A story and an essay

The mission of the online journal Craft is to not only publish fiction but examine the making of it.  Each writer whose work is accepted is asked to provide, as an Author's Note, a 400-500 word essay about the piece. The editors provide illustrations and thoughtful introductions.  I was especially pleased to have my short story "The Wishing Pot" published there because the story about how the story came to be is unusual, and something I wouldn't have been given the chance to tell in other publications.

https://www.craftliterary.com/2019/08/09/wishing-pot-kathryn-paulsen/

 Craft pays modestly and publishes a new story every week.

WHAT THE CONSTITUTION MEANS TO ME: see it before it closes

. . . if you haven't already.  The story of how, as a teenager, actor/writer Heidi Shreck put herself through college by performing in debates about the U.S. Constitution sponsored by the American Legion, What the Constitution Means to Me is a unique and extraordinary show--and timelier than ever.

The play--nominated for Tonys and other awards--is running through August 24.  If you miss it in New York,  try to catch it (with a new cast) in the national tour, scheduled to begin in Los Angeles in January 2020.

First begun in 1938, the competition still exists.  For a description, see

https://www.legion.org/oratorical/about

and the rules

https://www.legion.org/oratorical/rules

Can't wait to read!

The Great Eastern, Howard A. Rodman's imagining of Captain Ahab confronting Captain Nemo, forthcoming in June from (appropriately) Melville House.

The Great Eastern

For information about Howard' book tour (including an appearance at the  Center for Fiction in Brooklyn on June 12:

howardrodman.com

Brooklyn Folk Festival this Friday

It took me a few years to get myself to the Brooklyn Folk Festival, but, with a rich variety of terrific performers, music and dancing workshops, historic documentaries, jams, crafts, and eats,  it soon became one of the highlights of spring for me.  


http://brooklynfolkfest.com/.

One of these days, maybe I'll even catch their Banjo Toss into the Gowanus Canal. 

Stories and poems

An early story of mine, "Music of the Stairs," can be read on the website of Frontera--a new bilingual magazine:

https://www.fronteralit.com/

"Research," a piece of flash fiction, was published in the Australian web journal Scum:

http://www.scum-mag.com/category/fiction/

And you can find two short poems, "[Recovery]"  and "We of Few," in these journals:


https://maudlinhouse.net/recovery/

https://www.lockjawmagazine.com/vol6/paulsen/

 

Nassim

"It's like a pop-up book," said my friend Peter, about the play we'd just seen--NASSIM--which is named for its Iranian author, Nassim Soleimanpour, and has to do with, among other things, the challenges he's faced in getting his work into the world, and the need to overcome the barriers of language and culture that divide us. It was an astute observation:  NASSIM wasn't like anything else I've seen--but it was a bit like a picture book, and I ended up seeing it twice.

The first time, late last year, I thought, my sisters (both educators) would love this.  Then in January, my sisters were coming to town for a long weekend, and discount tickets were available, so I seized the opportunity, knowing that the show would be different since the guest actor would be different from the one I'd seen.  But there would be Farsi lessons, there would be tomatoes, and there would be audience participation.

My sisters loved the show, and, once again, I did, too.

It's running through April 20 at City Center, and for some performances you can find out who the guest actor will be.

https://www.nycitycenter.org/pdps/2018-2019/nassim/

The Talking Band's latest

I'm a huge fan of the Talking Band--for me, one of NYC's finest theatrical treasures--but I sometimes miss their shows because, typically, they only do one a year, running a mere 2-3 weeks.

This year, along with a couple of friends, I'm going to their latest--City of No Illusions--on opening night, 2/8, at La Mama. 

Here's how they describe the show, which runs through February 24:


"Set near the U.S. - Canadian border in Buffalo, New York, a funeral home run by two twin sisters has inadvertently become a sanctuary for two young immigrants."

 They're currently offering $20 tickets for the first four performances, with the discount code CITY1.
  
How can you resist? 

https://talkingband.org/works/city-of-no-illusions/