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.
Fall Semester Ends December 13
All student work MUST be turned in to faculty mentors by the 13th of December.
Faculty Evaluation Forms
Students will receive an email with a faculty evaluation form attached the final week of the semester. These forms will also be available on the website under "Current Students - Forms". Students may choose to email a completed Word document to Sarah Wells or mail a hard copy evaluation back. All faculty evaluations are to be returned by December 14.
Spring Registration
Registration for the spring semester opened November 1 and will close December 15. Register by logging in to http://webadvisor.ashland.edu. Questions about registering can be directed to Sarah Wells (swells@ashland.edu).
Student Evaluation Forms
Faculty mentors will complete a student evaluation along with a grade S/U by noon December 18. These forms will also be available on the website. A copy of the student's evaluation form will be sent to students prior to the start of the spring semester.
Noteworthy Events
Mahogany Red: The Red Hot Experience: A night of artistic
expression takes place every Thursday night at The Living Room Coffee Lounge, 4828 Lorain Ave. in Cleveland. Admission $5.00. Contact G Styl, 216.235.9803
or TMH@GStyl.com
Third Annual Local Author and Book Fair: Sunday, November 18 at 1:00 PM. Meet more than 40 authors who will be on hand to sell and sign their books. Shaker Heights Public Library, 16500 Van Aken Blvd. For information, call 216.991.2030 or visit www.shakerlibrary.org
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.
Dates for 2008 Residency: July 13 through July 26
Schedule of Events, Summer 2008: A tentative schedule has been posted on the website for next summer's residency. To highlight a few changes for you:
- Craft seminars have been moved to 1:00-2:30 weekdays to allow for a three hour break between the seminar and dinner (most days)
- Saturday afternoon and evening mid-residency will feature "Horseshoe/Highway Expeditions". After the Publishing Panel Saturday, there will be opportunities to get out of town, or at least off-campus, and do some exploring of Ohio. This H-squared plan is still in the works; more details to come as we get closer.
- In addition to the visiting writers on the schedule, we are also bringing in Michael Salinger, an instructor on public reading. He will present prior to a scheduled student reading.
Student Activities Committee: Student interested in organizing social activities and readings during the residency should email Sarah Wells swells@ashland.edu.
Optional Pre-Residency Retreat: If you'd like to have more time to explore Ohio's Amish Country in conjunction with the 2008 residency, you'll be happy to know that Joanne Lehman is organizing a pre-residency retreat option available for students and faculty (and any family members) who would like to take in some of the area's unique attractions and have time together off campus. While the MFA Program is not directly involved in organizing the retreat, we will pass information along as it becomes available.
Lodging will be at Trailside Lodging in Millersburg for two or three nights prior to checking in at Ashland U. Depending on the interests of participants, the group will visit Amish homes & farms, tour a cheese factory, attend a livestock auction, bicycle or hike on a rail trail, visit antique stores, Lehman's Hardware, Amish furniture makers' shops, and other activities selected by the group.
The cost for this should be quite reasonable--somewhere in the $200--$300 range which will include two nights' lodging, a couple of meals, and some planned excursions. For info about retreat accommodations see www.trailsidelodging.com. Guest suites, and single and double rooms in the cabins will be reserved in advance for all who want to participate. More details will follow. For now, let us know if you are interested in this option and which activities sound most appealing. We'll give more details in the next newsletter.
Room and Board, 2008: We will be dining in the Ritenour Room in the Dauch College of Business Building. The menu for next year's residency is chock full of salads, fruit bowls, vegetarian entrees, and other delectable dishes. And of course, we'll still have meat and potatoes plates, too. Every dinner, though, will have a pasta dish, a vegetarian dish, another entree, salad, fruit, vegetable, and dessert.
With regard to summer housing, all students and faculty will be able to stay in air-conditioned housing on-campus next year. Actual locations of housing have yet to be determined, but the maximum cost per night for each student will be about half the housing expense of last year's rate at the Surrey Inn.
Ms. Stephanie Cox of Columbus, Ohio is launching two new magazines in 08. The first is Sports Ohio, and will be geared toward college and pro team sports. The second is Elite Life and targets women ages 25-50. There will be some high end fashion, inspirational pieces, etc. with the career woman as the central theme. For example, the prototype hitting the stands in Jan. 08 will feature Donna James, President of Strategic Investments at Nationwide and will address her accomplishments and struggle to attain her current success. Stephanie is looking for anyone interested in writing for her publications freelance. She will pay per word count and is expecting at least 500 word articles. She would also like any contact information or ideas for people to cameo. Contact Stephanie at 614-352-9094, or by email stepjc2003@yahoo.com
Poets and Writers Submission Calendar
There are 42 contests with deadlines between November 15 and December 15. Check out P&W's submission calendar for more information.
Writing Between the Lines: On Grant Applications
This article gives great insight into the world of artist fundraising. For tips on keeping the intimidation out of grant writing and making the process as painless and fruitful as possible, visit http://www.nyfa.org/nyfa_current_detail.asp?id=17&fid=2&curid=656
Poets and Writers League of Greater Cleveland
This group provides fee-based workshops as well as free opportunities to gather as writers in Greater Cleveland. The website gives access to a myriad of local writer events, from workshops to readings to coffee hours to book signings. http://www.pwlgc.com
American Association of University Women Educational Foundation Accepting Applications for Career Development Grants
Deadline: December 15, 2007
One of the world's largest sources of funding exclusively for
graduate women, the American Association of University Women
Educational Foundation ( http://www.aauw.org/ ) supports aspiring scholars around the globe, teachers and activists in local
communities, women at critical stages of their careers, and
those pursuing professions where women are underrepresented. The foundation's Career Development Grants support women who
hold a bachelor's degree and are preparing to advance their
careers, change careers, or reenter the work force. Special
consideration is given to AAUW members, women of color, and
women pursuing their first advanced degree or credentials in
non-traditional fields. Grants provide support for course work beyond a bachelor's
degree, including a master's degree, second bachelor's degree,
or specialized training in technical or professional fields.
Funds also are available for distance learning. Course work
must be taken at an accredited two- or four-year college or
university, or at a technical school that is fully licensed
or accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Department
of Education. Funds are not available for doctoral-level work. For complete program information, visit the AAUW Web site.
RFP Link:
http://fconline.foundationcenter.org/pnd/10009451/aauw
For additional RFPs in Women, visit:
http://foundationcenter.org/pnd/rfp/cat_women.jhtml
Applications Available for Puffin Foundation Artist Grant
Awards
Deadline: December 30, 2007
The Puffin Foundation (http://www.puffinfoundation.org/) makes grants to emerging artists in the fields of art, music, theater, dance, photography, and literature whose works due to their genre
and/or social philosophy might have difficulty being aired. Grants from the Puffin Foundation can only be awarded to permanent residents and citizens of the United States. U.S. citizens
whose projects encompass work in other countries are still eligible to apply. The foundation does not have the means to fund
large film/documentary proposals, grants for travel, continuing
education, or the writing or publishing of books. Average grant awards are $1,000 to $2,500 each.
Visit the foundation's Web site for information on requesting
an application and for descriptions of funded projects. RFP Link: http://fconline.foundationcenter.org/pnd/10009213/puffinfound
For additional RFPs in Arts and Culture, visit: http://foundationcenter.org/pnd/rfp/cat_arts.jhtml
Poets and Children's Poetry, From Kathy Winograd:
After my kids were born, I started writing children's poetry off and on, and I just found out that another one of my children's poems, "Skating," will be published in Cricket magazine, which is a leading children's magazine, this January. I dashed off the poem in response to a line of poetry from William Stafford. It is a fun, money-making hobby for a poet. I get top dollar for it in that magazine! I've had a couple of my poems originally published in Cricket picked up by state departments of education for literacy assessment tests, including the New England Compact, South Carolina Department of Education Test, and the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment Test. Every time one of these places picks up one of my children's poems from Cricket magazine, I get between $100 and $250. I just got a check in the mail from Pennsylvania's Department of Education which will be using another poem I published a few years ago in Cricket in its state assessment test. This could be a nice side income for poets.
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.
JR Simons had his poem, "The Sparrow with the Broken Wing" published in the Fall/Winter 2007 edition of Common Threads, the semi-annual publication of The Ohio Poetry Association.
Joe Mackall and Steve Harvey attended the Nonfiction Now writers conference at the University of Iowa. Patricia Hampl and Richard Rodriguez were the headliners, and gave exciting presentations, but most of the fun occurred on the panels with topics such as "Will the Scaffolding Hold? Building the Nonfiction Book Out of Disparate Pieces," "Beauty and Power: The Art of the Political Essay," and "Square, Plumb, Level, True: The Ethical Dilemmas of Creative Nonfiction." Nebraska and Georgia Press held readings for their writers and Sarabande Press sponsored a reading on "The Lyric Essay." In all, some four hundred writers were there but there were enough topics to keep the sessions small. Joe was on several panels, including one on "The Problem and Promise of the Spiritual Memoir" in which he announced to two participants who were skipping out early that they were "going to hell." In all it was a lively conference. It is held every other year, and I encourage all who are interested in nonfiction to give it a try.
Steve Haven served as a panelist representing the Ashland University MFA Program at the Kenyon Review Literary Festival, Kenyon College, Nov. 10, 2007. The panel was titled MFA Programs: Weighing the Pros and Cons. The other panelists were Kathy Fagan, Professor of English, The Ohio State University; Lawrence Coates, Associate Professor of Creative Writing, Bowling Green State University; Sonya Huber-Humes, Assistant Professor of Creative Writing, Georgia Southern University; Lee Martin, Director of Creative Writing, The Ohio State University.
Ending on a "sweet" note, Sarah Wells, Lisa Pawlikowski, and English Department faculty member Hilary Teynor (Team Name: Flour Power) baked a Yellow Submarine Cake for the Slice for Life Competition on campus - an event that raised money for the American Cancer Society. Our cake won Best 60s Theme.