New York Times, renowned author
Alexandria Constantinova Szeman
Both of my Holocaust books, THE KOMMANDANT'S MISTRESS, and WHERE LIGHTNING STRIKES: POEMS ON THE HOLOCAUST, are a trib
Legal name ALEXANDRIA CONSTANTINOVA SZEMAN. (Formerly writing as "Sherri"
because 1st Editor said my name "wouldn't fit on cover of book", and I was too
stunned by HarperCollins' acceptance and too naive to realize that any name can
fit on any book; after the critical success of my 1st novel, subsequent
editors/agents didn't want to publish books under my real name for fear they'd
"lose name recognition" of first book).
Author of critically acclaimed and award-winning THE KOMMANDANT'S MISTRESS (a
novel; HarperCollins 1993, HarperPerennial 1994, Arcade 2000; translated into 10
foreign languages). The Kommandant of a Nazi Concentration Camp forces Jewish
inmate to be his "mistress": Part 1 told from his perspective, Part 2 from hers,
Part 3 from that of an ostensibly objective biographer/historian. Winner of the
University of Rochester's Kafka Prize 1994 for "best book of prose fiction by an
American woman" and chosen as one of THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW's "Top 100
Books of 1993". Republished in Revised & Expanded, 20th Anniversary Edition.
Includes Preface; original story & poem which inspired novel; discussion
questions for book groups, teachers, & students; as well as a
chapter-by-chapter scene index.
The writing style of THE KOMMANDANT'S MISTRESS and ONLY WITH THE HEART is
highly unusual, moving as it does from past to present to a further-back-past
and to present again, seemingly without warning. It imitates how the mind works,
especially with respect to memory, where everything always appears to be
happening in the present; and where thoughts, sounds, smells, feelings, and
words lead to memories which then lead to other thoughts, feelings, etc. and to
other memories associatively. Sometimes the switch between scenes in these two
novels is triggered by words in the narrator's memory; at other times, the
switch is triggered symbolically by something in the previous scene(s). For
dialogue tags, only "s/he said" is used, even for questions (as William Faulkner
does in his books & stories) so that the reader can interpret for himself
how the character is saying the lines.
Author of critically acclaimed creative writing book MASTERING POINT OF VIEW
(Story Press, 2001). Being republished as MASTERING POINT OF VIEW: USING POV IN
FICTION TO CREATE CONFLICT, DEVELOP CHARACTERS, AND INCREASE SUSPENSE; REVISED,
UPDATED, & EXPANDED; 10TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION. New edition will include
examples of traditional, Indie, & self-published authors whose books have
come out since POV first released as well as additional, new exercises. (August
2012)
Author of two critically acclaimed & award-winning poetry collections,
each of which contains some poems from Ph.D. dissertation of original poetry,
SURVIVOR: ONE WHO SURVIVES (University of Cincinnati, 1986). All poems
originally published individually in University or Literary Journals. Winner of
the Elliston Poetry Prize, 1983, 1984, 1985; Michigan State University's THE
CENTENNIAL REVIEW Michael Miller Award for Poetry, 1985; & The Isabel &
Mary Neff Fellowship for Creative Writing 1984-1985.
WHERE LIGHTNING STRIKES: POEMS OF THE HOLOCAUST contains "Survivor: One Who
Survives," "Cutthroat: A Player who Plays for Himself," "First Day of German
Class," "The Day the Snakes Came," "The Dead Bodies that Line the Streets," and
the title poem, among others. (July 2012)
Author of the award-winning collection of short stories, NAKED, WITH GLASSES
(Grand Prize Winner, UKA Press International Writing Competition, 2007; title
story 3rd prize in STORY MAGAZINE's "Seven Deadly Sins Contest", 1995). Includes
crowd-pleasing title story, in addition to "St. Jerome Emiliani Comes to the
Church Picnic," "VC in the USA," "BusMan," "Rebellion in the Promised Land,"
"Golgotha, Mon Amour," and others.
Follow Alexandria, her books, and her comments on writing/publishing on
Twitter. Excerpts, discussion questions for novels, new & original creative
writing exercises daily on website (and on Twitter feeds):
www.alexandriaconstantinovaszeman.com. Contact Information available on
website.
because 1st Editor said my name "wouldn't fit on cover of book", and I was too
stunned by HarperCollins' acceptance and too naive to realize that any name can
fit on any book; after the critical success of my 1st novel, subsequent
editors/agents didn't want to publish books under my real name for fear they'd
"lose name recognition" of first book).
Author of critically acclaimed and award-winning THE KOMMANDANT'S MISTRESS (a
novel; HarperCollins 1993, HarperPerennial 1994, Arcade 2000; translated into 10
foreign languages). The Kommandant of a Nazi Concentration Camp forces Jewish
inmate to be his "mistress": Part 1 told from his perspective, Part 2 from hers,
Part 3 from that of an ostensibly objective biographer/historian. Winner of the
University of Rochester's Kafka Prize 1994 for "best book of prose fiction by an
American woman" and chosen as one of THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW's "Top 100
Books of 1993". Republished in Revised & Expanded, 20th Anniversary Edition.
Includes Preface; original story & poem which inspired novel; discussion
questions for book groups, teachers, & students; as well as a
chapter-by-chapter scene index.
The writing style of THE KOMMANDANT'S MISTRESS and ONLY WITH THE HEART is
highly unusual, moving as it does from past to present to a further-back-past
and to present again, seemingly without warning. It imitates how the mind works,
especially with respect to memory, where everything always appears to be
happening in the present; and where thoughts, sounds, smells, feelings, and
words lead to memories which then lead to other thoughts, feelings, etc. and to
other memories associatively. Sometimes the switch between scenes in these two
novels is triggered by words in the narrator's memory; at other times, the
switch is triggered symbolically by something in the previous scene(s). For
dialogue tags, only "s/he said" is used, even for questions (as William Faulkner
does in his books & stories) so that the reader can interpret for himself
how the character is saying the lines.
Author of critically acclaimed creative writing book MASTERING POINT OF VIEW
(Story Press, 2001). Being republished as MASTERING POINT OF VIEW: USING POV IN
FICTION TO CREATE CONFLICT, DEVELOP CHARACTERS, AND INCREASE SUSPENSE; REVISED,
UPDATED, & EXPANDED; 10TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION. New edition will include
examples of traditional, Indie, & self-published authors whose books have
come out since POV first released as well as additional, new exercises. (August
2012)
Author of two critically acclaimed & award-winning poetry collections,
each of which contains some poems from Ph.D. dissertation of original poetry,
SURVIVOR: ONE WHO SURVIVES (University of Cincinnati, 1986). All poems
originally published individually in University or Literary Journals. Winner of
the Elliston Poetry Prize, 1983, 1984, 1985; Michigan State University's THE
CENTENNIAL REVIEW Michael Miller Award for Poetry, 1985; & The Isabel &
Mary Neff Fellowship for Creative Writing 1984-1985.
WHERE LIGHTNING STRIKES: POEMS OF THE HOLOCAUST contains "Survivor: One Who
Survives," "Cutthroat: A Player who Plays for Himself," "First Day of German
Class," "The Day the Snakes Came," "The Dead Bodies that Line the Streets," and
the title poem, among others. (July 2012)
Author of the award-winning collection of short stories, NAKED, WITH GLASSES
(Grand Prize Winner, UKA Press International Writing Competition, 2007; title
story 3rd prize in STORY MAGAZINE's "Seven Deadly Sins Contest", 1995). Includes
crowd-pleasing title story, in addition to "St. Jerome Emiliani Comes to the
Church Picnic," "VC in the USA," "BusMan," "Rebellion in the Promised Land,"
"Golgotha, Mon Amour," and others.
Follow Alexandria, her books, and her comments on writing/publishing on
Twitter. Excerpts, discussion questions for novels, new & original creative
writing exercises daily on website (and on Twitter feeds):
www.alexandriaconstantinovaszeman.com. Contact Information available on
website.