I was only a little let down when the pilot played Enya over the comm as we lifted off for this chopper pass of Juneau because, after all, i was in the cockpit of an AStar-B2 and we were batting the air over Southeastern Alaska. I was riding shotgun. Z was in the back with Lou, who was shooting.
If i’d had my druthers, i’d have chosen this section of live audio of Jerry and the boys from MSG in September of 1991 so i threw this together quick-like in QTPro as a meager, self-indulgent attempt at redemption – special thanks to
http://vimeo.com/tweeprise
If we still lived in Juneau, this is where we’d still be parking our Subaru wagon.
Last week, the Soobi would have been buried under this:
Zach Falcon, 37, of Iowa City, earned the recognition for his story “The Malamute.” The honor came from the United Kingdom’s Bridport Prize, which will be announced today. The Press-Citizen received an embargoed copy of the announcement and originally posted it (this version has been edited for clarity):
“I was delighted. I know writers sometimes make too much of it being a lonely and solitary endeavor, so I don’t want to complain about it. Any sort of recognition is exciting,” Falcon said in a telephone interview.
The annual competition recognizes top submissions for stories and poetry. The contest is open internationally and received over 14,000 entries from more than 75 countries.
Falcon, who was born and raised in Alaska, is a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, as well as the University of Michigan law school and Columbia University. After college, he returned to live in Alaska until he came to Iowa City to attend the Writers’ Workshop in 2007.
He graduated in May and stuck around to finish a collection of short stories and to work on a novel, he said.
“The Malamute” is set in his hometown of Kodiak, Alaska. The story explores the trials and tribulations of a small-town community.
“I was frankly surprised (the judge) selected it,” Falcon said. “It is a fairly grim story. It doesn’t have a lot of humor or levity. The (criterion) asked for something a little more lighthearted. I sent it anyway, and I am delighted she selected it.”
“The Malamute” will go into an anthology with the other winners, Falcon said. Falcon was pleased that the voice of an American, and more specifically an Alaskan, is being recognized in an international competition, he said.
“It’s a major award,” the local man said (no he didn’t)
Some comments from competition judge Ali Smith were included in press material about the prize.
“All good writing is about economy, edit, rhythm and precision; the short story form demonstrates this to the other literary forms. An end, when it comes, should always send you back to the beginning, because a good story, like any real art, demands revisitation. A good short story is lifelong,” Smith wrote.
Cheers to Randy Crow
Pollee and I are giddy to have scored tickets for us and some of our pals to attend the Dirty Projectors show @ The Cedar in November, tee-hee.
Their video for Stillness is the Move looks as if it was shot in AK among the muskeg:
Pollee and I lived in Alaska for five years, in Juneau, and have heard tales of this mysterious-ness deep within the interior of the state.
November will come fast and we’ll be excited to see this *new format* of film, The Fourth Kind:
Thanks, Nate, for turning me onto this.
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Our pals have at last found a home for themselves in our old neighborhood of Juneau, Alaska.
Jorden and Bret close on this sweet pad on the 14th.
Congratulations!
Our pals, Sean and Becky Janes, gave Andy Summers and his son the tour of Southeast recently via their outfit Above and Beyond Alaska. That’s Sean on the right in the picture below.
Highly recommended if you’re thinking about making it out to the Last Frontier – but of course, we’re biased:
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