In This Edition...
Upcoming Deadlines
Noteworthy Events
Summer Residency News
Calls for Submissions
Writer's Resources
Faculty & Student News
To include your news, send your articles to: swells@ashland.edu
Director's Note
Greetings at the beginning of a new semester! Welcome back from your break! In the e-mail I sent to you recently and in my last Director’s Note (Dec. 10, 2007), I neglected to comment on the Coffee House site’s inactivity during the Fall 2007 semester. At least one of you conveyed disappointment in an end-of-semester evaluation that no one ever showed up in the Coffee House. Despite the virtual vacuum on the Coffee House site during the fall semester, I continue to have high hopes that chats in the Coffee House will be one way for students to exchange ideas across genre lines, and one way for the program to continue to build a sense of community.
I can’t emphasize enough the fact that writers grow as a group and they grow through opening themselves to the influence of other literary genres, and other art forms. When I was a graduate student at the University of Iowa, poetry students in the Writers’ Workshop were almost entirely segregated from fiction writers. (There was no degree track in nonfiction then, back in the dark ages of the early 1980’s). Friendships seemed to form along genre lines, in part due to the contact we had in the classroom with students writing in the same genre. One of the only friendships I made with a writer across genre lines was with a playwright, Leonard Winograd, who some five or six years later had the wisdom to marry another Iowa poetry student, Kathy (Burt) Winograd. Still, I found my way into stimulating friendships with painters, one of whom (married to another Iowa poetry student) asked me to organize with him a sort of open studio, where every other week we would invite a painter (or a sculptor) to present a slide show to an audience of poets, and every other week we would ask one or two poets to read to an audience of artists. The Q&A sessions that followed were lively and generally driven by beer and bourbon.
Even Emily Dickinson had a group. Her sister-in-law, Susan Gilbert Dickinson (Dickinson’s intellectual companion and the subject of many of her more erotic poems) ran a local artist’s salon and lived next door. Dickinson attended regularly until she was 36 years old. The editor of the Springfield Newspaper, Samuel Bowles, was a regular participant. Even Emerson came to one of the sessions (Dickinson was so intimidated by him that she stayed at home). At least until she was 36, the idea that Dickinson was completely isolated, without influence and without an audience, is more myth than reality. And by the age of 36 Dickinson had already written more than half of her 1,700 poems. Her vintage years, from 1860-1865, took place while she was still active in the local Amherst, Mass. Arts culture, centered in Susan’s home. If anyone is interested, there is a wonderful critical biography that details this aspect of Dickinson’s life: THE PASSION OF EMILY DICKINSON, by Judith Farr.
Sarah Wells has come up with the idea of choosing two nights each month as Coffee House nights. She will be in touch with you well in advance to give you the details of the days and times. I will also continue to post poems and passages from nonfiction, and some comments and questions that may or may not be relevant to anything you would care to talk about on that site. (See my comments and the new poem by Weldon Kees, “The Beach in August,” posted on the Coffee House site today). As we grow as a program—our student enrollment should double in size next year, with the entry of our second class—the Coffee House should draw more traffic. But let’s not wait till next year! While this aspect of the program is strictly optional, I urge the poets to get to know the nonfiction writers. Unless you participate in the cross-genre option, cross-genre dialogue will likely occur only during summer residencies and through the Coffee House. If we are successful in building a community of artists that stimulates your thinking and your growth as writers, as much learning (or nearly as much) will take place outside the classroom as in. Here’s hoping you will supply your own libation at home and check out the Coffee House twice a month.
Have a great semester… --Steve HavenFirst Day of Classes January 14
All students are required to log-in to WebCT the first day of classes, January 14 and respond to the faculty mentor's first post of the semester as a "roll-call". Classes will be titled differently this semester; look for the faculty mentor's name rather than the course and section number (ex. "Joe Mackall's Workshop").
Cross-Genre Option March 15
Students interested in working in a secondary genre will need to complete a form and send a writing sample in the secondary genre to Sarah Wells by March 15. As a reminder, students may elect to take ENG 632 or 633 in a genre other than their primary genre (i.e., poetry instead of creative nonfiction or creative nonfiction instead of poetry). If the Director and your faculty mentors in the secondary genre approve your application, you will then register in that genre for the fall. You will work with your fall faculty mentor the first week of the residency. Students should request a Cross-Genre Application Form from Sarah Wells.
Noteworthy Events
Coffee House Chat Sessions for the Spring: There will be two scheduled chat sessions each month in the WebCT Coffee House this spring. These are optional opportunities for all students in the program to chat with students in other sections and across the genres. The schedule for chats this spring will be:
- Thursday, January 17 at 9 PM
- Tuesday, January 22 at 9 PM
- Thursday, February 7 at 9 PM
- Tuesday, February 19 at 9 PM
- Thursday, March 6 at 9 PM
- Tuesday, March 18 at 9 PM
- Thursday, April 3 at 9 PM
- Tuesday, April 15 at 9 PM
- Thursday, May 1 at 9 PM
- Tuesday, May 13 at 9 PM
Depending on the demand and chat room activity this spring, additional chat sessions will be scheduled between the spring semester and the summer residency. Let me know if you find that time to be particularly inconvenient; assuming you all have jobs and family lives of some sort, a later hour seemed appropriate.
MFA Informational Session: Monday, February 25 at 7:00 PM. Any current students interested in coming for a Q&A with prospective students, please contact Sarah Wells. Session will include conversation with the Director and Administrative Director about the unique nature of our growing program and its course work, discussion with current students, information about funding, and opportunities for prospective students to ask questions. Light refreshments and drinks will be provided. If I don't get volunteers, I will need to recruit victims!
AWP Writer's Conference '08-- New York City: This year's AWP Conference is in New York City. Representatives of the Ashland MFA will be in attendance interviewing candidates for new faculty positions as well as meeting prospective students. The AWP Conference is the largest formal gathering of writers and writing programs in the country, with 7,000 people in attendance. More than 400 presses, publishers, and journals will be represented in the Bookfair. There are over 300 scheduled events to choose from over the course of the conference. This year's conference is sold out. For more information about the conference, visit http://www.awpwriter.org/conference/2008awpconf.php
The MFA at Ashland welcomes new student Joy Gaines-Friedler into the program this semester! She will be joining the poets registered in Kathy Winograd's workshop this spring.
Dates for 2008 Residency: July 13 through July 26
Student Activities Committee: Students interested in organizing social activities and readings during the residency should email Sarah Wells swells@ashland.edu.
Pre-Residency Retreat: Students interested in a pre-residency retreat to Holmes County and Amish country should contact Sarah Wells or Joanne Lehman.
CutBank is pleased to announce the Montana Prize in Fiction, the Montana Prize in Creative Nonfiction, and the Patricia Goedicke Prize in Poetry. We are honored to have three talented judges participating in the inaugural year of these contests. The Patricia Goedicke Prize in Poetry will be judged by Michele Glazer. Aimee Bender will select the winner of the Montana Prize in Fiction. The winner of the Montana Prize in Creative Nonfiction will be selected by Suzanne Paola. See bios for each of our judges at http://www.cutbankonline.org/contests_new/index.html. Submissions are accepted December 1 through February 29. Winners receive $500 and publication in CutBank 69. All submissions will be considered for publication in CutBank. The contests' $13 entry fee includes a one-year, two-issue subscription to CutBank, beginning with the prize issue, CutBank 69. Please send only your best work. With all three of these awards, we are seeking to highlight work that showcases an authentic voice, a boldness of form, and a rejection of functional fixedness. Full guidelines available at www.cutbankonline.org.
Sport Literate: Honest Reflections on Life's Leisurely Diversions Call for Submissions
What would Bronko Nagurski Do? Called by some the greatest football player of all time, Bronko Nagurski, an old Chicago Bear, an original Midway Monster, would surely share his story with Sport Literate (SL). A Chicago-based journal that's been cracking literary skulls since 1995, Sport Literate is perhaps the nation's lone literary magazine focusing on the creative nonfiction exploration of sports. There's some poetry, too, but we want the truth. We can handle the truth. So consider sending us your football best. You may even make some money. Football Contest: Send your creative nonfiction essay with a $15 contest fee. Entries must be postmarked by May 1, 2008. First place essay wins $300. SL Poetry: Gives a whole new meaning to Ezra Pound. Put on a cup for this one, Ditka, and send verse - metered or otherwise - that will make a grown fan cry. Pigskin Best: We want this issue to be wall-to-wall football. Also looking for good conversations with personalities from the game. For more information and full guidelines, visit www.sportliterate.org
RTA Cleveland "Moving Minds: The Verse and Vision Project"
Call for Submissions
The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (RTA), in cooperation with The
Lit and
the Cleveland chapter of the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA), is
preparing to
launch the third round of its well-received "Moving Minds: The Verse and Vision
Project."
Moving Minds pairs the work of local poets with the work of
graphic
artists based in the region to produce placards that are then displayed on RTA
buses and
trains.
Twelve winning poems will be selected for this round. The resulting placards
will then be
introduced at a rate of three per season starting in the spring of 2008. RTA
will arrange
for communication between poets and artists as the works progress to assure that
the
final presentation will match the intent of all participants.
There is no set limit to the length of poem submissions, but please keep in mind
that the
works will be presented on 28-by-13-inch placards that will usually be viewed
from
slight distances inside moving, sometimes crowded, vehicles. Submissions will be
judged
by a panel of peers. The panel will be assembled by The Lit.
Entries must be received at the offices of The Lit by March 1st, 2008. Please
include your
full name and contact information (email, street address, and phone number) so
that we
may notify you if you have been chosen. If you would like your entries returned
to you,
please include a self-addressed, stamped envelope.
Direct your entries to:
RTA Bus Poetry Project
c/o The Lit
2570 Superior Avenue, Suite 203
Cleveland, OH 44114
NO PHONE CALLS, PLEASE
BELLDAY POETRY PRIZE -
$2,500 PRIZE TO WINNING POET
Submission Deadline: March 15, 2008
CONTEST FINAL JUDGE: Allen Grossman
Bellday Books will publish the winning book and award $2,500 and 25 copies
of the book to the winning author.
Contest Rules:
--Submit a manuscript of 50-70 pages of original poetry in any style in
English. The manuscript must not have been published in book or chapbook,
but may contain poems that have appeared in print or on the Internet.
Entries may consist of individual poems, a book-length poem or any
combination of long or short poems.
--Submitted manuscript must contain 2 title pages: Name and contact
information should appear on first title page only. Name should not appear
anywhere else in the manuscript.
--Manuscript should be typed, single-spaced, paginated, and bound with a
spring clip.
--Include a table of contents page, but do not send an acknowledgements
page.
--Enclose an SASE for announcement of the winner.
--Manuscript cannot be returned.
--Postmark deadline: March 15, 2008.
--Include a check or money order for $25 reading fee, payable to BELLDAY
BOOKS.
--Bellday Books reserves the right not to select an award winner, in which
case all reading fees will be refunded.
CONTEST MAILING ADDRESS:
Bellday Books, Inc.
P.O. Box 3687
Pittsburgh, PA 15230
Questions may be directed to:
office@belldaybooks.com
The 2008 Third Coast Poetry and Creative Nonfiction Award
First Place Poetry Prize: $1,000 & Publication
First Place Nonfiction Prize: $500 & Publication
Final Judges: for poetry: James Tate, for creative nonfiction: Patricia Hampl
Open to all writers unassociated with the judges or Third Coast. Postmark deadline: February 15th, 2008. Prize-winning issue: Spring 2009. Entry fee: $15 per manuscript. Please make checks or money orders payable to Third Coast. Each fee entitles entrant to a 1-year subscription to Third Coast, an extension of an existing subscription, or a gift subscription. Please indicate your choice and enclose a complete address for subscription. Please send each entry separately, and mark clearly whether it is a poetry or creative nonfiction entry. Up to five unpublished poems totaling no more than 12 pages are eligible for the poetry contest; any previously unpublished creative nonfiction essay or excerpt of up to 9,000 words is eligible for the creative nonfiction contest. Simultaneous submissions are permitted; if accepted elsewhere, we ask that they be withdrawn from the contest immediately. No money will be refunded. Submissions will not be returned; send SASE for results only. All manuscripts should be typed (nonfiction entries double-spaced) and accompanied by a cover letter. The author’s name must not appear anywhere on the manuscript itself. If a poem or essay is chosen as a finalist, Third Coast requires that it be withdrawn from any other publication considerations until the winner is selected. If the poem or essay is scheduled to be published elsewhere before spring 2009, please do not send it.
Send entries to: Third Coast 2008 Poetry or Creative Nonfiction Contest, Department of English, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI 49008-5331
Poets and Writers Submission Calendar
Check out P&W's submission calendar for information on upcoming contests and deadlines. There are thirty-seven prizes with deadlines that fall between January 15 and February 15, including a poetry prize offered by Cleveland State University and awards sponsored by the Iowa Review. Don’t miss out! http://www.pw.org/mag/0801/submissioncalendar.htm
River Teeth on the Web
Trying to trace down an essay from River Teeth? You can access River Teeth through the Ashland University website for free! Visit the Ashland University Library Resources page to find current and back issues of River Teeth on the web. http://www.ashland.edu/library/aupubs.html
Faculty, Staff, and Student News
Send in your relevant news to post here. Your news will help your fellow writers find out where you're getting published and broaden the opportunities to get work out there. I'll be glad to include your recent publications, appointments, and happenings here each month. Email swells@ashland.edu with your news.
Stephen Haven has received an Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award in Poetry for 2008. This is the fifth individual artist grant Haven has received from the Ohio Arts Council since he arrived at Ashland University in 1992.