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Slowing down in Piggott.

June 6, 2015 By Talya Tate Boerner 5 Comments

Writing like me at Hemingway-Pfeiffer

Happy Saturday! I thought I’d check in to let you know I’m still alive. I’ve been busy doing a whole lot of nothing but writing. After another successful writer retreat in Piggott, Arkansas, at the Hemingway-Pfeiffer Museum and Educational Center, my whole body feels drained. And that’s a good thing. Hemingway-Pfeiffer is an awe-filled place. A place for slowing down. A place for concentrating on the craft of writing.

The grounds are gorgeous and peaceful, not too contrived but natural, the way I imagine things looked when Hemingway wrote inside the barn/studio.

Writing Like Me at Hemingway-Pfeiffer (apple orchards)

Small-town Piggott feels like home to me. Treasures can be found if you slow down and notice.

old church window, Piggott, Ar

The Piggott Library has a signed first edition of Hemingway’s Death in the Afternoon, (along with an entire cabinet of related ephemera.) I’m guessing not many small town libraries can claim such a thing.

First Edition, Signed, Death in the Afternoon by Hemingway

I love the history around the town square, especially the faded advertisements spanning old brick buildings.

Piggott Ar painted brick wall

The train rumbles through town at all hours of the day and night, tapping into a deep memory of another time.

The next time you drive from Dallas to Austin or Atlanta to Savannah (or wherever), hop off the interstate and spend some time in one of the small towns along the way. Have lunch. Visit the library. Walk around the square. Take time to slow down. Slow is good.

Grace Grits and Gardening

Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

Piggott is located approximately 180 miles northeast of Little Rock and 110 miles north of West Memphis. For more information about Hemingway-Pfeiffer and other Arkansas Heritage Sites, click HERE.

[tweetthis]Take time to slow down. Your #writing will benefit. @hpmuseum #HemingwayWroteHere[/tweetthis]

Musical Pairing:

Mayberry, Rascal Flatts

 

 

 

 

Ernest Hemingway Wrote Here

November 6, 2014 By Talya Tate Boerner 19 Comments

Ernest Hemingway Wrote Here. Piggott, Ar

Hemingway’s Barn, Piggott, Arkansas

I am fortunate to be attending my fifth writer’s retreat at Hemingway-Pfeiffer Educational Center, a truly magical place not only because Ernest Hemingway wrote here(!) but because of the synergy created by the writers who gather.

This spot in Northeast Arkansas is hallowed—the trees, the grounds, the barn where he wrote a portion of A Farewell to Arms and other short stories. If you know me, you are rolling your eyes and saying, “Here she goes ago again.” Yes, I’ve written about this place before. And I likely will again.

Ernest Hemingway Wrote in this barn.

I am reminded of the reasons to attend a writer’s retreat. The benefits extend well beyond the words on the page. Each session is different, a result of the mentor-teacher and the student writers who bring different backgrounds, ideas, experiences, and voices to the table. We feel safe to share the truth and write our stories.

I imagine a swirl of creative color flowing over the room. Colors as bright as the fall leaves outside our window.

Although this group spans the nation from coast to coast with careers ranging from education, anthropology, military, and others, I am reminded of how alike we are in our upbringings, our dreams and desires, the things that touch us.

I am also reminded of our differences.

Grace Grits and Gardening

Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

 

 

Austin Chronicle, BookPeople and how I spent my WINNINGS!

March 3, 2014 By Talya Tate Boerner 18 Comments

Austin ChronicleBookPeople sponsored the Austin Chronicle Short Story contest complete with author readings, an impressive food spread, red wine and prize money. Sure, I would have turned a back flip had I snagged first place honors and the $800 prize money—who wouldn’t?—but I was thrilled to place in the top five (out of nearly 500 entries) and receive a $50 gift card from BookPeople. 

A gift card in the hands of a writer/reader feeds an obsession, an addiction. Brilliant move BookPeople.

From the moment the Austin Chronicle editor placed that gift card in my excited palm (and yes a palm can be excited), I thought about how to best leverage it, to get the most bang for the gift card buck.

Immediately, it called to me from the bottom of my messy purse. Use me before returning to Dallas, it said.

But what to buy?

Something significant like an artfully designed coffee table book to display as a permanent reminder of my contest victory? Something inspirational to build upon like a collection of poetry? A writing reference book to further hone my skill? Hmmmm. Huge decision. After all, books can be life-altering wielding power beyond the mere words on a page.

The next morning I hightailed it straight back to BookPeople with my gift card in hand. I wandered the aisles, strolled through each section, touched volumes, read dust jackets, and watched for any sign to help in narrowing down my selection.

I was there a while.

So how did I spend my $50? I bought $125 in books. I couldn’t help myself. (Like I said, brilliant move BookPeople. Next year you might consider giving gift cards to the top ten finalists or all entrants for that matter. You WILL make money…)

In no particular order, my purchases and thinking behind each:

  • Honky Tonk Debutante—the History of Honky Tonk Music as I Care to Tell It by Christine Warren. I couldn’t resist the title, nor the cover graced with an armadillo. Each chapter concludes with a honky tonk soundtrack. As someone who often ends blog posts with a musical pairing, I adore this. And as a girl who grew up listening to Waylon, Willie and David Allen Coe, I’m majorly annoyed I didn’t write this book.
  • The Parallel Apartments by Bill Cotter (signed first edition). Bill Cotter was one of the judges for the Austin Chronicle Short Story contest. Since he’d read my short story (and presumably liked it), it seemed only fitting I should read his. Right? Plus his first sentence hooked me.
  • This is How—Surviving What You Think You Can’t by Augusten Burroughs. I’m convinced I’m related to Augusten. At least a distant cousin. This book on the sale table was a no brainer. And once I read it, I’ll know how to survive everything I think I can’t, so there’s that.
  • How Best to Avoid Dying by Owen Egerton – Egerton is a local Austinite who writes zany, dark short stories which I enjoy. Supporting local writing is important. Plus once I read it, I’ll know how best to avoid dying, so there’s that.
  • The Letters of Ernest Hemingway 1907 – 1922. I’m a Hemingway groupie. My favorite place on earth to write is inside the Hemingway barn in Piggott, Arkansas, where he wrote a portion of A Farewell to Arms… yes…let that sink in… Reading letters penned by Hemingway himself is the ultimate voyeurism. And apparently he was a letter-writing machine because this is Volume One. This too was on the sale table. Score me.
  • I also bought a journal. I write each day and quickly fill up journals. Those with owls on the cover make me particularly happy.

BookPeople Books

So there you have it.

What would you buy with a $50 BookPeople gift card?

Grace Grits and Gardening

P.S. Check out the first, second and third place winners of the Austin Chronicle Short Story Contest HERE.

Musical Pairing:

Bad Suns – Cardiac Arrest

Even the bathroom stall graffiti is cool at BookPeople…

Hemingway graffiti

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Talya Tate Boerner


Hi! I'm Talya. Writer, Reader, Arkansas Master Naturalist / Master Gardener, Author of

THE ACCIDENTAL SALVATION OF GRACIE LEE (2016)

GENE, EVERYWHERE: a life-changing visit from my father-in-law (2020)

BERNICE RUNS AWAY (Now Available!)

Click to BUY NOW!

Talya Tate Boerner books
Gene, Everywhere

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