Pen on Fire Salon with Aimee Bender and Michael Jaime-Becerra

The Pen on Fire Writers Salon features Barbara DeMarco-Barrett in conversation with Aimee Bender, author of The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake and Michael Jaime-Becerra, author of This Time Tomorrow.

Download audio.

(Event date: June 2010)

The view from behind the board

Dark and moody in the KUCI studio

For my hour in the studio, I turn off the fluorescent overhead, and dim the lights. It's dark, moody, like a bar, only it's not like a bar at all because I'm the only one there--unless my co-host Marrie Stone is there, too--and there's no alcohol, no drunks, and no noise. I wear headphones, and I do my own engineering, so no, it's not like a bar at all. But like a bar, the darkness is comforting, and sitting in the studio, on the phone with an author whose book I liked a lot--or better yet, loved--well, it's one of the best places to be.

Robert Sabbag and Ander Monson

Barbara DeMarco-Barrett interviews Robert Sabbag, author of Down Around Midnight: A Memoir of Crash and Survival and Ander Monson, author of Vanishing Point: Not a Memoir.

Download audio.

(Broadcast Date: May 19, 2010)

An earlier, incomplete version of this show was posted in 2010.

Mira Bartok and Maira Kalman on Writers on Writing

Barbara DeMarco-Barrett interviews Mira Bartok, author of The Memory Palace and Maira Kalman, author/illustrator of In Pursuit of Happiness.

Download audio.

(Broadcast date: March 16, 2011)

Catherine Friend and Caitlin Kelly on Writers on Writing

Barbara DeMarco-Barrett interviews Catherine Friend, author of Sheepish: Two Women, Fifty Sheep & Enough Wool to Save the Planet, and Caitlin Kelly, author of Malled: My Untentional Career in Retail.

Download audio.

(Broadcast date: May 11, 2011)

The Pen on Fire Salon writeup in OC Family

Marcie wrote about last week's salon on the OC Family blog. Here you go: click here.

A Jennifer Egan interview

Great stuff here. Read on!

An Evening with fiction writers Katie Arnoldi and Marisa Matarazzo

Last night was another wonderful night at the spectacular SCAPE Gallery in Corona del Mar. The evening renewed my belief that Orange County does indeed want, and need, literary events like this one. We had a full house for these two authors, whom I admire in so many ways. Take a look:

















Find more on Katie Arnoldi here and more on Marisa Matarazzo here. If you were in attendance, feel free to post comments below. What did you get out of the evening?






Thanks to Allison Johnson and Travis Barrett for photography.

My friend, the author, Susan Straight sent this to me. Please read:

May 11, 2011

To: Students in the Creative Writing Department, and all UC Students, Their Families and Faculty

From: Professor Susan Straight

I’ve never written a letter to all the students in our department, or to families and faculty, but this is a critical time for us. In my 23 years of teaching at UCRiverside, I have never felt our educational future so threatened.

The cuts in our state budget will deeply affect classes not only in the Creative Writing Department, but in all departments and on all campuses, this fall. The cuts will affect your education (and my ability to teach you in the way that I know is best) and cannot be accepted.

As a state, California is funding developers, financial institutions, private and public corporations, but it is forcing deep cuts onto the premier public university system in the United States. Money is being taken away from the young people and graduate students of all ages who will keep California alive in the coming years. You, the UC students, along with your fellow students in the Cal State University system and the California Community College system, will be the scientists and researchers who invent and test new technologies for everything from computers to crops; you will become the teachers who pass on knowledge necessary for survival; you will become the doctors, dentists, nurses, pharmacists who will navigate complicated health care futures; and you will become the businesspeople, artists, and yes, the writers the state needs.

In contrast to recent news stories about corruption in government at many levels, what we do here on our ten campuses has been extremely positive for this state. We are truly the future of this large economy. My former students teach people all over the world; they work for magazines and publishers, write books, and work as doctors, lawyers, dentists, ad writers, geologists, entomologists, and research scientists.

But this budget will strip us of faculty, lecturers, TAs, and staff. This means we cannot offer enough classes this fall to ensure that incoming students will likely graduate in four years. (Many of you are already forced to take a fifth year because UC course offerings have been reduced.) It also means that courses which used to have 15 students, and which currently have 30 students, will have 75 students in the fall. Other courses will have 200 students. (In other departments, courses have up to 800 students and more!)

I will go so far as to call it unethical to enroll freshmen students who will not be able to enroll in classes they will need; I will also call unethical the degradation of your education if you are forced to sit in overcrowded classes and not get the individual attention you need from your professors. I love teaching here. I love my students, as many of you know, and everywhere I speak I tell audiences that my students at UCR are the finest in the nation, that you tell stories and write poems and craft essays no other writers in America can. My fellow faculty will attest that you are better than many undergraduate students at Ivy League and private colleges. I’m not flattering you. I’m being truthful. So I want you to write to your Chancellor Timothy White, and your UC President Mark Yudof, and to your state legislators, and let them know how you feel about these cuts, and your education. I want you to pass this letter on to your parents, grandparents, spouses and families, and have them write letters as well, because they are helping you pay for this education, and you deserve better.

You and your families worked hard for years so you could be here. Write your story, tell us what you did before you got here, what your parents did, and what you plan to do with your life with your degree – whatever your major, whatever your career, whether you’ve just arrived or are in graduate school or are working. If you’re in high school and plan to attend a UC, write about your plans. If you’re graduated, let us know what you do.

Professor Michael Jayme suggested this to me, when I felt despair about this budget, and he is a perfect example of our campus excellence. He was my student, many years ago, and now he dedicates most hours of his week to writing comments on your work. We cannot do that if classes are cut and if others are forced to huge enrollments, and if we lose you because of tuition out of reach for most families.

We want to hear your voices. Don’t be silent. Write to your legislators, post on Facebook, write for newspapers, write your stories.

Sincerely,

Professor Susan Straight

UC President Mark Yudof: president@ucop.edu
UCR Chancellor Timothy White: timothy.white@ucr.edu
Senator Bob Dutton: senator.dutton@senator.ca.gov
Rep. Brian Nestande: assemblymember.nestande@assembly.ca.gov
Rep. Jeff Miller: Assemblymember.Miller@assembly.ca.gov
Gov. Jerry Brown: governor.brown@governor.ca.gov

Postscript - Below is a letter sent to faculty by The President of the University of California, Mark Yudof. I agree with him – we need to be sure your voices, and the voices of your families, are heard.


Dear Colleagues,
 
We are at a crucial juncture for the University of California. As you know, the proposed state budget calls for a $500 million cut in university support next year — a cut that will significantly impact our academic and research mission, and our service to the people of California.
 
And there is a real possibility that UC could see an even bigger cut in state funding if California closes the entire $26.6 billion state deficit through budget cuts. 
 
An all-cuts budget would be devastating to the university and the students and communities we serve, and put at risk our faculty’s research, a critical driver of future jobs and wealth in California. With so much at stake, I wanted to take a moment to share with you some of our recent efforts to advocate for UC.
 
First, we are telling lawmakers and the people of California that higher education cannot and should not bear an additional burden under an all-cuts budget. Education is simply too important to the future of our state to face further disinvestment. You can view a legislative presentation from Patrick Lenz, vice president of budget and capital resources, here. 

Next, UC and its supporters are making themselves heard in Sacramento and around the state. Since February, thousands of UC supporters have written the governor and lawmakers on UC’s behalf. We also have been a constant presence at the Capitol: On UC Day in March, hundreds of alumni joined us in Sacramento for an event highlighting the university’s contributions to the state and its people. In April, students and campus leaders from UC, CSU and the community colleges met with lawmakers to talk about the importance of affordable, accessible education. And over the next few weeks, I and other UC leaders will be attending Senate Budget Committee hearings to give testimony about the short and long-term consequences of cuts to higher education.
 
Our advocacy is not limited to Sacramento, however. We have been reaching out to the state’s business community, building awareness and support for the vital role UC plays in California’s economy. We are also taking our case directly to the public. In our Stand Up for UC campaign , supporters are using Facebook to post videos and comments about why UC matters to them and their communities. Robert Reich, labor secretary under President Clinton and a professor of public policy at UC Berkeley, is particularly eloquent in describing UC’s important role in creating opportunity and upward mobility for students who come from modest means. You can see his video here. 

If you share my passion for the university, if you agree that it represents California’s truest and best idea of itself, please consider joining our advocacy efforts. Send a letter or call your legislators; sign up to become a UC advocate or connect to your campus advocacy network. If you use social media, visit the Stand Up for UC page on Facebook and post a comment or video.
 
Your active participation can help protect this great institution, and this great state. 
 
With best wishes, I am, 
 
Sincerely yours,
 
 
Mark G. Yudof
President
_______________________________________________

KUCI Fund Drive is on

Our fund drive started last week and goes through the weekend. It's how we keep the lights on, basically. The university does little to support KUCI and we're dependent upon tax-deductible donations. Marrie and I are volunteers, and have been as long as the show's been running.

I want to thank the following people for calling in a pledge or sending a check, in the name of "Writers on Writing":

T. Jefferson Parker
Susan Straight
Debbie Gaal
Allison Johnson
Nicole Nelson
Lynn Gibson
Charlie Leister
Adele Peters
Sonia Marsh
Sue Zarrinkelk
Mary Camarillo

If you'd like to donate, you can do so online at www.kuci.org. Follow the links to the Fund Drive and please indicate that you listen to the show. And if you do, let me know so I can list you here.

Again, thanks for your support.

Sarah Porter and Gayle Forman

Marrie Stone interviews Sarah Porter, author of Lost Voices, and Gayle Forman, author of Where She Went.

Download audio.

(Broadcast date: May 4, 2011)

Joshua Kendall and Darin Strauss

Marrie Stone interviews Joshua Kendall, author of The Forgotten Founding Father: Noah Webster's Obsession and the Creation of an American Culture, and Darin Strauss, author of Half a Life.

Download audio.

(Broadcast date: Apr 27, 2011)

Olga Grushin and Stewart O'Nan

Marrie Stone interviews Olga Grushin, author of The Line, and Stewart O'Nan, author of Emily, Alone.

Download audio.

(Broadcast date: Apr 13, 2011)

Victor Infante and Kim Dower: Poetry Month

Barbara DeMarco-Barrett interviews Victor Infante, author of City of Insomnia, and Kim Dower, author of Air Kissing on Mars.

Download audio.

(Broadcast date: April 20, 2011)

This Morning's Show

Greetings!

Join co-host Marrie Stone as she talks with biographer Joshua Kendall, author of "The Forgotten Founding Father: Noah Webster's Obsession and the Creation of an American Culture" and novelist and memoirist Darin Strauss, author of "Half a Life."

Tune in this morning, April 27th, at 9:00 a.m. (PT) to KUCI, 88.9 FM in Irvine or listen online at www.kuci.org.

Thanks for listening!

An Evening with Katie Arnoldi and Marisa Matarazzo

Join us on Tuesday, May 17, when our authors will be Katie Arnoldi and Marisa Matarazzo.

Visit the Salon page for more info, and to register.

Amy Alkon and Tracy Ross

Marrie Stone interviews Amy Alkon, author of I See Rude People: One Woman's Battle to Beat Some Manners Into Impolite Society, and Tracy Ross, author of The Source of All Things: A Memoir.

Download audio.

(Broadcast date: Apr 6, 2011)

Ruta Sepetys and Alina Tugend

Marrie Stone interviews Ruta Sepetys, author of Between Shades of Gray, and Alina Tugend, author of Better by Mistake: The Unexpected Benefits of Being Wrong.

Download audio.

(Broadcast date: Mar 23, 2011)

Literary Orange 2011

On an upbeat, this coming Saturday is Literary Orange, an all day fest of writers, that will take place once again at UCI. It's cheap, you get a continental breaky, lunch, and afternoon refreshments, and it's fun. I'm moderating a fiction panel and Marrie Stone, my co-host on Writers on Writing, will moderate a memoir panel. Here's more info. (Today online registration ends.) Hope to see you there.

Back from the funeral: Sam DeMarco 1946 - 2011

Back from a long five days in Pennsylvania at my brother's service and visiting with family. Difficult for a couple of reasons. When you have a complicated history with a sibling, some might imagine it's easy to see that sibling off. It's anything but. I loved my brother. We shared so many good times, and although we were born many years apart, we shared a history. The difficulties we encountered don't take away from the love, and that makes it complicated, esp. for family who knew what we went through. Friends have been the most understanding, and for that I'm grateful. My brother was cremated. The box on the table is my brother. The cemetary you see here is in Lansdale, PA, where my mother and the relatives are buried.