This is an exciting time to be a member of the National Writers Union. Yes, the economy is bleak, the journalism industry is on CPR, and unions have been getting weaker and weaker for decades.
But, this is Chicago and the city's residents are provincial. Chicago isn't called "The Second City" for nothing.
On June 23, two of our very own will become president and vice president respectively of the National Writers Union. They were elected on a very exciting campaign platform that promises to rejuvenate the union. President Larry Goldbetter will be moving soon to New York City to implement his platform while Vice President Karen Ford, one of three new VPs, will be working with local chapters from around the USA to rejuvenate the union at its grass roots.
And we here in the Chicago branch of the NWU will hold their feet to the fire, pressuring them to implement what they promised. I can send anyone, member or prospective member, a copy of their platform.
In Chicago, we need to introduce ourselves to each other so I am posting this blog or blogging this post in hopes everyone interested in the NWU can share their accomplishments, convey what they want from the union, and improve their chances of succeeding as writers by meeting more people.
I will go first because, well I started this blog and I've been told that I'm the chairperson-elect of the Chicago branch of the NWU.
Shalom,
Martin Zabell
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My name is Martin Zabell, the chairperson-elect of the Chicago branch of the National Writers Union.
ReplyDeleteI was born in New York City and grew up in Valley Stream, N.Y. (Long Islanders seem to be the only people who don't say what town they're from. I don't understand this, and I'm different).
I graduated Lafayette (Pa.) College with a double degree -- Government & Law and Economics & Business (I know that sounds like four, but it's two). It never occurred to me to be a professional writer although I wrote for my school newspapers in high school and college, covering Sports and News and being an editor for a while.
As a junior, I attended American University in Washington, D.C., on a one-semester program and became an intern on Capitol Hill. I loved DC and moved there after graduating in the middle of the school year without a job.
I went from office to office looking for a job and wound up being hired as a sportswriter for USA Today. A few years later, I went from a little fish in a very big pond to a big fish in a very small pond, accepting a position as the editor of a statewide Jewish newspaper.
But I was always self-motivated. I hated schedules, but loved work. Self-employment was for me. Consequently, I decided to accept a position with the Chicago Tribune, writing at home after covering several towns and school districts.
Free-lancing was wonderful then, but it isn't now. As the years have gone by, I earned less and less per story. I became more interested in teaching, pursued a graduate school degree in Education, and have taught numerous writing courses at local colleges.
For many years, I considered myself an entrepreneur and disdained all large groups, including unions.
But times have changed. Corporations are treating writers unethically and I have become determined to help change the weights on the scale.
I understand what it's like to be an inactive member of the union. I joined the National Writers Union when I found out it was taking action against monopolistic publishers that were selling writers' works without permission. But, frankly, I waited for others to act. I went to an occasional workshop, but did little else.
Last year, though, the behavior of my most recent client spurred me to act. So here I am, hoping that writers won't make the same mistake that I and others did a few years ago.
Please introduce yourself, tell your colleagues why you joined the National Writers Union, and convey what you can do for us, not just what we can do for you (this is my version of JFK's "Ask Not What We Can Do For You" speech).
Shalom,
Martin Z.
Thanks for this opportunity. Here's my bio:
ReplyDeleteLarry O. Dean was born and raised in Flint, Michigan. As a young man, he worked with Academy Award-winning filmmaker, Michael Moore, was widely published in the alternative press, and also worked as a cartoonist. He attended the University of Michigan at Flint and Ann Arbor, during which time he won three Hopwood Awards in Creative Writing, an honor shared with fellow writers Robert Hayden, Jane Kenyon, Frank O'Hara, Arthur Miller, John Ciardi, and Mary Gaitskill, among others.
In addition to writing, he is a singer and songwriter, working both solo as well as with several 'hard pop' bands. He has released numerous critically-acclaimed CD's, including Throw the Lions to the Christians (1997) and Sir Slob (2001); Public Displays of Affection (1998) and Fables in Slang (2001), with Post Office; Gentrification Is Theft (2002), with The Me Decade; and Fun with a Purpose (2009), with The Injured Parties. He also hosts a monthly songwriter showcase, Folk You!, now in its seventh year.
He is author of books, Rate of Exchange & Other Poems (1988); Barking Up the Wrong Tree (1989); QWERTYUIOP (1989); Eyes, Ears, Nose & Throat (1990); Workers' Comp. (1995); Identity Theft for Dummies (2003); and I Am Spam (2004), a series of poems 'inspired' by spam email. He recently completed a new manuscript Brief Nudity, as well as a 'best of' collection including poems from out-of-print works. Selected magazine publications include The Berkeley Poetry Review, Gryphon, Passages North, Third Lung Review, The Altered Mind, Lilliput Review, Amaranth Review, Kumquat Meringue, California Quarterly, The Monona Review, Whoreson Dog, Pacific Coast Journal, Tomorrow, Poetry at the 33 Review, Work, Strong Coffee, Maelstrom, Clark Street Review, Red Rock Review, Big Bridge, Pigeon, The Banana King, Sliced Bread, Old City Cool, Keyhole, OCHO, Filling Station, and Black Creek Review. His work has also been widely anthologized.
Larry was a 2004 recipient of the Hands on Stanzas Gwendolyn Brooks Award, presented by the Poetry Center of Chicago.
After living in San Francisco for over a decade, he makes his home in Chicago.
Contact him at http://larryodean.com
Larry O. Dean was born and raised in Flint, Michigan. As a young man, he worked with Academy Award-winning filmmaker, Michael Moore, was widely published in the alternative press, and also worked as a cartoonist. He attended the University of Michigan at Flint and Ann Arbor, during which time he won three Hopwood Awards in Creative Writing, an honor shared with fellow writers Robert Hayden, Jane Kenyon, Frank O'Hara, Arthur Miller, John Ciardi, and Mary Gaitskill, among others.
ReplyDeleteIn addition to writing, he is a singer and songwriter, working both solo as well as with several 'hard pop' bands. He has released numerous critically-acclaimed CD's, including Throw the Lions to the Christians (1997) and Sir Slob (2001); Public Displays of Affection (1998) and Fables in Slang (2001), with Post Office; Gentrification Is Theft (2002), with The Me Decade; and Fun with a Purpose (2009), with The Injured Parties. He also hosts a monthly songwriter showcase, Folk You!, now in its seventh year.
He is author of books, Rate of Exchange & Other Poems (1988); Barking Up the Wrong Tree (1989); QWERTYUIOP (1989); Eyes, Ears, Nose & Throat (1990); Workers' Comp. (1995); Identity Theft for Dummies (2003); and I Am Spam (2004), a series of poems 'inspired' by spam email. He recently completed a new manuscript Brief Nudity, as well as a 'best of' collection including poems from out-of-print works. Selected magazine publications include The Berkeley Poetry Review, Gryphon, Passages North, Third Lung Review, The Altered Mind, Lilliput Review, Amaranth Review, Kumquat Meringue, California Quarterly, The Monona Review, Whoreson Dog, Pacific Coast Journal, Tomorrow, Poetry at the 33 Review, Work, Strong Coffee, Maelstrom, Clark Street Review, Red Rock Review, Big Bridge, Pigeon, The Banana King, Sliced Bread, Old City Cool, Keyhole, OCHO, Filling Station, and Black Creek Review. His work has also been widely anthologized.
Larry was a 2004 recipient of the Hands on Stanzas Gwendolyn Brooks Award, presented by the Poetry Center of Chicago.
After living in San Francisco for over a decade, he makes his home in Chicago.
Contact him at http://larryodean.com
Well, this is handy. I just got a letter from the Univesity of Chicago Press asking me to sign a contract for electronic royalties for a book my grandfather wrote (yes! copyright protections!). They are offering 10%. Does anyone on this blog know what the norm is?
ReplyDeleteThanks to everyone for keepign the flame alive.
Helena Worthen
in Champaign
hworthen@illinois.edu
Hey Martin,
ReplyDeleteI just got an email from Larry G that linked to this blog. I'm an artist/writer/recovering ad man. Although I'm not a member of the Writers' Union, I'm always interested in new lost causes, so I might want to join or at least come to the conference.
Meanwhile, check out my new blog, http://www.buythecover.com.
And good luck