The Pleasure, Practice and Purpose of Writing Micro-Memoir Featuring Beth Ann Fennelly

Beth Ann Fennelly, Poet Laureate of Mississippi from 2016-2021, teaches in the MFA Program at the University of Mississippi where she is a four-time teaching award winner. She’s received grants from the N.E.A., the United States Artists, the Academy of American Poets, and a Fulbright to Brazil. Her work has won a Pushcart Prize and three times been included in The Best American Poetry Series. Fennelly has published three poetry books: Open House, Tender Hooks, and Unmentionables, and a book of nonfiction, Great with Child, all published with W. W. Norton. A novel she co-authored with her husband, Tom Franklin, called The Tilted World, was published by HarperCollins. Her sixth book, Heating & Cooling: 52 Micro-Memoirs (W. W. Norton), was named an Atlanta Journal Constitution Best Book, a Goodreaders Favorite for 2017, and the winner of the Housatonic Book Prize. Fennelly and Franklin live in Oxford with their three children.
In this episode:
Beth Ann's writing journey [5:29]
Coining the concept of micro memoir [8:00]
Taking personal anecdotes and making them resonate [8:37]
The evolution of how Beth Ann structured her book [9:00]
Crafting through lines with purpose [15:28]
The art of collaborating with a partner on a novel and how Beth Ann made it work [15:28]
Why you can’t ignore the concept of fun when it comes to writing [19:43]
Why transitions need to be addressed carefully [24:42]
Establishing an effective writing practice [28:00]
Connect with Beth Ann Fennelly
Website: www.bethannfen...
Facebook: / bethann.fennelly.9
Instagram: / bethannfennelly
Listen to her TedX Talk
How Literature Can Help Us Develop Empathy
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The Proper Time to Eat
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Heating & Cooling: 52 Micro-Memoirs and The Tilted World on Estelle’s Bookshop
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Estelle’s New York Times Essay Singing My Dad Back to Me
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Episodes Referenced Here
Joanna Rakoff
Episode #87 Writing Memoir That Reads Like a Novel and Captivates on Every Page
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Maggie Smith
Episode #81 The Art of Shaping a Compelling Story
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Ann Hood
Episode #95 The Catalysts and Craft for Charting and Plotting Novels estelleserasmu...
Episode #35 Flying High with Storyteller Ann Hood
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