Author: Mary Akers
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ONE LIFE TO GIVE Featured for Veteran’s Day
Pete Gallivan did an absolutely wonderful feature on Buffalo’s WGRZ about my co-author Andrew Bienkowski for Unknown Stories of Western New York. Pete talked about Andy’s banishment to Siberia (in 1939) at only five years of age and how that experience has informed and influenced his life for the past 75 years. There’s even…
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Interview with Jericho Brown
Mary Akers: Thanks for agreeing to talk with me about your wonderful collection The New Testament. I enjoyed this collection so much, Jericho. It has stayed with me for weeks, much like your other collection Please did when I first read it. In fact, I would say you write the most haunting poems–in the best…
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Book Clubs are the Best
A big, heartfelt thank you to Faye Strobel and her wonderful, astute, generous book club for a lovely evening and a spirited discussion of One Life to Give! The food was great, the company even better. We couldn’t have enjoyed ourselves more. Thank you!!
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Wonderful Book Club event
My co-author, Andrew Bienkowski, and I had the great good fortune to meet with this wonderful group of discerning readers at the end of June. The food was scrumptious, the questions astute, and the garden, gazebo, and water feature complete with koi were a delight. Many thanks to all who attended and offered such great…
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Another tremendous book club event
Last night I attended another author (book club) appearance for BONES OF AN INLAND SEA. The book group was marvelous (they are aptly named, too: Joie de Vivre) and offered plenty of really insightful questions and intelligent, encouraging comments. It was a gathering of great readers, great book lovers. The whole evening warmed my authorly…
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Review of BONES at The Short Review
The Short Review Here’s an excerpt: “Akers does not judge her characters, and as each one gets their opportunity to speak up, offering us new perspectives on their role in this complex family tangle, or giving feedback on someone we have already met, we slowly piece together the relationships and connections, and what might be…
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Review of BONES at PANK
I really love this review of my new collection. It just went live at PANK–a journal I also love. The review is (blushingly) laudatory, but also tough, respectful, and fair. My very favorite kind of review. Thank you, Carmen Maria Machado! If we ever meet in person, the drinks are on me. PANK Here’s a…
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Radical Gratitude in Real Time
[This is the transcript of a message I was asked to share with the congregants of the Unitarian Universalist Church in Hamburg, NY in November 2013.] RADICAL GRATITUDE IN REAL TIME I once had a writing mentor who told me that the way to the universal is through the particular. What I believe she…
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The Grand Facade…or Facebook Schmacebook
I’ve been hearing more and more lately about how Facebook makes some people very sad. I understand that. All the good news and awards and crowing about perfect kids and vacation photos and avowals of love…they can be a little bit overwhelming if you’re looking for some of those things yourself and not finding them.…
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My Radio Interview with Judge Penny Wolfgang
In which we talk about Bones of an Inland Sea, PTSD, writing from the male point-of-view, and haunting work.