Sunday, July 23, 2017

Dispatches from the 2017 West Virginia Writers' Workshop

Happy Summer, everyone! We just enjoyed four marvelous days of reading and writing here in Morgantown, as part of the 2017 West Virginia Writers' Workshop! Here's a rundown of our speakers from the poster:



The poet laureate of West Virginia, Marc Harshman spoke on our first day, to a full house in the Gold Ballroom of the Mountainlair.


Here is Marc with some of our High School Workshoppers! 
Geffrey Davis and Courtney Brkic ran craft talks and workshops on poetry and fiction, while David Hassler and Ann Claycomb gave incredible readings and shared their writerly insights with all of us all weekend long.
David Hassler

Courtney Brkic

Ann Claycomb


Publishing Panel, featuring our High School Workshop Leader, Natalie Sypolt, and Geffrey Davis!

Thanks to the Assistant Director Renee Nicholson's Narrative Medicine Workshop, we also heard presentations from Dr. Lorence Gutterman, Aimee Mepham, and Erich Grant. Renee's Workshop also had presentations from Dr. Carl Grey, and the Office of Accessibility Services as they discussed Renee, Carl, and Whit Arnold's work in the infusion clinic of the WVU Medicine Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center.
Dr. Lorence Gutterman

Ready to start Friday morning!

Some of the Dream Team
Sunday morning offered the (fan favorite) Publishing Panel, and we closed the Workshop with a Memorial for Dr. Jamie Shumway, who passed away in October of 2014 from ALS.  Renee had worked with Jamie to complete his forthcoming memoir Off Belay, so Jamie's wife Betsy and Renee offered a tribute to him, and his work during this breakfast celebration.


Betsy, reading from Off Belay

Renee offering her memories of Jamie as well
The Writers Workshop would like to thank the WVU Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, the Department of English Faculty and Staff, and all of the Workshop Faculty, Writers, and Participants.  You can relive the magic on our Facebook page, our Instagram account, our Twitter handle, and with the Periscope Live App, so check us out all over social media!


 Thanks for coming everyone, and safe travels as you return home!

-Dominique

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