{"id":9951,"date":"2023-03-02T00:52:05","date_gmt":"2023-03-02T07:52:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lindacollison.com\/?p=9951"},"modified":"2023-03-02T00:52:05","modified_gmt":"2023-03-02T07:52:05","slug":"apertures-a-memoir-in-essays-by-mary-b-kurtz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/madhatdesign.com\/newsite\/apertures-a-memoir-in-essays-by-mary-b-kurtz\/","title":{"rendered":"Apertures; a memoir in essays by Mary B. Kurtz"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Memoir — what is it?<\/h3>\n

While autobiography is concerned with the names, dates, and milestones — generally of celebrities, politicians, and other “historically significant” people —\u00a0 it is through memoir we can explore our living in a deeper, more revealing way. Autobiography is about what we think matters to the rest of the world while memoir is about what matters to us — yet memoir is at once personal and universal.<\/h3>\n

At its heart, memoir might be the most revealing conversation between author and reader that can exist. An unspoken dialogue takes place when reading, because as a reader you are not entirely mute. You respond to the writer, if only in your mind and heart. A connection is made, a conversation happens.<\/h3>\n

In 2018 Mary wrote about her decision to pursue a Masters in Fine Arts\u00a0 here on Sea of Words. https:\/\/www.lindacollison.com\/mfa-at-65-mary-b-kurtz-tells-us-why\/<\/a><\/h2>\n

Mary lives, works, and writes on a ranch in northwest Colorado. A deep, authentic writer before her academic endeavor, the commitment, the work, the feedback, and the connections she made at Regis University must have enriched and encouraged her. In reading Apertures,<\/em> Mary’s roots and relationship to her place in the world is keenly felt.<\/h3>\n

I asked Mary for an update, a short post about her writing and publishing process:<\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"

Mary B. Kurtz<\/p><\/div>\n

From MFA to Publication<\/h2>\n

\u00a0Mary B. Kurtz<\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

In 2017, with great trepidation, I began my MFA journey. Little did I know my master\u2019s thesis would lead to the publication of my book, Apertures: Findings from a Rural Life<\/em><\/strong>, a memoir-in-essays.<\/h3>\n

In my sixties at the time, I wrote from the perspective of what Parker Palmer refers to as \u201cthis horizon\u2026on the brink of everything\u201d where I explored my home ground, where I know firsthand the rhythms of ranch life and western traditions, the murmurings of a natural world, and the mysteries of aging and mortality. As I wrote, I applied my new understanding of the art and craft of writing, revising over and over again. Then I organized the essays to create a satisfying and complete manuscript, which was one of the greatest challenges in finalizing my thesis.<\/h3>\n

Before graduating, as part of my MFA graduate seminar, I identified potential publishers, primarily university and small press publishers whom I felt were a good fit for my book. Over the next two years, I also continued to submit essays that stood alone to literary journals. Three essays were eventually published, one each by Amsterdam Quarterly<\/em>, Braided Way Magazine<\/em>, and BlueHouse Journal<\/em>. Then thankfully, in September 2020, Christine Cote, Shanti Arts editor and publisher, offered me a book contract and Apertures <\/em>was released on September 20, 2022.<\/h3>\n

The pursuit of publication was a challenging one. But I followed the advice of a writing mentor, Priscilla Long, who always encouraged me to honor my work by writing with the intent to publish. So, I persevered and I\u2019m so glad I did. After completing my MFA and with the publication of my book, my identification as a writer has deepened. It is more than ever, a way of life, a way of looking at the world, a way of considering the questions that matter and listening for the answers. It is a gift I would wish for every writer. www.marybkurtz.com<\/a><\/h3>\n

*<\/p>\n

Apertures; findings from a rural life <\/em>can be ordered from your favorite bookstore. Signed copies\u00a0 available at Off the Beaten Path Bookstore<\/a> in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.<\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Memoir — what is it? While autobiography is concerned with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[177,258,18,468,85],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9951","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-author-interviews","category-how-we-write-a-series-of-essays-by-guest-authors","category-memoir","category-on-writing","category-writing-and-publishing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/madhatdesign.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9951","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/madhatdesign.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/madhatdesign.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madhatdesign.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madhatdesign.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9951"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/madhatdesign.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9951\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9990,"href":"https:\/\/madhatdesign.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9951\/revisions\/9990"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/madhatdesign.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9951"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madhatdesign.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9951"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madhatdesign.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9951"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}