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Mark Dostert

Goodreads Author

Born

The United States

Website

http://www.markdostert.com

Genre

Nonfiction

Influences

Flannery O'Connor, Raymond Carver, William Trevor, Yiyun Li, James Bal ...more

Member Since

July 2007

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I grew up in Bedford, a suburb of Dallas and went to public schools. Now I teach Creative Writing at a public middle school. I hold an MA in English from University of Houston and teach essay workshops at Writespace. My current writing project is an aspiring short story collection set in 1990s to the near-present day Chicago.

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What’s your advice for aspiring writers?

Mark Dostert I heard Jhumpa Lahiri say, "Write the book you want to read." I think that is what most writers are doing whether they realize it or not. And keep wri…moreI heard Jhumpa Lahiri say, "Write the book you want to read." I think that is what most writers are doing whether they realize it or not. And keep writing and revising and writing and revising until what you have on the page begins to mean something to you. Only then will it have a chance of meaning something to a stranger. (less)

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What are you currently working on?

Mark Dostert Presently, I am working on 10 or so short stories set in 1990s Chicago--when I was a college student and later a juvenile jail guard there. Most of th…morePresently, I am working on 10 or so short stories set in 1990s Chicago--when I was a college student and later a juvenile jail guard there. Most of the stories will involve strangers of differing socioeconomic backgrounds coming into contact with each other--some by coincidence and some by intention. My plan is for half of them to be first person POV and half to be third person POV. Some of my mentor texts for this collection are 'Dubliners' by Joyce, 'Lost in the City' by Edward P. Jones, 'A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain' by Robert Olen Butler, 'War by Candlelight' by Daniel Alarcon, 'Come Together, Fall Apart' by Cristina Henriquez, and 'A Thousand Years of Good Prayers' by Yiyun Li. So far I have five stories beyond first draft. Two of them came close to acceptance at 'One Story.'(less)

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Mark Dostert’s books

Average rating: 2.94 · 36 ratings · 7 reviews · 2 distinct works

	Up in Here: Jailing Kids on Chicago's Other Side 2.94 avg rating — 36 ratings — published 2014	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The LiterART Greyhound: 2015 by Johnston Greyhounds, Cindy Dinneen (Editor), Mark Dostert (Goodreads Author) (Editor) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars