F143.
Draft, Draft, Goose: The Thinking Behind Revising
Friday, February 9, 2024
10:35 am to 11:50 am
In this panel, five distinguished writers will each share a draft of a published piece along with its final version, and discuss the decisions made to get there. We’ll consider the cascading effects of the smallest changes, and how to maintain the equilibrium and disequilibrium one seeks in a finished piece—as well as how to remain committed to surprise, endeavoring not to polish a piece of writing into mediocrity. Our goal will be practical: to show the thinking behind revising.
Participants
Alan Michael Parker is the author of four novels and eight books of poetry, and a weekly cartoonist for the online journal Identity Theory. His next book will be a collection of Bingo cards and flash, Bingo Bango Boingo (Dzanc, 2024). He holds the Houchens Chair in English at Davidson College.
Jon Pineda is the author of the novels Let's No One Get Hurt and Apology. His recent poetry collection, Little Anodynes, received the 2016 Library of Virginia Literary Award, and his memoir Sleep in Me was a 2010 Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers selection. He teaches at William & Mary.
Kevin Prufer's ninth book of poetry is The Fears (Copper Canyon, 2023). His first novel, Sleepaway, will be published by Acre Books in 2024. He is professor of English in the creative writing program at the University of Houston and also teaches in the Lesley University low-residency MFA program.
Sarah Perry is the author of Sweet Nothings, an essay collection about the pleasures of candy (Mariner 2024), and the true crime memoir After the Eclipse (HMH 2017), a Poets & Writers Notable Nonfiction Debut. She is an assistant professor of creative writing at the University of North Texas.
Rone Shavers
