Dispatches from the 20th Annual West Virginia Writers' Workshop: Day 2

Here we are for day two of the 20^th Annual West Virginia Writers’ Workshop! We opened in Elizabeth Moore Hall for a craft talk with the lovely and talented Renée Nicholson (who rocked out the flamingos on her dress, earrings, and bag this Friday) as she gave her craft talk:  “The Origins of Connection: The Relationships Others Have On and With Your Writing.” Renée started with a brief discussion of Charles Darwin (you know, like you do) while describing the evolution of our processes as writers, and these points of connection and interaction that we accumulate to create a work. I even got to participate for a little while with a high school writer, when we did a listening exercise that Renée had first done for her Narrative Medicine training at Columbia University with Doctor Rita Charon. The writer had to listen to me tell a story (so I told a story of a time that I broke a law), and then summarize the story I told, while I then had to write about how it felt to be listened to. When we got a chance to share, it was an elevated sort of sharing. Even a seemingly ordinary anecdote, like a trip to the beach, or getting a dog, seemed like a more significant experience when we all knew that we were listened to when it was told. It was an authentic experience (and for many of our writers, it was clearly very moving). I love when a craft talk makes me feel more connected to the speaker, and to the other writers in the room, and that’s just what Renée was able to do. 

All the flamingos!

There was a brief coffee break after Renée’s talk, and then we heard from Ann Claycomb, who gave a talk titled, “The Mockingbird Test: the key role of perspective in taking YA lit from good to great.” Lots of our high school workshoppers were very invested in what Ann had to say, because they are the target audience of this genre, and some of them have tried to write in this genre themselves. Ann had us do an exercise where we had to describe a character that our protagonist had strong feelings about. These could be strong feelings of affection or hatred, or any sensation, as long as the feelings were strong. Ann based her talk title “The Mockingbird Test” on the Bechdel Test (the touchstone for feminist prose) Her argument for how good YA Lit differed from great YA Lit is if it incorporates perspective. We talked about how the perspective of different characters, the perspective of the passage of time, and the perspective of understanding your place in the world all help to elevate YA Lit and make it more memorable. Ann had brought in some evidence of this, so we did some close readings of excerpts from Harry Potter, To Kill a Mockingbird, and other seminal young adult literature to understand these perspectives. We finished with a cool discussion of the slippery genre of Young Adult Literature itself, coming back to talk about and recommend Peter Cameron’s (a Workshop alumnus) Someday This Pain Will Be Useful To You, Cirque du Freak, and Dumplin’. 

Ann in action!

After lunch (which Renée, Natalie and I enjoyed with Lud and Mary Gutmann. Thanks Mary and Lud!) We had our afternoon reading from Brent House and Renée. Renée introduced Brent, who based his poem reading selections on the most “wild and wonderful” thing he knows: his five-year-old-son. Brent read beautiful pastorals, peppered with hilarious stories of his son declaring war on all honeybees after a sting, and getting lost in cornhusks. The most beautiful image by far when Brent read about his son as a pine tree, strong and rooted in the ground.  It was a gorgeous, hilarious reading. Thank you so much, Brent! 

Brent House

Megan Fahey introduced Renée next, and Renée opened with her rather elegiac mini-memoirs about the death of Prince, and then a piece about her brother’s fight with cancer.  I have had the pleasure of reading drafts of this memoir as Renée has been writing it, and it was very satisfying to see how far her revisions have come since May. Afterwards, everyone wanted to talk to Renée, hug Renée, and share with her their own experiences with family, illness and listening. That's how you know it was a really powerful reading. 

Our writers separated for their afternoon workshops after that, and then we had dinner before reconvening for our night reading featuring Ethel Morgan Smith, Mark Brazaitis, and Jim Harms. The Dean of Eberly College Greg Dunaway joined us this evening, which was delightful! Ethel started by reading a poem by Langston Hughes, “Democracy,” and then read something new: her book, From Whence Cometh My Help: The African American Community at Hollins College is being turned into a play that will be performed next spring, and she has the script. Obviously reading a script meant that the work was dialogue-driven, but Ethel painted beautiful pictures with the language she used, and the audience felt the humor as well. It was a warm and generous piece, and I think I can speak for everyone when I say we can’t wait for the play to be performed! 

Mark read next, starting with one of his poems, from the magazine for Peace Corps Alumni: Worldview, called, “What I Remember from the Country I Loved, for John Coyne.” (And Mark spelled out John's name so that I would get that right, because he knew I was writing this blog when he started talking.) He then read an older short story about a newlywed couple moving to the states from Guatemala. In this story, Mark perfectly captures the tension of international travel, moving, repressed family dynamics, and impulsive desires. It was a heartbreaking, funny, and sad (in other words the perfect short story). Mark might be the king of last lines, and though I won’t spoil it for you folks, the ending of this story reminded me of what it felt like to wake up in the United States after several weeks in Italy, and realize if I had been talking in my sleep, it wasn’t in English.

Jim finished us up tonight with several poems for us. I think he only embarrassed his daughter Phoebe (one of our high school workshop writers this year) with one poem about her babyhood insistence on calling spinach “yogurt.” It was adorable.  The last poem he read, (which will be forthcoming next year) described the utter bliss of having a milkshake for breakfast, while still reminding us that life is a painfully complicated thing. Thank you for the reminder, Jim. And if you decide to make milkshakes for us tomorrow before our first craft talk, I think we'll all be amenable. 

Well that’s it for tonight Tenants! We’ll see you tomorrow at 9AM in Colson Hall for a craft-talk with Howard Owen. Be sure utilize social media, and keep coming back here to read recaps of our wonderful workshop.

Be sure to "Like" and follow us on Facebook: @WVWritersWS

On Twitter: @WV_Workshop

And on Instagram: wv_writersworkshop

The hashtag that Renée came up with is #wvww20 for our 20th Anniversary, so use that when you attend and post about our events!

~Dominique 

 

Megan introducing Renée

Anyone recognize these excerpts from Ann's handout? 

Dispatches from the 20th Annual West Virginia Writers’ Workshop: Day 1

Hello and welcome back to our live updates from the West Virginia Writers’ Workshop, which turns TWENTY YEARS OLD this year! Today was the first day that we welcomed writers to Morgantown, where we'll spend four days reading and writing together. 

Our writers checked in this morning in Elizabeth Moore Hall (and then in Dadisman/Stalnaker if they are staying in the dormitories). Mark Brazaitis and Jim Harms delivered our opening remarks before everyone had their lunch. After lunch, Mark gave our first craft talk: “Image is Everything” which had the compelling premise that writing is like a first date. (Mark said the metaphor fell apart after a while, but I still buy the fact that first impressions are really important, and our expectations dictate so much of what we are drawn to.) What was really striking about Mark’s first craft talk was how genuine it was. He was so sincere, and don't we all as people respond best to authenticity? Mark gave a handout of great opening lines, and we talked about the promise in each one, and what we hoped to get from reading. It really was like a first date, because in each opening line we go in with such hope, and even anxiety! Everyone was really engaged with these openings, especially “Do not go gentle into that good night,” and we also had a great talk about Sarah Waters' pacing versus plotting in The Paying Guests. 

Next, the writers were given their “Super Fabulous Magnificent Wonderful Writing Exercise,” and gave readings of their work at the microphone in E. Moore Hall. Each year, we dedicate this exercise and reading to the late Shann Palmer (who would have loved all of these prompts, and all of the readings and discussions that are generated). Whenever our writers read their work it’s a wild ride, and this was no exception. There were pieces written as cats, and as squirrels, there were really delicious descriptions of pancakes and blueberries (we were getting hungry, I guess) and what it is like to know people who wear way too much cologne. Part of working the social media for this Workshop requires good observation, and it was really cool to see that manifest in everyone’s readings this afternoon. 

The WVU Bookstore is selling the works of our Workshop faculty members all weekend long!

After the reading (and some snacking) the writers peeled off for their individual workshops with our esteemed faculty. This weekend, Jacinda Townsend is in charge of the fiction workshop, Shara McCallum is leading poetry writers, Mark Brazaitis is doing the nonfiction workshop, and Natalie Sypolt is working with our high schoolers. After the first official workshopping, we all broke off for dinner (I had a girl’s night Thai food extravaganza!) and then we met back up in Colson Hall for our evening reading. Tonight we featured Shara McCallum and Jacinda Townsend. Shara read poems from her newest book Madwoman, which will be published in 2017, and *spoiler alert*: it's an amazing book. Shara’s voice is so beautiful to hear, with the lilt of Jamaica where she grew up. And as she said, Madwoman is about voices: what they do, what they say, and the impact they have. Shara tends towards elegy, which she says is “useful” as a poet, but her work is also full of these moments of wry humor and rueful wit, that make you smile to yourself when you hear her. But don't take my word for it, because I Live-Tweeted the whole reading for Shara and Jacinda, and they both sound way better than I could ever describe here. 

Jacinda Townsend read next from her novel Kif, about a child abduction that takes place in Morocco. Like Shara, Jacinda uses a variety of voices to tell her story, playing with space, time, and consciousness throughout. (She is also the only novelist I’ve heard use the word chiaroscuro correctly, and I minored in Art History, so I heard the word a lot.) Beyond that, Jacinda combined satirical points of view with real pathos to describe a series of traumatic events. She held the room in rapt attention as we were feeling the unendurable tension of the child-kidnappers, and yet still felt sympathy for them. Jacinda's reading reminded us that here are no essential characters in life. People are only completely good or completely bad in fairy tales, which Shara had mentioned earlier. The coolest part was how both of tonight's readings manipulated voices in unique ways, and gave us plenty of heroes and anti-heroes to examine and interrogate. I love it when readings intersect! 

Well that’s it for tonight, Tenants. Tune in all weekend long for more Dispatches from the 20th Annual West Virginia Writers’ Workshop.*** 

Be sure to "Like" and follow us on Facebook: @WVWritersWS

On Twitter: @WV_Workshop

And on Instagram: wv_writersworkshop

The hashtag that Renée came up with is #wvww20 for our 20th Anniversary, so use that when you attend and post about our events! 

***Before I sign off today: I learned from some intrepid “Masters” that Colson Hall is a “Poke-Stop” if you’re playing Pokemon Go. So if you’re hunting Pokemon this weekend, do stop in for a reading. There are apparently things called zubats, and drowzees all around, whatever they are. I am out of my depth, but I'm just keeping all of you folks informed. 

~Dominique 

Renée brought an old-school polaroid-type camera, and I was able to watch a photo of me and my former student Stephen develop in front of my eyes. The fact that this was so exciting for me means that I am in no way ready for Pokemon Go. 

  

Cicada Summer

Oh, Tenants, the cicadas! I know you know. Or, if you're lucky and live in some other part of the country, you don't. Count your blessings. My cat and dog and I all are close to having breakdowns because of the noise. To say nothing of the flying about. It's a mating frenzy; we just happen to be in the way.

Meanwhile, my summer grad class exchanges daily cicada updates (latest news: there's quite a swarm along the Pleasant Street bridge. Don't say we didn't warn you.), discusses the history of free verse, and, for education and pleasure, scans poems! Yes! Here's Steph Buongiorno standing beside one of our scansions. We work together, of course, but because Steph LOVES going to the board, she's our designated maker of the marks.

PWE Poster Winners Announced!

Yesterday, the Professional Writing and Editing (PWE) program hosted the biannual PWE Poster Exhibit, where PWE capstone students showcase their writing and editing internship work for the university community.

Judges' and attendees' votes have been tallied, and the winners of the top poster awards are:

First Place:  Alexis Randolph, WVU Press

Second Place:  Kaitlin Licause, Digital Publishing Institute

Third Place:  Alyssa Lazar, WVU Office of Accessibility Services

Congratulations to all of the interns on their accomplishments this term, including:

• Dakota Adkins, who worked on employee and parent handbooks as an editor for the Morgantown Early Learning Facility.
• Shana Burleson, who joined the FiT Publishing team as a writing and editing intern.
•  Rachel Del Signore, who shared the ins and outs of beekeeping and heirloom beans through her web writing and editing at WVU Extension Services.
• Zachary Henderson, the future physician who moonlighted as a journalist at Connect-Bridgeport.
• Alyssa Lazar, who transformed the inaccessible at the WVU Office of Accessibility Services.
• Kaitlin Licause, who was immersed in editing Bad Ideas About Writing at the Digital Publishing Institute.
• Sierra Meyers, who developed training materials to improve interoffice and customer communication at Cellular Express.
• Alexis Randolph, who improved the social media presence of the WVU Press and married Press and Sigma Tau Delta events.
• Casey Vealey, who worked on alumni newsletters for the 21 departments of Eberly College through its Office of Marketing and Communications.

Thank you to everyone who supported these talented English majors by attending the poster exhibit and voting for their favorite posters. A special thanks to the events' three judges, as well: Lydia Welker, Catherine Gouge and Tom Sura.

Dibs Roy Wins Award

It seems to be a good conference season for Dibs Roy, who just won the prize for the Best Graduate Student Paper at the SALA (South Asian Literary Association) conference. His paper, "Radioactive Masculinity: Anxious Atomic Publics and the Postcolonial Bomb," is derived from his dissertation. Actually, the title alone is good enough to get an award, and we are assured that the paper itself fully lived up to it.

Congratulations to Dibs!