Come study the essay with me
I'll be leading GrubStreet's 2019-2020 Essay Incubator program.
Over 8 months (Sept-April), you'll take a deep dive into essay craft and tradition, work on 3 to 5 essays inthe company of other serious essayists, and workshop and revise three of them in preparation for publication. I'll invite guest writers and editors into the classroom to share their secrets, and you'll get a professional look at your work at Grub's Muse and the Marketplace conference. Among other cool things. You can read more details here. (Note: fellowships are available.)
I'll be holding a Free Open House and Info Session on Thursday, June 27th at 6pm at GrubStreet in Boston (sign-up in advance here, if you think you can make it). The open house will be a chance for you to ask any questions you may have about the Incubator re: the workload; application process; schedule; my teaching philosophy, or anything else. Perhaps most importantly, it's a chance to find out if the program is right for you. Drinks and snacks provided!
cheers,
Ethan Gilsdorf
writer | teacher | critic | nerd
ethan [at] ethangilsdorf.com | http://www.ethangilsdorf.com | @ethanfreak | YouTube
Somerville Artist of the Month
Here in my humble home-city of Somerville, Mass., the Somerville Arts Council named me Somerville Artist of the Month for January 2014.
Here in my humble home-city of Somerville, Mass., the Somerville Arts Council named me Somerville Artist of the Month for January 2014. This is a program "to celebrate the enormous wealth of talent in our city, by shining a spotlight on a different creative Somervillian each month." I am honored! Here is the announcement, and a Q&A where I try to explain something of what I do in this whole writing racket. Thank you Somerville Arts Council!
Make-A-Wish Makes a Castle
So what if the expression is a cliché? For one small-town kid suffering from a disease, dreams — even medieval-themed dreams of knighthood, chivalry and adventure — do come true.
As reported by WMUR, a New Hampshire TV station, a 12-year-old boy with a rare disease called desmoid fibromatosis was made king of his domain this week.
The back yard of his house in a small N.H. town called Epping now includes a castle.
For some five years, David Morasco has been fighting the disease, which causes abdominal tumors that can grow into and even destroy adjacent tissue, organs and bones, and are often treated with chemotherapy.
The Make-A-Wish Foundation of New Hampshire made his day — and possibly his life — when it pulled out all the stops to create this impressive and possibly impenetrable gift.
As it turns out, the project happened to be the foundation’s 1,000th wish granted to a N.H. kid. Not bad.
“It’s mind-blowing,” the 7th grader was quoted as saying. “It’s more than I could have imagined.”
The 24 foot by 24 foot formidable fortress, which took several months to build, has many of the features you’d want your real or fantasy castle to include: heavy double doors; crenelations, or battlements, at the top of a curtain wall (made of wood); four towers; staircases; a courtyard; two rooms; and a great hall. A catwalk behind the merlons winds around the structure. It’s even made of stone (stone facing, anyway).
The unveiling was a big enough deal to attract N.H. Gov. John Lynch, who showed up, took a tour and stayed around for castle-shaped cake. (Coincidentally, young Morasco lived in the town adjacent to where I grew up, Lee.)
“The anticipation of all this when he’s been through the dark periods, this is just something that’s really raised his spirits so much,” said David’s father, Mike Morasco.
As for King David, he told the TV cameras, “I’ve already started planning wars and parties and stuff.”
Go David. And get out there and slay that dragon.