Circus Rex
Loren Niemi
Calumet Editions, 2023
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Little does Doctor Buzz know when he signs on as the Ringmaster and tour manager for the one-ring Rex Terrestrial, Celestial & Nautical Circus that he will not only be taking a ragtag collection of misfits on a six-month trip from the headwaters of the Mississippi to New Orleans, but that he will be dealing with alcoholic camels, broken down boats, too many or not enough cooks, and his own existential crisis of confidence. That and a chance to find the love of his life if he can just choose the right woman. Loosely based on the author's lived experience, this is not a memoir gone off the rails in which facts stand in awe of a good story, but an engaging fiction replete with poetic imagery, carny come-ons and offbeat humor.
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A Breviary for the Lost
Loren Niemi
Calumet Editions, 2022
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Conceived as a religious breviary of the monastic hours of prayer, it begins with Matins when I entered the Christian Brothers, a Catholic religious reaching order and proceeds through formation/college/Vietnam, teaching, living on the farm, getting tossed out and something of life and spirituality after right up to the last of the hours of prayer, Compline and the Pandemic.
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Point of View and the
Emotional Arc of Stories
Loren Niemi and Nancy Donoval
Parkhurst Brothers Publishers, 2020
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The companion to The Book of Plots this one explores "who is telling the story" and why it matters. Also, and quite deliciously, a dozen variations of Little Red Riding Hood serve as examples.
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Inviting the Wolf In:
Thinking About Difficult Stories
Loren Niemi and Elizabeth Ellis
August House Publishers, 2001
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This critically acclaimed book explores the value and necessity of crafting the stories that are hard to hear but harder to tell with numerous samples that are both artful and truthful.
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