Reader & Writer
I contributed to an article written by Alisha Haridasani Gupta of the NY Times. She is a gender writer and has tackled some big topics in Women's news lately--notably the restriction of abortion rights in many states. The genesis of my contribution was a call for submissions from the National Women's History Museum looking for "journals" or... Continue Reading →
I have a new piece up at Random Sample Review. These latest acceptances have been vital to keeping me writing--since the break up with my agent and rejection of my nonfiction manuscript. Rejection--how it feels, these days. Anyway! I'll live n the moment with Starting Over https://randomsamplereview.com/2022/07/28/starting-over/ https://randomsamplereview.com/2022/07/28/starting-over/ Photo by Eileen Pan
My essay, "Books As Signposts in Our Life," has been published in Still Point Arts Quarterly for a special themed issue on books and book lovers! The digital edition is FREE. The print edition is full of beautiful illustrations--the price for a PRINT issue is $14.50 plus $3.95 shipping. Go here to download: https://indd.adobe.com/view/675e0ae9-707b-46a1-aadd-ecd1384592d7 “The... Continue Reading →
I’ve had an amazing acceptance of a small flash memoir piece I’ve called Starting Over which will appear in the next issue of Random Sample Review for an issue themed “Follow Your Joy”—yes, it does involve a bicycle! More importantly, it was selected by a poet Debra Stone. This is significant in that my agent is... Continue Reading →
https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2021/03/09/cicadas-broodx-environment/ Names Brood X, the last time they appeared in hordes was in 2004. In a few months these monstrous looking bugs will burrow out of their 17-year hiatus and attach themselves to Everything. They will be everywhere, leaving exoskeletons and nesting in trees. If you miss seeing them—don’t worry—you will hear them as the... Continue Reading →
(Adapted from a talk I gave at the 2019 Illinois Reading Council Conference for teachers and librarians.) After writing and publishing my middle-grade novel, Cloud of Witnesses (Golden Alley Press), I discovered that it is but one of a handful of books currently being published that represents rural life. Most books coming out today for youth is... Continue Reading →
a review I sort of hate it when movies, books, media reduce complex issues down into easily digested bites. That’s the trouble with Hillbilly Elegy, the movie now playing on Netflix: distilled into the Hatfield and McCoys. In fact that piece of mountain myth is referenced in the first 15 minutes of the film. My... Continue Reading →
Frontline podcast https://tinyurl.com/vucolbt a journalist goes to the rural area of Athens, County where my story Cloud of Witnesses takes place--to discover that when the schools shut down in southeast Ohio because of the coronavirus it left children at risk of going hungry. The population was always at risk of poor health outcomes and at... Continue Reading →
This past weekend was Nowruz, the New Year according to the lunar calendar that Iran follows. In my book, Cloud of Witnesses, Hassan explains the idea of Nowruz to Roland who likens it to spring cleaning, a time to clear away the old and prepare for the new. “According to the Muslim calendar this is... Continue Reading →
So here I am for twenty minutes—the amount of time I can concentrate these days. I spend most of my time being distracted, touching my face, trying not to touch my face, or else washing my hands. A lot of time is wasted on mortality. Mine and the people I love. Charting the course of... Continue Reading →
At my publisher's website are links and downloads. https://goldenalleypress.com/jane-hertenstein/media-kit-for-cloud-of-witnesses/ Preview a chapter of the book as well as a reader's guide. Guide includes: Q&A with the author, info on Appalachia and Iran, plus discussion questions, a bibliography, and recommended reading Here is a small taste: Q & A WITH AUTHOR JANE HERTENSTEIN Q: Your story... Continue Reading →
Little Women I recently told a group I was having a potluck with that I was going to see Little Women. One of the guys said I love that movie. Now, for a couple of reasons, I knew he was confused. Brien is the kind of guy that watches the Bears and roots for the... Continue Reading →
Jane Hertenstein 