Catching up with Peauxdunque: News on Zach, Maurice, Cassie, Nordette, and Tad, plus Words for Terri Sue

Posted on August 11, 2016 by tadbartlett

It’s been far too long since we last updated with goings-on in the land of Peauxdunque, and it’s been a long, busy summer. Even though I’m sure to leave something off, here’s at least a sample of all the news from our corner of Writer-Land:

Zach Bartlett’s book, Northern Dandy, has been released, and an official release party will be held on August 16, at Mimi’s in the Marigny (2601 Royal Street, New Orleans). Northern Dandy collects Zach’s humorous short prose and verse, originally performed with the popular reading series Esoterotica in New Orleans and his one-man stage show as part of 2015’s FringePVD in Rhode Island. His body of bawdy work ranges from multiple-choice misadventures and passive-aggressive etiquette advice to frisky formal poetry experiments, all undertaken with tongue firmly in cheek. Find out more about the release party here.

Maurice Carlos Ruffin has been busy this summer polishing his novel-in-progress. He also attended the VONA Workshop as a fellow in June, and is currently in Vermont on a “waiter-ship” at the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference. Also, Maurice was invited to read his piece, “Grandma’s Books,” at the Bring Your Own storytelling series, which was captured and broadcast by WWNO. Finally, Maurice’s craft piece, “Stanislavski in the Ghetto,” about inhabiting characters and modulating dialect, was published by AGNI.

Cassie Pruyn, always busy with her Bayou St. John historical documentation series over at NolaVie, has also had a few more poems published. CutBank recently published three of Cassie’s poems, “Talk,” “The Week Before Christmas,” and “The Last Time I Saw Her.” Beautiful work, which you must go read.

Nordette Adams has also been busy on the poetry front, with her incredibly moving poem, “digital anthropologists find our hashtags,” published by Rattle. Written in the immediate wake of the shootings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castille, Nordette’s poem captures the sorrow and the struggle against resignation that this never-ending tragedy cycle engenders.

Tad Bartlett‘s novella, Marchers’ Season, was the subject of an interview by Susan Larson on WWNO’s The Reading Life. Also, Tad’s short story, “Riding in Cars at Night,” has been picked up by Eunoia Review, and is slated to run in late August. Keep an eye on our Facebook page for a link when it goes live.

Finally, as many of you know, founding Peauxdunquian Terri Sue Shrum has been diagnosed with stage-4 pancreatic cancer. She is undergoing treatment at the Winship Cancer Institute at Emory University in Atlanta, and we are running a GoFundMe effort to help Terri cover her extensive out-of-pocket treatment-related expenses; there are a number of our writing friends who have donated signed copies of books as donation incentives, and we encourage you to go check it out (and then go back again as many times as you can–we’re closing in on $8,000 raised for Terri). Also, on August 30, 2016 (7-9 p.m.), we are hosting “Words for Terri Sue,” a benefit reading at the 3 Keys at the Ace Hotel, featuring readings by M.O. Walsh, Bill Loehfelm, Kelly Harris-DeBerry, Nick Mainieri, Gian Francisco Smith, and Maurice Carlos Ruffin. Admission will be free, but donations will be accepted at all amounts, with a minimum suggested donation of $10. More details will be posted soon!

A Peaux/Real World!

Posted on November 10, 2015 by tadbartlett

The New Orleans Fringe Fest has grown and evolved into the Faux/Real Festival, two and a half weeks of theater, music, dance, art, and writings on the edge. And this year they have given over their writers’ space, the Faux/Real Cafe, to the Peauxdunque Writers Alliance, on Wednesday night, November 11, from 6:30 to 9:30.

What happens when eight writers leave their personal podunks and come to New Orleans and start getting fo’ real? Come to the Faux/Real Cafe to find out! Maurice Carlos Ruffin, Cassie Pruyn, Zach Bartlett, Terri Shrum, Andrew Kooy, Emilie Staat, Tad Bartlett, and Caroline Goetze take the stage at 6:30 (along with a special spectral appearance by Susan Kagan), and the verbal slings and arrows don’t stop flying until 9:30. Cafe Faux/Real is a venue set up just for the Faux/Real Festival, where coffee and drinks and books will be for sale while the readings go. THIS READING IS FREE, though all Faux/Real events can be attended with a Faux/Real Button ($5 gets you an awesome collectors’ button that also happens to get you into more than two weeks of premier art out beyond the boundaries).

See you there! (At 2161 N. Rampart)

Peauxdunque with Literati Glitterati

Posted on October 27, 2015 by tadbartlett

This week is filled with events where Peauxdunquians read with, mingle with, and interview some of the leading lights of literature.

The events start tonight at Garden District Book Shop, as Maurice Carlos Ruffin and Emilie Staat read from their contributions to the Scars anthology, joined by editor Erin Wood. The anthology is newly released by Et Alia Press. Maurice, Emilie, and Erin will be reading from 5:30 to 6:30, at 2727 Prytania Street.

On Thursday, October 29, Peauxdunque leads a reading of new works at the Words & Music Conference at the Hotel Monteleone (200-block of Royal Street) at 4:45 p.m. Maurice will be joined by Terri Shrum, Tad Bartlett, J.Ed. Marston, and Zach Bartlett, who are on the bill with 2015 Kirkus Award nominee Harrison Scott Key, writer and documentarian Ellen Ann Fentress, and Faulkner-Wisdom competition gold medalist Emily Capdeville and short-lister Alex Johnson. The reading will take place in Royal Suites C & D.

On Saturday, October 31, the events head up to the Louisiana Book Festival on the state capitol grounds in Baton Rouge. At 11 a.m. in the House Chamber, Maurice Carlos Ruffin will moderate a presentation by 2015 National Book Award Long-Lister T. Geronimo Johnson, and his book, Welcome to Braggsville. At 1:15 p.m. in Senate Committee Room A, Emilie Staat will interview 2015 Booklist Top-Ten (and New York Times Best-Seller) author M.O. Walsh regarding his book, My Sunshine Away. At 2:15 in the same room, Emilie will interview Jami Attenberg, author of Saint Mazie: A Novel.

A great week and weekend for writing and for books. Come join us!

Peauxdunque coming soon to a library near you

Posted on July 8, 2015 by tadbartlett

Two library events coming up featuring Peauxdunquers.

Photo credit: Kiki Whang

The first is this Thursday, July 9, from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the East Jefferson main branch at 4747 West Napoleon, and will feature readings by Maurice Carlos Ruffin and Emilie Staat. In addition to reading from recent work, Maurice and Emilie will discuss writing, how to get involved in local writing groups, and how to get involved in writing contests.

The second is at the Rosa Keller branch of the New Orleans Public Library at 4300 South Broad Street on Thursday, July 23, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Titled “Our Own Private Peauxdunque,” the event will feature readings by Maurice, Terri S. Shrum, and Tad Bartlett. It’s being billed by the library as a 21-and-older event, and wine will be served up with the words.

Maurice, Tad, and Terri, at the final Summit dinner

Two more Peauxdunque publications!

Posted on June 8, 2015 by tadbartlett

Two new publications from Peauxdunque are forthcoming! Terri S. Shrum has a tense and beautiful story titled “Dry Dirt with Every Step,” which will come out in the second issue of The Frank Martin Review. Tad Bartlett‘s superhero counter-narrative, “Superpowerless,” will be published by The Subtopian. Keep an eye out, and as always, we’ll keep you updated on future Peauxdunque publications and readings.

Also, scroll down the sidebar on our main page to see a list of all the journals and reviews and websites where Peauxdunquians publish, and take a moment to like and follow those places on social media.

Peauxdunquians reading at Words and Music

Posted on November 18, 2014 by tadbartlett

On Thursday this week, November 20, the annual Words & Music Conference kicks off at the Hotel Monteleone in New Orleans, featuring a number of award-winning writers, as well as a strong cast of editors and agents. Also, at the 3:45 session on Thursday, several Peauxdunque writers have been selected to join in a reading of new works.

Amy Conner, author of the new novel, The Right Thing, will be mistress of ceremonies for the event. Among those invited to read are Maurice Carlos Ruffin, winner of the Faulkner Society’s 2014 gold medal for Novel-in-Progress for All of the Lights, Kay Sloan, the 2014 winner of the Novella gold medal for Give Me You, and the winner of the Short Story gold medal, N. West Moss, for Omeer’s Mangoes, who was also a runner-up in the Novel-in-Progress category, who will be reading excerpts from their winning work. Others invited to read are Terri Stoor, a previous short story gold medal winner, and Andy Young, a previous gold medal winner for poetry, who has a spectacular new collection out, All Day It Is Morning. Competition finalists Tad Bartlett, J. Ed Marston, and Emily Choate, will also be reading, along with Mary Helen Lagasse, prizewinning author of The Fifth Sun, who will read from her new book, Navel of the Moon, scheduled for 2015 release. Event is included in writers and sponsors packages. There will be a cash bar.

The Writing Process Blog Tour: Terri Shrum

Posted on September 16, 2014 by tadbartlett

And now for Terri Stoor‘s refreshing take on the four questions of the Writing Process Blog Tour:

What am I working on right now?

I’m working on a novel that is kicking my ass. I continually question whether or not this is what I should be writing now, whether it’s worth writing, and whether I’m the person to write it. I’m also inadvertently working on a collection of short stories that surprised me. If I weren’t so stubborn, with the novel, I’d probably give up and try to write something else, but what else is there?

How does the work differ from others in its genre?

Does it differ from others in its genre? I don’t know. I know that what I write is personal to and from me, so perhaps it differs simply by virtue of being mine.

Why do I write what I do?

I don’t think I have a choice. There’s a voice inside me that dictates what I write and how. I’m not a trained writer; I write the stories that come to me.

How does your writing process work?

I write on the page only when I absolutely have to, because I have a deadline or because a story is kicking the shit out of me to get into the world. I write in my head continually, no matter where I am or what I’m doing, but getting it onto the page is a struggle for me, perhaps because as long as it’s inside me, it’s perfect, and putting it on the page exposes all its flaws and shortcomings. When I do come to the page, I write stories all at once, beginning to end, no matter how long it takes. The few times I’ve done otherwise I’ve wound up with a horrific mess. The final story may not even resemble that first outpouring, but it has to begin that way for me.

Terri Stoor to be published in The Missouri Review

Posted on July 15, 2014 by tadbartlett

Founding Peauxdunquian Terri Stoor has learned that her short story, “Bellyful of Sparrow,” will be published in an upcoming issue of The Missouri Review! “Bellyful” previously was awarded the gold medal in the short story category of the William Faulkner-William Wisdom writing competition. TMR will be an excellent home for its publication!

Peauxdunque at Words and Music

Posted on November 22, 2013 by tadbartlett

The Pirate’s Alley Faulkner Society’s annual Words and Music conference will take place from December 4 through December 8, centered at the Hotel Monteleone in New Orleans. In just two weeks, a fantastic line-up of writers and scholars will convene with top agents and editors to discuss writing, publishing, and this year’s conference theme, “Faith and the Search for Meaning as Inspiration for the Arts.”

At 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, December 4, six members of Peauxdunque have been invited to join in a reading of new works related to the conference theme. Terri Stoor, Emily Choate, Maurice Carlos Ruffin, J.Ed. Marston, Cassie Pruyn, and Tad Bartlett will present readings alongside award-winning poet and non-fiction author, Rodger Kamenetz, and the associate editors of the Double Dealer, Caroline Rash and Geoff Munsterman. The readings will be at the Presbytere, at the corner of St. Ann and Chartres. A cash bar and complimentary cocktail snacks will be available, and a showing of Walker Percy, a new documentary film by Win Riley, will follow.

J.Ed., Terri, Tad, Emily, and Maurice will be reading during the Faulkner Society's annual Words and Music Conference on December 4, 2013.

J.Ed., Terri, Tad, Emily, Maurice, and Cassie (not pictured) will be reading during the Faulkner Society’s annual Words and Music Conference on December 4, 2013.