tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28789166869881241752024-03-12T23:36:28.151-05:00Uncommon Hours"I have learned this at least by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours." —Henry David ThoreauRobert F Sommerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15671917508741553542noreply@blogger.comBlogger369125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2878916686988124175.post-49037966903096795852020-06-05T10:18:00.002-05:002020-06-05T10:32:54.482-05:00'Zombie Power Plant' recounts the Sierra Club-Kansas Chapter victory over coal-burning utility<br />
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<span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">For over fifteen years the Sierra Club-Kansas Chapter waged an epic battle to prevent a new coal-burning utility plant from breaking ground in Holcomb, Kansas. "Zombie Power Plant" recounts that saga in a new release by Fomite Press in its 'Tracts' series. Ebooks free except for Kindle ($0.99). Print copies $3.99. Order here:</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"> </span><a href="https://www.fomitepress.com/tracts.html"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">https://www.fomitepress.com/tracts.html</span></a></b></div>
Robert F Sommerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15671917508741553542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2878916686988124175.post-23573901521725819952019-10-05T16:36:00.000-05:002019-10-05T16:37:21.757-05:00'Losing Francis' receives highest honors at the 2019 Thorpe Menn Awards luncheon<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>Losing Francis: Essays on the Wars at Home</i> is the recipient of the 2019 Thorpe Menn Literary Excellence Award, sponsored by the American Association of University Women - Kansas City.</span><br />
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<br />Robert F Sommerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15671917508741553542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2878916686988124175.post-44725556789498104492019-08-01T14:38:00.001-05:002019-08-01T15:34:25.535-05:00'Losing Francis: Essays on the Wars at Home' nominated for the 2019 Thorpe Menn Literary Excellence Award<div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Losing Francis: Essays on the Wars at Home</i> has been nominated for the 2019 Thorpe Menn Literary Excellence Award.</span></div>
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<span class="style_2" style="color: #424242; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 18px; opacity: 1;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="style_3" style="color: #424242; font-stretch: normal; font-style: italic; font-weight: 400; line-height: 18px; opacity: 1;">"Losing Francis</span><span class="style_2" style="color: #424242; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; line-height: 18px; opacity: 1;"> is a vibrant, indispensable document of life in our time.”</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="style_2" style="color: #424242; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 18px; opacity: 1;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="style_2" style="color: #424242; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; line-height: 18px; opacity: 1;"> –Whitney Terrell, author of </span><span class="style_3" style="color: #424242; font-stretch: normal; font-style: italic; font-weight: 400; line-height: 18px; opacity: 1;">The Good Lieutenant</span></span></span></span></div>
<br /><span class="style_2" style="color: #424242; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 18px; opacity: 1;"><span class="style_3" style="color: #424242; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 18px; opacity: 1;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="style_2" style="color: #424242; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; line-height: 18px; opacity: 1;">"Sommer’s prose often rises to the poetic, his storytelling is poignant yet never sentimental, and his unflinching honesty in relating his son’s life and death leave the reader with a lump in the throat and a righteous anger. </span><span class="style_3" style="color: #424242; font-stretch: normal; font-style: italic; font-weight: 400; line-height: 18px; opacity: 1;">Losing Francis</span><span class="style_2" style="color: #424242; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; line-height: 18px; opacity: 1;"> will surely take its earned place in the lamentably-large library of great literature of the home front.”</span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://fomitepress.com/Francis.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Learn more about <i>Losing Francis</i> and order your copy here.</span></a></h3>
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Robert F Sommerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15671917508741553542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2878916686988124175.post-38942789403647149332019-01-18T15:55:00.002-06:002019-01-18T15:55:43.363-06:00‘Cooking with Francis’: a seven-year labor of love!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">It's finally here, after seven years of cooking, testing, and writing <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">—</span> <i>Cooking with Francis: Gourmet Home Cooking</i>, by Heather Sommer! </span></div>
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<a href="http://www.lulu.com/shop/heather-sommer/cooking-with-francis-gourmet-home-cooking/paperback/product-23920598.html" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="315" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YRKrSWbNyUA/XEH4ZdquFFI/AAAAAAAAEsU/scdjahguSPw9jp8R23jLn9NiKO0v8XLwACEwYBhgL/s1600/Cookbook1.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Francis's mother knew how important his log-book was when he was lost — the culmination of his culinary arts degree, over 100 recipes from his classwork and years at a popular Kansas City bistro. She resized (eight gallons of pesto sauce!?) and tested every recipe for the family table, pushing herself, with no formal training, to amazing new levels of understanding food and its sources and preparation and cultural meaning. The result is a beautiful cookbook with recipes for every occasion and taste, and stories to go with many of them. Proceeds will support Heifer International and <a href="http://francisfund.org/">FrancisFund.org</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><br /></span>Robert F Sommerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15671917508741553542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2878916686988124175.post-76495435564839325032019-01-02T07:27:00.000-06:002019-01-02T07:27:02.945-06:00‘A Must-Read Narrative of US Military Family Life': A new Amazon review for ‘Losing Francis'<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Losing-Francis-Essays-Wars-Home/dp/194438846X/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1520093231&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=summer+losing+francis" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="https://www.amazon.com/Losing-Francis-Essays-Wars-Home/dp/194438846X/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1520093231&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=summer+losing+francis" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1060" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-o41V4_B7eIE/WprIDaU51bI/AAAAAAAAD7s/OZD8-m9-QeYIdOnAAPFI8-e2eCkW5ZgQwCLcBGAs/s200/LF%2BCover_HR.jpg" width="131" /></a>
<b>By William M. Decker</b><br />
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<i>Losing Francis: Essays on the War at Home</i> should take its place among the most important recent narratives of US military family life. In clear, courageous, and eloquent prose, Robert Sommer documents what it’s like for parents and siblings to endure, day by day, and hour by hour, not only their loved one’s overseas tour of duty, but that loved one’s perilous return to a homeland that cannot possibly understand the veteran’s trauma and that is grossly unprepared to address the challenges of re-entry. This is a book that needs to be read by legislators and ordinary citizens who, unless they have a more or less direct link to those we have called upon to fight the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere, can form no conception of the burdens our soldiers and their families are asked to bear. <i>Losing Francis</i> illuminates one of the great social invisibilities of contemporary American life. It should be on everyone’s list of 2018/2019 must-read titles.
Robert F Sommerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15671917508741553542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2878916686988124175.post-15806311042785555932018-11-12T14:03:00.002-06:002018-11-12T14:05:22.713-06:00Disarming Armistice Day / Truthout<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://truthout.org/articles/one-hundred-years-later-its-time-to-disarm-armistice-day/" target="_blank">My op-ed on Armistice Day in Truthout …</a> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">"These days might better serve us, and those whom we mean to honor, by meditating on needless sacrifice, needless wars, opportunities lost, the reality of war’s awfulness, as those at the first Remembrance Day did."</span></span><br />
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HK-WKu6zivE/W-nZcIuIraI/AAAAAAAAEZU/rcVy7I_LoeY71_CkxxW2TWiyYg624Wu2ACLcBGAs/s1600/Truthout.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://fomitepress.com/Francis.html" target="_blank">Visit Fomite Press for more on my new book, <i>Losing Francis: Essays on the Wars at Home</i>.</a></span>Robert F Sommerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15671917508741553542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2878916686988124175.post-52869576302699976632018-11-07T09:58:00.003-06:002018-11-07T10:06:24.911-06:00'Losing Francis brings memory to lyrical life' - a new review<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Chicago writer Lew Rosenbaum has posted a new review of <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39022093-losing-francis" target="_blank">Losing Francis: Essays on the Wars at Home</a></i> at the Chicago Labor and Arts Festival Blog, which he also edits.<br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Read his review here: <a href="https://chilaborarts.wordpress.com/2018/11/05/6334/" target="_blank">"Thank You for Your Service"</a></span><br />
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Robert F Sommerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15671917508741553542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2878916686988124175.post-46799080412666101452018-10-15T14:12:00.000-05:002018-10-15T14:14:25.216-05:00"The Art of Grief: 'Windows and Mirrors'" at the Ulrich Museum of Art<br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I'm honored to be invited to speak at the Ulrich Museum of Art, at Wichita State University, on October 17th, about my exploration of the American Friends Service Committee exhibit, "Windows and Mirrors: Reflections of the War in Afghanistan," which toured North America in 2011-12.<br /><br />For the benefit of attendees and anyone who may be interested, I'm posting here several links related to the exhibit and my presentation:<br /><br /><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/194438846X?m=A21N2PMT87T1T4&ref_=v_sp_widget_detail_page" target="_blank"><i>Losing Francis: Essays on the Wars at Home</i> -- which includes "The Art of Grief: 'Windows and Mirrors'" (revised)</a><br /><br /><a href="https://www.thecommononline.org/the-art-of-grief-windows-and-mirrors/" target="_blank">"The Art of Grief: 'Windows and Mirrors'" -- my essay as it first appeared in <i>The Common On-Line</i></a><br /><br /><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mQAQKwn-Huq7U5SPR8gcXJvn_rNkpIIk/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Catalogue for "Windows and Mirrors: Reflections on the War in Afghanistan"</a><br /><br /><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/afscphotos/5039005459/in/photostream/" target="_blank">Flickr gallery of "Windows and Mirrors" paintings</a></span>Robert F Sommerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15671917508741553542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2878916686988124175.post-7734086687013607292018-05-06T17:53:00.001-05:002018-05-06T17:53:25.644-05:00Fifteen Years in Iraq: No Place Safe There, or Here<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The anniversary of the Iraq invasion mostly slips under the radar every year. Truthout.org posted my contribution to commemorating fifteen years of war in Iraq--and we're still there.</span><br />
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<u><span style="color: #000120;"></span></u><br /><a href="http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/43885-fifteen-years-in-iraq-there-was-no-place-safe-there-or-here?tmpl=component" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #0066cc; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" target="_blank">http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/43885-fifteen-years-in-iraq-there-was-no-place-safe-there-or-here?tmpl=component</a><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Robert F Sommerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15671917508741553542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2878916686988124175.post-57137819681295564192018-03-28T09:55:00.005-05:002018-04-18T19:27:29.186-05:00Great reading at Prospero's Books in Kansas City!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I had the honor of sharing time with John Musgrave, who recently appeared in the Burns & Novick Vietnam series on PBS, and poet H.C. Palmer, Vietnam veteran field surgeon and poet. </span></div>
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<a href="http://www.fomitepress.com/Francis.html"><img alt="http://www.fomitepress.com/Francis.html" border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="199" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Tf9wo5JAm3Y/WruswQVal2I/AAAAAAAAEAI/wBNQgTZVUzA92FyzZNM8vkcp-TopxOHdQCLcBGAs/s1600/Francis%2Bcover%2Bfor%2Bweb.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/194438846X?m=A21N2PMT87T1T4&ref_=v_sp_widget_detail_page" target="_blank"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Order your copy 'Losing Francis: Essays on the Wars at Home' from Tallgrass Books<br />here and request a personal inscription.</span></i></b></a></div>
Robert F Sommerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15671917508741553542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2878916686988124175.post-39025112507087257442018-03-07T09:27:00.001-06:002018-03-07T10:03:12.935-06:00'Losing Francis' featured on WIBW-TV, Topeka<br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I had an opportunity to discuss <i><a href="http://www.fomitepress.com/Francis.html" target="_blank">Losing Francis: Essays on the Wars at Home</a> </i>with Ralph Hipp on WIBW-TV, Topeka. Click on the image for the full interview.</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/WIBWRalphHipp/videos/1847947181903108/" target="_blank"><img alt="https://www.facebook.com/WIBWRalphHipp/videos/1847947181903108/" border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1334" height="223" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-a3mLtTG8EbQ/WqADKITBt5I/AAAAAAAAD8g/wGC6OPVv8PcjBcAlR1GHd2xcauu1oyHRwCEwYBhgL/s400/WIBW%2BTV%2B20180306.PNG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br />Robert F Sommerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15671917508741553542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2878916686988124175.post-81097156116876026702018-03-03T10:11:00.004-06:002018-04-18T19:36:31.035-05:00'Losing Francis' released by Fomite Press<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" font-size: 12;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I think of <i>Losing Francis</i>
not as a story of our family, or in a sense even him, but rather as a
portrait of our nation's journey through a decade of American war.</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
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<img alt="https://www.amazon.com/Losing-Francis-Essays-Wars-Home/dp/194438846X/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1520093231&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=summer+losing+francis" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1060" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JW1953djgH8/WprJE3YVEXI/AAAAAAAAD74/jSoB6Gss4yoIU0aauKpbKNNhjOnefFWZQCLcBGAs/s400/LF%2BCover_HR.jpg" title="" width="263" /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/194438846X?m=A21N2PMT87T1T4&ref_=v_sp_widget_detail_page" target="_blank"><b><i>Available now on Amazon.</i></b></a></span></div>
Robert F Sommerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15671917508741553542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2878916686988124175.post-73262780377679866282018-02-22T11:35:00.000-06:002018-02-22T11:43:16.157-06:00'Losing Francis: Essays on the Wars at Home' available now for pre-order<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Slated for release by Fomite Press on March 1st, and available for pre-order now.</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.fomitepress.com/Francis.html" target="_blank"><img alt="http://www.fomitepress.com/Francis.html" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1060" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-22rb99-_DWA/Wo78z8tt5eI/AAAAAAAAD6g/sljn4YRE8IQONM699-I-V4c67xck4MxfQCEwYBhgL/s400/LF%2BCover_HR.jpg" width="263" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span class="style_2">"Both harrowing and lovely, </span><i><span class="style_3">Losing Francis</span></i><span class="style_2"> is a vibrant, indispensable document of life in our time.”</span></span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span class="style_2"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span class="style_2"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span class="style_2">—</span></span>Whitney Terrell, author of </span><i><span class="style_3">The Good Lieutenant</span></i><span class="style_2"><br /><br />"A compelling and insightful book."</span></span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span class="style_2"> —Mark Karlin, Editor, </span><i><span class="style_3">BuzzFlash at Truthout</span></i><span class="style_2"></span><span class="style_4"><span class="style_3"><br /><br />"Losing Francis</span><span class="style_2"> will surely take its earned place in the lamentably-large library of great literature of the home front.”</span> —Jeanetta Calhoun Mish, Oklahoma State Poet Laureate 2017-18, author of </span><i><span class="style_3">What I Learned at the War</span></i><span class="style_2"><br /> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span class="style_2">“Robert F. Sommer has
written a remarkably compelling book with boldness and startling
passion....</span><span class="style_2">
It reverberates and teaches and beyond all else, it rings with hope.”</span></span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span class="style_4"> <br />—Barry Sanders, author of </span><i><span class="style_2">The Green Zone: The Environmental Costs of Militarism</span></i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span class="style_2"><br /><b><a href="http://www.fomitepress.com/Francis.html" target="_blank">Learn more here.</a></b></span></i></span><br />
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<br />Robert F Sommerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15671917508741553542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2878916686988124175.post-63960004065574463312017-07-14T08:27:00.001-05:002017-07-21T11:15:16.117-05:00The Art of Grief: ‘Windows and Mirrors’ <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.thecommononline.org/the-art-of-grief-windows-and-mirrors/" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="https://www.thecommononline.org/the-art-of-grief-windows-and-mirrors/" border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="623" height="307" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FI0URncRFms/WWjFNUF1oBI/AAAAAAAADhc/xwxUMSEQi-QMRf9rVEQqoZsP9qrDCV3ygCLcBGAs/s320/Moats_collateral.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Collateral Damage," oil painting by Lillian Moats</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Newly posted at <a href="https://www.thecommononline.org/the-art-of-grief-windows-and-mirrors/" target="_blank"><i>The Common On-Line</i></a>, <a href="https://www.thecommononline.org/the-art-of-grief-windows-and-mirrors/" target="_blank">"The Art of Grief: ‘Windows and Mirrors,’"</a> an excerpt from my work-in-progress, <i>Losing Francis: One Family's Journey through a Decade of War</i>.<br /></span>Robert F Sommerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15671917508741553542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2878916686988124175.post-49350113517816736682017-07-06T21:57:00.000-05:002017-07-06T21:57:10.817-05:00'A Great Fullness' nominated for 2017 Thorpe Menn Literary Excellence Award<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?m=1101778438216&ca=29610dae-56f7-42b1-bf4d-f9627ac2f98b" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?m=1101778438216&ca=29610dae-56f7-42b1-bf4d-f9627ac2f98b" border="0" data-original-height="332" data-original-width="400" height="165" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oCpzRUBXDGk/WV73ZUlr3gI/AAAAAAAADgc/aUqRvpUgCYM-K2KK62ehG0aIrpPbMOr2ACLcBGAs/s200/f587be3c-a52c-4ec3-8409-6f3323978457.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?m=1101778438216&ca=29610dae-56f7-42b1-bf4d-f9627ac2f98b" target="_blank"><i>A Great Fullness</i> has been nominated for the 2017 Thorpe Menn Literary Excellence Award</a>, sponsored by the Kansas City Chapter of the American Association of University Women. <br /><br />Established</span><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> in 1979 by AAUW-KC, the award honors
Thorpe Menn (1912-1979), long-time book editor of the Kansas City Star,
who supported all aspects of Kansas City’s cultural life, especially
authors and artists.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </span><br /><br /><br /></span><br /><br />Robert F Sommerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15671917508741553542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2878916686988124175.post-2692579077226920622016-12-31T07:35:00.001-06:002016-12-31T07:38:20.939-06:00'A Great Fullness' gets good marks at Goodreads!<h3 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28277062-a-great-fullness">Goodreads reviews for A Great Fullness</a></i></span></h3>
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Robert F Sommerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15671917508741553542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2878916686988124175.post-11122017281846702482016-12-01T15:23:00.001-06:002016-12-17T06:47:18.196-06:00A holiday gift for booklovers!<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> “<span class="caption">Sommer has crafted a compelling
story of fine character sketches ….”</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">--</span><i>The Wichita Eagle</i></span></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /><br />Order your copies now for the readers in your life! Click the image for more information--and please do support your local bookseller.</span></span><br />
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<a href="http://www.fomitepress.com/Fullness.html" target="_blank"><img alt="http://www.fomitepress.com/Fullness.html" border="0" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mYQkjf-vXqU/WECTJOfnwHI/AAAAAAAADRY/boou_NnuVN4MTDUEtKdJ8szusAT7_bRFwCLcB/s400/AGF%2B-%2BCover.jpg" width="257" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></span>Robert F Sommerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15671917508741553542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2878916686988124175.post-78327541356909114022016-11-01T19:31:00.000-05:002016-11-01T19:46:28.455-05:00'Rust on the Hillsides' nominated by Emrys Journal for a 2016 Pushcart Prize<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7N9qiDNZka7TFh6NDVrellzcDQ/view" target="_blank"><img alt="view" border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NGf_9QL0_3g/WBk3OBns6dI/AAAAAAAADO0/4s9M3E_58J8tTxwr0zsfPrwq9HODXVFhwCLcB/s400/Emrys1.jpg" width="282" /></a></div>
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<br />Robert F Sommerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15671917508741553542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2878916686988124175.post-17012429741586707332016-09-26T09:34:00.002-05:002016-10-26T10:21:08.904-05:00Big Tent Reading at the Raven Book Store<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LPc_sW9ii7k/V-kwtzHdoZI/AAAAAAAADLY/Nt5E5H-30QU9dBnmXHqKeygnzm-UhGoUwCLcB/s1600/Raven%2B09222016%2Bby%2BStephan%2BAnderson-Story.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LPc_sW9ii7k/V-kwtzHdoZI/AAAAAAAADLY/Nt5E5H-30QU9dBnmXHqKeygnzm-UhGoUwCLcB/s320/Raven%2B09222016%2Bby%2BStephan%2BAnderson-Story.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Photo by Stephan Anderson-Story</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It was a pleasure to join poets Janet Eigner and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=842648587&fref=ts" target="_blank">Mercedes Lucero</a> at the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ravenbookstore/?fref=ts" target="_blank">Raven Book Store</a></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> last week </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">to share excerpts from <a href="http://www.fomitepress.com/Fullness.html" target="_blank"><i>A Great Fullness</i></a> and <a href="http://bit.ly/2cuDKcO" target="_blank">"We Were Goats."</a></span><br />
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Robert F Sommerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15671917508741553542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2878916686988124175.post-3760291043513240052016-09-12T11:58:00.002-05:002016-09-23T08:06:03.958-05:00A new essay in Red Earth Review<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The 2016 issue of<i> Red Earth
Review</i> includes a new essay,<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">entitled "We Were Goats,"</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> which recounts a trip to
Louisiana to visit one of Francis's closest Army friends. A
memorable visit with some great people! Click below to read "We Were
Goats," which begins on page 164.</span></div>
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<a href="https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B7N9qiDNZka7Wm1CNG1vaFgzazg" target="_blank"><img alt="https://issuu.com/redearthreview/docs/rerissuujuly2016" border="0" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xajcCFPC_o0/V9beLha5dCI/AAAAAAAADKM/o_K4Eqb3F4cDhHPurxjaKFVJTkBHEB4BACLcB/s400/FRONT2016RERcoverCORRECTED%2Bcopy.jpg" width="268" /></a></div>
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<br />Robert F Sommerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15671917508741553542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2878916686988124175.post-65458757748589361742016-09-04T09:18:00.000-05:002016-09-04T13:23:13.356-05:00The Writers Place Presents Shawn Pavey, Bob Sommer, and Eric McHenry<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.fomitepress.com/Fullness.html" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="http://www.fomitepress.com/Fullness.html" border="0" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-n06M9n5aX6A/V8wqomE0-DI/AAAAAAAADJY/DqhQAH74THkeCBn4uHfCIPMKgdgztZqnwCLcB/s200/AGF%2B-%2BCover.jpg" width="128" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.writersplace.org/events-list/2016/3/21/wistcb8n461gslem6i2ojovusjd1pr" target="_blank">The Writers Place Reading Series Presents Shawn Pavey, Bob Sommer, and Eric McHenry</a></h1>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><time class="event-date" datetime="2016-09-16">Friday, September 16, 2016</time></span>
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<time class="event-time-12hr-start" datetime="2016-09-16"> 7:00pm</time>
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<time class="event-time-12hr-end" datetime="2016-09-16"> 9:00pm</time></span>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I'm honored to join Kansas Poet Laureate <a class="profileLink" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/user.php?id=10731846" href="https://www.facebook.com/ericmchenry">Eric McHenry</a>
and poet Shawn Pavey at The Writers Place in Kansas City on Friday, September 16th,
7:00 p.m., to read and discuss my new novel, <a href="http://www.fomitepress.com/Fullness.html" target="_blank">A Great Fullness</a>, as well as current work-in-progress. Looking forward to a great evening!</span></span><br />
<br />Robert F Sommerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15671917508741553542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2878916686988124175.post-49438043287857260752016-07-01T09:37:00.000-05:002016-09-19T11:33:08.939-05:00Kansas City writers group focuses on veterans returning home from war<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I was honored to play a small part in this excellent piece.</span><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0bZA5pbfIt8" width="560"></iframe>
Robert F Sommerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15671917508741553542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2878916686988124175.post-42844458246779271782016-06-22T09:12:00.003-05:002016-06-22T09:50:33.001-05:00A new essay in Emrys Journal<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">"Rust on the Hillsides," a new essay from work-in-progress, appears in <i>Emrys Journal</i>'s annual issue. </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B7N9qiDNZka7TFh6NDVrellzcDQ" target="_blank"><img alt="https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B7N9qiDNZka7TFh6NDVrellzcDQ" border="0" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_Hmqltxwm2I/V2qlluMhDnI/AAAAAAAADGQ/EBMoSxQl4kkq-71aysZRZsGJ06V_V4JTQCLcB/s400/Emrys%2BVol%2B33.jpg" width="261" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />The journal only appears in print, but a copy of the essay is available on Google Drive. Click on the image to read "Rust on the Hillsides." The print issue is available here:<br /><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.emrys.org/bookstore/volume-33-2016">http://www.emrys.org/bookstore/volume-33-2016</a> </span></span></span>Robert F Sommerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15671917508741553542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2878916686988124175.post-12396914696379384612016-05-24T10:55:00.001-05:002016-05-24T10:55:49.508-05:00Reading & signing for 'A Great Fullness' at Watermark Books, Wichita!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-B5JRGriWxBI/V0R5HuHdguI/AAAAAAAADB0/F1l6FGBrOjsrxzSucqkgpqCJ5qP_PL3FQCLcB/s1600/Watermark%2Bposter.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-B5JRGriWxBI/V0R5HuHdguI/AAAAAAAADB0/F1l6FGBrOjsrxzSucqkgpqCJ5qP_PL3FQCLcB/s320/Watermark%2Bposter.png" width="205" /></a></div>
<br />Robert F Sommerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15671917508741553542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2878916686988124175.post-50357706766053824612016-04-10T06:56:00.000-05:002016-04-10T13:06:55.076-05:00Wichita Eagle: 'A Great Fullness' is 'a compelling story'!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Hc7jTGEdKuQ/VwqWFdQ5I-I/AAAAAAAAC2c/fhzKBeTLe6UwZVIh4MTpovAp9DnP_ISmw/s1600/Wichita%2BEagle%2BReview_AGF.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Hc7jTGEdKuQ/VwqWFdQ5I-I/AAAAAAAAC2c/fhzKBeTLe6UwZVIh4MTpovAp9DnP_ISmw/s320/Wichita%2BEagle%2BReview_AGF.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Praise for <i>A Great Fullness</i> in the Wichita Eagle:
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"Sommer has crafted a compelling story of fine character sketches, filling in enough details of both major and minor figures to reflect lives that are complicated, compensating as best they can for the blows the world has dealt each one. No one of them is whole or unscarred, and each must determine how they will endure their own pain and how they will respond to those most important in their lives."
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<a href="http://www.kansas.com/entertainment/books/article70916997.html" target="_blank">Read the complete review here.</a>Robert F Sommerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15671917508741553542noreply@blogger.com