WestConn MFA Rez First Ever Poetry Slam was held Thursday night, 30 December 2010 at the Maron Hotel. Out of fifteen slammers (all great), Marj Laydon was crowned the winner after some tough judging by Stef Botelho, Erik Mortenson and Elizabeth Cohen. The brainchild of hostess Lisa Siedlarz, let's hope the Slam is a regular rez event!
I just received word that my essay, "Nesting" earned an Honorable Mention in nonfiction in the CT Review writing contest. "Nesting" is part of Staying Alive: A Love Story, my collection of linked essays which just completed the requirements for my thesis.
Connecticut Review is published twice each year by the Connecticut State University System as a public service contribution to the national literary and intellectual discourse.
The journal publishes the best in contemporary literature and essays. The selection process focuses on bringing to general readers cutting edge work that is both thought provoking and accessible.
Connecticut Review is under the exclusive direction of editors chosen from each of the four CSUS universities: Western Connecticut State University in Danbury, Central Connecticut State University in New Britain, Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven and Eastern Connecticut State University in Willimantic, Connecticut.
I'm only aware of three (3) students working in the genre of poetry; myself, M.Laydon and C. Baccaro. If there are any more of you out there - returning or new students - and you see this post, please identify yourselves and express your level of interest in creating a Peer Workshop that is focused on our common Genre.
If you can, please respond here in "Comment" or privately to vinniekmetz@yahoo.com. Beyond that communication, I will set up in a notorious location for our first lunch, tomorrow 12/28 and we can organize from that kiosk.
The University will be closed on Monday, December 27th due to weather, which means we will not have access or support services for our Welcome Dinner or other meetings. They are predicting 1 to 2 feet of snow in Danbury between Sunday and Monday a.m.
All events for the Residency scheduled for Monday, December 27th are CANCELLED.
All Attendees: I will give a brief Welcome talk at 8:45 a.m. on Tuesday in the Ballroom South, Westside Campus Center (where we eat our meals).
New students: I will do your orientation at the end of the WebCT and email orientation session, scheduled for 1:00 - 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday.
Travelers: Please take necessary precautions when traveling to the residency. Let me know if you will be delayed on Tuesday via my email (azevedoh@wcsu.edu) or the residency hotline 860-488-3882.
Attendees Staying at the Maron: Do let the hotel know if you will not be arriving on Monday evening.
In addition to the Poetry Slam on Thursday night, Dec. 30th, you will have another (optional!) opportunity to share some of your work with your peers in the program. There will be an Open Mic on Saturday evening, Jan. 1, so bring a poem, a piece of falsh fiction, an excerpt from a story or novel or memoir, a scene from a play or screenplay, a short essay -- something to show us what you're up to in your work!
There will be a sign up sheet for the Open Mic in the dining room (Ballroom South) of the Campus Center during the week. The time allowed for each reading will depend on how many people sign up.
Our current forecast for Danbury is for blizzard conditions today (Sunday), with the snow on Monday giving way to snow showers by mid-morning. We expect several inches of snow on Sunday, with an additional 1 to 3 inches on Monday.
Given this forecast, I expect that all residency activities will happen as planned on Monday afternoon and evening. However, I'm sure that the city and the University will still be digging out of snow, and I expect it will affect travel for several of you. Please keep me posted on your travel plans and any delays by email, or via the residency hotline 860-488-3882.
I'll update the blog as the weather forecast changes. Safe travels to all, and we look forward to seeing you.
CT Young Writers Trust 231 Beach St. Litchfield, CT 06759 * 860-567-8865 * Fax- 860-567-9119 http://www.ct.edu/initiatives/ctyoungwriters/
RON WINTER Executive Director, hjrwinter@comcast.net, 860-228-6803 CAROL THIBEAULT Administrator, ctbeau@yahoo.com, 203-843-1423 ATTY WILLIAM CROWE Legal Counsel, wcrowe@mayocrowe.com, 860-275-6801 ANDY THIBAULT Chairman, tntcomm82@cs.com, 860-690-0211 Dec. 24, 2010
Holiday Rescue Donor Matt Daly With Son Jack Several Years Ago @ Marist College
ANNOUNCEMENT: Young Writers Program Revived, Will Run 2011 Competition
Connecticut's young poets and writers will be able to enter a streamlined competition in 2011 following pledged infusions of cash to the CT Young Writers Trust in recent days.
The Trust's board received pledges totaling $20,000 on Wednesday from the Connecticut State University System and the family trust of a Glastonbury businessman. The CSU System donation of $10,000 is expected in early January and Matthew Daly's donation of the same amount from his family trust is expected in February. Before Wednesday, the Trust had no funding for the 2011 competition.
Entry forms will be posted at the CSU System page http://www.ct.edu/initiatives/ctyoungwriters/ in early January and mailed to all public, private and parochial schools. Home school students are also eligible.
"This is a far too important program to see die because of lack of funds," Daley said. "We must continue to provide such writing exercises and contests to our young people. I am proud to support such an effort."
The Trust board on Wednesday also hired an executive director and an administrator for the program, to be paid by the Daly family trust donation. Ron Winter, an author and a long-time judge for the competition, will serve as executive director. Carol Thibeault, a Realtor who managed the program for the CSU System in 2000 and 2001, will serve as administrator.
"Matt Daly is our holiday rescue angel," said Andy Thibault, chairman of the Trust. "Without his support, we were facing an immediate shutdown."
The Trust has given more nearly $200,000 to young poets and writers since 1998. About 6,000 students have participated in the competition.
As the economy soured in recent years, the Trust lost upwards of $10,000 in funding from its corporate benefactor IMPAC. Jim Irwin, the IMPAC chairman and founder of the competition, died in September 2009.
Since 2000, The Trust and the CSU System have organized four regional ceremonies and an annual dinner celebration. For the 2011 competition, there will be one event to be scheduled in the spring.
Widespread community support has sustained the program over the years. Small businesses, banks, lawyers, real estate agents and others have donated upwards of $75,000 for expenses.
Winter will manage operations and fundraising. Thibeault will manage the finances and maintain all records and filings.
The annual entry deadline of Feb. 1 will be postponed at least a month. More announcements will be forthcoming.
RON WINTER, CAROL THIBEAULT, MATT DALY SHORT BIOS FOLLOW BELOW.
RON WINTER SHORT BIO
Ronald Winter is an author, public relations executive, college professor and award winning journalist. He regularly writes and speaks on the military and politics. Ron is author of the book Masters of the Art, A Fighting Marine's Memoir of Vietnam published by Random House, and writes Winter's Soldier Story, his website, blog and column.
His newest work of non-fiction is Granny Snatching, How a 92-Year-Old Widow Fought the Courts and Her Family to Win Her Freedom. A long-time journalist, Winter worked for newspapers including The Hartford Courant and Journal Inquirer of Manchester.
Winter also was a team member of Poets &Writers For Avery, supporting free speech rights in the landmark case [aka The Famous Douche Bag Case] now before the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
He has served as a judge for the Connecticut Young Writers Competition for six years.
He was featured in 2004 in the Library of Congress' Veterans History Project; is an adjunct professor of communication at the University of Hartford; and is a director for Michael J. London &Associates Public Relations firm in Trumbull, CT. -- CAROL THIBEAULT SHORT BIO
Carol Thibeault, administrator for the CT Young Writers Trust, managed the young writers competition for the CSU System in 2000 and 2001. From 1996-2001, she managed the Office of the Chancellor, including budget preparation and supervision of part-time employees. Before that, she managed the operation of the office of the Chief Financial Officer. Thibeault, a Realtor, earned an accounting degree from Central Connecticut State University in 2000.
She owned and operated New Haven's first wireless Internet café and Fair Trade espresso bar, Elm City Java, from 2002-2005. --
MATT DALY SHORT BIO
Matt Daly, a business consultant based in Glastonbury, was a defensive tackle for Marist College where he graduated in 1991.
Born in Fairfield, he served on the Hebron Board of Finance from 2003-2006.
Marist University Degree awarded: B.A. Major: Fine Arts
Global Financial Services Business Efficiency Consultant
Yankee Institute Policy Scholar 2007-2008
State of Connecticut Judicial Department Bail Commissioner 1993-2007 ------------- news story in today's Register Citizen
The Register Citizen (registercitizen.com, Serving Torrington, CT
News
Connecticut Young Writers Competition bounces back
'We're delighted'- CSUS Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs Louise Feroe
Friday, December 24, 2010
By RICKY CAMPBELL
LITCHFIELD — It seems as if Christmas has come a few days early for the Connecticut Young Writers Trust.
The non-profit organization which has held a competition for high school students in both prose and poetry since 1998 was facing its dissolution going into Wednesday’s board meeting because of a lack in funding. That isn’t the case any longer.
Thanks to Glastonbury resident Matthew Daly, the Connecticut Young Writers Competition will live to see another day because of his financial donation of $10,000. The Connecticut State University System (CSUS) will match the donor’s gift, giving the competition enough fuel for another year.
“It’s a terrific organization we can’t let die,” the former state congress candidate said. “Our young people are given such an enormous opportunity [through it].”
Daly, son of a former Federal Justice T.F. Gilroy Daly, said he was approached by “an old friend” and given the mission of the fund. After hearing the purpose of the organization and its competition, Daly felt willing to help out the group’s monetary woes, saying he has always had a place in his heart for the literary arts.
“I have a very strong passion for writing, myself,” he added.
The “old friend” who approached Daly was six-year competition judge Ron Winter, who recently stepped up as the program’s executive director and said when he learned of the rut the organization was in, immediately thought of Daly.
“I didn’t realize the program was in jeopardy,” Winter said. “[Daly] helped out a lot of programs before so I called him up and asked if he could help,”
And Daly answered the call. Ten thousand times.
Along with Daly, CSUS has once again thrown their hat into the ring, supporting the fund for the 11th straight year.
“We were always willing to be a partner,” Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs Louise Feroe said, adding that as long as the competition still has a breath left in it, “we’re delighted.”
CSUS and the fund’s board members aren’t the only ones jumping with holiday joy. Former competitors know how much the prose and poetry limelight can mean to high school aged kids.
“As a writer, it’s a great encouragement,” 2003 prose champion Lauren Hefferon said. “It encourages talent and proves there’s a network of writers out there.”
Hefferon, a Yale University graduate and keynote speaker for the 2010 competition added that the donation by Daly is “a pretty nice Christmas present.”
“I’m so glad to hear it’s getting another chance this year,” said Melanie Lieberman who won the prose championship four years following Hefferon. “Having the recognition can mean so much to a student. It’s such a great opportunity and I’m so thrilled.”
That same thrilling feeling was felt throughout the Young Writers board, with trust chairman Andy Thibault mentioning how much it the donation meant.
“It’s a renewed commitment,” said Thibault, who has witnessed the program’s growth and been a huge part of it since its inception. “It’s great and unexpected news to have a holiday donor. A rescue donor.”
While the joyous news may have come as a surprise to many, everyone from top to bottom is aware the future of the competition will remain an uphill battle.
“We’re going to do everything we can,” Winter said. “I’m going to do everything I can to keep this thing going.”
“We have a lot of work do do right now,” he added. “That’s priority number one.”
According to Thibault, the trust is trying to get the entry forms online as early as the first week of January and instead of the usual five annual ceremonies, the organization may have to combine into a single one.
While the competition may see some changes in the near future, the program’s new favorite son says it still has what it takes to move forward.
“It can grow exponentially,” Daly said. “Some of the people involved can really help it expand.”
As long as contributors such as Daly are around, the competition which has seen over 6,000 students and has given nearly $200,000 in prizes can continue its support of hard-working competitors, giving the nod to those directly involved, providing the Young Writers Trust with a Christmas present its sure to remember for years to come.
Ricky Campbell can be reached by e-mail at rcampbell@registercitizen.com and followed on Twitter at Twitter.com/rickycampbellRC. Follow us on Twitter at Twitter.com/registercitizen.
The schedule of faculty / student meetings at the residency is now posted on the website.
An updated residency schedule is also posted. Note that we will be in the Maron Hotel for all activities on Friday, December 31st, and Saturday, January 1st, due to the University holidays.
To see which mentors you have for which class, you can check the OpenClose system online. All mentors have been filled in according to your registration, so look for your section and you'll see the mentor listed. Go to
If anyone is in the New Haven area today (12/19), I'll be doing a book signing and reading at Deja Brew Cafe, 763 Edgewood Avenue, New Haven (Westville section near Yale Bowl.) I'll have books on hand for purchase. Event is noon to 3 p.m.
For more information on Press Pause Moments: Essays about Life Transitions by Women Writers visit the blog. By the way, the collection also features WCSU M.F.A. graduates Kirsten Genthner and Jennifer Bouchard.
Don Snyder believes that we are living at a time when writers really need to conceive of AMAZING PLOTS in order to have a chance in New York and Hollywood-- plots with GREAT REVERSALS.
Don is offering to help by making himself available at the residency to talk one on one with any student who needs help figuring out the plot lines in a novel or short story. You can write to him in advance of the residency if you wish, or just talk to him when we are together at the residency. He will set aside time to sit and talk with each student who needs help.
If you want to contact Don Snyder in advance of the residency, email him at Hancockpt@aol.com
Book reviews are good ways to pick up publication credits. Here's a new venue run by an excellent young poet, Molly Gaudry:
If you happen to have a book review lying around, or if you find yourself suddenly inclined to write one, would you mind sending it to me for Cow Heavy's blog? molly.gaudry@gmail.com I want the blog component of our website to become a space for book reviews -- for anyone to send a book review (of course in the interest of generating more traffic to the site), and I want to launch the blog/reviews some time in January, with, like, 50 guest posts all at once. If you'd want to do more reviews than that in the future, of course we'd love it, but this favor is just to ask for one (or more) initial reviews that will help launch and establish Cow Heavy as a review venue. Hope you're well, and thanks if you can help us out! Happy holidays! Molly http://cowheavybooks.com/
As you did for the August 2010 residency, you will self-organize for the Peer Workshops . Use the comments space under this post to discuss what you might like to do or discus in peer workshops, topics you might like to cover, organization by genre or subgenre or technical question or whatever. You can also post a new blog entry with that information, so that others can comment and join.
There are two blocks of time on the schedule for the workshops (Wednesday and Friday afternoons, 2 ½ hours each). You just need to decide how you're going to use that time and let Laurel know if your group is going to have any unusual needs in terms of technology, space, etc. Keep in mind that the incoming first-semester students have no frame of reference for this, and need guidance from some of the more seasoned students (this was a comment in the residency evaluations).
Suggestions were also made in the residency evaluations that the Peer Workshops be led by a mentor, but that would render the sessions as traditional workshops and not peer-to-peer sessions. Any student is welcome to step up to be a leader of a peer group, however you wish to organize.
The Maron Hotel rate for students for the Winter residency is $89/per night. This rate will only be available until midnight December 12th.Don't forget to ask for the WestConn MFA student rate when you call.
You never have to miss another MFA blog entry if you set up a Google Alert. This will send an email to your personal id everytime a new entry is made to the MFA blog.
Deliver to: send it to your gmail account, or have it forwarded to another account (If you don't have a Google email account, you will need to register for one.)
You can use Google alerts for other searches as well. I know authors who use it to determine where their names, book reviews, links, etc. are appearing on the web.
A new literary magazine is debuting in this area tomorrow. The Newtowner "is a first-of-its-kind quarterly arts and literary magazine featuring fiction, poetry, memoir, essays and features celebrating local literary, visual and performing artists."
The Newtowner official launch and reception are on Saturday, Dec 11, 2010, at the C.H. Booth Library Conference Room, 25 Main St, Newtown, CT, from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM. Meet the first issue's featured poets, authors and artists.
I met one of the editors recently, and she requested that I encourage you to submit to The Newtowner -- they are looking for submissions for the next issue (creative nonfiction, poetry, fiction, artwork and photography)!
"Workshop Descriptions" links you to a pdf of all workshop details, including any advance work that is expected of you. Each workshop description is also available on the workshop signup page. Each workshop is limited to 15 participants (and one is limited to 6), so sign up as soon as possible!
If you have not made your selections by December 20th, you will be assigned to workshops.
We're working out the final details of the residency schedule. In the meantime, we wanted you to get ready for the Late Night Poetry Slam, planned for Thursday, December 30th.
Lisa Siedlarz is your host for the slam, and she writes:
Do you fancy yourself a poet? Do you have what it takes to wow us? If so, then dare to sign up for the first ever Westconn MFA Idol Poetry Slam. One poem – or 3 minutes. Give it your best shot. See what the judges say. And maybe YOU will be crowned Westconn MFA Poetry Idol. (Not responsible for judges remarks, poor performance, or crying)
Lisa will have more details and a signup sheet at the residency, but you've been notified!
If you are enrolled in any course this semester, please download, complete and return evaluation forms from the MFA web site. These forms are an important part of our program review process and are crucial for faculty in their performance reviews.
Please complete the Program Course Evaluation Form for ALL mentors; you may email it to me or Laurel or mail it to the MFA office. If your mentor is James Scrimgeour, De Los Santos, Steinmetz, Misercola, or Holub (all of whom have taught, are teaching, or will teach in traditional courses on campus and thus undergo faculty performance review), please ALSO complete the Departmental Course Evaluation Form ONLY if your mentor asks you to do so; that form should be emailed or mailed to Sharon Foster in the Writing Dept. office.
All evaluation forms must be received in the MFA office no later than December 18th or they will be discarded.
In order for you to receive credit for your internship or practicum, I must receive from your on-site mentor or supervisor a brief narrative evaluation of your on-site performance no later than December 18th. Please remind your on-site supervisor of this requirement; s/he can email the evaluation to me at azevedoh@wscu.edu.
Hope your respective semesters are going well. I am writing a piece on single women 35+, preferably never married, for a Fairfield County, CT based magazine, Healthy Life. The angle is strong, accomplished women who simply haven't found that elusive Mr. Right (yet). ;)
I will also be discussing ways to meet men, from Meetup.com groups and online dating sites to (gasp) real life places. I will also be gathering the perspectives of area relationship counselors. Finally, I will be offering Census Bureau stats on the state of marriage.
If you know of any single ladies 35+ who lives in the Danbury, Bridgeport or Greenwich, Ct areas, please ask if they might be interested in being profiled. First names only assured.
If you have any questions, or know of any women who fit my story, please reach me at larissa@larissalytwyn.com. Deadline is Dec. 17 and I would like the interviews completed by the end of next week, ideally.
PM Press has announced its 2011 list and I'm happy to say that my novel Sensation is a part of it. PM is an independent press that has been around since only 2007, but they've already made great inroads in publishing radical political non-fiction and cutting edge commercial fiction in the noir and science fiction genres. In PM's SF program, my book joins releases by legends such as Ursula K. Le Guin and Michael Moorcock.
I'm also pretty happy because Sensation was my WestConn thesis novel. Thanks to Paola Corso and Shouhua Qi for being my faculty advisors on it. See, it can happen!
My essay, "Dancing With Archie: Why Women Swoon," which is about a character in Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe stories, has been posted on Barnes & Noble's online book club site: They're calling it a "Thanksgiving Treat"!
If you scroll down, you'll come to a YouTube video where I am interviewed as Lily Rowan (wig and all). I can't believe I actually did this thing. I also can't believe I'm sending you all the link.
This is actually many fewer rejections than Kameron Hurley received over his fifteen years of trying. She also sold a trilogy of novels to a major publisher, had the books killed after a restructuring, and then resold them to a strong independent publisher. This is the sort of pile ones ends up, or that one used to end up with in the days before magazines started moving to electronic submissions. Check out the video.
The January residency will be here soon. The workshop schedule is in progress and descriptions and registration information will be posted as soon as possible after the Thanksgiving holiday.
At this time, we need to know if you plan to attend the January 2011 residency (December 27th through January 2nd)?
Please click here to respond via email (do not leave comments on the blog).
Please let me know by Tuesday, November 23rd, at the latest if you intend to present your enrichment project at the January residency, even if you already informed me of your intent to do so.
Traditionally, MFA programs have taken a nod from the fine arts—to speak of the "business" of writing was seen as distasteful at best, and something to be utterly forbidden at worst. The issue is in the news after New York's exposé of James Frey's book-packaging sweatshop—he pays $500 for novels and trawls Manhattan's MFA programs for willing suckers ready to sign this horrific contract. (The second half of clause 4.2 is a real doozy!)
In response, author John Scalzi* has published an open letter to MFA programs and their students which I think is well worth reading. Here at WestConn we do talk about business at least occasionally, and certainly in the "practical" genres, but many programs are still run by the clueless, for the clueless.
This might be something worth discussing at the residency next month.
*Scalzi's an especially interesting figure as his career is basically what WestConn teaches: yes, he writes popular novels and works in television, but he also writes corporate copy as a significant part of his living.
I'll be interviewing thriller writer, Lorenzo Carcaterra, tomorrow at a library in Queens if anyone wants to attend. The mystery event is from 2:30 to 4:30 in the afternoon; he and I go on around 3:00. We got a nice shout-out in the New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/12/arts/12miser.html?_r=1&ref=nyregion
Here's the details:
Queens Public Library
108-19 71 Avenue
Forest Hills, NY 11375
(718) 268-7934
Train: E, F, R or M to 71st / Continental Ave.
Car: Grand Central Parkway to Exit 15, Queens Blvd. Continue north, then turn right onto 71st Ave.
The customary hotel for the January residencies has been the Maron Hotel for the past 3 years, but you are more than welcome to stay in any one of the many, many hotels in the Danbury/Bethel/Brookfield area. If you are flying to Connecticut and will not be renting a car, you may want to stay at the Maron simply because it is within easy walking distance of the Westside Campus (where most of the programming takes place.) The Maron has again extended to our students the $89/per night rate. This rate will only be available until midnight December 12th, so be sure to call and make your reservations ASAP. Don't forget to ask for the WestConn MFA student rate when you call. The number is (203) 791-2200. http://www.maronhotel.com/hotel-overview.html After December 12th, neither the availability nor the rate is guaranteed. Many of the rooms are suites, with a sofa-sleeper in a separate sitting room, and students will sometimes get together and double up in a room, cutting their hotel costs by half. Of course, you would want to specifically request a suite if you plan to do that. Let me know if you are interested and I will be happy to forward to you the student email list.
Hey all; The play I was contracted to write for the Sherman School, "Sherman Grows Together" opens tomorrow at the New Milford High School auditorium. It's a one-hour musical for which I penned an 11-character script to accompany Eliot Bailen's gorgeous score. Members of the New York Philharmonic perform in the orchestra. (Children act my scenes ... oh well.) Anyhooo, it's high-jinx-a-plenty in this romp about a cardboard box company buying the last working farm in town. Best wishes, Don Lowe
I have a new story at Barrelhouse, which came out today. Some of you might remember this piece from my reading at the August residency. All but subtle references to Mark Sundeen have been taken out. http://www.barrelhousemag.com/word/?p=3161
The AWP Intro Journals Project is a literary competition for the discovery & publication of the best new works by students currently enrolled in the programs of AWP (our MFA program is an AWP member). Both graduate and undergraduate students are eligible. Winners will receive publication in a participating journal and a $100 cash honorarium.
Contact Holly Azevedo at azevedoh@wcsu.edu to submit your work. Each member program is free to devise its own method for nominating student works. Only students currently enrolled in AWP member programs may enter the competition.
Judges for the 2010 contest were:
Poetry - Lynn Powell
Fiction - Crystal Wilkinson
Creative Nonfiction - Sonya Huber
Guidelines for the 2011 Intro Journals Project
Please follow the guidelines below for submitting nominations:
Nominations must be postmarked from the MFA office no later than Dec. 3, 2010, so submit your work to me no later than Friday, November 19th.
Nominations must be accompanied by a cover letter from the program director, which verifies that the enclosed nominations are by students currently enrolled in the university's creative writing program. In the letter, the program must provide a permanent address for each nominated student.
Translations are acceptable, but it is the translator's responsibility to secure publication rights.
Nominated works must be unpublished and may not be under consideration elsewhere for the duration of the contest.
Each program may nominate no more than one work of nonfiction, one work of short fiction, and three poems (poems do not have to be all by the same author). Excerpts from novels are acceptable but must not exceed 25 pages.
Each nomination should have two title pages as follows: the first should include the title, author's name, permanent address, phone number, and name and address of the member writing program; the second should include the title only.
The author's name should not appear on the manuscript except on the first title page.
Prose must be double-spaced and typed or printed on a letter-quality printer. Dot matrix is not acceptable. Poetry only may be single-spaced.
Winners will be contacted in the spring of 2011. Each will receive an award letter, publication in a participating journal, and a $100 cash honorarium. Winning works will appear in the fall or winter issues of Hayden's Ferry Review, Mid-American Review, Colorado Review, Puerto del Sol, Controlled Burn, Quarterly West, Tampa Review, and Artful Dodge.
Click on the title of this blog entry for more info at the AWP Intro Journals webpage.
Click on the title to read Roger Boylan's review of The Autobiography of Mark Twain: Volume I published in the November/December 2010 issue of the Boston Review.
Hi all. I have a story in a fun new anthology, Hint Fiction: An Anthology of Stories in 25 Words or Fewer, as do such luminaries as Joyce Carol Oates, Ha Jin, and Peter Straub. Hint fiction is the brainchild of editor Robert Swartwood and basically refers to stories of twenty-five words or fewer that hint at a larger story that remains untold. (In many cases, the relationship between title and text is very important. Some of the pieces veer toward prose poetry.)
The New Yorker liked it too. So if you need to buy a holiday gift for some bookish person you may not know very well and don't want to spend a lot of money on...
I recently had a couple of prose poems accepted for a new anthology forthcoming in 2011 published by Equinox Publishing. This is called,
CLASSIFIEDS: AN ANTHOLOGY OF PROSE POEMS [ISBN 978-0-9845659-1-7; $19.95; PUBLICATION DATE: 2011]
They are STILL looking for submissions so this is your chance to find yourself in an anthology! Submit now. They are accepting until the end of December. While they appear to be looking for a particular type of prose poem--see the link in the title of this post--I think they are fairly open to whatever you produce...
FYI, registration will be conducted online this year beginning Wednesday, December 1st, 2010. (If you’re seeing an October 29th date, that is for undergraduate, not graduate, students.)
NOTE:
-- If you have not sent me a mentor request form, I will assign your mentors.
-- If you have an outstanding balance and have not arranged for a payment plan with the Cashier's office, the Registrar will not allow you to register online during the registration period.
I will provide you with specific, individualized instructions for registration as we get closer to December 1st.
If you have questions about next semester or registration, contact me -- the sooner, the better.
Greetings, everyone! I hope you're all having a good semester. Here's one of my projects this semester: I'm the Sunday blogger for Best Americn Poetry through the end of the year. You can click the title bar above for a link. I'll be posting a poem each Sunday with a brief comment. Most of the poems will be from Sentence. So enjoy a poem while you have your Sunday coffee...
Creative Nonfiction magazine is offering a discount subscription for MFA students. I have 20 coupons available for you to request 4 issues for $12 (a $20 savings off the normal 4-issue subscription rate).
Send me a note and we'll put a coupon in the mail to you.
I don't even know if this is a big deal or not, but I am a semi-finalist for the Red Room Scandalously Short Story Contest. Out of "hundreds" of entries, I made the top 10. I guess time will tell if I win anything, but I'm excited nonetheless. This is for my flash fiction piece "Love Letters" that some of you read at the last residency. Check it out here: Red Room Scandalously Short Story Contest
Dick Cass, a mentor in the MFA program, recently won the Community Division of the essay contest associated with Danbury's One Book, One Community program, which is reading Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried. Cass's essay My Father's Grin will be posted on the One Book, One Community Web site along with those of the other winners.
The prompt for the essay was this:
It's no stretch to say that each of us engages in numerous and diverse conflicts throughout our lives. Write an essay in which you discuss your greatest life challenge or conflict and the literal and spiritual "things" you "carry" to remind you of, and help you cope with, that challenge. How does Tim O'Brien's The Things They carried help you put your own challeneg or conflict into perspective?
Winners of the contest and their guests will have dinner with Tim O'Brien on October 26, 2010.
If you're on campus looking for the MFA office, you'll find us temporarily located in the Student Center #207, effective today. We're here while they work on the Higgins building roof, and our offices were in the path of progress. We hope to return to Higgins in a couple of weeks -- we'll keep you posted. We have the same phone and fax numbers, and of course we're reachable by email.
Some of you probably know I have been in search of employment for awhile. Because of my teaching and writing background, I have been contacted a few times by recruiters from various financial and insurance businesses looking to train career transition-ers in the fine art of selling and advising clients on available financial and risk services. Having made enough financial mistakes in my life-time to fill a book (hmmm . . ), I am considering becoming a Financial Services Associate for Prudential.
Currently, I am in the process of being considered for its 27 week training program. One of the "skills" I must demonstrate in order to move forward with the training is the ability to create a personal network of 200 names and addresses of people I would be comfortable reaching out to for business or referrals. I have reached 50% of this goal. This network is for my use only, and it is among many other avenues that are available to me to generate business.
May I be so bold as to request that any member of this blog who is willing to help me and wish to consider becoming a part of my network list email me at antonia.schachter@gmail.com? (Again, the list is solely my property and will never be misused.)
Thanks for any support you can provide me in this endeavor.
It may seem like the semester just started, but it’s time to think about next Spring! Unless you will be a first-semester student in Spring '11 (in which case your mentors are assigned) please complete the Mentor Request Form and email it to me at azevedoh@wcsu.edu. The form is on the Student Forms page of the MFA website, linked here: Student Forms
I need to know exactly which courses you are going to take in which term (Winter Intersession or Spring). This applies only to students who are taking part-time loads (4-8 hours) and students who are registering for a combination of Winter Intersession and Spring hours. If you plan to register as a full-time student in the spring, there is no need to indicate that. If you do not specify the number of hours in Winter Intersession / Spring, I will assume that you are going full time in the Spring. All sections of the Online Multigenre Workshop are in the Spring.
Please email your request form to me no later than Tuesday, October 19th. If I do not receive your requests by then, your mentors will be assigned.
Also, if you are going to be a 3rd-semester student in the spring, you should begin planning your internship now, if you haven't already started doing so.
First semester students: you will need computer account information mailed to you by Graduate Studies in order to complete your online registration.
Online registration for the Spring semester should take place in early December -- more details to follow.
Holly
Monday, October 04, 2010
Note: Our students have won in the past. Consider submitting your work to these CT Review contests.
CT REVIEW
CONNECTICUT STATE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM
WRITING CONTESTS
GENRES: POETRY, FICTION, & NONFICTION ESSAY
DEADLINE: Postmarked by December 4, 2010
The CT Review will publish winning work in Spring, 2011. Honorable mentions will be published on the CT Review website. http://www.ct.edu/ctreview/
To enter the contests, you must be currently enrolled as a graduate or undergraduate student at SCSU, ECSU, WCSU or CCSU. You may enter work in more than one genre.
RULES FOR FICTION AND NONFICTION ESSAY
1. Submit two typed copies of each entry.
2. 2500 words or less per entry.
3. One copy of the entry should have name, address, e-mail, phone number, school and current ACADEMIC STATUS. One copy, which will be sent to the national judge, should have no name.
4. Include a cover letter with a brief biography.
5. Work will not be returned. Include an SASE for results.
RULES FOR POETRY - TWO CONTESTS
Leslie Leeds Poetry Contest Leo Connellan Poetry Contest
1. Follow the rules for Fiction and Nonfiction Essay, except submit FIVE different poems, which will be judged individually, not as a group. Please submit just ONE set of five; they will be considered for BOTH poetry contests.
2. Each poem can have no more than 34 lines (excluding title and stanza breaks).
Send work to:
Professor Mary Collins
CT Review
English Department
Central Connecticut State University
1615 Stanley St.
New Britain, Ct. 06050-6010
Questions, e-mail Professor Collins at collinsmae@ccsu.edu or call her at 860-832-2770.
I wanted to share a bit of good news--the latest Josie Prescott Antiques Mystery has just sold to the Harlequin Book Club... it will be reissued as a "private label" (as it were) paperback.
As part of the One Book, One Community program, Tim O'Brien will be speaking on the WestConn campus on Tuesday, October 26th. A few graduate students will be able to meet with him before his evening presentation.
If you are interested in meeting Tim O'Brien, let me know as soon as possible -- it is first come, first serve.
While I have learned a thing or two about blogging, my posts are all over the lot. Hence, the title, Odds, Ends, and Beginnings! Help me celebrate -- stop by and say hello. Tell me what you think? Is there a brand developing?
This year’s book selection: The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
Click on the title link for information, and take advantage of the many programs this forum provides. Events, including book discussions and film screenings, run throughout October 2010, culminating with a presentation by the author on October 26th on the WSCU midtown campus.
Sponsored by the Danbury Library, Danbury Public Schools and Western Connecticut State University.
If you’re in the area, take advantage of these programs and let others know about them!
Hey guys, just thought maybe I'd share some good news: The poem I submitted last spring to The Rectangle (a national journal!) has finally reached a decision. I'll be published in their 2011 and 86th issue! This poem is the culmination of my study abroad experience in Japan in 2009 (and the duality between hospitality and alienation I discovered there). Entitled "Finding Janus: An Afternoon of Butterflies, Or a Reflection On Cultural Politics," a few of you from Don Stitt's workshop this past residency may remember it as the one I struggled to read, ha. I'll get a link when there is one!
Hi all, wanted to share the great news! I've just had 9 poems accepted for inclusion in an anthology called Battle Runes published by Editions Bibliotekos. It is due out next year.
A research-based English department with a growing undergraduate creative writing program and an M.A. with writing concentration seeks two Writers in Residence: a Fiction writer (with secondary expertise in Creative Non-Fiction or Poetry preferred) and a Creative Non-Fiction writer (with secondary expertise in Fiction or Poetry preferred). Required: MFA or PhD, teaching experience and at least one book publication. These visiting positions are for one year (renewable to three) with alternating responsibilities at the Bronx and Lincoln Center campuses. Responsibilities include: teaching graduate and undergraduate writing workshops; leading undergraduate and graduate tutorials; advising campus literary publications; assisting with University reading series and creative writing prizes; participating in the administration of creative writing program. Course load: 2/2. Competitive salary with benefits. Fordham is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action institution. Submit required application form electronically here: http://www.fordham.edu/writerinresidence. Additionally, send letter of application and C.V. to Chair, Writer in Residence Search Committee, Fordham University, Dept. of English, Room 541W, Dealy Hall, 441 East Fordham Road, Bronx, NY 10458. Electronic application and postmark deadlines are November 1st.
In January 2007, I came up with an idea for an anthology so obvious nobody had bothered doing it before—"true" regional ghost stories written by real writers instead of by the local weirdo. It's almost four years later, and after many twists and turns, including finally teaming up with one of the most acclaimed anthologists in the world of fantasy in Ellen Datlow, Haunted Legends is out today, via Tor Books.
Just in time for the Halloween season, in simultaneous hardcover, trade paperback, and Kindle release. We have a great mix of veteran writers such as Pat Cadigan and Joe Lansdale, to new writers such as Carrie Laben and John Mantooth. Styles range from the classic horror tropes and tones of Ramsey Campbell to the experimentalism of Lily Hoang.
I've published or contributed to a lot of books over the years, but this is my first interaction with a Big Six publisher, so the book should be in stores all over the country. I hope some of you check it out.
CONTEST: Creative Nonfiction's MFA Program-Off postmark deadline November 5, 2010
Win publication and bragging rights for your program!
Creative Nonfiction is looking for new work by MFA students for publication in an upcoming issue. The winner and four finalists will be invited to read during the 2011 AWP Conference in Washington, DC (February 2-5, 2011).
Submission Guidelines:
All submissions must be typed, double-spaced, 3,000 words or fewer, and unpublished
This is a blind read; author's name should appear on cover letter only; title must appear on every page
No excerpts will be accepted--submission must be a single and complete piece
Essays must be written by a student who is currently enrolled in an MFA program (in any genre)
We will consider only one submission per person
Please send submissions, along with a cover letter that includes your name, university, total word count, and complete contact information (including email and phone number) to:
Creative Nonfiction Attn: AWP Program-Off 5501 Walnut Street, Suite 202 Pittsburgh, PA 15232
Thanks to Mark Sundeen for this listing! The MFA program has had a winner in the past -- please consider submitting.
A reminder to get your enrichment project proposal to me by Wednesday, September 15th. You can download the proposal form from the Forms section of the MFA website.
If you find yourself in NYC this evening with nothing to do, come down to the KGB Bar (85 East 4th between Bowery and 2nd Ave) from 7-9PM. I and other hell strung and crooked authors will be reading in support of the new anthology.
I got my author's copy of the anthology and I have to say it is AWESOME--not really because I am in it, but because it has some of the most dynamic poetry in it that I have read in some time. Frankly, I am surprised to be included. If you are a poet (or love great writing) you should get a copy of this book. I do not make a thin dime from books sold (what else is new?), so this is unbiased praise for the anthology. Check it out. You can get it from Amazon.com or pick up a copy at the reading...
Hi all. Great news! I just found out yesterday that Pecan Grove Press accepted my manuscript, "What We Sign Up For" for publication. It will be out in 2011. The manuscript was my thesis, formerly known as "Tea With Elders."
Thanks for the box. It got here yesterday. As if you read our minds, the gatorade drink mix is already a hit. All we had was this gross tang stuff. The guys say thank you.
The dust will be settling for a while, but the offices of the MFA in Creative and Professional Writing have moved down the hall a bit to Higgins 205EFG (first door to the left of the Writing Dept. office) -- a brand new space all our own.
I have a phone number now: 203-837-3252 -- all other MFA numbers remain the same.
If you're on campus, stop by our new home and say hello!
So I just got the coolest news. A friend teaches at Eastern Illinois University. He proposed a new class called "War Stories" and included my book, I Dream My Brother Plays Baseball, in the required reading. The class was approved. He will be teaching my book in unit 8. Hot damn! I have to thank Mary Ann Campbell for starting this...the high school where she teaches bought a class set and taught my book last school year (Love you MAC). Mary Ann invited me and had me to come in and give two readings and sit in on a class. I feel pretty darn happy abut this.
Hi everyone! Press Pause Moments is about ready to launch! Pre-orders are being taken until the end of the month...with free shipping as the bonus for early action! For more info click here.
I also invite you to visit the book's website and/or blog. Take a glance at the "Meet the Writers" section - you'll recognize some names! WestConn's own Irene Sherlock and MFA alumns Kirsten Genthner and Jennifer Bouchard are among the talented writers whose works about their life transitions appear in the anthology.
Most important, please become a fan/friend of the Press Pause Moments fan page on Facebook! When we reach 100 fans I'll be drawing a name to receive a signed copy of the book. We're also planning a fantastic virtual book launch in September! If you are thinking of doing a virtual book launch for your own book in the near future why not join us and see how it all works.
The process of creating and publishing an anthology has been a tremendous learning experience. One thing I found was that uber-editing other people's work taught me a lot and helped my own writing as I move forward. I highly suggest integrating editorial experience in with your writing efforts as part of the process for building your skill set.
REMINDER: Syllabi were due for each of your courses yesterday, Monday, August 23rd, sent from your faculty mentors. Please let me know if you have any questions. Also, remember that if this is your thesis semester, you need to develop a syllabus with each of your thesis advisors.
I am currently reviewing everything I've received through this evening; you should hear from me by Wednesday, August 25th.
Just a quick note here to remind everyone that Holly is in the house now; your MFA questions, concerns, etc. should be addressed to her and Laurel for the rest of this academic year. I'll see you next summer! (If not briefly at the January residency...)
Internship/Practicum students, please be sure to ask your on-site mentor (not your faculty mentor) to send a letter or email message to Holly confirming the nature and timing of your internship or practicum this semester. Please let them know also that we will need them to write a brief narrative evaluation of your performance at the end of the semester. If your practicum involves being a GA on campus here, you do not need to do the above.
If you were not at the residency you probably haven't heard yet about the new email policy. Starting immediately, all MFA email communication (including your syllabus approvals/change requests) will be directed to your WestConn email account.
FACULTY: Laurel will be sending out instructions on how to activate your WestConn email account, if you haven't already. You will use the same login ID and password for your email account and to log in to Banner to enter grades. Laurel WILL NOT be entering grades for you any more, so you will need to keep your account active. The password expires every 60 days, but you can reset it online. Laurel will send instructions for that.
STUDENTS: We will no longer keep track of non-WestConn email addresses, so all email from Laurel, from me, and from Holly will go to your WestConn email account. If you do not have a WestConn email account, contact Laurel and she will help you get set up. If you email us from a non-WCSU email address and we receive it, our response will go to your WCSU email address.
As always, we will use the blog for public information. But in cases where we need to contact individuals directly, we will be using your WestConn email address; so please get it up and running soon, and check it periodically.
I recently stumbled across a contest that current students (especially Creative Nonfiction students) may be interested in:
CONTEST: Creative Nonfiction's MFA Program-Off
postmark deadline November 5, 2010
Win publication and bragging rights for your program!
Creative Nonfiction is looking for new work by MFA students for publication in an upcoming issue. The winner and four finalists will be invited to read during the 2011 AWP Conference in Washington, DC (February 2-5, 2011).
Submission Guidelines:
All submissions must be typed, double-spaced, 3,000 words or fewer, and unpublished
This is a blind read; author's name should appear on cover letter only; title must appear on every page
No exerpts will be accepted--submission must be a single and complete piece
Essays must be written by a student who is currently enrolled in an MFA program (in any genre)
We will consider only one submission per person
Please send submissions, along with a cover letter that includes your name, university, total word count, and complete contact information (including email and phone number) to:
Creative Nonfiction Attn: AWP Program-Off 5501 Walnut Street, Suite 202 Pittsburgh, PA 15232
...memoir, I Am my Grandfather, is one of three finalists for this year’s John Guyon Literary Nonfiction Prize Competition. It will appear in the Winter/Spring 2011 CRAB ORCHARD REVIEW. Congrats Rudolf!
Got a story out in a new anthology: The Storyteller Speaks: Rare and Different Fictions of the Grateful Dead, from Kearney Street Books. There are some great pieces in here, a must-read if you were ever interested in the Grateful Dead and the scene surrounding it.
Reviews
It turns out that it wasn’t only the musicians who were inspired by the phenomenon of the Grateful Dead. In this incredible pile of stories are flesh-eating zombie Jerrys, the brilliantly resurrected ghost of Neal Cassady, skeletons, drugs, life on tour, initiations, archetypal Grateful Dead folk tales, the supernatural, the science-fictional, time travel and magic, lots of magic. Not to be missed.
—Dennis McNally, author of A Long Strange Trip: The Inside History of the Grateful Dead.
You can’t imagine how many ways the Dead have become the Undead—unless you read this book. What an array of material!
—John Shelton Lawrence, The Myth of the American Superhero, and The Crusade against Evil: The Dilemma of Zealous Nationalism
A remarkable addition to the Grateful Dead canon. A unique literary collection.
—Ken Dvorak, PhD, Southwest Texas PCA/ACA
This collection probes the infinite dimensions of happenstance, character and incident that the Dead's body of work touched upon and hinted at. It's a fitting tribute to a band that continues to reveal its mysteries long after many of the original players have packed up and gone.
—Christian Crumlish, Enterzone, Kind Veggie T-Shirt, Designing Social Interfaces
I'll advise you to engage this anthology the same way you engage Grateful Dead music: open your mind, expect the unexpected, and prepare to be both entertained and enlightened.
—David Gans, author, musician, producer: The Grateful Dead Hour
I’m writing to announce that One by One Press is officially up and running and that we are now accepting submissions through September 30th.
One by One is a new poetry journal inspired by the spirit of stolen moments and our undying love of tactile imprints. It’s quite different from most journals in that it’s unbound and spread out over time - subscribers will receive a single letterpressed poem in the mail, every other week or so throughout the year. We’re moved to make the walk back from the mailbox to be the best part of our readers’ days, and to help create deeper and more meaningful reception for standalone poems. (Those whose poems we print will also be the subject of features on our press blog in which they can speak to their process, sources of inspiration, and other issues of significance to the sustaining of their work: we aim to make that conversation as visible as the finished work itself.)
We’ll be reading from August 1 – September 30, 2010 for a first batch of poems that will go into production later this fall and start finding mailboxes on 1/1/11. We’re looking for poems that will thrill and awaken our readers as singular pieces. Submission information is available on our website, http://www.onebyonepress.com/.
This project has been long in the making, and we’re incredibly excited to open the gates and welcome the poems that want to find us. If you like the sound of what we’re doing, please give us a hand by spreading the word to other poets and friends of poetry you know. Everyone’s invited!
Hey all, I got a phone call from the editor of Calyx Literary journal. She is going to be in New Haven next week and is organizing a poetry reading at Labyrinth Bookstore, 290 York St, New Haven. She asked if I would be a reader. Nat, I said yes. The reading is from 5:30 to 6:30. Me and two other poets will be dazzling the crowds with our poetry. So if you are in the area and want to partake of the audience, love to see a familiar face. Its Thursday, August 19. Lisa
Yes, your worst fears have come true. My (humble) website and blog are now up and running for your viewing pleasure. While the site was created as my enrichment project for the program, I hope to actually use it to promote myself and my writing. Following Karen Romano Young's advice, my blog, "The Edge," is dedicated to edgy, trendsetting YA fiction that pushes the envelope and to combating those who attempt to ban books from high schools and libraries, a cause that was already near and dear to my heart. I hope you'll all check out the site, especially the blog. If any of you also have a blog, let me know. I'll follow you if you follow me! The site is www.williamfriskey.com, and the blog site is www.williamfriskey.blogspot.com (though you can link to the blog straight from my site). Also, if anyone hears of any controversies over books and banning books in the news, please let me know. Thanks.
I seem to have found myself included in a couple forthcoming anthologies...
First...
hell strung and crooked
The new anthology from Uphook Press is published September, 2010.
Rhythm, risk, reach...
A sensitivity to words that sparkle on the page and in performance spark off it...
Uphook Press specializes in work by poets and spoken words artists who love both the ink and the mike. hell strung and crooked is their second anthology, taken from open submission, with the aim to promote a nationwide community of performing poets.
Featuring forty-one poets—from San Francisco, Atlanta, Green Bay, Boston, Seattle, Nashville, elsewhere, and New York—hell strung and crooked also includes interviews with Mark Doty and Claus Ankersen.
Featuring:Lenore Balliro, Samantha Barrow, Paul M. L. Belanger, Alex O. Bleecker, Meredith Devney, Malaika Favorite, Joseph Fritsch, Christian Georgescu, Robert Gibbons, Thomas Gibney, Deborah Hauser, Suzanne Heagy, Aimee Herman, R. Nemo Hill, Vicki Iorio, Kit Kennedy, Stephen Kopel, David Lawton, Richard Loranger, E. K. Mortenson, Nancy Carol Moody, Puma Perl, John Marcus Powell, Bob Quatrone, Seraphime Rhyianir, Lynn Samsel, Jackie Sheeler, Mary McLaughlin Slechta, Elliot D. Smith, Laura L. Snyder, Francesca Sphynx, Gregory Vincent St. Thomasino, Charles F. Thielman, Andrew Topel, John J. Trause, Geoffrey Kagan Trenchard, Stephanie Valente, Jacob Victorine, Ocean Vuong, Bruce Weber, and Laura Madeline Wiseman.
ISBN: 978-0-9799792-2-4
Published September 1, 2010
$15.00
Connected with this little number, I'll be appearing with other anthologists at a reading at the venerable KGB Bar in NYC, Wednesday, Sept 8, at 7PM. If you find yourself in the City, stop on by...
And after I got home from the Residency, I received word that a piece of mine is forthcoming in Native West Press's, What's Nature Got to Do With It?: Staying Wildly Sane in a Mad World. This is scheduled for publication in October 2011. Keep an eye out for a reminder...
Keep/start submitting your work. Find quirky venues for that story or poem. Here were the submission guidelines for the latter anthology.
Native West Press seeks poetry, shortcreative nonfiction, and essays(under 1,000 words) for a collection of direct, unexpected experiences with wild creatures (yes, including insects, arachnids, fish, etc.) who had the effect of restoring or enhancing the writers' sense of psychological well-being. The editors are particularly interested in reading unique accounts of an authentic, personal encounter with a wild animal who created a positive effect on the writer’s mental (and physical) health, such as restoring the author’s faith and joy, evoking respect for the unexplainable, helping the author heal from illness or trauma, reducing stress, and/or moving the author to a state of enhanced sense of connection to the living, natural world.
You can find things like this! You have pieces that fit descriptions like this! Do it!
Hello Students! I am a grad of the MFA Program. My focuses were Poetry and Copywriting/Marketing.
I am looking for one or more students who are interested in working with me virtually. This would be ideal for someone who would rather not travel for an internship or enrichment project. This can be done from the comfort of your own home or office.
Here's the deal:
I work with poets to help them promote their new books and publicize their readings, workshops and events. This entails creating and updating websites and Facebook profiles and pages, hosting online book launch parties, coordinating reading dates and schedules with bookstores and other venues and being in touch with publishers to make sure books are in stock for readings and events.
I need help! I would tailor your internship or project to your interests, talents and needs as best as I can. E-mail me if you have questions or want to sign on: carmencpalmer@gmail.com
I also work with a small poetry press and we need some help there too. Also a virtual opportunity.
Cheers!
Carmen
P.S. These are "volunteer" opportunities. No stipend will be allotted, but you will learn a lot, "meet" (virtually) interesting poets and publishing folks and hopefully have some fun along the way.
In addition to the Flash Fiction Slam on Monday night, you will have another (entirely optional!) opportunity to share some of your work with your peers in the program. There will be an Open Mic Friday evening, so bring a poem, a piece of flash fiction, an excerpt from a story or novel or memoir, a scene from a play or screenplay, a short essay--something to show us what you're up to in your work!
For anyone signed up for my goal setting workshop next Wednesday there is no pre-work. However, I'd ask that you be thinking about your writing goals (and overall professional and personal goals) for the next 3-5 years. We will be doing hands-on work to help you write a succinct vision statement, strategic goals and action plan that will be a living, evolving, tangible document to help guide your success and maneuver the usual challenges and obstacles that tend to derail our best-laid plans.
I look forward to seeng you next Wednesday and during the first weekend in Danbury. If you have any questions feel free to leave them here or email me at AnneWitkavitch@comcast.net.
The templates for all courses have been revised (http://www.wcsu.edu/writing/mfa//course-templates.asp). If you are a returning student, please be sure to familiarize yourself with the templates before meeting with your mentor(s). The primary change is that each course now has recommended amounts of reading and writing, an element that many students have requested.
These new guidelines are not intended to discourage creativity in syllabus composition. If you have good reason to veer from the recommendations, just make a case for it in the syllabus. For example, I was happy to approve a syllabus for the Genre History, Criticism, and Theory course last year that used a single textbook. It was a 500+-page textbook anthology of important essays in poetics, and the student analyzed and wrote about every essay in the book, a significant amount of dense work. Similarly, to cite an example I’ve used before, if a student were to identify and catalog every allusion in Ulysses or tracking and cataloging historical and cultural references in Moby Dick, the student would be doing significantly more work than reading and reviewing the collected works of Jonathan Safran Foer. So be creative, but in the absence of inspired creativity, use the guidelines.
Hi everyone - I signed off on the ARC last week; and have in my possession the actual proof of my soon-to-be released anthology. So much work left to do...simply an eye-opening experience. I cherish every moment!
I thought you might be interested to learn that some WCSU folks are in the anthology. Kirsten Genthner's essay, She Considers Her Maybes, is a beautiful piece about transitions as a mother; Jennifer Bouchard has two essays, Searching for Dali but Not Really (she won this editor's heart with her exquisite descriptions of Cadaques) and My Zen Garden about my favorite zen activity, gardening. Irene Sherlock's essay, Girls of Summer, is a beautiful tribute to life transitions experienced by mothers and daughters.
I look forward to seeing everyone at the residency on Sunday and Wednesday. If you have any questions about the book or the process, I'm more than happy to talk your ear off about it! :) Overall just looking forward to saying hello and hearing about everyone's learnings and successes in this wonderful world of writing. Cheers!
