Our last meeting was held at the home of Kerry Pobanz. Present were June Saunders, Dan Sladich, Valerie Shimoyama, Jerry Chesnut, newcomer Marlo Watanabe, Bob and Karen Beebe and, of course, Kerry. It was great to have Marlo with us, a second gen, among us old-timers. She seemed to hold up well among us, not at all intimidated, and we hope she will continue to grace us with her presence.
After reading and commenting on a few quotations about writing by real writers (except for maybe one read by June, whom we all agreed, accomplished as we are, that he didn't know what he was talking about), we launched into an analysis and critique of Jerry's sort-of-autobiographical novel-in-progress. The reviews were quite positive, that he had made great progress in adding some dialogue and tightening up some sections, while retaining that distinctive Chesnutian prose which interweaves sometimes oblique cultural references, especially to Marlo, with life-shaping personal experiences.
We got so wrapped up in Jerry's piece that we never got to the second item on the agenda, Valerie's memoirs, which turned out to be all right with Valerie as her printer had stopped working and she had no copies to pass out anyway.
Thus, Valerie's work will be the main item of our next meeting's agenda, scheduled for this Sunday, March 30, 3:00-5:00 pm, at the Saunder's house (6 Emerson St., Clifton). Even as I write, Valerie is feverishly editing her piece and will be sending it to me tomorrow for subsequent distribution so that we may all be ready with our feedback for her on Sunday.
There are also reports that Paul Russell will be appearing with a new version of his review of the Book of Jonah. We hope as well that Dan Sladich will share with us a few of his poems.
Look forward to seeing all of you this Sunday.
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