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!

Jeff Yeager, ABD

Artist's Rendering of the Qualifying Exam for Doctoral Candidacy

 

Yesterday afternoon, in a discussion that covered everything from nineteenth-century medical regulations to the relative merits of the New Criticism and the New Historicism, Jeff Yeager demonstrated to his committee--Tim Sweet (Chair), Cari Carpenter, Michael Germana, Paul Jones (Ohio University), and yours truly--that he was more than ready to begin writing his dissertation. The Tenants would like to join the committee in congratulating Jeff on a job well done and celebrating his new status as Jeff Yeager, ABD.

PWE capstone students share their field experiences

Yesterday, the Professional Writing and Editing (PWE) program hosted the biannual PWE Poster Exhibit. PWE concentrators are required to complete a capstone internship  in professional or technical communication, and their posters are an opportunity for them to showcase their work for the university community.

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

• Brionna Minney, who earned the best poster award for her poster “Books Behind Bars: Providing Literature to Inmates in the Appalachian Region.”
• Heaven Hunter, who earned runner-up honors for her passionate discussion of promoting the successes of West Virginia’s women through WVU’s Center for Women’s and Gender Studies.
• Julie Blosser, who created a video presentation of the fine details and benefits of developing a style guide for court reporters at Realtime Reporters in Charleston.
• Mica Feller, who shared the importance of documentation and clarity in her work for the Monongalia County Victim Assistance Program.
• Victoria Madden, who joined us virtually from Connecticut to share details of her work on a digital privateering exhibit for the New London County Historical Society.
• Nathaniel Peters, who delved into the editing process for publications of the Eberly College Communications Office.
• Caitlin Sawyers, who interned with the Appalachian Prison Book Project as a writer, editor and web designer.

Thank you to everyone who supported these talented English majors by attending the poster exhibit, especially the three graduate students (Celeste Lantz, Taylor Staffileno, and Lydia Welker) who performed the difficult task of evaluating and narrowing down the top poster presenters.