Happy August!
I hope you think this issue “rocks” — I can’t find a funny t-shirt or pose photo, so I selected this one, taken at the Masters Mineral Gallery at Elizabethtown College. I have an obsession with rocks.
The tail end of July proved to be busy at Hippo Headquarters! Going along with the theme of last month’s issue, I was rock and rolling myself with a move from the quaint Elizabethtown, Pa. to the heart of downtown Lancaster – a much better place for a social, creative type to live and play!
I should mention that finding myself in a pile of boxes and sifting through mountains of memorabilia reminded me of, respectively, of What to Do When You Grow Tired of Everything (Marti Trgovich) and Flat Rate Archives (Mary-Colleen Jenkins), two essays from earlier issues of Hippocampus.
Then, for my day job (as integrated marketing manager of a small, Pa. liberal arts college), I spent four days in Boston, Mass. at the eduWeb conference; I presented a session called No Such thing as TMI: How to Create a Culture of (Content) Sharing on Your Campus and spent the rest of the time learning and mingling with other “webbed” creatures.
With all that action, I sincerely apologize for our August newsletter and this editor’s notes post being a tad late. So, welcome to the August issue of Hippocampus where you will find creative nonfiction about 18 wheelers and tow trucks, roller skates and shoes—and more. And a happy side-effect of the newsletter not going out the same day the issue launched is that I can share with you some of the awesome accolades stories in this month’s issue already are receiving:
You have the ability to take us along for the ride. Countryside seen from a totally different perspective than most people would initially view from their window. And life experiences that made me laugh, cry and sometimes wish I had been along for the ride! – comment from Janine, on Chris Cox’s “My First Trip Truckin’”
Your voice exhudes [sic] the child-like wonder and awkwardness of that age, better than just about anything I’ve ever read. It’s stunning, really. –Ronn on Susanna Donato’s “Separate Ways”
Oh my Roberta . . . this was . . . no words. –Lynn on Roberta F. King’s “Dirty Clothes”
What a lovely reminder,Linda of how the important lessons of childhood shape our lives. Our loved ones live on in us through these little memories. –Katherine on Linda C. Wisniewski’s “Bread on the Grass”
…nice tension, toward the end, especially. –Susanna on Jessica Hamilton’s “Auto Mechanics”
I like your voice a lot. It’s pleasantly conversational and makes me feel like you’re an affable, approachable, real person. –Ronn on Thomas Michael Duncan’s “Talking to Jacob on a Type 2 Day”
I was transfixed by the paragraph where you are engulfed by ocean. –Ronn on Georgia Krieger’s Mayfly
Also, enjoy a review of Nick Flynn’s memoir (which is not new, but could be to you!) Another Bullshit Night in Suck City (reviewed by Pat Florio), Lori M. Myer’s interview with memoirist Lacy M. Johnson, two Writing Life columns (one from Lisa Ahn, another from William Henderson) and a Craft article from Ally Bishop.
Here’s hoping you enjoy this month’s issue and find something that ‘moves’ you too.
Cheers!
Donna
Founder & Publisher
