Marianne Murphy Zarzana
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"A Salty Sweet Nothing" in Notre Dame Magazine Online

4/24/2013

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One of my essays, "A Salty Sweet Nothing," was published in Notre Dame Magazine online yesterday. In the essay, I reveal how after 25 years of being married to Jim Zarzana, I finally gave him  what he really wanted all along.

Kerry Temple, editor of ND Magazine, and his staff do a terrific job covering not only the University but tackling the bigger issues around the globe. Check it out.
 
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Thomas Maltman to Read from Little Wolves at SMSU, 4/22

4/20/2013

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Thomas Maltman will be reading from his new novel, Little Wolves, at Southwest Minnesota State University on Monday, April 22 at 7 p.m. in Charter Hall 201. 

Cindy Votruba at the Marshall Independent recently wrote a feature article about Tom, "Exploring His Imagination."

While I was a graduate student working on my Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing at Minnesota State University, Mankato, Tom was also earning his MFA. I've always been impressed with Tom's fine writing, and it's an honor to be able to invite him to read at SMSU and meet with our creative writing students.

This afternoon Tom gave a terrific presentation about writing as the keynote speaker for the 9th Annual Creative Writing Contest Awards Ceremony co-sponsored by SMSU and the Southwest/West Central Service Cooperative. It's one of my favorite annual events of the academic year. This contest was established as a partnership between SMSU's Creative Writing Program and the SW/WC Service Cooperative to encourage a love of language and writing for all students and as a way to recognize the talented young writers in southwest and west central Minnesota.

Students from 3rd to 12th grade submit their stories, poems and essays, then SMSU students serve as the first-tier judges, and our English faculty serve as the second-tier judges. Steve Pacheco judged fiction, Jim Zarzana judged non-fiction, and I judged poetry.  I love meeting these students after reading their work, meeting their parents, and watching their excitement as they walk to the front of the room to receive their medal and pick up the Creating Spaces anthology with their published work. 

Writing is a solitary activity, but it is fueled by community, by connection. By a sense that writing matters. As the Director of Creative Writing at SMSU, I thank all those parents, teachers, and writers who encourage and mentor young writers, who tell them to "keep writing, keep going." We need their words, stories and poems. 
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"...Paradise will be a kind of library."

11/20/2011

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Writer Jorge Luis Borges wrote, "I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library." I agree wholeheartedly.

Last week the doors swung open to a brand new library in Marshall, Minnesota. Bright, spacious, and--though quiet--teeming with life. A kind of paradise, judging from the beaming faces of patrrons, young and old. As part of the library's grand opening, SMSU History Professor Emeritus and writer Joseph Amato gave a fascinating talk on the "ordinary versus the extraordinary" as viewed through the historical lens of daily life. Refreshments included nn 8-foot long cake in the shape of an open book, complete with a book mark, which you can view at the Marshall Independent story, "This open house takes the cake."

Another Independent story you may want to read, "New library is more than a building, speakers say," gives the full scope of the library open house.

Having spent many delicious hours in libraries in my childhood through graduate school and now at SMSU's McFarland Library, I'm thrilled to have a new public library in town complete with a cozy fireplace, study rooms and all the latest technology. 

Now for some more great quotes by writers about libraries:

"I attempted briefly to consecrate myself in the public library, believing every crack in my soul could be chinked with a book."
-Barbara Kingsolver, "The Poisonwood Bible"

"I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of any thing than of a book! When I have a house of my own, I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library." -Jane Austen, "Pride & Prejudice"

"The very existence of libraries affords the best evidence that we may yet have hope for the future of man." -T.S. Eliot

Reading obviously relates to libraries, and my husband, Jim Zarzana, posted on his website's "The Eclectic Blog" on 11/11/11 an essay titled “All Children Left Behind: The Decline of Reading in Our Lifetime." I encourage you to read it and join in the conversation by leaving a comment.

What is the library like in your town? What do you think the libraries of the future will be like? How important have libraries been in your life? Do you have a favorite library? Do you have a favorite poem, story or essay about a library? I'd love to hear your comments and stories!

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    I love to play with words. To capture moments on the page. To explore the physical and spiritual geography of what I call "fly-over country." I write from imagination, observation and my own experience of wandering in fly-over country--the literal, physical spaces of my life on the Minnesota prairie and the inner territory of the soul. 

    I teach writing at Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall, Minnesota. I enjoy cooking and traveling with my husband Jim, reading, practicing yoga, playing tennis, biking, hiking and gardening.

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