I wanted to share a podcast of me reading from my manuscript thesis (tentatively titled La Violencia) available at Hot Metal Bridge (the University of Pittsburgh’s graduate literary journal). I apologize for the podcast editor’s crummy job (she accidentally overlaid some audio during the introduction); she should be reprimanded—or flogged. People take these things seriously [...]

Got my orders on Friday. Gave some blood, took a urine sample, let them put monitors on my heart and x-ray my chest for a while that afternoon. Filled out paperwork. Told them I was Catholic in case a priest needed to be called. Spent yesterday driving around with parents and hanging out with old [...]

At the reading I gave last Thursday, I read a short piece on how people on my mother’s side of the family can’t sing. My father on the other hand, had a wonderful singing voice, and my mom boasted of this despite my father’s permanent absence from all Colombian vacations. Vernally fatherless, I had to [...]

The reading went well on Thursday. Six of my students showed up. Yesterday I walked in to class without a lesson plan. We just talked about the assignment and about what makes good writing. I had them come up with a list as the class. I thought I’d post it here and share with everyone. [...]

I am reading a the Fuel & Fuddle tonight. Selections from the manuscript in progress. If you’re in Pittsburgh and you’ve got nothing to do in two hours, come on out. I’m reading with Sam MacDonald (who happens to be hilarious). My manuscript, for those of you that don’t know, is a family’s narratives of [...]

I’ve been meeting all sorts of people these days. But, I’ll explain. Last Saturday (October 27) I went to a Pitt in Hollywood event, where Greg Nictoero talked about creating monsters and severed heads and Fat Bastard for over 650 movies. My old professor, Carl Kurlander, put together the whole event. So I figured that [...]

Ed Mabrey was in Pittsburgh last night. I sent emails to most everyone I knew, begging them to tell people. I really wanted Ed to have a packed house. Nine of my students showed up. I offered extra credit. Before I know it, Ed is on stage talking about how he’s not erotic, and I [...]

On Monday, George Saunders came to Pitt. I went to a Q&A session after lunch, asked him about what it was like to transition from fiction to nonfiction. He answered that he felt as though he was holding back the punches in nonfiction. The people were real, so it wasn’t so easy to be biting [...]