Bloomfield is one of my favorite neighborhoods in Pittsburgh. I was lucky enough to live there between my Oakland and Squirrel Hill eras. Imagine my delight when Sherrie Flick reached out and asked me to host a Walk & Write in the city. Here’s the event description we came up with:

“Join host Sherrie Flick as we explore the streets of Bloomfield with guest writer Robert Yune. We’ll think about history, memory, and place as it manifests in front of us. There will be walking, writing prompts, an opportunity to write, and live readings by Robert of his own work.”

Registration is $10 per person; advance registration is required. Additional details: event is Friday, August 9, 2024 from 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM. Ticket info here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/walk-write-bloomfield-with-robert-yune-tickets-900435074547

About the Walk & Write Tour Series:

Now in its fourth season, the Walk & Write Tour Series, led by local writer Sherrie Flick, traverses city neighborhoods and introduces tour-goers to various walking trails and footpaths. This season includes Flick working with guest writers, each exploring a different neighborhood and theme. 

Back at it again: in roughly a month, I’ll be reading at the Hemingway’s Poetry Series on Tues July 9 with local literary heroes Jen Ashburn, Taylor Grieshober, Sharon Fagan McDermott, and Romella Kitchens.

Can’t wait to check out our new venue: “the new venue at Hop Farm Brewing will allow us to expand programming, bring back the open mic, and provide a setting with outstanding brews and other beverages, delicious food and a larger space.”

Details: Tues July 9. Hop Farm Brewing Co. at 5601 Butler Street in Lawrenceville. Starts 7pm.

During tax season, most surprises aren’t pleasant. However, thanks to a tax form that accidentally got sent to my parents’ house, I’ve learned that, as of now, both of my books have earned out!

(If you’re not familiar with publishing, it costs publishers thousands of dollars to copyedit, design, and promote a book. Most books don’t earn enough to recoup those costs.) I now earn royalties on sales, which is pretty cool.

I’d like to thank everyone who gave me feedback in workshop, attended a book launch or reading, everyone who picked up a copy, reviewed it, folks who taught it, and everyone who helped share the word.

Special thanks to everyone at Thought Catalog Books (Mink Choi and Chris Lavergne) & Sarabande (Sarah Gorham, Kristen Renee Miller, Danika Isdahl & Emma the copywriter). Also, Bonnie Jo Campbell, Jane Mccafferty, Matthew Salesses, Chuck Kinder, Abby Geni, Stewart O’Nan, Paul Yoon, Jeff Condran, and Geeta Kothari for their blurbs.

Also, Alban Fischer, who designed the lovely cover of IMPOSSIBLE CHILDREN, and Mink Choi, whose support helped launch my writing career. I could not have finished IMPOSSIBLE CHILDREN without sage feedback from Salvatore Pane, Kara Hughes, Nicole Lobdell, and Sarah Harris Wallman.

Those launch parties wouldn’t have been the same without support from Lesley Rains, the crew at White Whale Books and Coffee & readers Sherrie Flick, Jeffrey Condran & Adri Ramirez.

Making these posts is a humbling reminder of how books are creations and byproducts of a whole community. I’m so grateful to all these folks (and so many more) for all their help and support.

Sal Pane is a fascinating young man who has a lot of interesting things to say about Pitt’s MFA program in Creative Writing, cats, Italy, Japan, filmmaking, monkeys, bad fashion, and whiskey. We hope you’ll be able to join us for this raucously intellectual event.

I’m honored that Ron Slate invited me to this wonderful series based in Chillmark. Details are below.

Congratulations to program alum Kandi Workman, who has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize for her nonfiction piece “Ice Cream,” published in Still: The Journal.

Kim Dana Kupperman, former nonfiction professor and long-time friend of the MFA program, has been named series editor for The Best American Essays. This important annual series highlights the best nonfiction being published in the United States.

In case you didn’t receive Autumn House’s email (or in case you’re late to Giving Tuesday), here’s the appeal I wrote for them:

A famous author once said that writing books isn’t hard; no, the hard part is enduring the life of a writer. As a youngster, I didn’t understand what “the life of a writer” really meant. Then, I got a smartphone with an email app, which meant I got a little notification ping each time a publisher rejected my novel. It’s a real treat when you’re on a date, or riding alone on a Port Authority Bus, illuminated by its merciless fluorescent lights. In the rain. By my count, this has happened to me at least seventy-nine times. So far. And yet, I’ve published two books. And, thanks to my books, I have secured teaching jobs, received and awards, and perhaps most excitingly, I managed to meet (Pittsburgh-born!) author Celeste Ng and interview her onstage in Pittsburgh a few months ago.

During the interview I asked her a question that’s been on my mind since the pandemic: “What does it mean to make art in the face of calamity?” She admitted to feeling helpless as an artist in the long winter of 2020. “But,” she said, “then I realized that I was turning to art for comfort, just like everyone else, and maybe I was looking for answers about coping during difficult times.” I think we were and still are all wondering what it means to be human, full, and part of a community. And, I’m writing to you because today I think writing matters and is essential to this pursuit. During the interview I asked her a question that’s been on my mind since the pandemic: “What does it mean to make art in the face of calamity?” She admitted to feeling helpless as an artist in the long winter of 2020. “But,” she said, “then I realized that I was turning to art for comfort, just like everyone else, and maybe I was looking for answers about coping during difficult times.” I think we were and still are all wondering what it means to be human, full, and part of a community. And, I’m writing to you because today I think writing matters and is essential to this pursuit.

It’s hard to express how much comfort I’ve sought—and found—through literature in the past few years. Even though I can now leave my house, I’m still amazed by how all that reading affected me. I joined the board at Autumn House Press because I’d seen AHP editors Christine Stroud and Mike Good at literary and volunteer events in Pittsburgh for years, and knew the important work Autumn House was doing for the literary community. During my time on the board, I’ve gained a deeper appreciation for their labor and craft. Being an editor means you’re part cheerleader, part therapist, part teacher, part artisan, and part small-business owner. It takes a special kind of person to endure that workload. Moreover, there’s a subtle art to editorial work, and this is where Christine and Mike excel. It’s been wonderful to see folks like Pittsburgh-based poet and teacher Cameron Barnett flourish with Autumn House and win awards on a national stage. On a personal note, I was blown away by the Faulknerian prose in Kevin Honold’s Molly, which received national praise, including a rave review in The Wall Street Journal, and I could spend pages rhapsodizing about Wendy Wimmer’s Entry Level. For years, Christine and Mike had the ability to spot talent, especially writers overlooked by major publishing houses. Without small presses like Autumn House, bookstores would be packed with focus-tested blockbuster novels with film-adaptation or movie franchise possibility. I weep for such a world. As with all good things in life, it takes a lot of work behind the scenes to foster and create quality, lasting work. As a writer, I’ve been reminded again and again that the magic isn’t free, but the journey is worth it. That’s certainly the case for the folks standing behind the writers each step of the way. I hope you’ll join me in supporting Autumn House Press. Thank you for your time, Robert Yune

This one’s had a long journey to publication, but I’m so happy it’s finally found a home. “Eid Mubarak” is live on On The Seawall, long one of my favorite journals.

Please allow me to follow up on my last Wesleyan post with a few more brags about the MFA program at which I teach. One metric of an MFA program is the accomplishments of its students and staff. Recently, our own Brett Gordon Bratton won Jack Wild Publishing’s 2023 Chapbook contest. Alum Gabriel Rogers won first place in Boulevard’s 2022 Nonfiction Contest for Emerging Writers with his mysteriously-titled essay “68091.”

On a faculty front, Jacinda Townsend was longlisted for the 2023 Mark Twain American Voice in Literature. Her most recent book Mother Country is also a nominee for the 2023 Hurston/Wright Legacy Award. Our fearless program director Doug Van Gundy recently published a powerful essay in Guernica about climate change and flooding in Appalachia. He also has a piece in the anthology What Things Cost, which focuses on labor and features writing from Natalie Diaz, Ocean Vuong, Reginald Dwayne Betts, Gerald Stern, and Jericho Brown.

Faculty member Jessica Handler’s essay “Permanent Record” is a “Notable” in this year’s Best American Essays. It originally appeared in Full Grown People.

While I’m at it, I’d be remiss not to mention recent accomplishments by Wesleyan College students: my former student Joelle McDonald won a statewide writing contest judged by Ann Pancake. I recently learned that my Twitter friend James Tate Hill is a Wesleyan alum. Hill’s memoir Blind Man’s Bluff is a New York Times Editors’ Choice and a Washington Independent Review of Books Favorite Book of the year.

There’s something special about Buckhannon, which has produced writers such as Irene McKinney and Jayne Ann Phillips. In Joy Castro’s memoir “Hungry,” she mentioned visiting our campus and finding the inspiration to enroll in college and pursue a career as an academic.

Anyway, if you’d like more info, please don’t hesitate to email me or contact me on Twitter. The program’s official website is here.

I couldn’t be prouder to share this news about a former student, Joelle McDonald (right), who has won the 2023 West Virginia Fiction Competition, sponsored by Shepherd University’s Center for Appalachian Studies and Communities. McDonald won first place for her story “A Mourner.”

The judge of this statewide contest was none other than Ann Pancake, a writer and educator who is herself the recipient of the Whiting Award, The Pushcart Prize, and the Appalachian Heritage Writer’s Award.

I always knew Joelle was brilliant and talented, and it’s wonderful to see others catching up. Joelle was a bio major at Wesleyan who’s now attending grad school and studying neuroplasticity.  When she was in my class, I knew she’d go on to accomplish great things. I just didn’t know she’d do it this quickly.  You can read more about the contest and all the winners here.