Phil Klay‘s National Book Award-winning book Redeployment has won the 2015 Chautauqua Prize.
The prize includes a $7,500 award, as well as a week long summer residency at Chautauqua for himself and his wife. At the residency, Klay will host a public reading of his book and a book signing on Saturday July 25 at the Hall of Philosophy. “I’m thrilled to come to the original Chautauqua,” stated Klay. “I’m incredibly honored by this, and looking forward to meeting folks there.”
A veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, Klay explores the frontlines of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in this short story collection.
What an amazing book! This is a firm candidate for my book of the year already and it is beyond doubt the best collection of short stories I have ever read. I literally could not put this book down but at the same time wanted each story to last as long as possible. I went into total procrastination mode today before reading the final story because I was not prepared for this book to end but resistance was futile.
I first read the title story of this collection in last year’s Fire & Forget. It was one of the standout pieces in a standout collection. I knew at the time reading Fire & Forget that the contributors in the collection were destined for big things. And Phil Klay not only reaffirms that but announces himself in a massive way with his first book.
I have blogged a couple of times here that short stories are not usually my thing. Often there is a story I wish there was more of or a story that leaves me unsatisfied. But absolutely every story in Redeployment was spot on. This was writing as close to perfection as I have ever read and I want to read the book again right now.
I am a big reader of war fiction. They are stories I am drawn to, that seem to resonate with me more than any other fiction. What I loved about Phil Klay’s collection was that each story resonated in a different way. One of the unique aspects to Klay’s collection are the different points of view he conveys in his stories. It is impossible for me to highlight one story and I don’t wish to go through each story one by one because that would spoil the magnificent reading experience.
Klay covers stories about soldiers in action and soldiers coming home. Soldiers wounded in action and soldiers haunted by the fact they saw little or no action. We read about a Marine chaplain, a Marine in Mortuary Affairs, a Foreign Affairs officer sent to Iraq to help rebuild. And through all these stories Klay shows the war in all its messy permutations and consequences, the good and the bad, the humanity and the inhumanity. He even explores the art of telling these stories and the different ways stories can be used and told, hidden and untold.
Every story packs an emotional intensity not only rare in short stories but rare in longer fiction too. Imagine the emotional wallop of The Yellow Birds with the frank and brutal insight of Matterhorn distilled into a short story and you get close to the impact each of these stories makes on their own. Put together as a collection and you have something very special that will be read (and should be read) by many long into the future.
Buy the book here…
La Bloga hits a million!
Last night or early this morning, the counter at the bottom of this homepage reached 1,000,000. You, our readers, did that. In our 10th year, we're not only proud to say we endured, but also that we believe we produced some great things in that time. This week, other La Bloga contributors might add to this.
Please add your comments below or to the posts of La Bloga contributors throughout the week. And have a traguito on us.
NYRB's colorless list for U.S. kids
Of approximately 70 books that New York Review of Books listed in its most recent Children's Collection, none are by latinos. Maybe none with latino characters, even. Unfamiliar with the books, I can't assume that NYRB even thought a book about any minority group was worth mentioning.
What attitudes do U.S. Anglo children learn from a whitewashed list? How narrow can Anglo childen's tolerance be if, literally, nothing of minority lit is presented to them as being literary worthy? Should we be surprised if a list that omits half the darker Other population of U.S. children reinforces, not only privilege-mentality, but racism, for that matter? Maybe they should rename themselves--New York's Racially Biased. Or determine your own answer.
NYRB forces us to create our suggestions that will reach narrower audiences than theirs. Otherwise, White Americana uber alles, que no?
Throwing writers under the train!
Amtrack is offering 24 writer’s residencies consisting of one (1) round trip, a 2-5 day excursion on an Amtrak train to a destination of your choice, including private sleeper car, desk and window-view. Value: $900. Sounds great, huh?
BUT wait! Clause #6 of their rules requires writers who apply to assign irrevocable, World rights to their work, even writing samples submitted with the application. If you submit, be certain you want to give this away in exchange for a ride. Or you might end up like this photo. Read more about it.
Intensive workshop for aspiring spec writers
The 6-week, summer Odyssey Writing Workshop is one of the most highly respected workshops for writers of fantasy, science fiction, and horror in the world. April 8th is the deadline to apply for the workshop to be held at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire, June 9 – July 18, 2014.
"Challenge yourself and pack two years of learning into six weeks of intense work: Four-hour classes five days a week, an advanced curriculum, daily writing and critiquing assignments, weekly stories/chapters due, in-depth feedback on your work, personal guidance. Writers in residence will be Melanie Tem and Steve Rasnic Tem. Four scholarships and one work/study position are available. I don't know how many latinos have won these, but somebody out there deserves to. Read more about it.
MFA scholarship in Writing for Children & Young Adults?
The Angela Johnson Scholarship for New Students of Color or Ethnic Minority info is available at the Vermont College of Fine Arts for incoming students. That includes latinos.
Ah my little soldier boy. . . .
If you think you should encourage your kid to join the Army, check out a regular soldier's account of what your kid could face. Penguin Press just released Redeployment by Phil Klay. It's a collection of short stories about soldier life on the front lines and the home front. "Klay's alarming but eloquent short stories should be required reading for all of us — civilians and soldiers — as we grapple with the last decade of war."
To give you a taste of it, this is one of the lighter moments from the book: "We shot dogs. Not by accident." Beyond that, it becomes worse than imaginable. Something you should know. Read one chapter of it for free and decide if you would ever want your kid to experience this, whether he's latino or not. Or read more about the book.
What's wrong with the 300 movie?
Mucho. Demasiado mucho. The best analysis I've read is by spec author David Brin. Read how Hollywood got into the business of praising mercenary brutality over civilized Athenian society. It says more about our times, and army, than what the CGI portrayed as "heroes."
Hazing in our army? The Spartans invented it. A professional army to spread our control to other countries? The Spartans tried it and failed, like Iraq and Afghanistan are ending up. Distorting history was the only way to glamorize the Spartans. Read how it was done.
Feel a little shaky? Thank the fracking supporters.
From Dallas to San Antonio and beyond, if you like fracking, you may get rewarded with more earthquakes. "Texas has seen the number of recorded earthquakes increase tenfold since the drilling boom began several years ago. Studies have linked the quakes to oil and gas drilling activities."
Check what fracking's bringing to your neighborhood. It's not more jobs, except maybe for disaster clean-up. Allowing fracking is opening the way for this (sampling based only on one part of Texas):
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| Coming soon to your part of fracked Aztlán |
8 days ago 2.8 magnitude, 5 km depth, Victoria, Texas
18 days ago 2.8 magnitude, 5 km depth, Snyder, Texas
about a month ago 2.8 magnitude, 3 km depth, Snyder, Texas
about a month ago 2.6 magnitude, 5 km depth, Snyder, Texas
about a month ago 2.3 magnitude, 4 km depth, Benbrook, Texas
about a month ago 3.0 magnitude, 5 km depth, Azle, Texas
2 months ago 2.9 magnitude, 4 km depth, Snyder, Texas
2 months ago 2.7 magnitude, 3 km depth, Snyder, Texas
2 months ago 3.1 magnitude, 5 km depth, Azle, Texas
2 months ago 2.2 magnitude, 5 km depth, Azle, Texas
2 months ago 3.5 magnitude, 5 km depth, Hereford, Texas
3 months ago 3.3 magnitude, 6 km depth, Azle, Texas
3 months ago 3.3 magnitude, 5 km depth, Azle, Texas
3 months ago 2.1 magnitude, 8 km depth, Azle, Texas
3 months ago 2.8 magnitude, 4 km depth, Azle, Texas
3 months ago 2.6 magnitude, 4 km depth, Sherman, Texas
3 months ago 2.6 magnitude, 5 km depth, Sherman, Texas
3 months ago 2.5 magnitude, 5 km depth, Sherman, Texas
3 months ago 2.7 magnitude, 5 km depth, Azle, Texas
Es todo, hoy,
RudyG
