Gemini Ink Fall 2012 Catalog by Gemini Ink

FALL 2012

W o rds o f Wel c ome I-10 Nights, I’d lie wrapped in my sheets and watch the westbound lanes of the interstate make a horizon of headlights, rising over the hill at the KOA sign and then disappearing, eventually, over the real horizon. Even at three, four a.m., those real lives could be seen speeding toward the blue eye of California. In late summer, the onions in the field below my window pushed themselves up and out of the earth. They’d shed their dead, outer skins, even while, inside, their wet, white hearts were still dumbly growing. - Carrie Fountain The poem above is by Carrie Fountain, a brilliant young poet whose first book Burn Lake was a winner of the 2009 National Poetry Series. Carrie is not at all typical, but a writer of bravery and naked feeling—just the kind of writer we are bringing to you this fall at Gemini Ink. Our faculty includes David Liss whose crafted, felt novels and novellas are equaled if not exceeded by his patient, caring and craft-centered teaching; Emily Rapp, who writes essays so thrilling that whenever I read one it haunts me for days; legendary San Antonio poet, writer, memoirist and producer John Phillip Santos; and Texas poet and “Grito” singer extraordinaire ire’ne lara silva. There is something here for everyone, and not a writer in the bunch that doesn’t make me want to pull out paper and pen and start scribbling. Gemini Ink’s gifted UWW Director Erika Morgan has worked so hard to put together a fall semester full of great offerings. I hope you will decide to be part of it. If you are not sure you want to take a class, come to our free Friday public readings. I began my own career as a poet just this way. Over twenty years ago as a young scared mother at home with my first child during a remarkably cold Washington, DC winter, I went, with my heart in my mouth, to the local community center to take my first ever poetry workshop. I wasn’t a professional. I wasn’t self-confident. I had no idea what I was doing or why—just that like the “onions in the field” described so memorably in Carrie’s poem, I wanted to find a way to get out the words inside me. I’m betting some of you feel the same—and I hope you find your way to Gemini Ink. I’m so excited and honored to be here! Sheila Black, Executive | Artistic Director

about Gemini Ink Gemini Ink nurtures writers and readers and builds community through literature and the related arts. At Gemini Ink we believe human story in all its diverse and complicated forms and genres — from poetry and fiction to memoir and oral tradition — is essential to developing compassion and richness in both individual and community life. We encourage focused reading, writing, and exchange at every level, from elementary school students to incarcerated youth and from the polished professional to the elder who has always wanted to record her family stories. Gemini Ink, a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization, is extremely grateful for contributions from avid readers and writers, as well as grants from the George W. Brackenridge Foundation, Brown Foundation, City of San Antonio Office of Cultural Affairs, Elizabeth Huth Coates Charitable Foundation, Edouard Foundation, Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund, Frost National Bank, theFund, Guerra • DeBerry • Coody Marketing and Communications, Howard and Betty Halff Fund of the San Antonio Area Foundation, H-E-B, King William Association, Albert and Bessie Mae Kronkosky Charitable Foundation, Ruth Lang Charitable Fund and Beulah M. and Felix J. Katz Memorial Trust of the San Antonio Area Foundation, Lifshutz Foundation, Genevieve and Ward Orsinger Foundation, Myra Stafford Pryor Charitable Trust, National Endowment for the Arts, Rackspace Foundation, Alice Kleberg Reynolds Foundation, Russell Hill Rogers Fund for the Arts, San Antonio ExpressNews, Shield-Ayres Foundation, Smothers Foundation, Texas Commission on the Arts, USAA Foundation, Valero Energy Foundation, Esther and Harold Vexler Advised Fund of the San Antonio Area Foundation, and Wayne Wright Lawyers.

Cover Artist: Carolina Flores Watercolor; first appeared in My Part of Town © Gemini Ink 2011 fall catalogue

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f all 20 12 sc h edu l e Dates

Classes & Events

Page

Tuesday, Aug. 28

Fall Registration Begins

Friday, Sept. 7

Community Talk

Saturday, Sept. 8

Poetry / Voisine

Sunday, Sept. 9

Fiction / Grande

Monday, Sept. 24

Fiction / Liss*

Thursday, Sept. 27

INKstravaganza

Tues. & Wed. Oct. 2 & 3 Dave Ellis Seminar*

Friday, Oct. 5

First Friday Reading

Saturday, Oct. 6

Poetry / Fountain Memoir / Santos

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Friday, Oct. 12

Faculty Reading at UTSA

Saturday, Oct. 13

Poetry / Harvey

Wednesday, Oct. 17

Blackout Night

Friday, Oct. 19

Faculty Reading

Saturday, Oct. 20

Fiction / Ducornet Memoir / Rapp

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Thursday & Friday Oct. 25 & 26

Breakthrough Thinkers 21 Reading & Colloquium Luncheon/ Dr. Christopher Phillips

Thursday, Nov. 1

Poetry / Black*

Friday, Nov. 2

First Friday Reading

Saturday, Nov. 3

Fiction / Ponce Lifelong Learning / silva Multi-Genre / Gravenhorst*

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Thursday, November 15

Witter Bynner Fellowship Reading with Sheila Black

Friday, Dec. 7

Workshop Reading

Note: Classes are shown here by genre and instructor(s). See page listings for detailed class descriptions and registration deadlines. *Multi-session courses are shown with an asterisk. gemini ink 2012

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About Our Classes

Are you interested in music, photography, theater, science, or philosophy? Are you a teacher searching for ideas to use in the classroom? Are you a business professional wanting to polish your communication skills? Do you enjoy books and good conversation? Maybe you’ve always wanted to be a writer, but you’re not sure how to get started. Or you’re a writer whose work needs more attention. The University Without Walls program offers classes and workshops for anyone with an inquisitive mind. Whether you’re curious about ideas or deeply committed to the craft of writing, you’ll find the literary camaraderie you’re looking for at Gemini Ink. Our faculty members have extensive credentials and are skilled and passionate teachers. And, at the heart of our classes are creative, intelligent, and talented students like you. Join the conversation and make Gemini Ink part of your life.

Course Levels

Beginner: Writers or readers who are new to the course subject and/or design. Intermediate: Writers and readers who have background knowledge of the course subject, and are prepared to complete required readings, and actively participate in class discussion. These writers have had working practice with some aspect of craft and have taken at least one writing workshop. They are comfortable with in-class writing exercises. Intermediate/Advanced: Intermediate level requirements, plus a knowledge of craft aspects pertinent the class enrolled in. Participants are experienced in critical analysis. Writers have a history of practical experience in the genre, have participated in several writing workshops, and are may be researching the publication process. Advanced:Intermediate/ Advanced requirements, plus extensive knowledge of course subject. Each participant is something of an expert in this field. Each writer has attained a professional level, which is to say that writing has become an integral part of her/his daily life and thought. Course levels are self-selected.

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classes FICTION #1 The Novella Project Level: Advanced (see definition on the left) Instructor: David Liss “The novella offers far more room to maneuver than a short story, but takes a lot less time to write than a novel. I have therefore concluded that novellas are cool. This class is an intensive seminar focusing on each student producing a complete novella – a work between 30-60 pages. We’ll read and evaluate successful published pieces and discuss the specific requirements and freedoms of the medium. Students will then submit a finished work, which will be critiqued in its entirety by the group. Writers interested in genre and niche markets are encouraged.” Because of the demands of this course, it will be limited to eight advanced students who will be asked to submit a 5-7 page writing sample beginning on Sept. 4 for instructor approval. Once 8 submissions have been accepted, class will be closed. Dates: 9/24, 10/1 (discuss medium, and assigned readings provided by instructor). Meetings for workshopping: 11/5, 11/12, 11/19, 7pm-9pm Limit: 8 Registration Deadline: Wednesday, Sept. 12 CPE Credits: 10 Language Arts Discounted Fee: $230 Fee: $240 #2 Let’s Talk About Plot…and Character, Too! Level: All Instructor: Reyna Grande “Story structure is the engine that makes your novel run, but the same can be said about character. Plot and character should be balanced. In this workshop, you’ll learn structural techniques to strengthen your plot. By analyzing what successful novelists have done and in-class writing exercises, you will gain insight into how every scene is accountable and how to avoid overly complex storylines, deadly slow pace, mid-novel sag, or a plot needing more flesh. You’ll also learn how to allow the characters you create to evolve into real people. Suggested reading: Across a Hundred Mountains and Dancing with Butterflies.” Date: Sunday, Sept. 9, 9am-12pm Limit: 15 Participants Registration Deadline: Wednesday, Sept. 5 CPE Credits: 3 Language Arts Fee: $75 Discounted Fee: $65 gemini ink 2012

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#3 The Novel as a Process of Revelation Level: All Instructor: Rikki Ducornet “Novel writing is an ongoing process of discovery. Because of this, the experience remains energized, fresh and mysterious. Mysterious because rather than knowing ahead of time what the novel will be, the book informs the writer of the direction it wants to take. The process finds its wellspring in the writer’s own Deep Zoo: one of memory, dreams and reflections. The book directs what needs to be researched and fearlessly explored, what is of little or no value to the enterprise and must be abandoned, where the fire burns and where the deserts lie. Writing this way is exhilarating and demanding; it is also unsettling as the territories one enters are often unknown. We’ll discuss issues of morality, methods of research, the writing of the monstrous, of sexuality, of past and future worlds. Please bring questions and reveries; your concerns and expectations.” Date: Saturday Oct. 20, 10am-3pm (1-hour lunch) Limit: 15 Participants Registration Deadline: Wednesday, Oct. 17 CPE Credits: 4 Language Arts Fee: $110 Discounted Fee: $100 #4 Como escribir una novela Nivel: Todo, class conducted entirely in Spanish Maestro: Carlos Ponce “Escribir una novela puede parecer una tarea monumental. Sin embargo, con un manejo adecuado del lenguaje cualquier persona puede hacerlo. El ingrediente principal es tener una fuerza de voluntad ferrea. Las estrategías de escribir se pueden aprender. En esta clase nos centraremos esas estrategías: selección de la temática, definición de los personajes, estilo y la mezcla de las vivencias del autor con ficción. Tomaremos como base la obra del instructor El Gringo Latino así como ejemplos de numerosos autores conócidos. Para ilustrar estas estrategías, haremos ejercicios durante la clase. Ya sea que si usted tenga una novela comenzada, o la idea de escribir una, esta clase le puede ayudar a canalizar sus esfuerzos y plasmar sus ideas en una obra de la cual se pueda sentir orgullosa(o).” Fecha: Sábado, Nov. 3, 9am-3pm, 1 hora para comer Límite: 15 Participantes Límite de inscripción: Miércoles, Oct. 31 CPE Créditos: 5 Language Arts Tarifa de Descuento: $80 Cuota: $90 gemini ink 2012

How to Register A registration form appears on page 22. Please mail the completed form to Gemini Ink at 513 S. Presa, San Antonio, TX 78205, along with your class tuition and registration fee. You may also register by visiting our website at www.geminiink. org, calling us at 210.734.9673 (877.734.9673, toll-free), or visiting our office at the above address. Registration Fee Be sure to include the $10 registration fee in your total. The fee is required each time you enroll for classes and helps cover expenses such as registration staffing, classroom maintenance, handouts, flyers, mailings, and supplies. If you are taking several classes, register for them all at once to avoid paying multiple registration fees! Credit Card Payments Gemini Ink accepts Discover, VISA, and MasterCard payments for class tuition or contributions. For more information, please call our office at 210.734.9673. Registration and Payment Policies Registration and payment should be made as soon as possible. Class size is limited and filled on a first-come, first-served basis. After the published deadline, we accept registrations on a spaceavailable basis. We will charge a $10 processing fee for any returned checks. Class Cancellations Gemini Ink reserves the right to cancel or reschedule courses to adjust for enrollment. If it is necessary to cancel a course, all registered participants will be informed immediately and will be extended the opportunity to transfer to another course. If participants enrolled in a canceled class do not wish to transfer, a full refund will be made. Discounts on Class Tuition! The class fee reflects a $10 discount. An additional 5% deduction is offered to educators, seniors (65+), and students. Refer five friends to any University Without Walls class or combination of classes, and we’ll waive your tuition for one class or workshop. Some restrictions apply. Call our office at 210.734.9673 for details.

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POETRY

Withdrawals

A student may withdraw from a Gemini Ink workshop at any time. The student must notify the office at least 5 business days prior to the first date of the workshop to be eligible for full tuition refunds, less a $25 withdrawal fee. Alternately, tuition transfers to another class are available within the same semester. Withdrawal notifications not made within 5 business days of the workshop are not eligible for tuition refunds, but students may transfer tuition to another class within the same semester, less a $25 late withdrawal fee and/or faculty cost. Withdrawal notifications made the day of the workshop or after the workshop has begun are not eligible for refunds or transfers of any kind. Transfer of tuition across semesters is not possible. Failure to attend sessions or verbal notification to instructor will not be regarded as official notice of withdrawal. Refunds will be processed within 14 business days. Refund checks must be cashed within 90 days of the check date. Otherwise, we will have to charge for any stoppayment costs we incur.

Special Info

Occasionally classes will be photographed or videotaped. Please notify the instructor if you wish to be excluded. Adult classes are open to high school students by permission of the instructor only. On occasion, classes may deviate from the published course descriptions.

Volunteering

Do the Write Thing. Work toward a free class! We have lots of opportunities and a variety of jobs to do. To learn more please call 210.734.9673 and pitch in!

#5 Excavation of Images Level: All Instructor: Carrie Fountain “Using memory as a catalyst, participants will be led through a three-hour workshop focused on making specific, surprising images in their poems. We’ll begin with an introductory writing exercise to free up the mind, read some poems, discuss, and then launch into a longer writing exercise/ meditation with image and detail at its core. Participants will leave with a little heap of material to use or to compost.” Date: Saturday Oct. 6, 10am-1pm Limit: 15 Participants Registration Deadline: Wednesday, Oct. 3 CPE Credits: 3 Language Arts Fee: $75 Discounted Fee: $65

#6 Erasures & Collaboration Level: All Instructor: Matthea Harvey “In this class, we’ll experiment with text and image, primarily through the medium of erasure. Participants will look at excerpts from erasures by Mary Ruefle, Srikanth Reddy, Jen Bervin, Janet Holmes, Tom Phillips and Jonathan Safran Foer as well as examples of erasure in contemporary art. Then, using magazines, newspapers, or books brought from home, participants will try out different types of erasure (cutouts, blackouts, whiteouts, etc.) We will also do collaborative text and image exercises in class.” Date: Saturday, Oct. 13, 10am-1pm Limit: 15 participants Registration Deadline: Wednesday, Oct. 10 CPE Credits: 3 Language Arts Fee: $80 Discounted Fee: $70

Be good to the earth...

Please recycle! Paper-free people may receive all catalogue information online at our website www.geminiink.org

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# W L I “ m m c a d c a f e D 6 L R C F

# P L I “ e y w c f W ( a R a B s i w p y m D L R C F

#7 Four Little Poetry Projects: A Poetry Workout Level: Intermediate Instructor: Sheila Black “In these workshops we will cover four core elements of the craft of poetry with the aim of writing more vivid and linguistically engaged poems. The craft areas covered will be image, metaphor, form, and voice & tone. Each of these call up and apply different poetic powers. Through our in-class exercises we will work together to arrive at strategies and approaches that increase the immediacy and force of each participant’s poems. We will write in each workshop and also share our writing.” Date: Four Thursdays, Nov. 1, 8, 15, and 29, 6pm-7:30pm Limit: 15 Participants Registration Deadline: Monday, Oct. 29 CPE Credits: 6 Language Arts Fee: $50 Discounted Fee: $40 #8 Nurturing the Documentary Impulse in Poetry Level: All Instructor: Connie Voisine “How often have you wanted to respond to the events of the day in poetry-- from true stories from your past, to your family history? This workshop will help you use material that is traditionally considered ‘news’ or the stuff of documentary films, nonfiction or historical writing to craft poems. We will read and discuss the works of Mark Nowak (who writes about mining disasters in Apalachia and China), Juliana Spahr (the Iraq war), Anna Rabinowitz (her family history and the Holocaust), and Ciaran Carson (his family during the conflict in Belfast, Northern Ireland). We will explore different strategies for the documentary poem. Through interactive conversation and hands-on exercises, we will help each other begin our own documentary poetry projects. Readings will be supplied, but if you’d like, you can bring any source material you might be interested in using.” Date: Saturday, Sept. 8, 9am-12pm Limit: 15 Participants Registration Deadline: Wednesday, Sept. 5 CPE Credits: 3 Language Arts Fee: $85 Discounted Fee: $75

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Credit for Teachers

Gemini Ink is registered with the State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) as a provider of Continuing Professional Education (CPE) activities for standard certificate renewal for teachers. CPE credits are listed by each course description. Credit should be requested at the time of registration. Certificates will be mailed within 7 days of course completion.

Business and Professional Managers

If you are looking for an exciting continuing education experience for your valued employees, a Gemini Ink class is ideal. University Without Walls class offerings begin on page 4. For writing instruction in the workplace, contact the Director of the Writers in Communities program at our office. Whether held at our site or yours, our classes will enrich your employees’ lives on and off the job.

Course Texts

Most course texts and faculty books may be purchased at the Gemini Ink office during business hours (call for availability), or at The Twig Book Shop, 200 E. Grayson Ste. 124, 1.800. SAYTWIG. The Twig donates 20% of our in-office book sales to Gemini Ink. www.thetwig.indiebound.com

Manuscript Submissions

For courses requiring advance manuscripts, please send manuscript attached to an email to info@geminiink.org. Manuscripts must have at least one-inch margins, be in an easily legible font, adhere to the instructor’s specified length limitations, and, if fiction, be double-spaced. Please note that Gemini Ink is unable to reformat manuscripts that don’t meet these guidelines. Include your instructor’s name, along with your name and contact information. The email should indicate “manuscript” and class number in the subject line. Manuscripts will be circulated electronically for advance critique. Please bring one hard copy to class. Manuscripts submitted after the published deadline will be distributed in class and discussed only at the instructor’s discretion.

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LIFELONG LEARNING

Thank You

We are grateful to our many Gemini Ink donors and funders who make it possible to keep your tuition affordable.

Interested in Teaching?

Proposals for classes are invited! Generally, we require that our faculty have significant publishing and teaching experience. Please send a sample course outline, résumé/curriculum vitae, and (if possible) a copy of a recent book. Direct your materials to uww@geminiink.org, or, to teach in community settings, send materials to wic@geminiink.org.

Plans in the Making

Parents! If your children are interested in classes/workshops for young writers, please call our office at 210.734.9673 to get on our planning list. When we have ten potential students, we’ll put a workshop together, depending on instructor availability and compatible ages in the group.

Where to Find Us

Unless otherwise noted, events take place in our bright green building at 513 S. Presa in Southtown/King William. If you are coming from 35&10, exit César E. Chávez Boulevard Blvd. East. Drive to S. Presa and turn right. We will be directly on your right. From 37/281, exit César E. Chávez Boulevard West. Drive to the stoplight at S. Alamo and turn left; take the next right on S. Presa.

Parking

Parking for classes and events at our facility is available in front of the building, along the street, and across the street in the lot marked “Gemini Ink.” In the interest of being good neighbors, we ask that you not park in the El Mirador restaurant lot next door!

Accessibility

Gemini Ink provides parking for the physically challenged in front of our building, which is wheelchair accessible.

Office Hours

Monday through Friday, 9am-4pm; closed on all major holidays.

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#9 Gritos: On Finding the Sources of Our Voices… Level: All Instructor: ire’ne lara silva “While gritos are most often associated with mariachi groups, el Grito de Dolores, or Mexican culture, we will be looking at gritos from another viewpoint—as a way of finding our own deepest personal voice, to ground the creative mind in our bodies, to root the voice in our hearts, and to both release and control emotion in the body and voice. There will be various visualization exercises, a lot of playing with physical stances, a great deal of sound-making experimentation, and a few short writing/art prompts to examine how we perceive our voices. No experience or familiarity with gritos is needed.” Date: Saturday, Nov. 3, 1-4pm Limit: 15 Participants Registration Deadline: Wednesday, Oct. 31 CPE Credits: 3 Language Arts Fee: $65 Discounted Fee: $55 MEMOIR

#10 Writing Your Life: Mapping a Memoir Level: All Instructor: Emily Rapp “The memoirist is confronted with many questions: How do I shape my memories and particular journey into a story with universal significance? How do I write about myself as a character? If all memory is an interpretation, then how much responsibility does the writer of memoir have to the factual truth? During our time together, we will explore both the craft and ethics of memoir through in-class writing exercises, reading, and lively discussion. The primary goal of this workshop is to help you generate material from your personal experiences while examining the possibilities and pitfalls of memoir as a form, while also giving careful thought to structure and architecture. All reading material will be provided in class.” Date: Saturday, Oct. 20, 10am-3pm (1-hour lunch) Limit: 15 Participants Registration Deadline: Wednesday, Oct. 17 CPE Credits: 4 Language Arts Discounted Fee: $90 Fee: $100 gemini ink 2012

MULTI-GENRE

#11 The Story Behind the Spice Level: All Instructor: Edna Campos Gravenhorst “Our most important, evocative, and heartwarming memories often center around the table. Food is more than a substance for sustenance. Food encompasses the shared experiences and history that unite us. In this two-session class, we’ll work on excavating the rich stories behind our special family recipes, and preserve that history for generations to come. Bring two of your favorite recipes along with a couple of family photos for inspiration. We’ll combine the recipe, its story and a photo to create a print that you can frame. You’ll also have an opportunity to read your recipe story at a Gemini Ink reading on December 7th.” Dates: Saturday, Nov. 3 and 10, 9am-12pm Limit: 15 Participants Registration Deadline: Wednesday, Oct. 31 CPE Credits: 6 Language Arts Discounted Fee: $90 Fee: $100 #12 Writing Your Ancestral Epic Level: All Instructor: John Phillip Santos “From the explosion of family memoirs since the ‘90s to the recent emergence of genealogical genetics and popular genealogy internet forums, American culture and letters have become increasingly fascinated with the epic storytelling possibilities of our complex ancestry. It has become possible as never before to recover the details of our vast and far-flung ancestral origins and to transmute what we find into bold new literary forms. This workshop will explore a host of ways we might give expression to these ancestral tales and mysteries, in prose, poetry, and other media. Please bring a short (3-5 pages) example of your own ancestral writing (in whatever genre) to share with the group. Participants are encouraged to read Brian Sykes’s new book DNA USA and to view Terence Malick’s 2011 film, Tree of Life, both of which will figure in our discussion. Some time will also be devoted to strategies for publishing and disseminating your work in the current literary and media environment.” Dates: Sat. Oct. 6, 10am-3pm (1-hour lunch) Limit: 15 Participants Registration Deadline: Wednesday, Oct. 31 CPE Credits: 6 Language Arts Fee: $85 Discounted Fee: $75

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Gift Shop Our inventory includes books by current and previous Gemini Ink faculty; signed, limited edition prints, handmade chapbooks of the works of Gemini award winners, and gift certificates for University Without Walls classes and workshops. We also stock the literary journal, Rain Taxi, which is free for the taking. Lending Library Gemini Ink has an eclectic array of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and how-to-write books, as well as literary journals that are available to borrow. Please stop by and check out our titles. Facilities Rental The Gemini Ink conference room is available for $20/hour, while the large meeting room is available for $30/hour rental fee. Our facility belongs to you. Please take this opportunity to call the office for details. Staff Sheila Black Executive | Artistic Director Michele Bussone* Financial Officer Erika Nadeau Morgan Director, University Without Walls Anisa Onofre Director, Writers in Communities Evelyn Reyes Managing Director Anna Sánchez Registrar | Office Manager Lucinda Vela-Wick Director, Communications *part-time Volunteers Dario Beniquez Facilitator, Open Writing Workshop Jim Dawes Facilitator, Open Writing Workshop Roland Huff Facilitator, Open Writing Workshop Consultants Gloria Pins Arecchi CPA Bett Butler & Pamela Dean Kenny Dramatic Readers Theater Interns Katy Almond Rebecca Bredt Kristine Duran Lisa Esparza Paul Hoeg Amanda Martinez Kathryn Ortiz Sarah Serrato

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Gemini Ink Board of Directors Mallory Belt Ahl Public Finance, Frost Bank Marian Aitches Senior Lecturer in History, University of Texas at San Antonio Eusebio Díaz Program Director, Baptist Health Foundation of San Antonio John Frederick Provost, University of Texas at San Antonio James Heidelberg Attorney, Escamilla & Poneck, Inc. Lee Robinson Attorney Writer Jan Jarboe Russell Freelance writer Author Josie Seeligson Freelance writer Photographer Tree Farmer Michael Soto Professor, Trinity University Aïssatou Sidimé Communications Specialist, Business Financial Group

BLACKOUT NIGHT is back! We had so much fun in July, we’ve decided to bring back this great event. We’ll have mounds of newspapers and bunches of black markers. All you’ll have to do is pick an old clipping, and create a new poem. Writer Lyle Rosdahl will be here to guide and inspire us through the process.

National Advisory Board Dorothy Allison San Francisco Robert Boswell Houston Sandra Cisneros San Antonio Katy Flato San Antonio Robert Flynn San Antonio Ernest J. Gaines Louisiana Edward Hirsch New York Tony Hoagland Houston Phillip Lopate New York Terry McMillan California W.S. Merwin Hawaii Antonya Nelson Houston Gregory Orr Charlottesville Carolyn Osborn Austin Martha Rhodes New York Richard Russo Maine John Phillip Santos San Antonio Ellen Bryant Voigt Vermont Chuck Wachtel New York Marion Winik Pennsylvania

Wednesday, Oct. 17 at Gemini Ink Free and open to the public Gemini Ink is saddened by the loss of our board member, Maria Luisa Holmgreen. Her service and love for our community were exemplary and appreciated.

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S t c B t c f 2 l

Community Talk

Meet our new Executive | Artistic Director

Sheila Black

Join us for a Gemini Ink Block Party, readings, refreshments and a community Q&A session. Special guest poet Connie Voisine Friday, September 7, 6:30pm

Sheila Black is the author of two full-length poetry collections, House of Bone and Love/Iraq, (both CW Press). She recently co-edited with poets Jennifer Bartlett and Mike Northen Beauty is a Verb: The New Poetry of Disability (Cinco Puntos Press), named a Notable Book for 2012 by the American Library Association (ALA). A third collection Wen Kroy is forthcoming from Dream Horse Press where it received the 2011 Orphic Prize in Poetry. She is a 2012 Witter Bynner Fellow in Poetry, selected by US Poet Laureate Philip Levine.

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fall 2012 facult y The author of eight novels, three collections of short fiction, a book of essays and five books of poetry, Rikki Ducornet has twice been honored by the Lannan Foundation. She has received the Bard College Arts and Letters award and, in 2008, an Academy Award in Literature. Recent exhibitions of her paintings include the solo show Desirous at the Pierre Menard Gallery in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 2007, and the group shows: O Reverso Do Olhar in Coimbra, Portugal in 2008, and El Umbral Secreto at the Museo de la Solidaridad Salvador Allende in Santiago, Chile, in 2009. She has illustrated books by Jorge Luis Borges, Robert Coover, Forest Gander, Kate Bernheimer, Joanna Howard and Anne Waldman, among others.

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Carrie Fountain’s poems have appeared in American Poetry Review, Crazyhorse, AGNI, and Southwestern American Literature, among others. Her debut collection, Burn Lake was a winner of a 2009 National Poetry Series Award and was published by Penguin in 2010. She lives in Austin, TX and teaches Creative Writing at St. Edward’s University.

Reyna Grande is the author of the critically acclaimed novel Across A Hundred Mountains (Atria 2006), for which she received an American Book Award (2007) and El Premio Aztlan Literary Award (2006). Her latest novel, Dancing with Butterflies, was published in October 2009, to rave reviews and received a 2010 International Latino Book Award. Born in Mexico in 1975, Grande was raised by her grandparents. She came to the U.S. at the age of nine as an undocumented immigrant and went on to become the first person in her family to obtain a higher education, holding a B.A. in creative writing and film & video from the University of California, Santa Cruz. She received her MFA in creative writing from Antioch University. She teaches creative writing workshops in her community and speaks at high schools, colleges, and universities across the nation. She’s a member of the Macondo Writers Workshop, founded by Sandra Cisneros. The Distance Between Us, Reyna’s third book, will be published in August 2012.

In Memoriam Gad Beck, 1923 Maeve Binchy, 1940 Ray Bradbury, 1920 Stephen Covey, 1932 Nora Ephron, 1941 fall catalogue

Rosa Guy, 1922 William Raspberry, 1938 David Rakoff, 1964 Barry Unsworth, 1930 Gore Vidal, 1925 gemini ink 2012

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Edna Campos Gravenhorst currently divides her time between San Antonio, Texas and St. Louis, Missouri. She is the author of six books and is a historical researcher. Her writing awards include two International Latin Book Awards and a Kid Power Award. She is a member of the National Association of Latino Arts and Culture Organization, the Society of Latino and Hispanic Writers of San Antonio, and the Society of Architectural Historians-St. Louis Chapter. Preserving the stories of working-class Americans is Campos Gravenhorst’s mission in her writing and research. Matthea Harvey is the author of four books of poetry, most recently, Of Lamb, an illustrated erasure with Amy Jean Porter. She has also written two books for children — The Little General and the Giant Snowflake and Cecil the Pet Glacier. She teaches poetry at Sarah Lawrence College. David Liss is the author of seven novels, most recently The Twelfth Enchantment. His previous books include A Conspiracy of Paper (2000) which was named a New York Times Notable Book and won the 2001 Barry, MacAvity and Edgar awards for Best First Novel. The Coffee Trader (2003) was also named a New York Times Notable Book and was selected by the New York Public Library as one of the year’s 25 Books to Remember. A Spectacle of Corruption (2004) was a national bestseller, and The Devil’s Company (2009) has been optioned for film by Warner Brothers. Liss is the author of the graphic novel Mystery Men and has written comics for Marvel and Dynamite. These days he is also writing novellas. Carlos Ponce Meléndez es el autor de una novela: El Gringo Latino; una colección de cuentos; Pláticas de Mi barrio; dos cuentos para niños y numerosas poesías que han sido publicadas en revistas en español y en inglés. Ponce ha enseñado dos cursos en Gemini Ink, y varios cursos sobre escritura de memorias y de cuentos en centros comunitarios para adultos y escuelas de secundararia. En su novela y cuentos, Ponce incorpora experiencias de su trabajo como científico social, periodista y maestro, entre otras actividades que ha ejercido profesionalmente. Sus obras han sido publicadas por Scholastic, Bilingual Press y a través del programa de auto publicación de Amazon; Creative Space.

Open Writing Workshop Join this peer-driven workshop facilitated by longtime Gemini Ink volunteers Dario Beniquez, Jim Dawes and Roland Huff. Share your writing and get feedback on works-in-progress in a relaxed and supportive atmosphere. The workshop is held from 6:30 - 8:30 pm, on the last Monday of every month at Gemini Ink, 513 S. Presa. This fall’s Open Writing Workshops will be held on Aug. 27, Sept. 24, Oct. 29, and Nov. 26. (No meeting in December). Bring 6 - 10 copies of your work to share! Free and open to all writers! gemini ink 2012

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Emily Rapp is the author of Poster Child: A Memoir and The Still Point of the Turning World, forthcoming from Penguin Press in 2013, as well as many essays and stories featured in The New York Times, Salon, Slate, the Los Angeles Times, and other publications. She teaches at the Santa Fe University of Art and Design and with the UC-Riverside Palm Desert MFA Program. Visit her at www.emilyrapp.com or http:// ourlittleseal.wordpress.com.

John Phillip Santos, a native San Antonian, is the author of Places Left Unfinished at the Time of Creation, Songs Older Than Any Known Singer, and The Farthest Home is in an Empire of Fire. He is the Distinguished Scholar in Mestizo Cultural Studies in the Honors College of the University of Texas San Antonio.

ire’ne lara silva lives in Austin, TX. Her work has appeared in various journals and anthologies, most recently in Bordersenses, Generations, Ginosko Literary Journal, Palabra, and Yellow Medicine Review. She is the 2008 recipient of the Gloria Anzaldua Milagro Award, an inaugural CantoMundo Fellow, and the author of two chapbooks: ani’mal and INDíGENA. Her first collection of poetry, furia, (Mouthfeel Press, 2010) received an Honorable Mention for the 2011 International Latino Book Award in Poetry. Currently, she is Co-Coordinator for the Flor De Nopal Literary Festival: http://flordenopalliteraryfestival.wordpress.com/ Poet/writer website: http://www.irenelarasilva.webs.com

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Connie Voisine is the author of Rare High Meadow of Which I Might Dream, published by University of Chicago Press, a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Award. Her first book, Cathedral of the North, won the Associated Writing Program’s Award in Poetry. She has poems published in The Georgia Review, Ploughshares, Poetry Magazine, Black Warrior Review, The Threepenny Review, and elsewhere. Her work was recently featured at The Lab at Belmar, a museum show pairing prehistoric stone tools with poems. Educated at Yale University, University of California at Irvine, and University of Utah, Voisine teaches in the creative writing program at NMSU and also coordinates La Sociedad para las Artes, its outreach organization. She and her family have recently returned from Belfast, Northern Ireland, where she was a Fulbright Fellow in the School of English at Queen’s University.

Readings and more... Friday, September 7 6:30pm Community Talk Sheila Black with special guest, poet Connie Voisine

Friday, October 19 6:30pm Faculty reading; Ducornet and Rapp

Friday, October 5 6:30pm Faculty reading; Fountain and Santos

Friday, November 2 6:30pm Faculty reading; Campos Gravenhorst, Ponce, and Silva

Friday, October 12 at UTSA, 7:30pm Main Campus Harris Room (UC III 2.212) Faculty reading; Matthea Harvey

Thursday, November 15 8pm Witter Bynner Fellowship Reading with Gemini Ink Executive | Artistic Director, Sheila Black

Wednesday, October 17 7pm Blackout Night Rosdahl

Friday, December 7 6:30pm The Story Behind the Spice participants’ reading

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writers in communities helping people tell their stories

Eddie Sánchez and Maggie Vera, participants of Life Stories: Crafting Memoir from Memory, read their work during class at the Elvira Cisneros Senior Community Center.

Writers in Communities (WIC) provides workshops – always free to participants – highlighting oral traditions, reading, and creative writing. Our professional teacher-writers work alongside students of all ages, needs, interests and abilities in diverse community settings from schools to justice facilities. WIC has served over 7,000 individuals and published more than 60 chapbooks and broadsides of writing by students since 2002 and continues to seek innovative partnerships throughout the community. Our work builds the critical thinking, reading, writing, and verbal skills essential to a healthy and economically thriving populace. Writers in the Community This summer, and through early fall, Bárbara Renaud González facilitates Life Stories: Crafting Memoir from Memory in three 5-week bilingual writing workshops with elders at the Elvira Cisneros Senior Community Center. WIC received funding from the Genevieve and Ward Orsinger Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts for this vital project. Writers in Schools Writer Alan Stewart Carl worked with middle and high school students at Harlandale ISD’s annual Summer Writing Camp. In the past, HISD summer students have studied and written flash fiction, the gothic story, column writing, and poetry—all resulting in publications. This year, students produced prose and poetry. An anthology of their work is forthcoming.

Summer WIC Anthologies So Much More. A poetry chapbook by teens in the C.A.R.E. Pilot Program (Children’s Aftercare Reentry Experience) of Baptist Children’s Family Services (BCFS). The group met weekly at Gemini Ink with poet Trey Moore as part of C.A.R.E.’s mentoring component. My Time… So Listen Up! A collection of poetry by incarcerated young men at the Cyndi Taylor Krier Juvenile Correctional Treatment Center. Youth explored themes of selfidentification, manhood, gender relations, and cultural pride. Dr. Ben Olguín facilitated the 6-week intensive workshop last spring. Mother Tongue, Idioma Materno. A collection of poetry, stories and photographs by women at Guadalupe Home, a transitional facility for homeless mothers with infants. Writer-inresidence Nelly Rosario joined them for a leg of their journey in the hope that writing their stories might help the women map their place in the world. fall catalogue

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WIC Fall Outlook Harlandale Media Arts Pilot Program—This fall, Middle and High School students in Harlandale ISD will work with local writers and filmmakers to document their lives with digital shorts. Participants will be introduced to writing personal narrative, camera handling, scripting, storyboarding, and digitizing story elements. Krueger Middle School—For a third school year in a row, WIC partners with Krueger for creative writing workshops for middle school students in North East ISD. Brackenridge High School—WIC returns to the Mighty Eagles campus of San Antonio ISD for another creative writing and mural workshop in collaboration with local artist Terry Ybañez and her students. Cyndi Taylor Krier Juvenile Correctional Treatment Center—Incarcerated male teens read, write and explore children’s stories for a Storybook Project.

Excerpt from Se fue la Hippo y Bruno también There’s so much for a seven-year-old boy to do in the monte. I stomped on a red ant pile, some ants got on a rock that was about the size of a golf ball and I kicked it, there went my chancla. When I hopped over to get it, I realized I put it on backward. As I continued walking through la vereda, I saw a camalión, which I chased and caught, and put in my pants pocket. My brother David and I would later play wishbone with it. I’d pull it from one arm and David from the other, to see who would get the body or an arm and then let it go in circles. Round and round it went. I ran into a couple of lizards, the ones that are half a foot long, or even a foot, and have green and purple and brown stripes. Well, those I stayed clear of because my cousin Manuel, he wounded one with his BB gun and that lagartijo ran up his pants leg and bit him on his huevos. He ran to his house, pulled down his pants and told his mother, “Un lagartijo me mordió en los huevos!” She pulled on it but broke off the body and its head was still biting his huevos, so he said, “If you see one, make sure to kill it.” A work-in-progress by Eddie Sánchez from the workshop Life Stories: Crafting Memoir from Memory at the Elvira Cisneros Senior Community Center. Opportunity for Professional Writers

If you have a published book (or the equivalent), have experience teaching creative writing, and want to help bring creative writing, reading, storytelling, and thinking to diverse communities, we want to meet you. E-mail your resume or CV and three pages of writing samples to wic@geminiink.org. Writers in Communities Funders and Partners Baptist Children & Family Services (BCFS), Bexar County Juvenile Probation Department, C.A.R.E. pilot program (Children’s Aftercare Reentry Experience), Cyndi Taylor Krier Juvenile Correctional Treatment Center, Elvira Cisneros Senior Community Center, Genevieve and Ward Orsinger Foundation, George W. Brackenridge Foundation, Guadalupe Home, Harlandale Independent School District, King William Association, Alice Kleberg Reynolds Foundation, Krueger Middle School, National Endowment for the Arts, North East Independent School District, Office of Cultural Affairs, Rackspace Foundation, San Antonio Independent School District, Texas Commission on the Arts, WellMed Medical Group gemini ink 2012

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Poetry and Literature Center Gemini Ink director and 2012 Library of Congress Witter Bynner fellowship recipient Sheila Black will perform her hometown reading in San Antonio! Witter Bynner supports the writing of poetry, and recipients are chosen by US poet laureates. Sheila Black was selected by Philip Levine. Thursday, November 15, 8pm Gemini Ink, 513 South Presa Free and open to the public

Raspberry Jam You could call it the happiness of the reader, how glad I felt this morning because my children were eating black bread and raspberry jam, and I was drinking a cup of scalding black tea, remembering how in Russia, they sweeten their tea with raspberry jam, so that for a moment we seemed like a family in a long Russian novel, the small print, thin pages, dense relations, souls worthy of the closest attention. And for once the kids were not squabbling but intent on the tasks at hand, the seven-year-old was toasting the bread, the two-year-old was spreading the jam, using the bluntest knife in the house, laying it on thick, and everyone’s mouth was glazed with a thin, bruised sweetness. Even the morning sunlight through the window felt different – gilded, and the cloudless New Mexico sky blazed over us so distant and smooth I felt I was looking through the wrong end of a telescope, and we were growing ever further, smaller, but there we were, right there, so close I could smell my son’s milky flesh, see each golden hair on my daughter’s wrist. My daughter crumbles the toast in her fingers and feeds it to her brother as if he were a bird.

Sheila Black, House of Bone fall catalogue

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Gemini Ink joins Trinity University, East Central ISD and Family Alliance Council in welcoming Dave Ellis for a two-day workshop. Dave Ellis is a nationally recognized leadership coach, author, educator, and philanthropist. His first book Becoming a Master Student, currently in its thirteenth edition, continues to be the best-selling college textbook in America for over 20 years. In addition to this book, he has authored and co-authored seven others including Life Coaching, Falling Awake, and Creating Your Future. Dave Ellis has coached national and international nonprofit leaders, educators, social entrepreneurs, philanthropists, an NBA coach, and a Nobel Peace Prize winner. Join Gemini Ink, Trinity University, East Central ISD, Family Alliance Council and Dave Ellis for “Coaching: Inspiring the Leader Within.” Topics explored during the workshop include: Leading with desire not obligation, determining what you want as a leader, integrating new leadership strategies, gaining respect of co-workers, removing self-imposed limitations, facilitating innovation, improving team performance, creating breakthroughs in communication, empowering others consistently, dealing with difficult co-workers or mandates, providing and receiving peer feedback, mediating conflict, dealing with antagonism, resolving relationship problems. The two-day event will also provide practicum experiences for polishing coaching skills.

“Coaching: Inspiring the Leader Within” October 2 & 3, 2012, 8:30am - 4:00pm Fiesta Room at Trinity University Cost: $295.00 Register at geminiink.org Breakfast and lunch included Testimonial: “Dave Ellis’ teaching has been profoundly useful to me as a leader and as a human being. Through Dave’s teaching, I acquired important leadership ideas and skills. I came to understand through Dave’s teaching that I am responsible for the results I create in my life. And I began to see how significant changes in the organization would begin with significant changes in what I believed, understood, said, and did on a daily basis. Such an insight was incredibly important to me in my life and work. Coaching was an incredibly valuable experience for me. It provided just-in-time learning, which enabled me to successfully meet the day-to-day responsibilities of my leadership role. It was like a weekly tutorial with my job and my life as its subject matter. Through coaching I experienced measurable improvements in my ability to achieve goals for my unique responsibilities, for the work of the organization I led, and for my life in general. It formed the basis of my current work in which I engage on a regular basis as a thinking partner with leadership teams of school systems to continually improve teaching, learning, and relationships in schools.” -Dennis Sparks Emeritus Executive Director National Staff Development Council

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bringing conceptual innovators and their books to San Antonio

Dr. Christopher Phillips Author, Democracy Activist & Social Entrepreneur Founder, Socrates Café & Constitution Café Dialogue Groups Public Reading with Q&A Thursday, Oct. 25, 7pm UTSA Main Campus Retama Auditorium, Room 2.02.02 University Center, 1 UTSA Circle Free and open to the public Colloquium Luncheon Q&A and book signing follows Friday, Oct. 26, 11:30am Pearl Stable 307 Pearl Parkway

A foremost specialist in the Socratic Method, Phillips reminds us that we ought to ask questions — “not about any chance question,” as Socrates put it in Plato’s Republic, “but about the way one should live.” Dedicated to the Jeffersonian idea of freedom: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, his goal is to inspire curiosity and wonder, to nurture self-discovery and democracy. Join us in dialogue as he leads us in a space of human interaction and shares aspects of his new book, Constitution Café (W.W. Norton, 2011), in which he describes his launch of an initiative aimed at generating a new, nationwide Constitutional Convention.

CALL GEMINI INK FOR RESERVATIONS AND MORE INFORMATION: 210.734.9673 fall catalogue

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suppor t Gemini Ink YES, I SUPPORT READING AND WRITING FOR ALL! This is your chance to stake a claim for reading and writing and to enrich your community’s quality of life. We appreciate all donations, big and small. Contribute to our fund drive, and be an activist for language! Name: ______________________________________________________________ Address: ____________________________________________________________ City: ______________________ State: ________________ Zip: ________________ Work Phone: ______________________ Home Phone: _______________________ Fax: ____________________________ Email: ______________________________

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513 South Presa | San Antonio, Texas 78205 210.734.WORD (9673) | Fax: 210.737.0688 | info@geminiink.org www.geminiink.org

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registration form First day to register for fall 2012: Tuesday, August 28 You can also register online at www.geminiink.org Please review our registration and payment policies on page 5 as well as our updated class withdrawal policy on page 6.

Name:___________________________________________________________ Day Phone:____________________ Evening Phone:_____________________ Mailing Address:___________________________________________________ Email Address:____________________________________________________ Ethnicity (For grant reporting purposes only): ____________________________ M ____ F____ Age: 0-17______ 18-64_______ 65+_______ Do you require assistance accessing our facilities? ________________ Referred by:______________________________________________________ In response to the economic downturn, Gemini Ink is extending a $10 discount to everyone who registers. This discount is already reflected in the catalogue listing. An additional 5% discount is offered to students, educators, and seniors. Do you qualify for an additional 5% discount? _____ Student ______ Educator _____ Senior Class #

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INK stravaganza 2012 Honoring BARBAR A R A S

Besides being what Express-News editor Bob Rivard calls “the best party in town,” INKstravaganza is a major means of support for Gemini Ink’s nationally acclaimed community literary arts programs serving ordinary people’s extraordinary stories. We work in schools, senior centers, juvenile detention, parenting and healthcare programs, and many other venues to help people tell their stories and grow stronger in self-esteem, literacy, and sense of community. Join us for a great party for a great cause!

Thursday, Sept. 27, 2012 The Pearl Stable 307 Pearl Parkway San Antonio, TX 78215 6:30pm Cocktails and music 7:30pm Dinner and program Barbara Ras is an American poet, translator and publisher. She is the author of The Last Skin, One Hidden Stuff, and Bite Every Sorrow, which won the Walt Whitman Award in 1997. Recipient of the 2009 Guggenheim Fellowship, Georgia Author of the Year Award for Poetry, Ascher Montandon Award, and Kate Tufts Discovery Award, Ras has also received Honors from the National Writers Union, Villa Montalvo, and San Jose Poetry Center. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Oregon and is currently director of Trinity University Press in San Antonio, Texas. Gemini Ink is honored to have Barbara Ras as this year’s recipient of the Award for Literary Excellence. gemini ink 2012

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gemini ink 513 south presa san antonio, tx 78205 telephone 210.734.9673 www.geminiink.org

Non-profit organization U.S. Postage Paid San Antonio, Texas Permit No. 1360

SEPTEMBER 27

INK stravaganza 2012 Honoring BARBAR A R A S