AWP 2008 Begins

I sidled up to the AWP registration desk in the Hilton at 11:35 am and was told folks couldn't give out any passes till noon. People milled in the ever-filling lobby, hearing the same line from AWP's workers.

After nabbing my badge, I headed into the book fair to find Fringe's table. The bookfair is HUGE this year, with three separate floors of booths. Fringe is on the 3rd floor, in Hall of the Americas II at table 429. The exhibition hall was empty, lonely. I can't wait to see what it will look like tomorrow when hordes of writers descend.

Can't wait to see you.

Karibu Books Shuts Its Doors

This Friday marks the beginning of Black History Month, but by mid-February 15-year-old Karibu Books—one of the leading African American bookstores in the country and one of the few remaining bookstores aimed at black readers—will shut its doors.

It’s unfortunately not an uncommon event in recent years; many specialty book retailers, including women’s and LGBT bookstores, have felt the brunt of big-box stores and have been competitively edged out of the market by online bookselling giants like Amazon. “Independent stores function as literary laboratories, and publishers rely on them to champion new and controversial work,” claims Alex Beckstead, the producer and director of Paperback Dreams, a documentary that chronicles the rise and fall of independent bookstores.

We know these stores; we love theses stores. So, I ask, “What’s your favorite independent bookstore . . . and, when’s the last time you’ve been?”

Babes for Breastfeeding

I learned about Babes for Breastfeeding (BfB) in my latest eagerly awaited Fit Pregnancy magazine. The basic premise of the non-profit is to bring together "celebrities, corporations, foundations, fashion and advertising to create a cultural acceptance and celebration of breastfeeding" to help new moms feel less guilty and embarrassed about breastfeeding. They also offer advice about how to be successful, prepared, and informed.

All of this sounds great, but in spite of myself, I became enraged when reading Kim Acosta's In the Spotlight article about the organization in Fit Pregnancy. Acosta says (citing the co-founder of BfB Bettina Forbes) "Lack of visible, positive role models and conflicting advice are two reasons many women don't success at breastfeeding." This comes right after the accusation that only 11% of women who gave birth in 2004 succeeded in breastfeeding exclusively until their infants were 6 months of age. "Women don't need more pressure and guilt," says co-founder of BfB Danielle Rigg, "they need to see people like themselves who incorporate nursing into their lives."

In my opinion, the issues surrounding overall breastfeeding success have much less to do with the lack of glamorous breastfeeding role models than they do with socio-economic factors, like whether or not the mother has to return to work full-time after her maternity leave. Or for that matter, whether she gets a maternity leave at all (there's still no nationally-mandated paid maternity leave in the U.S.). Perhaps she has to work two jobs. In cases like those, how can a mother exclusively breastfeed for the first 6 months of her baby's life?

Feminism is about having the power to choose. It is widely known that babies benefit from breastfeeding, but its just not an option for some families. I resent the guilt and pressure moms feel to breastfeed. I have seen many of my own friends relentlessly berate themselves because they cannot sustain breastfeeding.

Here's an idea: organizations like BfB should fight for longer, mandatory paid maternity leaves rather than spending their time recruiting celebrity nursers.

Countdown to AWP

We've got our fliers printed, our mystery freebie in hand, and of course, our Fringe T-shirts pressed and ironed. We're ready for AWP 2008.

This year the writing conference is at the New York City Hilton, with 7,000 passes sold, according to the conference website.

Can't make it? Bummed that it was sold out? Never fear -- Fringe's staff of crack writers will be live blogging the conference for your reading pleasure.

Alternately, you might try to make it to these off-site events. On Saturday, the book fair is free and open to the general public.

Read Fringe? Come by our table in the book fair and pick up colorful samples of Fringe work, submission guidelines, and shot glasses($5), or just shoot the breeze with a few of our editors. We may even extend the 25 Books deadline to allow passers-by to vote in our poll.

Anything is possible -- it's AWP. We hope to see you there.

Building my children's book library

As you all must know by now, I'm pregnant. My little boy is due at the end of April, and I find myself feeling both excited and scared about the prospect of being a mom. I spend the wee hours of the night tossing and turning, trying to find a comfortable position, and obsessing about how I am going to teach this child my values.

Well, the other night, I spent a good two hours (between 3 and 5 a.m.) thinking about the books my parents used to read me when I was little, and I decided to make a list of the ones I remembered the best. They were books that taught me about sharing, forgiveness, perseverance, humor and love. So here's my short list. (I didn't want to overwhelm you with all 2 hours of brainstorming)

• Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey (sharing, nature)
• Katy and the Big Snow by Virginia Lee Burton (patience and perseverance)
• The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein (love)
• Stone Soup by Marcia Brown (positive attitude)
• Strega Nona by Tomie dePaola (honesty and consequences)
• The Giant Jam Sandwich by John Vernon Lord (community and problem-solving)
• Wacky Wednesday by Dr Seuss (humor)

And now I am asking you to help me out. Which books contributed to your childhood memories? Why did you like them? I need some inspiration for my Amazon.com books-only baby registry.

Once: Best Musical Ever?

Matt's Movie Minutes for the Month of January

These minutes be a one-time thing, but it's award season, so here's my go at making ridiculous comments on films I've seen lately.

• Once: for fans of Irish indie band The Frames, this is your music music music answer to the talk talk talk of Before Sunrise. Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova. Maybe the best musical ever? (No votes for Dancer in the Dark, please.)
• No Country for Old Men: the obvious literary pick for best film of the year. Cormac and the Coens--a new band name? This is one two-hour long bad-ass chase scene. Best movie since last year's Children of Men.
• I am Legend: Butterflies? What? How did that woman drive in and out of Manhattan when the bridges had all been blown up? Nonsense.
• Enchanted: I said I would never see this one, but sometimes you have to listen to your woman. Good when it's making fun of itself. Bad when it's not. That's two musicals in the last month. I must be going soft. The ending here unravels what could have been a much better movie.
• American Gangster: Would have been better if they let Russell Crowe be more Gladiator, but Denzel pretty much makes up for it. It's like the charisma show. And who's got more of it than Denzel Washington?
• Me and You and Everyone We Know: the Miranda July film. Quirky, and just the right amount of talk about poop. Or maybe there should have been more? But I'm getting tired of the ensemble/see-how-all-the-characters-are-connected movies, even when this well-written. I'd rather read her fiction.
• Reign over Me: Why did I see this one? All it made me want to do was buy a motorized scooter. And see a better movie next time.

Seeing all these movies (and more actually, but I'm tired of typing now) is what happens when I'm in Korea with Cathreen and she works until 11 at night. Props to Laura van den Berg, winner of the Dzanc Prize and author of the forthcoming What the World Will Look Like When All the Water Leaves Us.

Free Documentaries: While the writers strike

In my unending quest to avoid TV, I've discovered a new diversion beyond clips and shows from ComedyCentral.com and AdultSwim.com -- a friend hipped me to FreeDocumentaries.org.

The site believes that documentaries can effect real world change, and hosts a bajillion excellent movies from the more famous (Born into Brothels, Supersize Me) to the obscure (We -- Arundhati Roy's Come September speech set to archival footage and electronic music).

The streaming video quality is pretty good, and scalable to your whole screen. Bored tonight? Give it a shot.