The Creative Nonfiction Podcast with Brendan O'Meara

"I want to hear more of you in this. I want this weirder. Let loose," says Eric Ducker (@ericducker). Eric Ducker, freelance writer for The Ringer, among others, came on the show to talk about music, his time at Fader, and his Ringer piece on Jenny Odell (check out Ep. 151 for her). Thanks to Goucher's MFA in Nonfiction and Bay Path's MFA in Creative Nonfiction for the support. Keep the conversation going on Twitter @CNFPod and on Instagram @cnfpod. 

"I think that's why people stop writing. It's the not knowing what you're doing that feels so terrible." —Sonya Huber (@sonyahuber). Sonya Huber, author of five books and countless essays, joins me on the pod. Shoutout to our patrons in Goucher College's MFA in Nonfiction and Bay Path University's MFA in Creative Nonfiction. Keep the conversation going on Twitter @CNFPod or on Instagram @cnfpod. 

"You can persevere and you can grind, but you have to get lucky at times," says T.D. Thornton, @thorntontd. T.D. Thornton, author of Not By a Long Shot and My Adventures with Your Money came by the show. Thanks to Goucher College's MFA in Nonfiction and Bay Path University's MFA in Creative Nonfiction for sponsoring the show. Twitter: @CNFPod. Instagram: @cnfpod Subscribe where you get your pods!

"You gotta fall in love with your subject, and sometimes people have to pull you out," says Julian Smith (@juliansmith on Twitter). Julian is the co-author of Aloha Rodeo: Three Hawaiian Cowboys, the World's Greatest Rodeo, and a Hidden History of the American West. It is published by William Morrow. Thanks to Goucher College's MFA in Nonfiction and Bay Path University's MFA in Creative Nonfiction for the support. Keep the conversation going on Twitter @CNFPod. 

"It's like wet jeans, that's the feeling of generating a bunch of crappy writing," says Amanda Petrusich, a staff writer for The New Yorker.  Amanda can be found @amandapetrusich on Twitter. She's the author of Don't Sell at Any Price and she came by the show to talk about her career and early struggles. Thanks to Goucher College's MFA in Nonfiction and Bay Path University's MFA in Creative Nonfiction for the support.  You can join me on Twitter @BrendanOMeara and @CNFPod. Instagram is @cnfpod. Subscribe to the show and share with your fellow CNFers!

"For a writer, ignorance and curiosity are a magical combination," says Philip Gerard. Philp Gerard, author of The Last Battleground: The Civil War Comes to North Carolina and the novel Cape Fear Rising, returns to CNF to talk about his latest book. Philip is a professor at the University of North Carolina Wilmington and has written several books. Visit philipgerard.com for more information. Keep the conversation going on Twitter @BrendanOMeara and @CNFPod, and Instagram @cnfpod. Facebook @CNFPodcast. Thanks to Goucher College's MFA in Nonfiction and Bay Path University's MFA in Creative Nonfiction for the support.  Be sure to subscribe to the show wherever you get your pods!

"Find something else that is so absorbing to you. That is a place you can go to get away from [social media]," says Jenny Odell.Jenny Odell, author of How to Do Nothing, came by the show.Thanks to Goucher's MFA in Nonfiction and Bay Path's MFA in Creative Nonfiction for the support.Be sure keep the conversation going on Twitter @BrendanOMeara and @CNFPod. Head over to brendanomeara.com for show notes and to sign up for the newsletter.

"A good idea knows no experience level or age," says Ian Frisch, @IanFrisch on Twitter. Ian Frisch, author of Magic is Dead: My Journey into the World's Most Secretive Society of Magicians. We dig deep into the book, as well his approach to freelancing. Thanks to our show's patrons in Goucher College's MFA in Nonfiction and Bay Path University's MFA in Creative Nonfiction.

"Part of me thinks nobody should write a memoir," says Anika Fajardo, @anikawrites. Anika Fajardo, author of Magical Realism for Nonbelievers, joined me for a nice conversation about her late-blooming journey through writing. She thinks writing is about community and connection and writers need to be submitting work. Be sure to keep the conversation going on Twitter @BrendanOMeara and @CNFPod. Thanks to Goucher College's MFA in Nonfiction and Bay Path University's MFA in Creative Nonfiction. 

"I don't have destinations in mind. I always have experiences in mind," says the poet Jericho Brown. (@jerichobrown) Today I welcome the award-winning poet Jericho Brown to the show, whose latest collection of poems The Tradition just released. It is published by Copper Canyon Press. We talk about his committment to phsyical fitness, experiences over destinations, his new collection of poems, that time he almost died of the flu, and how he invented the poetic structure known as the duplex. Support for this show comes from Goucher College's MFA in Nonfiction and Bay Path University's MFA in Creative Nonfiction.