or shows the other writer a new way to approach an old narrative problem. All these things are true for me when it comes to James Claffey. I remember seeing one of his flash fiction pieces in Fictionaut and thinking, Wow, beautiful! And when I … Continue reading James Claffey – Conversation No. 4

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Interviews, Volume 0 2013

Roberto Carlos Garcia – Conversation No. 2

Roberto and I met the old-fashioned way writers meet, through our work. I had just come out of a self-imposed, post-MFA, two-year incubation period. As a way to jump-start my writing, I joined an online community for writers called Fictionaut, and began posting a series of flash fiction on that site. My little stories received a modest amount of attention, but, more importantly, there were a … Continue reading Roberto Carlos Garcia – Conversation No. 2

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Interviews, Volume 0 2013

Susan Tepper – Conversation No. 1

Last April, I attended a poetry reading at KGB, “a Soviet-era themed bar in the East Village of New York City, which once served as a speakeasy for Ukrainian socialists.” The reading’s host was Susan Tepper. Eamon Grennan, Gretl Claggett, and Steve Griffiths were the featured poets. The crowd was older and serious about their poetry. I strode in and parked myself by the bar and ordered … Continue reading Susan Tepper – Conversation No. 1

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At the Colony, Blog

At the Colony: Day 25 and a Fond Farewell

Day 25: We had our last group event today, a tour of the Millay estate. We learned that Vincent (Edna St. Vincent Millay) had rules. If you wandered into the pool area, you best be nude. No exceptions. She also moved her husband to his own suite of room to accommodate her lover in her bedroom. Oh Vincent, you were a complicated woman! Her husband, Eugen, addicted … Continue reading At the Colony: Day 25 and a Fond Farewell

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At the Colony, Blog

At the Colony – Day 23 and 24

Day 23: Two full days left at the Colony. I started to write a new chapter today. After one month at the Colony, I planned to spend one week getting adjusted to family and work, then resuming my writing schedule. I committed to write at least 350 words a day until I finished the novel. I took a nice long walk after lunch, submitted stories … Continue reading At the Colony – Day 23 and 24

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At the Colony, Blog

At the Colony – Day 21 and 22

Day 21 – For the last twenty days, my routine was as follows: wake up around 11AM, work until 2PM, eat lunch and take a reading break, go back to work from 4PM to dinner time at 6:30, enjoy some wine and good conversations with the other residents, then return to my studio around 9PM, and work until 4AM. Repeat. This schedule was not going … Continue reading At the Colony – Day 21 and 22

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