Moving Forward
Obviously, I've not posted here in a few months. At the end of last year, I started a re-evaluation of my work and time allotted to the various facets of my life.
One of those things is this: neoNuma Arts as a micropress has ceased operations, at least for 2010. I'm not saying it's gone forever, I'm not saying it's coming back. As something that basically broke even, I count it a success. However, life sometimes demands you make money (a demand I despise, but what are you gonna do?). I'd started to make a little dough on the side doing some freelance writing. This is not making me rich or buying me a new car, but it's better than breaking even. Life also sometimes demands that we sleep sometime. So between a full time day job, a micropress, and freelancing, something had to give. The micropress lost out. I remain disappointed by this, because I had a couple of things in the pipeline that I was really excited about, but I've encouraged the people behind those projects to shop them around elsewhere.
Meanwhile, the books published by neoNuma Arts continue to be in print and available at all the major websites that sell books. Links to all of them are at the end of the blog post.
This blog, in general, feels like it's lost its way. It was started to talk about my own work as a writer and performer, and as I got busier with other things, it became a blog about other people's work. Part of my 2010 goals is to do more of my own work---yes, in between the day job and freelancing, writing about other people's work. You can guess which is going to get short shrift. *sigh* But, hey, I did have a short story published in the literary mag, The Blotter, last January. A pdf of the magazine in which it appears is online here. My story starts on page 6. Hopefully, in the next couple of weeks, I'll write about a couple of other things, one I've done recently (a small thing, but the process was fun and want to reflect on it), another I'm doing this week. Watch this space for more.
Then, finally, I'm starting a third blog. It's up without content at this point, but I'll change that soon. It turns out arts organizations like to be written about even if it's on a blog that is read by tens of people. I occasionally get asked to write a review for my blog, but since I've been in this re-evaluation phase, I didn't know where or when I'd do it. Well, now there's Orts on Arts. What that space for my reviews and reflections on art I see.
And I guess that's the update and the plan, going forward. Oh, yes, there's still the religion blog, Crumbs at the Feast. That rounds out my irregular blogging life.
Below are the promised links to books published by neoNuma Arts. It's a small catalog, but truly worthy of your time and attention.
Able to..., a fiction anthology edited by yours truly, a collection of fantastical and magical realism stories wherein a character has an unnatural ability. Think super-powers without the super-heroics.
The Fatal Gift of Beauty and Other Plays by Christopher Ellis, a collection of short plays by the Chicago playwright and screenwriter. Beautiful, hard writing. If you are a theater person, check out these plays.
Necropolis by Jill Alexander Essbaum. Jill continues to burn up the poetry world. She's forever flying around, giving readings here and there. She has a poem in an upcoming (or is it out? not sure) Longman's anthology of poetry (so she's getting taught to college students) and she's in another upcoming anthology that is rather impressive, but I don't think is announced and hence I can't announce. But yeah. She's a superstar of poetry.
The Comic Flaw by Alan Berecka. Alan gives readings all over Texas and sometimes beyond. He usually sells lots of books after a reading. Take a chance on this one and see why. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll laugh some more. He's a serious poet with a serious sense of humor.
Nighthawks by Evan Guilford-Blake. Based upon the painting by Edward Hopper, Evan imagines the lives of the lonely people in that painting. It's really two plays, one taking place in the 1940s, the other in the 1980s. Theater people, take note of this one. It's a beautiful piece of drama, and has been produced in several major cities in the U.S.
One of those things is this: neoNuma Arts as a micropress has ceased operations, at least for 2010. I'm not saying it's gone forever, I'm not saying it's coming back. As something that basically broke even, I count it a success. However, life sometimes demands you make money (a demand I despise, but what are you gonna do?). I'd started to make a little dough on the side doing some freelance writing. This is not making me rich or buying me a new car, but it's better than breaking even. Life also sometimes demands that we sleep sometime. So between a full time day job, a micropress, and freelancing, something had to give. The micropress lost out. I remain disappointed by this, because I had a couple of things in the pipeline that I was really excited about, but I've encouraged the people behind those projects to shop them around elsewhere.
Meanwhile, the books published by neoNuma Arts continue to be in print and available at all the major websites that sell books. Links to all of them are at the end of the blog post.
This blog, in general, feels like it's lost its way. It was started to talk about my own work as a writer and performer, and as I got busier with other things, it became a blog about other people's work. Part of my 2010 goals is to do more of my own work---yes, in between the day job and freelancing, writing about other people's work. You can guess which is going to get short shrift. *sigh* But, hey, I did have a short story published in the literary mag, The Blotter, last January. A pdf of the magazine in which it appears is online here. My story starts on page 6. Hopefully, in the next couple of weeks, I'll write about a couple of other things, one I've done recently (a small thing, but the process was fun and want to reflect on it), another I'm doing this week. Watch this space for more.
Then, finally, I'm starting a third blog. It's up without content at this point, but I'll change that soon. It turns out arts organizations like to be written about even if it's on a blog that is read by tens of people. I occasionally get asked to write a review for my blog, but since I've been in this re-evaluation phase, I didn't know where or when I'd do it. Well, now there's Orts on Arts. What that space for my reviews and reflections on art I see.
And I guess that's the update and the plan, going forward. Oh, yes, there's still the religion blog, Crumbs at the Feast. That rounds out my irregular blogging life.
Below are the promised links to books published by neoNuma Arts. It's a small catalog, but truly worthy of your time and attention.
Able to..., a fiction anthology edited by yours truly, a collection of fantastical and magical realism stories wherein a character has an unnatural ability. Think super-powers without the super-heroics.
The Fatal Gift of Beauty and Other Plays by Christopher Ellis, a collection of short plays by the Chicago playwright and screenwriter. Beautiful, hard writing. If you are a theater person, check out these plays.
Necropolis by Jill Alexander Essbaum. Jill continues to burn up the poetry world. She's forever flying around, giving readings here and there. She has a poem in an upcoming (or is it out? not sure) Longman's anthology of poetry (so she's getting taught to college students) and she's in another upcoming anthology that is rather impressive, but I don't think is announced and hence I can't announce. But yeah. She's a superstar of poetry.
The Comic Flaw by Alan Berecka. Alan gives readings all over Texas and sometimes beyond. He usually sells lots of books after a reading. Take a chance on this one and see why. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll laugh some more. He's a serious poet with a serious sense of humor.
Nighthawks by Evan Guilford-Blake. Based upon the painting by Edward Hopper, Evan imagines the lives of the lonely people in that painting. It's really two plays, one taking place in the 1940s, the other in the 1980s. Theater people, take note of this one. It's a beautiful piece of drama, and has been produced in several major cities in the U.S.
posted by Neil Ellis Orts at 6:33 PM
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