 By Tanner Jensen
“It’s a small story really, about, among other things:
Written by Markus Zusak in 2005, The Book Thief tells the compelling story of Liesel Meminger and her best friend Rudy Steiner as the two experience the normal trials of childhood during the rise of Nazi Germany. The story itself is told from the perspective of death, lamenting the loss of life and recounting his experiences with the two children over the progression of the war. The book explores the innocence and strangeness of childhood, the development of love between a foster girl and her parents, and most of all the way that words can bring people together and open up possibilities. Liesel is a young girl adopted by Hans and Rosa Hubermann, a German couple living in Molching, the plot centering around Liesel’s experiences as a young girl in Nazi Germany, experiencing the normal childhood moments of making friends and getting into fights as well as joining the Hitler Youth and watching parades of prisoners marching towards the camp outside of town. As she grows more accustomed to her new foster family, Liesel opens up, connecting in particular with Hans as the two learn to read together using spare supplies from Hans’s career as a house painter. Writing and reading become a window of opportunity for Liesel to explore the world, and kickstart her career as a thief of books: from unattended graveyard manuals to Nazi book burning piles. For Liesel, words become a new way of looking at the world, leading to some fantastic imagery from the author: It brewed in her as she eyed the pages full to the brims of their bellies with paragraphs and words. You bastards, she thought. You lovely bastards. Don’t make me happy. Please, don’t fill me up and let me think that something good can come of any of this. It’s a bit of an investment at ~550 pages, and the slow burn beginning might turn some away. Some reviewers also take issue with the relatively slow pacing of the story, which generally follows the daily lives and experiences of Liesel and Rudy, not all of which are intense or dramatic moments. I happen to think that pacing works well as a slow burn that builds a real emotional investment in the characters, one that really pays off in the end. Liesel and her family are some of the most believable and likeable characters I’ve ever experienced, and seeing Liesel and Rudy grow up and deal with both the innocence of childhood and the horrors of Nazi Germany is one of the hardest things I’ve ever sat down to read through. I can’t recommend this book enough to anyone interested in an emotionally gripping drama with some genuinely fascinating characters, one with some of the most creative use of language and descriptions I’ve ever experienced. “You cannot be afraid, read the book. Smile at it. It's a great book—the greatest book you've ever read.” —The Book Thief
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  Reviewed by Gwen Hart
In her fourth poetry collection, Like (Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 2018), A. E Stallings uses her mastery of poetic forms to explore subjects as diverse as language use, current events, and the weight of loss. The title poem, “Like: the Sestina,” is an unusual twist on the sestina form. Usually, a sestina has six end words that alternate in a prescribed pattern (e.g., see Tyler Van Swol’s “Bear Down: A Sestina” and Grant Lenz’s “The Show Goes On” in the third issue of Hot Dish Magazine). Stallings’ sestina, however, uses some variation of like for every end-word in the poem: like, dislike, alike, look-alike, unlike, money-like, I’m like, he’s like, etc.). The acrobatic uses of like are delightful and surprising, even while highlighting what “real speech is like,” as Stallings writes. Stallings also takes on current events with several powerful poems about the plight of refugees. In “Empathy,” Stallings compares the life of a middle class family to that of a family of refugees setting out on a dangerous journey across water without proper equipment, their “cheap life jackets / No better than bright orange trash.” The contrast between the two families is striking, and the startling ending of the poem cuts right to the heart. The multipart poem “Refugee Fugue” fleshes out the issue even more. The poem contrasts scenes and perspectives, from children on holiday “making their sandy town” of sand castles while “Small bodies” of immigrant children “wash ashore, / Sea-chewed, a few days dead.” Each section of the poem takes on a different form—heroic couplet, rhymed quatrain, list, and so on—emphasizing the many voices represented across the sections. In a tour-de-force multi-part poem in the middle of the book, “Lost and Found” (linked to here in Beloit Poetry Journal), Stallings describes a mother’s dream journey through “the valley of the moon /where everything misplaced on earth accrues,” from the houses of long-dead grandparents, “letters / we meant to write,” lost hours of sleep, faded beauty, and much more. I heard her read this poem at West Chester University’s Form and Narrative Conference, and the audience was held in thrall at the imagery—and the poignant ending, which I will not ruin here. In conclusion, anyone who enjoys poetic form, or who is simply interested in the best of today’s poetry, will be well rewarded with a trip through A. E. Stallings’ Like.  By McKeely Tjaden
Becoming jane is a movie based on the life of Jane Austen. Becoming Jane is a Romantic Drama film that was released on August 3, 2007. The film takes place in the late 1700s- early 1800s. It is not common for women to wed for love. They don’t get a choice in who to marry. Becoming Jane is available on Netflix, YouTube, Amazon Prime, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu, and DVD. Jane Austen is played by Anne Hathaway, as a young English writer. Janes parents have nothing to give her financially. Jane needs to wed to make it in life. Her parents find a wealthy and fitting man for her. Jane is worried if she were to marry him, she would lose her creativity in her writing. Jane writes about her life experiences and her love story. When she feels something for someone, she feels the need to write it down and tell people about it. Jane wouldn’t have anything write about if she didn’t love the man she marries. Jane doesn’t want to marry for money, she wants to marry the man she falls in love with. Her parents want what’s best for her. Jane’s mother married for love and they don’t have a lot, and the last thing she wants for her daughter is to end up like her. Tom Lefroy is a bright young man. He is a lawyer, but he doesn’t like to follow the rules. His uncle sends him away from the city out to the country to straighten up. He believes this works until his uncle finds out the truth about Jane’s marriage offer. Tom Lefroy is played by James McAvoy. Tom has no money or property. Becoming Jane was a very interesting movie, there were things that I loved about this movie. I really enjoyed the rebelliousness that Jane had towards her family. She knew what she wanted in life and she was not going to let anyone tell her what to do. I think other people would enjoy this film because it’s not just about Jane’s tough times in her writing, but it also shows us the struggle of her love life. I think Highschool kids will really enjoy this film. In the world now teens are always looking for love. This movie is a perfect example of not letting your parents tell you who to marry and marrying the person you love.  Here are some links for writers who want to continue to submit their work. These are a mix of multiple sources varying from Midwest, Youth, and International focuses. The bullet points are literary magazines Hot Dish Editors have found and give our full support to. New Pages Youth Guide (https://www.newpages.com/writers-resources/young-authors-guide)
Entropy (https://entropymag.org/category/where-to-submit/) (https://entropymag.org/where-to-submit-december-january-and-february-2018-19/) (https://entropymag.org/small-press-database/)
Poets & Writers (https://www.pw.org/literary_magazines)
All links should lead to thier respectful websites.  Over the month of January former Buena Vista University student Haylie Book joined Hot Dish over a skype call to talk about her experience in the publishing world. Here are some of her comments about the oppotunity.
Why did you decide to pursue an internship? What were you hoping to get out of it? I knew I had money saved up from my Dean’s Fellows, and I wanted to use it to get some kind of cool experience, whether it be traveling abroad, a J-term class, or some internship experience. I started talking to Dr. Gwen Hart about internship opportunities, and I really liked the idea of getting involved with a publishing company. It sounded really cool because I love books and reading, so I wanted to learn more about the other side of it. How many internships did you apply to originally? Why did you apply to those places specifically? What was your strategy in presenting yourself in internship applications? I applied to many internships, probably around 10 or so. I had a longer list, but then decided I wanted to be in the Minneapolis area, so I shortened it to fit that. I chose that area because there are so many publishing companies around. When applying, I tried to show each place that I was interested in their publishing company, specifically. I had a template for my cover letter and other submission materials, but I would diversify it for each company I applied for, in order to direct it specifically to their company. This meant including their values, specific pieces of work they’ve published, etc. Just trying to show each one that I had really done my research on their company. When and where did your internship take place? (Company, city, dates, etc.) The Creative Company is located in Mankato, Minnesota. I started in the first week of September, all the way through the third week of December. I would be in-house once a week and work from home the rest of the week. What kind of work did you do at your internship? There were many types of work that I was doing. It began with simple editing and proofreading of shorter works. I then would work on fact-checking those works, to ensure every “fact” in the manuscript was correct. I then would move to longer manuscripts. I also looked over their marketing materials for errors and continuity. I would enter data for potential customers to look over, such as ISBN numbers, authors, age ranges, grade ranges, etc. Towards the end, they began letting me be the first eye on a fresh new manuscript, meaning I was the first person to read through and edit/proofread/fact-check it, which was pretty cool. Another fun task they gave me was to go back through older manuscripts, and re-fact check them (in case any facts had changed) and then remove up to 40% of the material and enter in new information or stories. This allowed them to republish the materials to fit the times a bit more. What was your favorite experience at your internship? Least favorite? My favorite experience was being the first eye on a manuscript. It could be a bit intimidating, but it would be pretty cool to be the first one to look at this manuscript. At that point, there are so many changes that can be made. I like being the person to suggest those changes, especially when you would see those changes made in future drafts. My least favorite was the editing of shorter manuscripts. Many of them were kindergarten level, so barely any words on a page. You could do it in a total of two minutes; it just didn’t always seem as important as the other work I was doing. Overall, what do you think was the benefit of performing this internship? What do you think you got out of it? I learned so much about working in a professional environment. Having to communicate with my supervisor, the other editors, the designers, etc. was pretty eye-opening into the world of the publishing industry. There is constantly so much happening, and dates that need to be met. They’re a smaller company, so I was really able to learn all of the inner-workings of the publishing industry and learn how vital communication between all parties is. I would say my communication skills definitely improved, especially since I was only in-house once a week. I had to communicate over technology often, which was something I maybe wasn’t so sure of before this internship. I also just learned so much about the publishing industry, including the ways that they market materials, their processes for editing/proofreading, and even how they distribute their books. Overall, it was a pretty neat introduction to the publishing world, but also gave me many benefits into the world of being an adult and working with a company. Is there any advice you would give to other students (college or high school) about either the value of an internship or how to get one? I think an internship can be so helpful, first of all to show you if you truly enjoy the work in that specific industry. It can also be nice to learn about working in a professional environment and helping you gather/strengthen the skills you’ve been learning in the classroom. I think every student should complete at least one internship during their time at BV, especially considering how willing BV is to help and accommodate students before and during their experience. It can be so eye-opening to actually be put into the work you’ve been studying and practicing for, and you’ll learn pretty quick if it’s what you really want to be doing or not. As far as getting an internship, I think it’s important to really research the places you are applying to and diversify your materials to show that company that you actually know them and what to work for them. It sets you apart from people who don’t diversify their work, and I think companies can definitely tell when you send in the same cover letter/other materials to many different companies. Show that company that you are interested in them specifically and tell them why you are interested in them.  Instructor Clark McFerren has been teaching English for over 40 years and through all three editions of Hot Dish Magazine has pushed his students to submit their work. What drives Mr. McFerren to support his students and Hot Dish? We, the editors, asked ourselves this and finally decided to email these questions to Mr. McFerren. Down below are his responses.
What classes do you teach and for what grades? This year I am only teaching seniors: two classes of British/Western Lit. and one section of AP Lit. and Comp. What drives you to have your students submit to Hot Dish? Hot Dish is valuable for at least three reasons:
How do you help your students when they wish to submit a poem or story? This year I focused on form fitting function, so Hot Dish editors were probably inundated with sonnets, villanelles and sestinas. These forms have well known set rules regarding format, rhyme, word placement and, in the case of the sonnet, meter. I had a few students who have written sestinas and villanelles far superior to any I have attempted. Unfortunately for Hot Dish they were required to send at least one of those forms and they could send others after that in free verse or another format of their choosing. In most cases the rigid forms taught them how to improve their "personal" poetry. Who is your favorite author or what are your favorite books? Among my favorite poets I count Emily Dickinson, e.e. cummings, Stephen Crane, T.S Eliot. Among my favorite authors I count Mark Twain. Dante, Kurt Vonnegut, Flannery O'Connor, Jane Austen, and C. S. Lewis. For old timers like me Shakespeare is a given in both categories. Do you have any words of wisdom for young and emerging authors? I got some advice from Kurt Vonnegut about writing. He had given a reading at the University of Iowa in the late 70s (my memory isn't precise). Afterwards he and a group of grad students went across the street to Joe's, a bar he had frequented when he was in the Writers' Workshop. I was stupid enough to ask his advice. He was drunk, but it was good advice--which I never took. He said, “Somebody always asks that g--damned question. It'll cost you the next round. If you want to be a writer, just write and nothing else." Now God bless you and get back to class, Clark "Mick" McFerren! P.S. That next round cost me $15. In today's money that's about $45! This week Hot Dish Magazine is excited to present High Schooler Mary Graff's thoughts on writing, being published two years in a row, and advice for emerging authors. 
How does it feel to be published in Hot Dish two years in a row? I am very grateful to be published in Hot Dish two years in a row. I have been able to share poems with a wide arrange of feelings, that I hope the readers are able to feel. What is your writing process? When I sit down to write my poems, I do not have a set writing process, but I do tend to prefer to write alone in silence. Where do you draw inspiration for your pieces? I like to channel common emotions that everyone can relate with and understand. Has there been anyone that has helped or inspired you with your writing? I am very thankful for my AP Literature and Composition class for giving me opportunities to work on my writing. My teacher, Mr. McFerren, allowed me to write with creative freedom, and create works I am truly proud of. Do you have any words of wisdom for other young and emerging authors? If I could give any words of wisdom for the youth and emerging authors, it would be to not rush your work and never write anything that feels forced, your inspiration will come to you and you will crate something amazing.  Majerus Dulberg has been published in all three editions of Hot Dish Magazine including our latest edition Words Become Reality. And we took this opportunity to ask Majerus a little bit about his writing and what pushes him to write.
What is your writing process? I like to figure out what I would like to write about and think of the best possible ending for that specific piece, then work around the ending so it makes sense. Since, in my opinion, without a decent ending the poem can be left on a cliffhanger or even rushed too much to seem truly done. Where do you draw inspiration for your pieces? I get inspired off of friends of mine, or songs I hear, Rapper "Slick Rick" has a son produced called Hey Young World where he spreads a similar message encouraging the youth to appreciate their life and not make silly mistakes. I liked that idea, as well as rapper J Cole's song 1985 (Intro to "The Fall Off") where he tells young and upcoming artists/rappers to spend their new wealth wisely yet enjoy being young. How does it feel to be published in Hot Dish three years in a row? It's satisfying to get an email, or my English teacher tell me I've been published, now for 3 years in a row. I feel I have grown in the process from my first publication "ABC's Poem". Has there been anyone that has helped or inspired you with your writing? My dad was a huge inspiration for my writings, since he is an amazing writer when he writes anything. I got my knack for writing from him, and he even critiqued my work before submission. However, I write all my pieces entirely on my own. Do you have any words of wisdom for other young and emerging authors? Words to the next generation. . .Keep at it, and never give up. I've been writing for years and only submitted my first poem as a challenge from my English teacher. Without thinking it was written well enough to actually be published. When she told me it was published I almost screamed in class as well as knew, finally, I might have had a real talent. I never gave up, and I know if anybody gives up, they can't get better. So, in order to get better you must challenge yourself. You may find out something you never knew about yourself.  Alyssa Brockob has been published in every issue of Hot Dish Magazine, including our current issue "Words Become Reality". The Hot Dish Editors finally decided that it was time to figure out what drove Alyssa to write and submit said work to our magazine. Below is an excerpt from the email interview conducted with Alyssa.
What is your writing process? I write what I feel, or see. I am rarely able to just sit down and think to myself "Okay, it's time to write." Personal experience, pain, and beauty in the things around me are what help me to be able to create poetry and stories. I write on impulse, and once that impulse starts, everything else just comes together. Where do you draw inspiration for your pieces? I found inspiration for both my pieces in my friends and the things we speak on and accomplish together. I have found that lately, I have taken many of my experiences with them and turned those experiences into poetry—it does help, however, that all of these people are artists in some shape or form. They are natural muses. How does it feel to be published in Hot Dish Magazine two years in a row? It feels very good; I remember the excitement I had when I received the email last year saying that I was getting published. It was my first published piece of writing and really helped me to expand my work, as well as get more confident with sharing it to the world. Has there been anyone that has helped or inspired you with your writing? Everyone. Without the people around me at school, home, and in the place I live, I would have nothing to write about. However, my two best friends have been so helpful in devoting themselves to create in me a better writer. They easily accept my late night requests to read some half-well-put-together poem or monologue. Both of them are wonderful givers of feedback and praise, and truly want for me to succeed. Do you have any words of wisdom for other young and emerging authors? Find something that pains you, something that makes you tear up. The passion that comes with pain, I have found, is nowhere near the passion that comes forth in excitement. Write with a bleeding heart— hold back nothing, and never stop writing. Writing is a pastime, an anti-depressant, and a companion. It's a beautiful thing all should experience.  This year marks the third issue of Hot Dish Magazine, and we’re as excited as ever to see so many submissions from both new and returning authors. Our focus this year has been on working closely with our authors to improve their works before publication, exploring new ways to phrase their ideas and to tease out the messages they want to convey. We may have accepted fewer submissions this year than in previous issues, but by working closely with our authors we were able to bring out the best possible versions of their pieces. Thank you so much to everyone who submitted and cooperated with us in the editing process! We hope to hear from you again next year.
Our Hot Dish Challenge this year revolved around making creative use of a set of words we provided (exhaust, blade, rusty, shuffle, brittle, shake, feather) in any creative writing style. Many of our submissions made creative use of these words, but our category winner “Someone Who Always Pays,” written by Collette Grace, impressed us with its strong, well-written dialogue and well-developed characters. Our poetry submissions this year impressed us with their wide variety, from formal forms like sestinas and villanelles to experiments with shape and format, and on every topic from strong emotional pieces to simple, positive odes to items, places, and moments. Our category winner was Greta Sents’s “The River and the Earth.” Originally submitted as two separate poems, the relation between the two and their unique formatting made them work well as a combined poem, and each impressed us with its dreamlike interpretation of these natural elements. Fantasy ran strong this year in our short fiction category, with both of our accepted submissions (“A Simple Story” and “The King’s Battle”) making good use of fantasy settings and tropes. In the end, we chose Ben Kockelman’s “A Simple Story” as our winner for its well-written dialogue, sense of place, and the way it played with the meta of its own story. While it was not selected as an award winner, Grant Lenz’s poetry piece “The Show Goes On” inspired our title, describing the breathtaking moment in which a theater production begins and a fictional story briefly becomes reality for its audience. We’d like to extend a thank you to everyone involved in the publication of this issue, from our courageous submitters to our tireless editors, and the instructors on both ends that push their students to achieve. Please enjoy the third issue of Hot Dish Magazine, “Words Become Reality.” —The Editors, Tanner Jensen & Dalton Machholz, with guest editor Emily Wedell |
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