2013 Schedule of Events
All events are
held at BIG
ARTS unless
otherwise
noted
THURSDAY,
November 7
FRIDAY,
November 8
SATURDAY,
November 9
SUNDAY,
November 10
7:30—9:00 a.m.
Schein Hall
Registration & Orientation
Writing Exercises with
John Dufresne
Writing Exercises with
John Dufresne
Writing Exercises with
John Dufresne
9:00-10:15 a.m.
CRAFT WORKSHOPS
BIG ARTS
Almond (Nonfiction)
Parrish (Nonfiction)
Trelles (Poetry)
____________________
LIBRARY, MEETING
ROOM 1
Strauss (Fiction)
CRAFT WORKSHOPS
BIG ARTS
Almond (Nonfiction)
Castellani (Fiction)
Parrish (Nonfiction)
Trelles (Poetry)
____________________
LIBRARY, MEETING
ROOM 1
Strauss (Fiction)
CRAFT WORKSHOPS
BIG ARTS
Clarke (Fiction)
Dufresne (Screenwriting)
Fennelly (Poetry)
Gay (Essay)
___________________
LIBRARY, MEETING
ROOM 1
Currie (Fiction)
CRAFT WORKSHOPS
BIG ARTS
Clarke (Fiction)
Dufresne (Screenwriting)
Fennelly (Poetry)
Gay (Essay)
____________________
LIBRARY, MEETING
ROOM 1
Currie (Fiction)
10:30-11:45
a.m.
CRAFT WORKSHOPS
BIG ARTS
Barrett (Plot & Structure)
Rachlin (Nonfiction)
Rooney (Poetry)
___________________
LIBRARY
MEETING ROOM 1
Finn (Songwriting)
CRAFT WORKSHOPS
BIG ARTS
Barrett (Plot & Structure)
Castellani (Fiction)
Rachlin (Nonfiction)
Rooney (Poetry)
___________________
LIBRARY
MEETING ROOM 1
Finn (Songwriting)
CRAFT WORKSHOPS
BIG ARTS
Bern (Songwriting)
Cardillo (Young Adult)
Engel (Fiction)
Iversen (Nonfiction)
___________________
LIBRARY
MEETING ROOM 1
Percy (Fiction)
CRAFT WORKSHOPS
BIG ARTS
Bern (Songwriting)
Cardillo (Young Adult)
Engel (Fiction)
Iversen (Nonfiction)
___________________
LIBRARY
MEETING ROOM 1
Percy (Fiction)
11:45-1:15p.m.
LUNCH—ON YOUR OWN
LUNCH—ON YOUR OWN
LUNCH—ON YOUR OWN
LUNCH—ON YOUR OWN
NONFICTION
CRAFT TALK
Michael Steinberg
READING
Brock Clarke
Ron Currie Jr.
Nahid Rachlin
Kathleen Rooney
____________________
SMALL GROUP
MANUSCRIPT
WORKSHOPS
Borders (Fiction)
Valeri (Fiction)
Wilder (Nonfiction)
READING
Lisa Borders
Patricia Engel
Michael Steinberg
Laura Valeri
Robert Wilder
____________________
POETRY CRAFT
WORKSHOP
LIBRARY
MEETING ROOM 1
Richard Blanco
TBD
READING
Lynne Barrett
Christopher Castellani
John Dufresne
Tim Parrish
____________________
SMALL GROUP
MANUSCRIPT
WORKSHOPS (cont.)
Borders (Fiction)
Valeri (Fiction)
Wilder (Nonfiction)
READING
Steve Almond
Beth Ann Fennelly
Roxane Gay
Benjamin Percy
___________________
POETRY CRAFT
WORKSHOP (cont.)
LIBRARY
MEETING ROOM 1
Richard Blanco
MFA STUDENTS PANEL
Kimberly Lojewski
Emily Gaudioso
Connor Holmes
SONGWRITING PANEL
Dan Bern
Craig Finn
Johnny Temple
AGENT & EDITORS
PANEL
Roxane Gay
Kathleen Rooney
Christopher Schelling
Johnny Temple
Alexis Washam
COCKTAIL HOUR
COCKTAIL HOUR
COCKTAIL HOUR
CONCERT/READING
CONCERT/READING
KEYNOTE/READING
1:15-2:30 p.m.
2:30-3:45 p.m.
BIG ARTS
Schein Hall
4:00-5:15 p.m.
BIG ARTS
Schein Hall
5:15-6:15 p.m.
BIG ARTS
Courtyard
6:15-8 p.m.
BIG ARTS
Schein Hall
8:00 p.m.—?
Kristen Iversen
Craig Finn
DINNER—ON YOUR OWN
Darin Strauss
Dan Bern
DINNER—ON YOUR OWN
Emma Trelles
Richard Blanco
DINNER—ON YOUR OWN
WORKSHOP DESCRIPTIONS
Steve Almond—How to Create an Irresistible Narrator
Many a short story, novel, and memoir have gone unpublished because the author fails to
create a strong narrator, one who can act as a wise and entertaining guide to the reader.
In this class, we'll examine the work of Ford, Salinger, Austen and others—and try an inclass exercise—in an effort to make sure your next narrator isn't just strong, but irresistible.
Lynne Barrett—Plot & Structure
Too much plot? None at all? Confused about how to handle the past or strengthen
your story? This two-session workshop will look at the elements of plot and
structure and how they are related. Topics covered will include conflict,
complication, resolution, active characters, movement, change, scenic
development, movement, presentation of time, and narrative design. Through
examples, discussion, and exercises, participants will learn strategies for assessing
drafts and revising productively. Note: This class serves fiction writers and those
working on memoirs, narrative nonfiction, or any dramatic form.
Richard Blanco—Five Ways to Break a Line and Other Mysteries
Where to break a line? What makes a stanza, a stanza? What’s the big deal about iambic
pentameter? When does a poem end? These are some of the questions we will ask as we
dive deeper into some of these more elusive, yet essential elements of poetry, namely:
construction of the line, rhythm, figurative language, and poetic closure, among others. We
will read various illustrative poems, and critique student work in an interactive workshop
format for well-seasoned writers with a focus on these questions of craft. Please bring
copies of two poems you’d like to workshop for distribution.
Margaret Cardillo—Simplicity & Ease
Sometimes I'll recommend a children's book to an adult and she or he will read it and then
say, "That's so simple. I could write that in five minutes." And then I say, "Go ahead,"
which elicits a smile or a frown or agony, or all three, after an honest attempt. Why is this
the case? Because as writers, readers and humans, we are all guilty of the same cardinal
sin: mistaking simplicity with ease. Do not mistake simplicity with ease, my friends! In this
workshop we will discuss successful children's books, from classics to contemporary
masterpieces, and what makes them so great. We'll also look at writing samples and, as a
group, workshop them to make them better. As a current author and former children's book
editor at Hyperion Books, I will also speak to the truths and myths of children's publishing
and how to get your manuscript in front of someone who can turn it into a published book.
You know, one of those simple ones...
Christopher Castellani—Objective Correlative
One of the most difficult challenges every fiction writer faces is how to evoke
strong emotion in the reader without melodrama, sentimentality or obvious manipulation. In
this class, we will start with T. S. Eliot’s oft-quoted definition of “objective correlative,"
discuss its limitations as a general rule, and explore the various ways it can be useful to
the fiction writer. We will then look at excerpts from one contemporary novel (Peter
Cameron's Coral Glynn) and one "classic" (Richard Yates's Revolutionary Road) and
discuss ways the objective correlative can evoke/contain emotion, transition to backstory,
and develop theme.
Brock Clarke—Lifting Hearts
Even the greatest fiction writers sometimes have trouble reaching their readers. The fiction
writer Flannery O’Connor admitted as much in her essay “Some Aspects of the Grotesque
in Southern Fiction”: “I once received a letter from an old lady in California who informed
me that when the tired reader comes home at night, he wishes to read something that will
lift up his heart. And it seems her heart had not been lifted up by anything of mine she had
read. I think that if her heart had been in the right place, it would have been lifted up.’’ This
is a most wanted writerly medical procedure: to be able to move someone else’s heart to
the place where you can then lift it up. In this workshop, we will read work by Flannery
O'Connor, Joy Williams, Grace Paley, Donald Barthelme, John Cheever, and Padgett
Powell, among others, and we'll also do exercises and some workshopping, with an eye
toward perfecting exactly this kind of surgery. We will also talk about how to get your work
out in the world, into the hands of agents, editors, and readers.
Ron Currie Jr.—Hitting, Punching, and Pushing: How and Why to Jettison the Rules
John Dufresne—Screenwriting
We’ve got two days to figure out how to tell a story visually. We’ll start with story,
and that means plot. What, then, is the basic plot of every story? And knowing that
character is the heart of every story, we’ll consider what makes for compelling and
intriguing characters. Hollywood expects a three-act paradigm for its films, so we’ll
discuss how to fit our basic plot into that 120-page, two-hour matrix. And always
we’ll be thinking about what the audience is looking at up on the silver screen (or on
their iPads). That and the moments we’re always writing toward.
Patricia Engel—Seducing the Reader Every story is a love affair and in this workshop, we'll discuss techniques for hooking your
reader’s attention from the first line, keeping them committed to your story the whole way
through, and how to leave them with a satisfying ending. We'll discuss the process of
conceiving a distinct and memorable narrator with a compelling voice, how to create trust
and emotional contrasts and direct your reader's eye, and how to navigate plot and theme
to tug at your reader's heart, giving them a story they will never forget.
Beth Ann Fennelly—The Magic of Metaphor (Saturday)
What does new research from various fields--medicine, science, and advertising--have to
teach us about the metaphor? How can a metaphor be a generative machine that creates
a surprising poem? We’ll look at extended metaphor poems by Susan Ludvigson, May
Sarton, and Emily Dickinson, and we’ll end class with an assignment designed to elicit
one.
Beth Ann Fennelly—One Minute Marvels: Micro Poems, Flash Fiction, One Minute
Plays (Sunday)
What can we learn by radically shifting scale? How can attention to the tiniest literary
creations challenge and inspire us? In this class we’ll focus on miniatures and after
looking at some twentieth-century examples, we’ll attempt to create them ourselves.
Craig Finn—What Makes a Great Song
We will work on songs, discuss what makes a great song, and what techniques might help
songwriters grow.
Roxane Gay—Looking In, Looking Out
The best essays draw both from the writer's experience and somehow comment on the
world we live in. In this workshop we will discuss and develop strategies for writing
meaningful personal essays that also offer nuanced insight into ideas, events, or issues
beyond ourselves.
Kristen Iversen—From Personal to Powerful: How Do Our Stories Matter?
In this workshop we will consider context in memoir, biography, and the personal
essay. Exercises, short readings, and discussion on how to think about connecting
personal stories to a broader historical and cultural context.
Tim Parrish—From Start to Vision in Fiction and Dramatic Nonfiction
Each of us deals with countless micro and macro questions as we write: What's a good
starting point? What is conflict? How do I create an external vehicle for internal
conflict? What's my best subject matter? How do I best dramatize? What's my vision as a
writer? I'll start our workshop by reading a short piece I wrote for The Short Story Writer's
Market, entitled "Where's the Story?" Then we'll talk about where people are in terms of
their craft and process and go from there. We'll focus on as many areas as possible with
discussion, exercises and Q and A, and try to give you something to take away that suits
right where you are.
Benjamin Percy—Suspense and Momentum
In this workshop we will discuss the art of suspense and momentum in fiction and
nonfiction. Craft lessons will be accompanied by small-group and individual writing
exercises. Examples will include William Gay, Tim O'Brien, Margaret Atwood, Cormac
McCarthy, Harry Crews, Flannery O'Connor, among others.
Nahid Rachlin—Memoir & Fiction Workshop
There is a fine line between writing a personal memoir and writing fiction. A memoir has to
stay with the essence of the truth, but in fiction we can make up and add to what is often
based on our own experience or what we know about others. In either case we need to
engage the reader. In discussing your work we will focus on the craft of writing, and that
applies to both fiction and memoir—dialogue, point of view, pace, character development,
structure, voice. Criticism will be constructive—we will point out strengths as well as
weaknesses and make suggestions for improvement, I will also discuss publishing aspects
of writing—how to go about getting an agent, writing a cover letter, what to expect from the
publishing world today.
Kathleen Rooney—Obstructionism: Finding Freedom in Poetic Restraint
Poet Marvin Bell has remarked that “The plain truth is that, except for mistakes that can be
checked in the dictionary, almost nothing is right or wrong. Writing poems out of the desire
to find a way to be right or wrong is the garden path to dullness.” Through close attention
to form, detail, and constraint, this intensive session will do its best to keep your poems
from ever being dull. In order to achieve that end, this class will interfere with and re-direct
your poetic intentions and drafts. This obstructionist approach—predicated on the idea that
a poet can often find the greatest freedom of expression within the strictest of restraints—
might, at times, be frustrating. But if you participate with an open mind and strive to
cultivate an attitude of flexibility and fun, your willingness to embrace these obstructions
will lead you to discoveries—about structure, about content, and about your processes and
preoccupations as a reader and writer of poetry.
Darin Strauss—The Art of Fiction
Our class will emphasize shop talk: how to begin a story, say, and how to introduce a
character. And we'll take up such questions as, “What is the relationship of plot to subplot? How does one hold the reader's attention?” Of course, in Art, rules must be flexible—
but I ask my students to think of writing in strategic terms; each story-telling decision needs
to make tactical sense. With that in mind, we'll examine—with fantastic esprit de corps and
style —the tenets of the Art of Fiction.
Emma Trelles—I Am A Camera: The Power of Imagery
Photographer Diane Arbus once said that a picture is a secret about a secret, and the
same can be said about the images in a poem. The best of them hold more at their core
than mere description. When carefully curated, a poem's images can deepen its meaning
and imbue landscapes large and small with resonance. In this class, poets will consider
ways to discover, imagine, and include memorable and relevant imagery in their own
poems. We will read work by master image makers, participate in writing exercises, and
share and discuss poems written in our workshop. We will also contemplate "object" and
"place" as sources of inspiration. Writers are encouraged to bring a digital or phone
camera for use in drafting.