Essay Posted to Amity Observer

I recently entered an essay contest for our local paper on "What My Father Taught Me" in honor of Father's Day. I didn't win but my essay did show up on the website of the Amity Observer and I was able to give it double duty by posting it to my blog The Eclectic Writer.

Maybe next year I'll need to take some tips from Daniel Asa Rose and come up with something that has a bit of edge to it! :)

Upcoming from Daniel Asa Rose

Daniel will have the cover of Salon.com this Sunday with a grouchy Father’s Day piece. And he'll have the cover NEXT Sunday of the Washington Post Book World with a racy interview with Annie Dillard. Check 'em out!

Enrichment Projects

If you have completed your enrichment project and want to make a presentation at the residency, please let me know.

Those of you who have been in the program for one semester should have a plan for beginning your enrichment project this Fall, if you have not begun already.

bc

Thesis Semester

Those of you heading into your fourth semester in the Fall should already have a good handle on the direction of and plan for completion of your thesis projects. There will be a panel session at the August residency on the thesis process; several graduates and I will be there to answer any questions you have. At some point this summer I will distribute to you the updated Thesis Advisement Guide. If you have not yet queried your preferred thesis advisors about their willingness/availability to work with you in the Fall, you should do so immediately.

bc

Third-Semester Internship or Teaching Practicum

Those of you heading into the third semester in the Fall should be preparing for your internship or teaching practicum. Here is the course description:

The program requires students to share their understanding as writers with others who want or need to write. The student will work as a teacher or coach of writing under the tutelage of a qualified mentor. Alternatively, the student may participate in an internship to gain hands-on experience in a chosen field. The student will be required to keep a journal of his or her experience and to write a substantial evaluation of the experience.

The actual internship/practicum is the most important part of this course; the course is essentially a feedback shell wrapped around your internship/practicum. In reality, you will have two mentors--your on-site supervisor (who will be asked to write an evaluation of your performance at the end of the semester) and your faculty mentor. Your faculty mentor will require you to keep/post journal entries or short essays about your experience and will discuss those entries with you.

If you do not already have an internship or practicum arranged, you should arrange it as soon as possible. If you need help with ideas, feel free to give me a call.

Please let me know what you'll be doing (and if you've already told me once, please remind me).

Thanks,
Brian

Tim O'Brien at the Woodbridge (CT) Library

Catching up on our local newspapers and this caught my eye. Thought some of you would be interested...

Tim O'Brien - Book Discussion
Part 4 of 4 in the Series: Inventing a Life: Memoir and Fiction
At the Woodbridge Library in Woodbridge, CT...join the book discussion on Thursday, June 28 at 7 pm led by Yale Dean Mark Schenker. Tim O'Brien, a finalist for both the 1990 Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award, author of "The Things They Carried" writes of the weapons and good-luck charms carried by U.S. soldiers in Vietnam here represent survival, lost innocence and the war's interminable legacy. Call 389-3466 to register.

Anne

Looking for a Thrill(er)?

Michael Jackson doesn't appear on the guest list, but Thrillerfest sounds pretty interesting! This NYC conference on writing thrillers was advertised on a recent Publishers Lunch. I know nothing at all about it, but thought I'd post the link in case anyone with special interest in the thriller genre wants to check it out.

Anne