So I haven't really blogged about this yet, but I recently kicked a whole lot of butt in my fiction writing endeavors. Two of my submissions for Drake University's "Periphery" journal were not only published, but THEY WON AWARDS TOO.

Huh? No... no I'm not getting a check... be quiet, okay?! This is the type of reward that comes with a warm, fuzzy feel and the knowledge that I can actually write worth crap. What I REALLY won were two very wonderful blurbs from people who actually know what they're talking about — I'm going to reproduce them here, and it's going to seem like my ego is similar to Tiger Woods' pre-Thanksgiving 2009, but I don't care. This is MY Web site. I can write all the nice stuff about me that I want, and if you don't like it, feel free to click out (although please, please don't leave me!)

The first blurb was from Johnathon Williams, a founding editor of Linebreak.org, a weekly magazine of original poetry, and an MFA candidate in the Creative Writing program at the University of Arkansas. He was writing about my poem, "Alive."

"Here I admire the poet's effort to tie the timeless to the temporary, the grand to the small. 'Now is the time of memories' is a bold, provocative opening line, the reach of which is made accessible by the many specifics that follow, such as the dandelions growing in the cracked sidewalk. Such juxtapositions are one of the many things that poetry does well, and here the technique is used with aplomb."

APLOMB! If I saw that word out of context, I would probably think it was a pokemon, but here it practically makes me jump off my feet and start fist pumping the air.

The other blurb was written about my short story, "The Wolfhound," by Andrew Porter, the author of the short story collection "The Theory of Light and Matter" as well as other awards I don't feel like typing out.

"From the opening paragraph of Matt Nelson's "The Wolfhound" I could tell I was in the hands of a natural storyteller. There's a certain confidence and honest in the narrative voice that immediately drew me in and made me care about his characters. Even more impressive, however, was the way Nelson subtly developed the conflict beneath the surface of the story, raising questions about the past, while at the same time keeping the reader firmly grounded in the present. A psychologically complex and emotionally powerful piece. If this story is any indication, I think Mr. Nelson has a very bright future ahead of him."

Not just any future, you notice. A very bright one. Not bad for a physics major, huh?

I shot off an e-mail to Mr. Porter and Mr. Williams, thanking them for their awards. Mr. Porter responded, and it turns out he's coming to Drake. TONIGHT. For a visit. And I get to meet him. In person. Better than Facebook.

I've been opening and closing doors all day, the most annoying nervous habit ever. I'm pretty sure the refrigerator has lost it's chill, and I'm probably driving my roommates crazy. The thing is, I've NEVER had someone other than a parent, school teacher or friend tell me my writing was any better than anyone else's. Any person who has ever read my work met me before they read it, never the other way around. That's why I was so pumped that he had such good things to say — there were no first impressions, no communication, nothing. It was just the writing he saw, and that's really what's most important.
 


Comments

Loni Wolf
04/29/2010 01:11

Hi Matt- found out about your blog when I went on my nephew Greg's FB page. You are an excellent writer. I particularly enjoyed the Brokaw inspired Greatest Generation series that you did in Hibbing. I've published several articles in my professional life, but never was a writer by trade. You do have a natural way of allowing a story
" spill" itself out-almost as if you were narrating instead of writing it. That's a fine distinction, but an important one. The mark of someone who really has something special to say & a unique style of delivering it. I can't say that your writing style reminds me of anyone-which is really good because an original voice is so rare. Best of luck in whatever path you choose to go & in meeting the "hot babe" from MA. or ME or MO or where ever. Thanks Loni Wolf

Reply
Matt Nelson link
04/29/2010 06:42

Loni --

Thanks for kind words. The Greatest Generation series was one of the most inspiring things I've ever done. I still occasionally get comments on it, three years after the fact. I have to credit that experience to the veterans who allowed me to tell their stories, as well as the Hibbing Daily Tribune for giving me unprecedented freedom to work with to write them. Someday I really hope to do it again — hopefully soon, seeing as hundreds of WWII vets are dying every day. There are so many stories out there, just waiting to be found and told.

Glad you enjoy this little blog I've got going!

Reply



Leave a Reply