2008 Schedule
Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday
| Thursday- January 31, 2008 | |
|---|---|
9:00 a.m.-10:15 a.m. | |
Beekman & Sutton North |
R102. Mixed Emotions. (C.J. Hribal, Lan Samantha Chang, Robert Boswell, Peter Turchi) A great deal of literary fiction wears a straight face, as if "literature" demands seriousness; other fiction prizes irony and cleverness above deep or sincere feeling. Panelists will discuss the value of allowing a single work of fiction a wide emotional range, from the comic to the tragic, if that's what's called for. Masterful examples will demonstrate how some of the fiction we value most leads the reader into a world as sadly funny and as hysterically sad as the one we live in. |
Bryant Suite |
R103. AWP Program Directors Plenary Assembly. (David Fenza, Rane Arroyo, Catherine Brady, Kevin McIlvoy, Donald Morrill, Ron Tanner) All AWP program directors should attend and represent their programs. The Executive Director of AWP will report on AWP's new projects and on important statistics and academic trends that pertain to creative writing programs and to writers who teach. A discussion with the AWP board's Regional Representative will follow. The plenary assembly will be followed by regional breakout sessions. |
Clinton Suite |
R104. A Tale of Two Cities: Re-Imagining New Orleans. (Paula Morris, Peter Cooley, Ken Foster, Anya Kamenetz) Hurricane Katrina and the flood that followed meant profound physical, social, and psychic changes for New Orleans. How do writers with an imaginative connection to the city approach a place that's irrevocably altered? Poet Peter Cooley, fiction writer Paula Morris and non-fiction writers Ken Foster and Anya Kamenetz discuss their work, their new concerns and obsessions, and the way they're adapting to a surprising new world. |
Gibson Suite |
R105. The Disabled Body Poetic. (Susannah Mintz, Jim Ferris, Greg Fraser, Paul Guest) Poetic terminology is body language: we speak of metrical feet, (heart)beats, and breath; of lines that enjamb and lyric voices that sing; of a poet's eye and ear. But what happens when the body breaks down? Can we also write and recognize poetic "bodies" governed by impairment and immobility? What of poetic forms made randomly? This panel will discuss poetic strategies that take disabled embodiment to be both creatively generative and reflective of the human condition. |
Morgan Suite |
R106. Next Stop, Everywhere: The UWM-Poetry Foundation Poetry Film Project. (Liam Callanan, Anne Halsey, Brad Lichtenstein, Ellen Elder, Maurice Kilwein-Guevara) This panel will discuss and debut the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Poetry Foundation's joint project to create and broadcast short, innovatively produced films, each featuring a single poem. These films will initially be screened on specially equipped transit systems nationwide, from Los Angeles to Orlando. What is the most effective way to bring a poem to the screen? How do poets and filmmakers collaborate to attract the attention of an audience in transit? Stop by, tune in. |
Murray Hill Suite |
R107. Letters To Poets: Conversations About Poetics, Politics, and Community. (Dana Teen Lomax, Eileen Myles, Anne Waldman, Quincy Troupe, Jennifer Firestone, Albert Flynn DeSilver) Examining urgent issues in American poetics, politics, and community, the Letters To Poets project marks conversations between fourteen of the country's leading contemporary poets and the younger poets they've been in dialogue with. One hundred years after Rilke, these poets challenge the hierarchies and pitfalls endemic to the mentoring process and ask some of the day's toughest, most vital questions concerning race, class, and gender. Letters To Poets is forthcoming from Saturnalia Books. |
Nassau Suite |
R108. Women Essayists You've (Likely) Never Read. (Patrick Madden, Catherine Taylor, Kim Dana Kupperman, Jenny Spinner) Historically, men have dominated the essay genre. A reader perusing anthologies might wrongly believe that women simply didn’t write essays until recently. Panelists will recognize and enthusiastically recommend a vibrant continuum of noteworthy women essayists from the 17th century onward, presenting the work of such luminaries as Margaret Cavendish, Louise Guiney, Gail Hamilton, Barbara Hurd, Vernon Lee, Audre Lorde, Mina Loy, Alice Meynell, Agnes Repplier, and others. |
Regent Parlor |
R109. Springing the Novella from the Literary Banana Republic: A Conversation about Tradition, Experimentation, and Publication. (Cynthia Reeves, Patrick Michael Finn, Michael Griffith, Brian Kiteley, Michael Mejia) Is there more to the novella than an ill-defined idea of length, falling somewhere between short story and novel? Stephen King has called the novella an "anarchy-ridden literary banana republic." This panel explores anarchy as opportunity: the novella as a genre so aggressively uncommercial that it provides the freedom to test innovative narrative strategies and styles while at the same time accommodating traditional approaches. We will also look at publishing difficulties and opportunities. |
Sutton Center |
R110. Arab American Writings About War. (Lawrence Joseph, Wafa' 'Abdullatif Zenal'abidi, Sinan Antoon, Elmaz Abinader, Hayan Charara, Fady Joudah) Bloody and destructive conflicts in the Arab world today pit Arab against American, both directly (the Iraq War) and indirectly (Israeli-Palestinian conflict). Arab and Arab American writers and translators will discuss the large and growing body of war literature written by Arabs and Arab Americans. They will interrogate themes, strategies, and negotiations found in this literature. They will discuss how these writings shape our understanding of war, violence, and the human condition. |
Sutton South |
R111. Proud Collaboration or Monkeying with Genius? The "Art" of Editing Short Fiction. (Ben George, Chris Adrian, Carin Besser, Shannon Cain, Charles D'Ambrosio, Eli Horowitz) What's an editor's role: an interloper who the writer must prevent from contaminating his or her brilliance, or friendly reader who guides the story toward its Platonic ideal? Three pairs of editors and writers, discussing a specific story on which they collaborated, explore what happens during the editing process. What's intrusive? What's helpful? Is anything a deal breaker? When is a story ready for publication? |
Grand Ballroom |
R112. Shaping a Short Story Collection. (Ellen Litman, Daphne Kalotay, Deb Olin Unferth, Steve Almond, Brian Evenson) Short story collections are notoriously hard to get published. Editors complain that collections don't sell. Agents ask for a novel. Magazine articles regularly proclaim that the short story itself is dead. And yet, every year new short story collections come out, win awards, and generate buzz. Some have recurring characters, others are labeled "a novel in stories." Some center on a specific theme, while others are set in a particular location. What makes for a compelling short story collection? What is the best way to arrange the stories? How to develop an arch? The fiction writers on this panel have published one or more short story collections. They will attempt to answer the above questions by sharing their own experiences, discussing their favorite collections, and trying to identify some useful strategies. |
Mercury Ballroom |
R113. Getting on the Tenure Track: The MLA Interview and Campus Visit. (Renee Wells, Chris Forhan, Tommy Zurhellen, Peter Streckfus, Eric Goodman) This panel will be an in-depth look at the tenure-track interview process, composed of new hires from the 2006-2007 job search and recent members of search committees. The panelists will discuss the interview process, including what to expect, how to prepare, and things to avoid. The session will also explore the difference between interviewing at a large university and a small liberal arts college. Ample time will be provided for questions. |
New York Suite |
R114. Writing & Democracy: Teaching Undergraduates How to Read, Write, and Think. (Robert Polito, Suzannah Lessard, Mark Bibbins, Zia Jaffrey, Helen Schulman) In the fall of 2006, The New School launched the Leonard and Louise Riggio Writing & Democracy Initiative, which anchors itself in the idea that reading and writing are the engines of a truly democratic society. Focusing on language and the writer in the world, the Riggio Initiative seeks to reinvent close reading and the undergraduate workshop. Faculty members discuss their workshops and literature seminars. |
Conference Room D |
R115. Indigenous Poets. (Allison Hedge Coke, Ralph Salisbury, James Thomas Stevens, LeAnne Howe, Janet McAdams, Diane Glancy) Indigenous American poetry reading demonstrative of the vast diversity and talent available throughout the Indigenous United States literary field (this year including both Alaska and Hawaii). From the elder poet, Ralph Salisbury-Cherokee--Professor Emeritus, to the very young emerging poet, Cathy Rexford--Inupiaq--recent BFA graduate, all of the readers are as invigorating to listen to as they are to read. Many of the inclusions are published with Salt Publishing through the Earthworks Series (edited by McAdams) or soon to be pressed in the Effigy Series (edited by Hedge Coke), or by Hedge Coke in the Red Wing Series for Red Hen Press in the near future. |
Conference Room E |
R116. The Transatlantic Writer: Challenges and Strategies. (Tim Liardet, Mairéad Byrne, Anthony Caleshu, Benjamin Markovits, Lytton Smith, Carrie Etter) The transatlantic writer faces unique challenges in both the composition and dissemination of work. How does one "write native"? Who is the imagined or intended audience? Panelists will also address differing habits of publication and public reception, the internet's relationship to concepts of a national literature, the creation of conversations between writers and cultures, and nationalism's influence on an author's reception. |
Conference Room K |
R117. Literary Ventures Fund Presents: How Would Fitzgerald Be Published Today? (Harold Augenbraum, Jim Bildner, Jonathan Karp, Will Schwalbe) The publishing industry has seen many changes since Maxwell Perkins at Scribner's first published F. Scott Fitzgerald. What challenges face a writer of literary fiction today and how can such a writer make it through a complicated and often unfriendly system? |
Empire Ballroom |
R118. The Poetry of George Herbert: Five Takes by Five Poets. (David Baker, Ann Townsend, Stanley Plumly, Linda Gregerson, Carl Phillips) Why does a self-effacing cleric of the 17th century continue to be so avidly read? Why does he speak to us today? From experimental to formal, from highly rhetorical to lyrical, from devotional to confessional, Herbert contains multitudes. Five poet-critics examine a range of poetry through the lens of the temporal, the formal, the devotional, the architectural, and the erotic. We intend to propose new readings of five poems to open a doorway to the past and reveal his contemporary relevance. |
10:30 a.m.-11:45 a.m. | |
Mercury Ballroom |
R119. CLMP Keynote Address. (Russell Banks, Sara Nelson) This year, as the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses celebrates its 40th anniversary, Sara Nelson, editor-in-chief of Publishers Weekly, interviews novelist Russell Banks, a founder of CLMP (originally called CCLM, Coordinating Council of Literary Magazines) and then-editor of the literary magazine Lillabulero. |
Bryant Suite |
R120. Pacific West Region: AWP Program Directors Breakout Session. (Catherine Brady) AWP Program Directors Breakout Session. If you are a program director of an AWP member creative writing program in the following states, you should attend this session: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington. This regional breakout session will begin immediately upon the conclusion of the Program Directors Plenary Meeting, so we recommend that you attend the Plenary Meeting first. Your regional representative on the AWP Board of Directors and Board President, Catherine Brady, will conduct this meeting. |
Clinton Suite |
R121. Northeast Region: AWP Program Directors Breakout Session. (David Fenza, Ron Tanner) AWP Program Directors Breakout Session. If you are a program director of an AWP member creative writing program in the following states, you should attend this session: Connecticut, District of Columbia, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont. This regional breakout session will begin immediately upon the conclusion of the Program Directors Plenary Meeting, so we recommend that you attend the Plenary Meeting first. Your newly elected regional representative on the AWP Board of Directors, Ron Tanner, will conduct this meeting. |
Gibson Suite |
R122. Midwest Region: AWP Program Directors Breakout Session. (Rane R. Arroyo) AWP Program Directors Breakout Session. If you are a program director of an AWP member creative writing program in the following states, you should attend this session: Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin. This regional breakout session will begin immediately upon the conclusion of the Program Directors Plenary Meeting, so we recommend that you attend the Plenary Meeting first. Your regional representative on the AWP Board of Directors, Rane R. Arroyo, will conduct this meeting. |
Morgan Suite |
R123. West Region: AWP Program Directors Breakout Session. (Kevin McIlvoy) If you are a program director of an AWP member creative writing program in the following states, you should attend this session: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Nevada, New Mexico, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming. This regional breakout session will begin immediately upon the conclusion of the Program Directors Plenary Meeting, so we recommend that you attend the Plenary Meeting first. Your regional representative on the AWP Board of Directors, Kevin McIlvoy, will conduct this meeting. |
New York Suite |
R124. Southeast Region: AWP Program Directors Breakout Session. (Donald Morrill) AWP Program Directors Breakout Session. If you are a program director of an AWP member creative writing program in the following states, you should attend this session: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. This regional breakout session will begin immediately upon the conclusion of the Program Directors Plenary Meeting, so we recommend that you attend the Plenary Meeting. Your elected regional representative on the AWP Board of Directors, Donald Morrill will conduct this meeting. |
Nassau Suite |
R125. Newlipo: Bringing Proceduralism and Chance-Poetics into the 21st Century. (Sharon Dolin, Jena Osman, Christian B�k, Joan Retallack, Paul Hoover, Patricia Carlin) Poets continue to be influenced by Surrealist automatic and collaborative practices and Oulipean proceduralisms, often combining them in new ways. From the mesostics of John Cage, to the French-born Oulipo movement, to computer-generated erasure texts, poets are continuing to explore ways to write with a wide-ranging sense of rule-governed / chance play. Six poets discuss the various procedures and chance practices they employ in their own work. |
Regent Parlor |
R126. The Literary Review's 50th Anniversary Reading. (Walter Cummins, David Daniel, Esther Allen, Samantha Hunt, Matthew Lippman, Jeffrey Renard Allen) For fifty years, The Literary Review has published quarterly as an international journal of contemporary writing. During that time it has introduced many significant authors from around the world to English readers, including fifteen Nobel Prize winners. TLR has also recognized early in their careers a large number of American writers who went on to major success. To celebrate this anniversary, five award-winning contributors will read poetry, fiction, and translations. |
Sutton Center |
R127. Writing Queer New York. (David Groff, Linsey Abrams, T. Cooper, Samuel R. Delany, Joan Larkin, Edmund White) Ever since Whitman celebrated "Mannahatta," New York City has fostered queer lives and inspired the queer word. What is New York's legacy for today's LGBT writers, and is there a still a place for pioneering queer writing in an increasingly moneyed city? How can New York remain a home for our literature and lives? In this panel, writers of queer New York's poetry and prose explore the city as stage, staging ground, challenge, character, and muse. |
Sutton South |
R128. Autobiography, Angst/Anger and 'Catharsis': Being Crazy Doesn't Make You Interesting. (Thomas Jeffrey Vasseur, M.L. Williams, Marita Golden, Amy Bloom, Bob Shacochis, David Kranes) This panel concerns a phenomenon & occasional problem every creative writing teacher has experienced at some point: when the creative writing workshop becomes confused with appropriate clinical therapy. These participants bring an impressive set of credentials to the subject matter & teaching experience ranging from institutions such as the University of Iowa, FSU, Virginia Tech, Emory, Yale, etc. |
Grand Ballroom |
R129. Ausable Press Presents the Poet's Notebook: Charles Simic & Bruce Weigl, a Reading and Conversation. (Chase Twichell, Charles Simic, Bruce Weigl) For some poets, note taking is an essential part of the daily work of making poems, and becomes a kind of ongoing companion labor intimately related to the work that is eventually made public. Two very different poets, Charles Simic and Bruce Weigl, will read from their private notebooks, and talk about the relationship between that writing and the finished poems, which they will also read. |
Beakman & Sutton North |
R130. Do You Have to be Mean to be Funny? (Julie Sheehan, Melissa Bank, Roger Rosenblatt, Robert Reeves, Patricia Marx, David Rakoff) Stony Brook Southampton MFA and Writers Conference faculty ponder the difference, if there is one, between laughing at and laughing with. If wit is acid, comedy biting, and satire sharp, getting blood on your new Miss Sixty shoes would seem unavoidable. Is there no mercy? And how dare they? |
Murray Hill Suite |
R131. Penguin Poets 15th Anniversary Reading. (Eugene Gloria, Phillis Levin, Barbara Ras, Robert Wrigley, Joanna Klink, William Stobb) In 1993 Penguin Books decided to give more visibility to its poetry publishing by making a series called "Penguin Poets," which would publish six new books a year by a broad range of contemporary poets. 2008 will mark the 15th anniversary of the series. Six poets from the series would read from their work at this event. |
Conference Room D |
R132. The City University of New York Celebrates New York: A Gala Reading. (Timothy Stevens, Meena Alexander, Kimiko Hahn, Elizabeth Nunez, Frederic Tuten, Julie Agoos) From across genres and across boroughs, these five writers from the various CUNY writing programs gather to welcome you to their home. Executive Vice Chancellor Selma Botman will introduce. We aim to do no less than dazzle--! |
Conference Room K |
R133. Celebration Song, Circle Song: Kundiman Looks Back at its First Five Years. (Oliver de la Paz, David Mura, Jon Pineda, Purvi Shah, Tamiko Beyer, Sarah Gambito) Kundiman, a not-for-profit organization committed to the discovery and cultivation of emerging Asian-American poets, is celebrating its fifth year of existence. During this panel, founders, faculty, and fellows discuss what it takes to build a community of minority writers, how writers of color can begin to empower themselves and change the landscape of what is "expected" of Asian-American writers, and how the Kundiman community continues beyond the retreat space. |
Empire Ballroom |
R134. Inside Publishing: How Editors Acquire Books. (Mary Gannon, Joshua Kendall, Kate Nitze, Lee Boudreaux, Johnny Temple, Jill Bialosky) Five editors discuss the process behind the decisions they make about which books to publish. Topics include: how many manuscripts do they receive? how many do they read? who reads the slush pile? do they consider unagented submissions? what specific qualities are they looking for in a book? what else must they consider when choosing books to publish (potential sales, established audience, publicity prospects)? what should writers do to improve their chances of having their submissions read? |
12:00 p.m.-1:15 p.m. | |
Beekman & Sutton North |
R135. Hunter College MFA Faculty Reading. (Tom Sleigh, Peter Carey, Donna Masini, Colum McCann, Jan Heller Levi, Louise DeSalvo) This reading features the core faculty of Hunter College's MFA Program. |
Bryant Suite |
R136. Translating Five Hundred Years of Latin American Poetry. (Mark Lokensgard, Cecilia Vicu�a, Rosa Alcal�, Molly Weigel) In 2008, Oxford University Press will publish its 500 Years of Latin American Poetry: A Bilingual Anthology. One of the book's editors and several of its translators give bilingual readings of selected poems and then discuss the poems and their translations. They address issues of craft, mechanics, musicality, and differing literary traditions, among others, that translators must consider in order to make a poem that is both meaningful and enjoyable in English. |
Clinton Suite |
R137. Hayden's Ferry Review 20th Anniversary Reading. (Beth Staples, Paul Guest, Ann Cummins, Rika Lesser, Drew Perry, Ryo Yamaguchi) Hayden's Ferry Review, the literary journal started and edited by MFA students at Arizona State University, has published its 40th issue during the summer of 2007! Please join us for a reading of fiction and poetry where we will celebrate the writers and writing we've been honored to publish over the last twenty years. |
Gibson Suite |
R138. The Other Latino/a: Defining a New American Landscape. (Blas Falconer, Lisa D. Chavez, Juan J. Morales, Helena Mesa) New York, Miami, Chicago, LA, the Southwest--these are what many consider to be the typical geographies of Latino/a poets. Writers often work within a literary tradition defined by place and community, but how do Latino poets reared outside this context contribute to Latino poetry? Members of our panel will consider this question as we examine aesthetics and themes, juxtaposing our own work and that of other Latino/as with poems well established in the Latino cannon. |
Morgan Suite |
R139. Key Developments in Creative Writing Research. (Graeme Harper, Maggie Butt, Nessa O'Mahony, Jeri Kroll) What do you know about practice-led creative writing research? This panel will explain its dimensions and show how, in universities worldwide, creative writers are undertaking key research in our field. The panel will investigate why, forty years after the formation of the AWP, we have only just begun to understand the nature, style, and importance of such writerly research. |
Murray Hill Suite |
R140. In Our Line: Contemporary Women Writers on Resemblance and Rebellion in Fiction. (Jacqueline Kolosov, Kirsten Sundberg Lunstrum, Kim Barnes, Kyoko Mori, Ranjini George Philip, Marjorie Sandor) "Masterpieces are not single and solitary births;" Virginia Woolf wrote in A Room of One's Own, "they are the outcome of many years of thinking in common." This panel explores this creative dialogue among women writers, discussing our responses to and rebellions against our forerunners. Based on an anthology of the same title and topic (Lewis-Clark Press, 2007), this panel is composed of the anthology's editors and contributors. |
Nassau Suite |
R141. A Tribute to the Poetry of Lynda Hull. (David Wojahn, Elizabeth Alexander, Mark Doty, David Jauss, Brenda Shaughnessy) A tribute to the poetry of Lynda Hull (1954-1994), on the occasion of the publication of her recently published Collected Poems (Graywolf, 2006). Panelists will include associates of Hull, the co-editors of her new collection, and young poets who have spoken of the ongoing influence of her work. |
Regent Parlor |
R142. Real or Imagined: The Line Between Young Adult, Crossover, and Adult Fiction. (Mary Rockcastle, Carolyn Coman, Sharon Darrow, Julie Schumacher, Marsha Qualey) What makes a work of fiction a young adult novel vs. a crossover novel vs. a novel for adults that just happens to appeal to a teenage audience? Is there a clear line between these categories, or is it the result of calculated marketing? What do aspiring writers need to know? For some writers, the distinction has to do with subject matter, length, level of complexity, and/or point of view character. For others, there's no distinction at all. For them, the rules of craft and standards of good writing apply to both, regardless of audience. Panelists who publish YA and adult fiction will address these issues as well as their own aims and criteria in writing good fiction. |
Sutton Center |
R143. Blog Form and Function in Writing Communities. (Wendy Sumner-Winter, Steven Church, Jefferson Beavers, Trevor Jackson, Dan Wicket) Going beyond the online journal, the multimedia web log - essentially a specialized nonfiction form with its own unique techniques and aesthetic sensibilities - can function as an integral part of creating and sustaining writing communities. Four writers discuss the form and craft of blogging, and consider the blog's potential role in connecting writers, social networking, MFA program development, book publicity, review and interview writing, and providing a forum for news, commentary, self-expression, and even informal workshops. the panelists will discuss the perceptions, assumptions, and realities of the interactive blog world, as well as the pitfalls and benefits of blogging for nonfiction, teachers, reviewers, and readers. |
Sutton South |
R144. Serving Poets & Poetry: Surveying the Field. (Kevin Larimer, Tree Swenson, Lee Briccetti, John Barr, Alice Quinn) The directors of four major national poetry organizations - all of which serve poets, present poetry, and nurture audiences - discuss issues in contemporary poetry and respond to questions about the current scene, the ways poems travel through our culture, and the future of the art form in our country. The Academy of American Poets, the Poetry Foundation, Poetry Society of American, and Poets House are represented on the panel, which is moderated by the senior editor of Poets & Writers Magazine. |
Grand Ballroom |
R145. Off the Page: Writers Talk About the American Landscape. (Carole Burns, Alice McDermott, Charles Baxter, Margot Livesey, Thisbe Nissen) Writers Alice McDermott, Charles Baxter, Margot Livesey and Thisbe Nissen discuss how they capture and explore the place of America--whether it's Manhattan or the Midwest--in their fiction. How does one depict such a diverse place? What effect does it have on story, character and voice? How can we, as writers, see this familiar world in a fresh way? Moderator Carole Burns will interview the writers (three Americans, one Scottish writer) and take questions from the audience. |
Mercury Ballroom |
R146. Blood To Remember: American Poets on the Holocaust. (Richard Michelson, C.K. Williams, Rodger Kamenetz, Anna Rabinowitz, Charles Fishman) A discussion and reading by 6 leading poets included in the anthology published in November 2007 (Time Being Books): CK Williams, Gerald Stern, Charles Fishman (editor), Maurya Simon, Anna Rabinowitz and Richard Michelson. |
New York Suite |
R147. We Have Known a Lion: A Tribute To Max Steele. (Paul Shepherd, Jill McCorkle, Randall Kenan, John Rowell) This panel offers a tribute to the man Doris Betts has called "the greatest creative writing teacher ever," Max Steele, from UNC-Chapel Hill, who died 8/1/05. It consists of both anecdotal remembrances of Steele, teacher and mentor, and brief readings from his short fiction collections, "Where She Brushed Her Hair" and "The Hat of My Mother." Panelists are former students Jill McCorkle, Randall Kenan, John Rowell, and Paul Shepherd. |
Conference Room D |
R148. Forming Creative Writers Outside of Academe: One Writing Center's Experience. (Gregory Robison, Katie Davis, Rose Solari, Barbara Esstman, Barbara Goldberg, Reuben Jackson) The Writer's Center in Bethesda, Maryland, one of the oldest independent, non-academic writing programs in the country, offers over two hundred workshops in all genres of creative writing to nearly 2,000 participants every year. How serious is the writing and teaching that goes on in such centers? Do they have a future in a world of proliferating MFA and other academic programs in creative writing? The executive director, a board member, and instructors from various genres survey the situation. |
Conference Room E |
R149. Annual Meeting of Low Residency MFA Directors. (Kathleen Driskell) Low Residency Directors convene at this annual meeting to discuss programming, administration, and best practices particular to the low residency model of MFA Programs. |
Conference Room K |
R150. Pedagogy Forum Session: Multi-genre. This session is designed to give contributors to the 2008 Pedagogy Forum an opportunity to discuss their work, though all are welcome. The papers themselves will provide a framework to begin in-depth discussion in creative writing pedagogy and theory. A Pedagogy Speaker will contextualize the discussion with some brief remarks before attendees break out into small discussion groups. These groups will be facilitated by trained pedagogy paper contributors. |
Conference Room L |
R151. Pedagogy Forum Session: Fiction and Drama. This session is designed to give contributors to the 2008 Pedagogy Forum an opportunity to discuss their work, though all are welcome. The papers themselves will provide a framework to begin in-depth discussion in creative writing pedagogy and theory. A Pedagogy Speaker will contextualize the discussion with some brief remarks before attendees break out into small discussion groups. These groups will be facilitated by trained pedagogy paper contributors. |
Empire Ballroom |
R152. Poetry Reading: Yusef Komunyakaa and Sharon Olds. Sponsored by New York University. Readings by Yusef Komunyakaa and Sharon Olds. Introductions by Deborah Landau. |
1:30 p.m.-2:45 p.m. | |
Beekman & Sutton North |
R153. National Book Foundation's 5 Under 35. (Leslie Shipman, Asali Solomon, Anya Ulinich, Amity Gaige, Kristin Allio, Samantha Hunt) During National Book Awards Week, National Book Award winners and finalists select five emerging writers to honor at the 5 Under 35 reading and party. Among last year's 5 Under 35 were ZZ Packer, Amity Gaige, and Rattawut Lapcharoensap. The 2007 5 Under 35, selected in September by Jennifer Egan, Ken Kalfus, Richard Powers, Dana Spiotta, and Jess Walter, will read from their work in this program. The event brings part of National Book Awards Week to AWP. |
Bryant Suite |
R154. An Alternative to Teaching: Preparing MFA Students to Work in Nonprofit Arts Agencies (A Case Study). (Charles Jensen, Aimée Baker, Meghan Brinson, Beth Staples, Matthew Brennan, John Young) With so many burgeoning MFA programs churning out more students than ever before, it is even more critical for these new professionals to consider viable and rewarding alternatives to tenure-track teaching careers. Work in the nonprofit sector, through arts agencies, writing centers, and the like, can offer writers a different kind of refuge from the demands of corporate alternatives, and the skills developed in these roles can be transferred into major leadership opportunities in the arts sector. The Piper Center for Creative Writing has grown its MFA graduate assistantship program into a distinctive training ground for these future arts leaders, whose skills and experience will separate them from their peers upon graduation. Working in areas of literary program development and oversight, research, event planning, and management, our students have become invaluable partners in our success. |
Clinton Suite |
R155. Health & Healing: A Reading with the Bellevue Literary Review. (Corie Feiner, Caroline Leavitt, Ruthann Robson, Hal Sirowitz) The Bellevue Literary Review (BLR) is a provocative literary journal from the most legendary hospital in the nation. The BLR, the first literary journal in the country to be published by a medical center, is published by NYU's Department of Medicine. Through fiction, creative nonfiction, essays, and poetry, the BLR illuminates the human condition through the prism of health and healing, illness and disease, and relationships to the body and mind. Come hear our stellar writers explore these themes! |
Gibson Suite |
R156. Absently at Shadow: Homosexual Tradition & Black Aesthetics. (Dante Micheaux, Carl Phillips, Cyrus Cassells, Forrest Hamer) This panel will investigate the absence (voluntary or involuntary) of Black male poets in the homosexual literary tradition-focusing on the dynamic of exclusion and its ramifications. What is the Black Aesthetic? What is the homosexual tradition? Are the concepts opposed? If so, can/should they be reconciled? Are these inquiries obsolete as they morph the dilemma of canon onto a spectrum of sexual identity? |
Morgan Suite |
R157. The Alliance of Artists' Communities: A Sampler of Residencies for Writers. (Ann Brady, John Skoyles, Richard McCann, Michael Burkard, Cheryl Young, Amy Bloom) The Alliance of Artists' Communities grew out of a MacArthur Foundation grants initiative and was born on the grounds of Atlantic Center for the Arts in 1992. Artists' communities provide artists with the opportunity to create new work and encourage risk-taking and innovation in the arts and ideas. Writers and staff from renowned artists' communities explore the diversity of writing residencies at The MacDowell Colony, The Fine Arts Work Center, and Atlantic Center for the Arts. Panelists include Michael Burkard, Richard McCann, Amy Bloom, John Skoyles and Cheryl Young. |
Murray Hill Suite |
R158. Memoir & The Tightrope of True-ish-isms. (Marc Nieson, Daniel Nester, Hope Edelman, Paul Lisicky, Leslie Schwartz, Madelon Sprengnether) The post-Frey debate has been heated, yet all too often reduced to an impasse of Truth vs. Fact vs. Accountability. This panel pushes the discussion further into the nature of memoir writing itself. Is form key in determining and affirming content? How much do selected forms nudge a writer to invent? How do notions of fluid identity, or new neural network theories on how memories are formed and retrieved, challenge the entire endeavor? |
Nassau Suite |
R159. New Historical Fiction. (Luis Jaramillo, Rene Steinke, Jeffery Renard Allen, Stephen Wright, Helen Schulman) Once upon a time, "historical fiction" was roughly equivalent to the romance novel in literary stature. Now, post-Roth, post-Pynchon, post-DeLillo, post-Kathryn Davis, historical fiction occupies some of the most resourceful and inventive literary terrain of our time. In this panel, some distinguished novelists discuss their specific engagement with history, ranging from the American Civil War, through Greenwich Village in the 1920's and 30's, and September 11, 2001. |
Regent Parlor |
R160. Mother Tongue. (Tina Chang, Meena Alexander, Marilyn Chin, Kimiko Hahn, Myung Mi Kim) This panel explores history, language, and culture in Asian-American traditions and their use in forging a contemporary American poetics. Four poets discuss the journeys they have made, writing across borders, examining the various notions of what it means to be a female poet. Male poets have spoken a great deal of tradition and the making of canons. What of writing poetry as women? Four acclaimed poets of Indian, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean descent discuss the questions of language, poetic form, and the shifting roles of mother, daughter, and sister within the rich worlds of their Asian-American heritage. In this presentation, we will look to the past in order to discover how these poets are navigating a new American landscape. |
Sutton Center |
R161. 'No Pets, No Pot, No Dreams, No Death': "No" Rules vs. "No Rules" in the Workshop. (Liam Callanan, Dan Chaon, Jane Delury, Alice Mattison, John Rowell) Should instructors promulgate "no" rules (like those in the panel's title, which one of the panelists once used) or is it more creatively fruitful to operate in a no-rules-whatsoever environment? What's the best way to ensure artistic freedom of expression-while also guiding students toward creating original, vibrant, cliché-free writing? Panelists will discuss best practices and experiences, sharing what rules, if any, prompt the best student work. |
Sutton South |
R162. The J in Literary Journalism: Research and Reporting Skills in the Context of Creative Writing Programs. (Lisa Roney, Rebecca Skloot, Lise Funderburg, Peter Chilson) How do memoirists and other literary writers gain and put into action the research skills needed for literary journalism projects? What are the similarities and differences in fact-finding techniques used in the two worlds of journalism and creative writing? How can creative nonfiction writers avoid the pitfalls of poor research? This panel will bring together writers from both types of background to share ways they learned and used research strategies and how they share them in their teaching. |
Grand Ballroom |
R163. A Tribute to Russell Edson. (Russell Edson, Brian Clements, Robert Bly, Charles Simic, James Tate) Sentence: A Journal of Prose Poetics presents Robert Bly, Charles Simic, and James Tate discussing the work of Russell Edson, followed by a reading by Russell Edson. |
Mercury Ballroom |
R164. 40th Anniversary Reading by Fine Arts Work Center Fellows. (Dorothy Antczak, Dean Albarelli, Marie Howe, Frances Hwang, Tyehimba Jess, Salvatore Scibona) The Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown was founded in 1968 by a group of eminent artists and writers who recognized the need to support talented individuals at the outset of their careers. It is the only long-term residency program in the country designed specifically for emerging writers. To celebrate the Work Center's 40th anniversary, former Fellows Dean Albarelli, Marie Howe, Frances Hwang, Tyehimba Jess and Salvatore Scibona talk about their Work Center experience and read from their work. |
New York Suite |
R165. Tourists & Natives: The craft and politics of writing fiction about the Caribbean. (Kwame Dawes, Ben Fountain, Cristina Henriquez, Marlon James, Tiphanie Yanique) Tourist & Natives explores how a region is imagined from different ethnic positions. Americans and West Indians read and discuss writing about Haiti, Jamaica, Panama, Trinidad, and the Virgin Islands. Among the questions addressed are: How is the Caribbean being presented in contemporary fiction? Is the Caribbean still a valued space for post-colonial studies? How does one write convincingly as an outsider to a culture? How does an insider write without an agenda? |
Conference Room D |
R166. Our Roots Are Deep With Passion: Creative Nonfiction Essays by Italian American Writers. (Laura Valeri, Joanna Hermann Clapps, Edvige Giunta, Peter Selgin) A reading by authors of Our Roots Are Deep With Passion, Creative Nonfiction's essays by Italian American writers. Editors Lee Gutkind and Joanna Clapps (Creative Nonfiction) comment on these artful essays by novelists, scholars, and memorists from across the country. The pieces explore the unique intersections of language, tradition, cuisine, and culture that characterize the diverse experience of Americans of Italian heritage. |
Conference Room E |
R167. FCUK: Why the F and what's the Connection? A Look at M(F)A Programs on Both Sides of the Atlantic. (Kathy Flann, Bill Lavender, Michael Stephens, George Green, Michelene Wandor, Andrea Holland) The MFA does not exist in the United Kingdom. Its closest cousin, the MA, differs in some crucial ways from graduate degrees in the US - not least in terms of its relationship to the PhD. This panel will explore the evolutionary path of creative writing within higher education in the UK. We will identify areas in which people from each side of the pond might learn from one another's practices. |
Conference Room K |
R168. CLMP Panel: High-Profile Indie Publishers. (Joanna Yas, Johnny Temple, Richard Nash, Fiona McCrae) A conversation with publishers from Open City, Graywolf, Soft Skull and Akashic Books about how to prominently position oneself and one's press, and what it means to have a high profile in the trade. |
Conference Room L |
R169. Does Curriculum Matter? (David Everett, David Smith, Aurelie Sheehan, Geoffrey Becker) In an era when faculty fame seems paramount, does it matter what we teach? Should we promote faculty prominence over curriculum? Are the courses we want to teach the best ones to help students? Most controversially, does writing prominence always make a good teacher? These difficult questions will be tackled by panelists who believe what is taught is as important as who teaches, and who will describe how curricula can fit specific visions, students -- and famous faculty. |
Empire Ballroom |
R170. Wit and Social Commentary in Contemporary Fiction. (Ofer Ziv, Francine Prose, Lydia Davis, Jennifer Egan, Percival Everett) We put together an ensemble of some of the great voices in contemporary fiction. These authors are known for their searing wit and unflinching eye, focused in particular on modern American culture and sub-culture. Join us in celebration of these acerbic voices and their entertaining, wry observations. |
3:00 p.m.-4:15 p.m. | |
Beekman & Sutton North |
R171. Don't Go There: The Question of Silence. (Liesl Schwabe, Sven Birkets, Susan Cheever, Bob Shacochis, Dinah Lenney) We hear in nonfiction workshops about writers finally giving themselves "permission" to write their traumatic stories. What about the converse: taking permission to remain silent? What, if any, are--or should be--the constraints imposed by pain, difficulty, or the responsibility to others who share some title to an experience? Where does morality go to war with market? And what do we owe to what we believe to be the truth? |
Bryant Suite |
R172. Community Involvement: Writing with the Homeless Community in South Bend. (Valerie Sayers, Lynne Chien, Jarrett Haley, Brenna Casey) The great boon of M.F.A. programs nationwide is that they create a writing community for their members. But how do we extend this kinship to the creative community lingering on the periphery of university borders? Join in the conversation with student and faculty organizers from Notre Dame's M.F.A. in Creative Writing Program as they talk about their experiences partnering with South Bend's Center for the Homeless. |
Clinton Suite |
R173. East Meets West: A Reading of New Red Hen Press Authors. (Kurt Brown, Nickole Brown, DeWitt Henry, Carol Potter, Tony Barnstone, Eva Saulitis) Red Hen Press has been a fixture of the Los Angeles literary scene for the past thirteen years. As we pack up our books for the chilly Eastern air, we are excited to offer a cross-genre reading of our newest authors! From California poet and translator Tony Barnstone, Red Hen Press' 2006 Benjamin Saltman Award winner, to New York writer Kurt Brown, our reading will cover each coast, and even some states in between |
Murray Hill Suite |
R174. Frost Place 30th Anniversary Reading. (Jim Schley, Jeffrey Skinner, Major Jackson, Adrienne Su, Cleopatra Mathis, Katha Pollitt) Uniquely located at a historic (and legendary) literary site -- Robert Frost's farm in Franconia, New Hampshire -- The Frost Place has been hosting vital programs since 1977, including a summer residency for a poet to live and work in Frost's house, and the Festival and Conference on Poetry, which in 2008 marks its 30th Anniversary. This reading features former poets-in-residence and Festival faculty to commemorate that milestone and celebrate the ongoing vitality of The Frost Place. |
Nassau Suite |
R175. With a Bow to Grace Paley: Writing the Unspeakable: The Truth Behind Fiction, Fiction as Truth. (Jan Freeman, Leslea Newman, Zdena Berger, Alice Eliot Dark, Vivian Gornick) Countering the contemporary carnival of memoir, panelists will address the ways in which fiction made it possible for them to explore the truths in their lives which memoir would have stifled. Does the public believe that there are subjects that must ethically be addressed through nonfiction? And subjects that are more comfortable for readers and writers to experience through short stories and novels? A Q & A with the audience will follow panelist's observations and discussions. |
Regent Parlor |
R176. Lark Play Development Center: A Dialogue About Monologue. (Anton Dudley, David Henry Hwang, David Ives, Tina Howe, Lisa Kron) New York Playwrights talk about craft and share their work. |
Sutton Center |
R177. Toward a Consistent Policy Concerning Electronic Theses and Dissertations. (Mark Winegardner, Philip Gerard, Jeanne Leiby, Wendell Mayo, Susan Fallows) Panelists representing several universities discuss the legal and ethical issues concerning the role of electronic theses and dissertations, and the correlative issues concerning copyrights, the sequestering of creative works for archival purposes, and who retains control over the dissemination of these works. They will also speak to the issue of intellectual property rights and explore the need for a national agreement on a standardized policy concerning these issues. |
Sutton South |
R178. Writing Violence. (Maurice Kilwein-Guevara, George Makana Clark, Neil Connelly, Juan Felipe Herrera, Cristina Rodriguez Cabral, Adam Johnson) At a time of war and in the wake of the tragedy at Virginia Tech, this panel explores the representations of violence across cultures and genres. Our aim is to discuss a number of related issues, including the ethics inherent in depicting violent images, the various forms that violence takes, the impact that violence has on readers, and the historical/cultural contexts in which violence occurs. |
Grand Ballroom |
R179. The PSA Presents: A Reading and Interview with Galway Kinnell. Sponsored by The Poetry Society of America. A reading by poet Galway Kinnell, followed by a conversation hosted by Alice Quinn. |
Mercury Ballroom |
R180. 25 Years of the Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction. (Nicole Mitchell, Antonya Nelson, Rita Ciresi, David Walton, Margot Singer, Robert Anderson) To celebrate 25 years of the Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction, previous recipients of the prize will read from their work and speak about the role that the award, and the longtime series editor Charles East, played in their writing. |
New York Suite |
R181. Mentorship vs. Workshop: The Pedagogy of Low Residency MFA Programs. (Andrew Gray, Bill Lavender, Fred Leebron, Paul Selig, Gregory Wolfe) This panel explores the two principal pedagogical approaches to teaching in Low Residency MFA programs. The first Low Residency programs operated primarily on the mentorship model, but new technology makes it possible to teach writing workshops online, and a growing number of Low Residency programs are using the workshop model. The panel will compare and contrast the two models and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each one. |
Conference Room D |
R182. The Art of the Word. (Molly McQuade, Vincent Katz, Toni Schlesinger, Edwin Frank, Nancy K. Miller) In "The Art of the Word," poets and prose writers will read from their new writings on words, commissioned by Molly McQuade for an anthology forthcoming from Sarabande. This book, a personal dictionary, invites writers to think about a word that means a lot to them--just one word. What is the history of the word in their lives? What is the word's color, or its emotion? What is the longer lifespan of the word, preceding them? |
Conference Room E |
R183. The Poetry Outreach Center: The Marriage between the MFA and the Community. (Pamela Laskin, Barry Wallenstein, Sean O'Hanlon, Robert Burr) The primary purpose of The Poetry Outreach Center is to encourage the creation of poetry at all levels of public education. City College MFA students visit NYC public schools to give readings and conduct writing workshops, which culminate in our Annual Spring Poetry Festival, where high school winners receive cash prizes. This event generates a publication--Poetry in Performance--in which students and professional poets appear side by side. |
Conference Room K |
R184. CLMP Panel: Positioning Magazines as Books. (Ted Genoways, Eli Horowitz, Olivia E. Sears, Matt Weiland) Editors from The Virginia Quarterly Review, McSweeney's, Two Lines, and The Paris Review discuss the hows and whys of distributing literary magazines as books instead of, or in addition to, distributing as periodicals. |
Conference Room L |
R185. Writers in the Schools. (Christine Lanoie-Newman, Leslie Schwartz, Sean Nevin, Michele Kotler, Paul Shaffer, Robin Reagler) This panel brings together representatives from various organizations nationwide that run successful writers in the schools programs, which pair writers with classrooms in underserved communities for instruction. Through an explication of some of these success stories, panelists discuss the pragmatic aspects of developing writers in the schools programs, as well as the inspiring stories of why it is imperative that youth, especially at-risk youth, discover their own voices. |
Empire Ballroom |
R186. A Literary Interview with Daniel Menaker, Random House Former Executive Editor. (Matthew Klam, Daniel Menaker) Fellow journalist and fiction writer Matt Klam speaks with former Random House Exec. Editor Dan Menaker about the challenges of the short story and novel, the changing role of editors, and the compromises writers must make or avoid. Of the publishing industry, Menaker said, "Intellectual accomplishment and sophistication can actually impede advancement and success." Find out he handles the competing demands of literature and commerce. Sponsored by the Stony Brook Southampton Writers Conference. |
Beekman & Sutton North |
R187. Copper Canyon's 35th Anniversary Reading: Six Poets New to the Press. (Matthew Zapruder, Lisa Olstein, Chris Martin, Ellen Bass, Chris Abani, Brenda Shaughnessy) Copper Canyon Press, one of the country's leading poetry publishers, is celebrating its 35th anniversary with a reading by six poets who have recently joined the Copper Canyon list. |
Bryant Suite |
R188. Listen to This! (Nick Twemlow, Kenneth Goldsmith, Matt O'Donnell, Curtis Fox, Don Share) Take an audio tour of four major audio poetry archives: The Harvard Poetry Room, poetryfoundation.org, From The Fishouse, and UbuWeb. Their curators will play back, mix, and sample from their collections. You'll learn about how to access historic recordings, best practices for archiving audio, what makes a great poetry podcast, and how to get work added and featured in their archives and podcasts. |
Clinton Suite |
R189. Speed-Dial Antagonists and Bodiless Beloveds: Technology in Poetry & Prose. (Merrill Feitell, Antonya Nelson, Ted Genoways, Maud Casey, Timothy Donnelly) Carrying a cell phone is like carrying your ghosts in your pocket at all times-a fact bound to impact literature as it has our lives. How can we, as writers, best make use of the potential omnipresence of antagonists? How can we avoid overly ironic and ham-handed intrusions of current events? How can we create full-bodied, dynamic imagery for characters who appear only in IM? This panel of poets, fiction writers, and editors will discuss the promise and pitfalls of writing in the cell phone era, addressing the rise of technology in their own work, their publications, and in the classroom. |
Morgan Suite |
R190. Writers at the Table: A Celebration of Food Literature. (Tenaya Darlington, Raphael Kadushin, Michelle Wildgen, Paulette Licitra, August Tarrier, Sara Roahen) So many writers have a connection to the culinary world, whether they wait tables, work in food journalism, or draw inspiration from cooking. This panel brings together writers from all corners -- from a chef who started a literary journal about food, to a university-press editor who reviews restaurants all over the globe. Come hear six foodies/writers read about the cupcakes, pork chops, and cocktails that have inspired them. |
Murray Hill Suite |
R191. Poetry and the Environment. (Sally Keith, Linda Bierds, Eleni Sikelianos, Dan Beachy-Quick, Bin Ramke, Karen Anderson) Global warming, genetic engineering, and extinction are terms heard frequently but how is it that poets are responding to a universe clearly and often detrimentally changing? How might writing about the environment affects a writer's conception of form, process, and the imagination? In this panel, six geographically and aesthetically diverse poets will discuss ways in which 21st Century environmental shifts have informed their writing and conclude with a small sampling from their recent work. |
Nassau Suite |
R192. The Flying Fieldinski's: Celebrating Edward Field. (Glenna Luschei, Denise Duhamel, Gerald Locklin, David Oliveira, Edward Field) The Flying Fieldinski's will celebrate the life and poetry of New York poet Edward Field. Field grew up on Long Island, where he played cello in the Field Family Trio over radio station WGBB. His family, filled with musicians, called themselves the Fieldinski's. During World War II, he flew twenty-five missions over Europe. Field began studying acting with Russian émigré Vera Soloviova of the Moscow Art Theatre. Moderated by Glenna Luschei, this panel will feature Edward Field himself, along with Denise Duhamel from Florida, Gerald Locklin from California and David Oliveira from Cambodia. |
Regent Parlor |
R193. Neglected and Forgotten Poets, IV (Northeast). (Richard Katrovas, Sebastian Matthews, Susan Thomas, Gail Wronsky, Pamela Uschuk, William Pitt Root) This is the fourth in the very popular and successful series on Neglected Poets, this time focusing on poets from the Northeast. |
Sutton Center |
R194. Broken Land: Poems of Brooklyn. (Michael Tyrell, Dennis Nurkse, Katy Lederer, L.S. Asekoff, Robert Hershon, Julia Spicher Kasdorf) Distinguished poets whose writing and lives are associated with Brooklyn will read from their own work and that of others collected in Broken Land: Poems of Brooklyn (New York University Press, 2007). This anthology, the first to focus exclusively on Brooklyn, draws a diverse range of poems from the colonial period to the present. Hear about the borough of bridges, churches and Coney Island, as represented by poets beyond Whitman, Morre, and Crane. |
Sutton South |
R195. Addressing the Eclipse: Poetry and Religion. (Roy Jacobstein, Marianne Boruch, Laura Kasischke, Greg Rappleye, Robert Thomas) Addressing the Eclipse: Poetry and Religion. Emily Dickinson said her family "address an Eclipse, every morning - whom they call their 'Father.'" Poets have ambivalent relationships with religion. It is hard to be devout but not sentimental, profane but not melodramatic, skeptical but not glib, in awe but not in denial. This panel will discuss ways to fulfill the promise and avoid the pitfalls of religious poems, whether prayer, curse, or in Yusef Komunyakaa's words, "talking dirty to the gods." |
Grand Ballroom |
R196. A Reading & Discussion with Joyce Carol Oates. Sponsored by Random House Publishing Group. A reading by novelist Joyce Carol Oates, followed by a conversation hosted by Bret Anthony Johnston. |
Mercury Ballroom |
R197. A Reading of Bread Loaf Faculty and Fellows. (Jennifer Grotz, A. Van Jordan, Heidi Julavits, James Longenbach, Stacey D'Erasmo) The Bread Loaf Writers Conference presents a reading of fiction and poetry by six poets and writers, all former faculty, fellows, or contributors: A. Van Jordan, Heidi Julavits, James Longenbach, and Monique Truong. |
New York Suite |
R198. Beyond See Spot Run: Arts Education in a Standards-Based Climate. (Stacy McKenna, John Oliver Simon, Rebecca Hoogs, Jack McBride, Daniel Gabriel, Karen Lewis) Writers-in-schools programs must respond creatively to the challenges posed by standards-based education. Writers who teach poetry and translation to children are discovering, sometimes to their own amazement, that their wildest and most evocative assignments meet and often far exceed grade-level expectations for language arts development. This panel focuses on some of the ways that imaginative-writing programs provide top-notch arts education while also fulfilling standards requirements. |
Conference Room E |
R199. Two Writers/Two Careers -- the Challenges of the Dual-Career Life. (Gerald Shapiro, Jonis Agee, Judith Slater, Brent Spencer) You just landed your dream job at a college in Maine; your partner is tenured in Utah. What do you do? In academia this scenario is more and more common. We all know stories of partners who've split, or writers who've given up their dream of an academic appointment, because of the difficulties of managing a dual-career relationship. Are there any good solutions? In this panel we'll use our own experiences as partners in dual-career relationships as the basis for our discussion of the issues attached to this painful dilemma. Come share your story, and learn how others have weathered the storm. |
Conference Room L |
R200. Writing as Translation, Translation as the Teaching of Writing. (Mary Helen Stefaniak, Susan Aizenberg, Hugh Ferrer, David Hamilton) This panel shows 1) how the practice of translating and the comparison of translations enable writers at every level to engage elements of poetic craft and nuances of meaning in a powerful way; 2) how the practice gives us an experience of connection as we try to inhabit the work of another tradition; 3) that literary form is translation of another kind, that of "raw" experience into something shapely; and 4) that all writing is translation of something inchoate into a form which can be grasped. |
Empire Ballroom |
R201. A Reading by Carolyn Forché & Ha Jin. Sponsored by The Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing at Arizona State University. Readings by Carolyn Forché & Ha Jin. Introductions by T.R. Hummer. |
7:00 p.m. | |
Clinton Suite |
R202. A Reading & Reception Hosted by FC2. Join us for drinks and a reading with Debra Di Blasi, Yuriy Tarnawsky, Diane Williams, Alexandra Chasin, Jeffrey DeShell and Pamela Ryder. |
Nassau Suite |
R203. A Reception Hosted by Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing. Join us for a drink! Bar with tickets for free drinks available. |
Regent Parlor |
R204. A Reception Hosted by the University of San Francisco. Join us for a drink! Bar with tickets for free drinks available. |
Sutton Center |
R205. A Reception Hosted by Stonecoast MFA at the University of Southern Maine. Join us for a drink! Bar with tickets for drinks available. |
Sutton South |
R206. A Reception Hosted by Eastern Kentucky University. Join us for a drink! Bar with tickets for free drinks available. |
Morgan Suite |
R207A. Writers in the Schools (WITS) Reception. Toi Derrocotte will host a reception for the Writers in the Schools (WITS) Alliance. All are welcome. Hors d'Oeuvres and bar, with tickets for drinks available. |
Conference Room D |
R207B. A reception hosted by Wilkes University and Etruscan Press All are welcome. WU and Etruscan celebrate the poetry of H.L. Hix and William Heyen, who will read from their work. |
8:30 p.m. | |
Grand Ballroom |
R208. Keynote Address by John Irving. Sponsored by Adelphi University. David Fenza, AWP's Executive Director will present the George Garrett Award for Outstanding Community Service in Literature, followed by an address from novelist John Irving. Introduction by Judith Baumel. The address will be followed by a question and answer session conducted by Susan Cheever. |
10:00 p.m.-11:00 p.m. | |
Regent Parlor |
R209. A Reception Hosted by The Georgia Review. Cash bar. Help us launch our seventh decade. Meet our staff and some of our fine contributing writers. |
Sutton South |
R210. A Reception Hosted by The Gettysburg Review. The Gettysburg Review invites you to join us in celebrating our twenty years of publishing the best in American poetry, prose, and art. Bar with drink tickets available. |
10:00 p.m.-12:00 a.m. | |
Murray Hill |
R211. All Collegiate Afterhours Poetry Slam. (Jim Warner) All Collegiate Afterhours Slam sponsored by Wilkes University and Etruscan Press. Event is open to all undergraduate and graduate students attending the conference. Participation is capped at ten slammers a night. Slam pieces must be no longer than three minutes in length. Limited open mic to follow slam (time permitting). Sign-up at the Wilkes University low residency MA/MFA in Creative Writing/Etruscan Press booth, B11. Prizes, judges, and organization of the event all handled by Wilkes University Assistant Program Director and poet, Jim Warner. |
Sutton Complex |
R212. AWP Public Reception & Dance Party. Courtesy of the University of Arizona Poetry Center. Music by DJ Neza. Free beer and wine from 10:00-11:00 P.M. Cash Bar from 11:00 P.M.-Midnight. |
