Summer 2014 Workshop & Event Guide by The Writer's Center

The Writer’s Center Workshop & Event Guide Summer 2014

www.writer.org

DEPARTMENTS

Editor

DIRECTOR’S NOTE

Mía R. Cortez

BOOK TALK

EVENTS

mia.cortez@writer.org

Graphic Design

INSTRUCTOR BIOS

WORKSHOPS:

Virtually Detailed, Inc.

DONORS

Schedule

Ad Design Contributors

Judson Battaglia

REGISTRATION

Descriptions

Editorial Contributors

FEATURES

Joan Atchinson Genevieve DeLeon Helle Slutz

6 Poetic Justice Poet Lore’s editors have great aspirations for America’s oldest poetry journal.

Ellyn Wexler Photography

Mía R. Cortez Maria Enns

8 A Poet’s Pattern

Copyeditors

Poet Martha Collins, author of Day Unto Day reflects on the sequence of poetry.

Laura Spencer Ellyn Wexler Cover Image

Poet Lore archives

(Selected cover images courtesy of the Library of Congress)

Shrimp ceviche from Pati’s Mexican Table Photo by Penny de los Santos

32 Class Acts

4508 Walsh Street Bethesda, MD 20815

Pati Jinich & Raoul Wientzen on how our workshops shaped their writings.

301-654-8664 (p) 240-223-0458 (f) Writer.org

38 More than a B & B

Join the conversation:

A writing retreat on the Eastern Shore is a haven for wordsmiths, booklovers.

Facebook.com/writerscenter

Alexander House B & B

Twitter: @writerscenter

Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Alexander

The Writer’s Center

cultivates the creation, publication, presentation and dissemination of literary work. We are an independent literary organization with a global reach, rooted in a dynamic community of writers. As one of the premier centers of its kind in the country, we believe the craft of writing is open to people of all backgrounds and ages. Writing is interdisciplinary and unique among the arts for its ability to touch on all aspects of the human experience. It enriches our lives and opens doors to knowledge and understanding. The Writer’s Center is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization. Donations are tax deductible. A copy of our current financial statement is available upon request. Contact The Writer’s Center at 4508 Walsh Street, Bethesda, MD 20815. Documents and information submitted to the State of Maryland under the Maryland Charitable Solicitations Act are available from the Office of the Secretary of State for the cost of copying and postage. Workshop & Event Guide Summer 2014

ABOUT US

The Writer’s Center

Other Locations Annapolis Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts 801 Chase Street Annapolis, MD 21404 marylandhall.org

Arlington Cultural Affairs Building 3700 South Four Mile Run Drive Arlington, VA 22206 arlingtonarts.org

Capitol Hill The Hill Center 921 Pennsylvania Ave., SE Washington, DC 20003 hillcenterdc.org

Executive Director

Development Coordinator

Stewart Moss

Elissa Heller

Assistant Director

Managing Editor of Poet Lore

Sunil Freeman

Genevieve DeLeon

Program Manager

Office Manager

Caitlin Rizzo

Laura Spencer

Marketing & Comnmunications Manager

Communications & Operations

Mía R. Cortez

Judson Battaglia

Glen Echo Glen Echo Park 7300 MacArthur Blvd. Glen Echo, MD 20812 glenechopark.org

Board of Directors Chair: Sally Mott Freeman Treasurer: Les Hatley

Leesburg Leesburg Town Hall 25 West Market Street Leesburg, VA 20176 leesburgva.com

Vice Chair: James Mathews Secretary: Patricia Harris

Ken Ackerman • Margot Backas • Linna Barnes • Naomi Collins Mark Cymrot • Michael Febrey • Neal Gillen • John M. Hill Jeff Kosseff • C.M. Mayo • Jim McAndrew • Ann McLaughlin Margaret Meleney • E. Ethelbert Miller • Joram Piatigorsky • Bill Reynolds Mier Wolf, chair emer. • Wilson W. Wyatt, Jr.

McLean McLean Community Center 1234 Ingleside Ave McLean, VA 22101 mcleancenter.org

Honorary Board Kate Blackwell • Dana Gioia • Jim & Kate Lehrer Alice McDermott • Ellen McLaughlin • Howard Norman

Poet Lore is the oldest continuously published poetry journal in the United States. We publish it semi-annually, and submissions are accepted year-round. Subscription and submission information is available at poetlore.com.

Supported in part by:

Book Gallery TWC’s book gallery carries an extensive collection of literary magazines and books on craft.

The Writer’s Center also gratefully acknowledges the support we receive from: The TauFoundation, The Omega Foundation, The Kiplinger Foundation, The Bydale Foundation and Radar Collective.

4508 Walsh Street Bethesda, MD 20815

View online at www.writer.org/guide

DIRECTOR’S NOTE

n the Spring/Summer 2014 edition of Poet Lore, the late Burmese poet U Tin Moe in his poem “Nocturne” writes that “the little box of words bursts open/we take turns listening/never full however much we hear.” What a terrific description of what this venerable publication’s mission has been since its founding 125 years ago: to be a container for the most innovative and well-crafted poems that readers can open issue after issue. Yet it also strikes me that the richness of language Poet Lore presents in each issue is true of The Writer’s Center, as well. We also are a “box of words” that has been dedicated for the past 38 years to helping people of all ages and backgrounds write their stories in whatever form best serves their purpose – from poems, to short stories and novels, to memoirs and screenplays. Just as Poet Lore does, we honor language as the means by which this communication takes place … the “pure clear word” the poet James Wright described, or the task that novelist Joseph Conrad defined as “by the

power of the written word, to make you hear, to make you feel … it is, before all, to make you see.” As you know if you’ve taken any of our workshops, the task of making your reader see isn’t easy, and our instructors are skilled at helping you hone your language so that it is vivid and energetic. This is especially important in an era when we’re bombarded with language as never before. From emails to tweets, and blogs to Facebook postings – as well as an abundance of other media that pops up whenever we turn on our phones and tablets – we may be seeing language cheapened, so that individual words lose their clarity and power and become merely freely floating verbal castaways in a weightless universe. This is one of the themes that Robert Hass (who read at the Center when he was Poet Laureate) explores in his well-known poem, “Meditation at Lagunitas,” in which he questions the relationship between language and the physical world it attempts to depict. As he writes, “because there

Workshop & Event Guide Summer 2014

is in this world no one thing/to which the bramble of blackberry corresponds/a word is elegy to what it signifies.” He goes on to say, “After a while I understood that,/talking this way, everything dissolves: justice,/pine, hair, woman, you and I.” In spite of these philosophical reservations, however, by the end of the poem, Hass has affirmed the “numinous,” or mysterious, power of words to connect the reader with what the words describe. We may never be able to resolve the underlying question that most writers ask themselves at one time or another: What is the ultimate value, if any, of what we produce? Is it merely to fill the universe with ever more words that must compete with millions of others for a reader’s attention? I think Poet Lore provides a compelling response to these difficult questions. It has existed for the past 125 years not only to raise poetry awareness but also to mark the distinctive meaning, texture and sound of each word. It is a living repository for the denotative and, especially, connotative history all words carry within them. I invite you to celebrate words with us at The Writer’s Center by reading this wonderful and important publication we’ve been proud to publish for the past 24 years.

Stewart Moss

Photo by Kyle Semmel

POET LORE

The Writer’s Center

Poetic Justice National Treasure turns 125 By Ellyn Wexler

. Ethelbert Miller has lofty aspirations. “I would like for Poet Lore (PL) to be placed in the rooms of hotels around the country,” muses the co-editor of the nation’s oldest poetry journal. “Can Poet Lore replace the Bible?” Miller and Jody Bolz have been at the helm of the 125-year-old biannual print journal of poetry, essays and reviews since February 2002. Allan Lefcowitz, founder of The Writer’s Center (TWC) that publishes PL, invited them to join the staff. PL was originally launched in Philadelphia as a forum on “Shakespeare, Browning and the Comparative Study of Literature,” its focus more on drama than poetry. The founders Charlotte Porter and Helen Clarke eventually published works from living writers, and extended their reach beyond the boundaries of the U.S. and Europe. Twenty-five years ago, Bethesda became the journal’s home, with its office under TWC’s roof. Early on, venerable writers including Henrik Ibsen, August Strindberg, Maxim Gorky and Anton Chekhov appeared in PL. More recently, the journal has published the beginning work of well-known poets like Carolyn Forché, David Baker, Carl Phillips, Terrance Hayes, Kim Addonizio,

Dana Gioia, Linda Pastan and U.S. Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey. Fame and fortune aside, contributors can come from anywhere. The coeditors’ “principled editorial vision has meant that poems by incarcerated poets have been printed alongside those of poets laureate,” managing editor Genevieve DeLeon observes. PL’s mission, Bolz points out, has been consistent: “to open our pages to the best work we can find, regardless of PL Co-Editor Jody Bolz at their AWP booth in Seattle. whether a writer is Photo by Genevieve DeLeon nationally famous or publishing his or her “radical commitment to read first poem — and, in that way, to every submission that’s submitoffer our readers the newest writted without regard to the poet’s ing in the nation's oldest poetry reputation and their hands-on journal.” editorial method of shepherding each poem into a final draft.” All formats are welcome. Bolz and Miller have developed “Poet Lore is wide open to aua method. thentic work of all kinds, from post-L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E “The editors read separately — poetry to prose poems to received each at their residence — and forms — sonnets, villanelles — then meet every six weeks or so and poetic sequences,” Bolz says. to have conversations – some heated – about which poems DeLeon cites the co-editors’ View online at www.writer.org/guide

POET LORE they feel strong about and why,” DeLeon explains. “They read poems aloud, discuss the merits of individual pieces, and decide on about 12 to 15 out of 1,000.” Bolz, a poet who has been a college teacher, journalist and magazine editor, says that “everything I've ever learned or taught about writing has been useful to me in this job. I love the close editorial work, the give and take of the revision process, the aesthetic conversation with peers, and the putting together of ‘the book’ itself — from photo research to our drafting of the Editors' Page.” Miller, also a poet, finds that “Editing it presented me with the opportunity to expand my appreciation of American poetry. As an editor, you don't want to select poems you feel you have to be intimate with in order to love. Much of the work published in Poet Lore differs from my own in terms of style and political content.” Among the marks Bolz and Miller have made on the publication are two annual features: “Poets Introducing Poets,” where an established poet introduces a portfolio of poems by a poet the magazine has not published, and “World Poets in Translation,” where a renowned translator showcases the poems of an outstanding writer from another country. In addition, Bolz says, they have “drawn more attention to the magazine's astonishing history of literary discovery. Our first decision as editors was to use historic photographs, rather than graphic art, on our covers and add a tag-

line — “A 2nd Century of New Writing” — below the image.” Recent innovation within the prose section has come in the form of the essays and interviews review editor Jean Nordhaus welcomes alongside the book reviews. Perhaps as a result of these changes, readership has increased. “We’ve gained a lot of subscribers and hope to retain them, offering inexpensive two-year subscriptions that relieve us of the cost of annual renewal notices,” Bolz says. The literary world has noticed. “We are now being mentioned in other literary journals such as Poets & Writers and The Writer's Chronicle,” Miller observes. As has the National Endowment for the Arts. “We’ve always operated on a shoestring budget, which has made public outreach difficult, but thanks to an NEA grant this year, we’re finally starting to get our message out to American readers,” he says. The plan is to continue to build on that success. Bolz’s goal is to strengthen the support base for the journal she calls a “national treasure.” On Miller’s wish list are a paid staff of three to four people, additional office space and sponsorship of a conference or workshops. He also wants “to reach a general audience and move beyond the poetry community of teachers and students with MFAs … [and] develop a more international audience.” With Poet Lore in every hotel room, the sky is indeed the limit.

Workshop & Event Guide Summer 2014

Poet Lore’s 125th Anniversary Events Poet Lore at the CityLit Festival, April 12, 2014, at the Enoch Pratt Free Library, Baltimore, MD. Poet Lore will showcase two emerging voices from its pages, as well as the winner of a contest co-sponsored with the Enoch Pratt Free Library. The CityLit Festival, co-sponsored by CityLit Project and Enoch Pratt Free Library, is Baltimore’s daylong celebration of literature. Free Admission. “World Poets in Translation” Celebration at the Library of Congress, featuring the work of Burmese poet U Tin Moe, April 30, 2014, in Washington, D.C. In recognition of Poet Lore’s 2014 “World Poets in Translation” portfolio, this evening event will present the poems of Myanmar’s U Tin Moe in its original language and in English by translator Christopher Merrill of the University of Iowa. Free Admission. Continued on page 10

Cover image of Spring/Summer Poet Lore. Subscribe at poetlore.com.

POET LORE

The Writer’s Center

The Poet’s Pattern Martha Collins writes in sequence By Helle Slutz

Photo by Doug Macomber

“Broken Open” features a fixed number of lines for each day of May 2011. Please tell us about the process you used to compose this sequence. How did it come about? Were there additional “rules” you made for yourself or that emerged as the writing progressed? “Broken Open” is the eighth poem in a sequence of sequences I began in October 2004, just after I finished Blue Front, a booklength poem I’d been working on for some time. I hadn’t written a short poem for so long that I wasn’t sure how to begin—and then one day it occurred to me that I didn’t have to write a short poem: I would write seven lines a day for each day of October and see what happened. I liked writ-

oet Lore’s current Spring/Summer issue—the first of its two anniversary-year issues—contains a number of sequence poems, one of which is “Broken Open” by Martha Collins. Collins’ work is not new to Poet Lore’s pages—or to the poetry world at large. She is the author of Day Unto Day (Milkweed, 2014), White Papers (Pitt Poetry Series, 2012), and Blue Front (Graywolf, 2006), a book-length poem based on a lynching her father witnessed when he was 5 years old. Collins also has produced four earlier collections of poems, three books of co-translations from the Vietnamese, and two chapbooks. To mark Poet Lore’s milestone and to allow us to deepen our understanding of her breathtaking work, she agreed to answer these questions for us—enjoy!

ing that sequence so much that I decided to do it again the next December, and almost immediately determined to write one each year until I’d covered all twelve months. When I got through the first six months, I realized there was a completeness to what I’d done and put together a collection called Day Unto Day, which has just been published by Milkweed. The title comes from Psalm 19 (“Day unto day uttereth speech”), which also provides a working title for the last six months (Night Unto Night). “Broken Open” will be the second sequence in that collection. The rules have changed somewhat, but there are always rules. In the first poem, each of the 31 sections had seven lines, with

each section using the last word of the previous section as its first word. But both the number of lines and the mode of repetition changed from month to month, and when I got past the first six, my form changed a little more. The seventh section uses indented lines, with some ghost of William Carlos Williams’ triadic line. In “Broken Open,” the line becomes longer and more insistently triadic, with two triads per section. My principle of repetition here is less restrictive: I just committed myself to repeating, in each section, an important word from the previous one. Additional rules concerned process. I wrote each day of the month: no skipping days, no cheating by writing ahead (although I did let myself make

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POET LORE notes for future days at the top of my notebook pages). And I of course kept working on the previous sections, often beginning a day’s work by looking back at what I’d done the day before. What inspired “Broken Open” in particular? To what extent did the repeated images and themes in these sections emerge and evolve organically? Or was there a conscious effort to construct an arc? The one bit of ahead-of-time writing I did each month was the title. “Broken open” suggested to me, simultaneously, flowers breaking open (how not, in May?), and other things breaking down, up, to pieces. My deep source for the title is probably James Wright’s “A Blessing.” I’ve always loved the fact that the end of that poem looks beneath the phrase “break into blossom” to register the actual “breaking” in the botanical process, and a great deal more besides. Beyond the beginnings and endings, I wanted this sequence to explore spirituality. This was not a new idea. From the beginning, I’ve thought of this work as being in the tradition of the poetry of meditation. But this focus became more insistent in “Broken Open.” The sequences usually mark holidays, so I knew I would begin with May Day. I wasn’t anticipating Mother’s Day and Memorial Day, which of course come up—nor was I anticipating the death of Osama bin Laden (noted on May 4) or the increased use of drones, or the fact that a robin

would be singing outside my window for most of the month. So the poem evolved, with a vague sense of territory, but no map. That has been one of the pleasures of this process: I don’t know where I’m going until I get there. What about some of your other sequences in this project? Did your treatment of language and subject change from year to year? Were you surprised by how the project developed? The first sequence was called “Over Time”- a title that reflected not only my day-to-day methodology, but also the fact that I was thinking about mortality: My mother had just died, and my husband was undergoing major surgery. Other titles and starting points reflected the season, as in the January 2009 poem “Grayed In.” But as the siege of Gaza continued throughout that month, the title began to resonate in other ways too. As I’ve suggested, surprise has been central to this process. Poet Lore published the sequence poem which opened your second book, The Arrangement of Space, and will be publishing two sequence poems by other poets in the new issue. What draws you to write sequence poems? What are the rewards of writing and reading such poems that you don’t get from a looser collection of shorter lyric poems?

Workshop & Event Guide Summer 2014

I’ve always been drawn to sequence. The earlier Poet Lore sequence was based on some narrative material that refused to fit itself into short poems, and a similar thing happened with Blue Front; what happened after that book-length poem is described above. I still write short poems, but not often. I love the larger territory, the room for unexpected turns within it. Speaking of Poet Lore, the magazine will soon be celebrating its 125th year. What is your relationship with the magazine? Anything you hope to see in its next 125 years? I read Poet Lore for some years after they published that sequence. But then it dropped out of my awareness for awhile, until Jean Nordhaus asked me to write a review and I decided to subscribe again. I was delighted that the magazine was still publishing the kinds of things I’d admired in earlier issues, including long poems, which so many magazines won’t touch. But I was also pleased with the increased diversity of the magazine, both culturally and aesthetically. I never know what I’m going to find there. Your work often focuses on social issues and on the intersection between the public and the private, particularly with issues of race in America, as in Blue Front and White Papers. It is tempting to see this project as somehow more Continued on page 11

POET LORE

The Writer’s Center

PL Events. . . continued from p. 7

Special 125th Anniversary Issue of Poet Lore. The Fall/Winter 2014 issue of Poet Lore will be released in September 2014 and feature a portfolio of historical perspectives on the journal’s legacy. Poet Lore’s 125th Anniversary Reading at the Folger Shakespeare Library, September 15, 2014, Washington, D.C. Poet Lore’s editors will mark the journal’s milestone anniversary with a gala reading by four generations of Poet Lore poets—Linda Pastan, Cornelius Eady, Terrance Hayes, and Traci Brimhall. A reception and book signing will follow the event. Editorial Workshops: “From the Editor’s Desk: Poet Lore at The Writer’s Center,” June-July 2014. In honor of Poet Lore’s anniversary, The Writer’s Center will offer one-day workshops in

Bethesda, with three of Poet Lore’s editors. This series will bring Poet Lore’s mission of literary discovery to life as students learn firsthand how to craft and present pieces worthy of publication. Military Outreach. Funding from the NEA is enabling Poet Lore to distribute two issues of the magazine—Fall/Winter 2013 and Spring/Summer 2014—to nine bases across the nation for use by military personnel and community members. Support of the African Poetry Book Fund. Poet Lore is donating a reserve of unused journals to the African Poetry Book Fund for distribution to five library locations in Botswana, Kenya, Uganda, The Gambia, and Ghana.

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POET LORE Collins . . . continued from p. 9

personal—but at the same time, in this sequence, you juxtapose beautiful images of irises blooming, robins singing, and personal aging and death with America’s use of drones in warfare and larger questions about the nature of souls and of God. Did this project offer you something that your more researched books did not, or do you see its work as similar to that of the books I have mentioned? What, to you, is or should be the role of the poet in society? I think you’ve covered the territory with the questions.

Yes, these poems offered me an opportunity to explore personal issues I’d put aside in writing, particularly, the history-based Blue Front. The first sequence, “Over Time,” is pretty insistently personal: as noted, mortality was on my mind. But even in that poem, the “world” intruded, in the form of the Iraq War and the World Series; and once I’d gotten past that month, it was clear that the social issues that have infused my poetry some time were going to be part of these poems as well. Indeed, the form almost demanded my attention to “issues”: the news, after all, is as much a day-unto-day affair as these sequences are.

Workshop & Event Guide Summer 2014

On the social role of the poet: If you have that role as a citizen, it will probably be reflected in your poems. I don’t know that poets have any more obligation than anyone else to assume that role, but I’m pleased when they do. What’s your current project? On the one hand, two more poems for Night Unto Night: June 2014 (no title yet!) and November 2015. On the other hand, another book that involves a great deal of research. It’s too soon to say much about that, but I’m pretty thoroughly into it now. And yes, I do still write short poems. I just finished one.

EVENTS

The Writer’s Center

EVENTS

We host more than 50 events annually, including free Sunday Open Door readings and theatre productions in our historic black box theatre. For more information, visit our website www.writer.org/events.

OPEN DOOR READINGS - SUMMER 2014 the l poets published by Reading by severa es oadkill River Pr s. May oadkill Press and Br Br 2 p.m. mie Brown, Martin Readers include Ja Ann Larkin, er, Sid Gold, Mary dl rie -F es in Ga e yc t Clauser. Galvin, Jo ski-Miller, and Gran aw yl Br a ur La l, el Amanda New

May

Ellen McLaughlin and Rinde Eckert perform 7:30 p.m. Dear Elizabeth, Sarah Ruhl’s play in letters based on the remarkable thirty-year correspondence between Elizabeth Bishop and Robert

May

Ellen McLaughlin

June 2 p.m.

Sid Gold

Martin Galvin

Janice Gary reads from Short Leash: A Memoir of Dog Walking and Deliverance. She is joined by Marion Winik, author of Highs in the Low Fifties: How I Stumbled Through the Joys of Single Living.

June

Ron Capps reads from his new memoir, Seriously Not All Right. He is joined by visiting writer Joseph Bathanti. 2 p.m.

Celebration of the poetry of Hayden 2 p.m. Carruth with Shaun Griffin, editor of From Sorrow’s Well: The Poetry of Hayden Carruth.

Ron Capps

Joseph Bathanti

Janice Gary

Shaun Griffin

Marion Winik

June

POETRY & PROSE OPEN MIC

Healing Through Writing, a program with authors Shirley Brewer and Tom Glenn. 2 p.m.

Sign-up begins at 1:30 p.m. Readings begin at 2 p.m. MAY 11

JULY 6

AUGUST 24 Shirley Brewer

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Tom Glenn

June 7:30 p.m.

Bastian Bottcher

July 2 p.m.

The Writer’s Center joins with the Goethe Institute to present visiting German slam poet Bastian Bottcher.

2 p.m.

June

Emerging Writer Fellowship recipient Katy Didden reads from The Glacier’s Wake. She is joined by visiting poet Stephanie Strickland, who reads from her recent book, Dragon Logic. 2 p.m.

Greg Hrbek

Poetry and prose reading by Writer’s Center workshop leaders. Readers TBA.

July

Emerging Writer Fellowship recipient Greg Hrbek reads 2 p.m. from his collection of short stories, Destroy All Monsters. He is joined by poet Margaret MacKinnon, author of The Invented Child.

June

July 2 p.m.

Margaret MacKinnon

Katy Didden

Poetry & Prose: A reading by Writer’s Center workshop participants. Readers TBA.

Poet Patricia Davis reads from The Water that Broke You. She is joined by Kyoko Mori, author of the memoir Yarn and several other collections of fiction and creative nonfiction.

Stephanie Strickland

ore Brian Gilm his August reads from on of ecti 2 p.m. recent coll ters. ny Gangs n’t Know A r Lynne id D e W , s poem Heathe d by poets He is joine e Padua. Jos Davis and

Patricia Davis

Kyoko Mori ore

Brian Gilm

August

A reading by members of 2 p.m. The Federal Poets. Readers include Herb Guggenheim, Cary Kamarat, Dorritt Carroll, and Beth Stone.

vis ynne Da eather L

Cary Kamarat

Beth Stone

Reading by poets who have read in the Mariposa reading series and/ 2 p.m. or poetry retreat. Readers include Yvette Neisser Moreno, Robert Giron, Laura Shovan, Ellen Cole and Pamela Murray Winters, Linda Joy Burke and Dean Blehert.

August

Herb Guggenheim

Jose Pad

Dean Blehert

Workshop & Event Guide Summer 2014

EVENTS

LEESBURG EVENTS APRIL 4: I KNOW THE STORY, BUT I DON’T KNOW WHERE TO START! EVENTS

Hildie Block Hildie Block will share many tools for where to start a story, and where to end it and how to shape what comes in between. Borrowing tactics from the ancient Greeks and modern screen writing — there’s a lot to talk about. Don’t miss it! Leesburg Town Hall

LEESBURG FIRST FRIDAYS 7:30 p.m.

Leesburg Town Hall (Lower Level Meeting Room) 25 West Market Street Leesburg, Va. 20176

Hildie S. Block is a writer and lecturer from Arlington, Va. She has a masters in writing from Johns Hopkins and has taught at AU and GW as well as the Writer’s Center. She’s the bookmidwife for Hildie Block’s Workshops (www.hildieblockworkshop. com) and has published more than 50 short stories. Her book Not What I Expected came out in 2007. More excitingly, several of her students’ books will be published in 2014 and 2015!

MAY 2: IGNITING YOUR FLAME: POWER THROUGH WRITERS BLOCK:

$4 TWC members & residents of Leesburg

Amin Ahmad

$6 General admission

Amin Ahmad recently moved to the D.C. area after many years in Boston. He has

More info at Writer.org

The Writer’s Center studied fiction at Grub Street, The New School, and New York University. His short stories have been published in Narrative, Harvard Review, The Missouri Review, and New England Review. He is particularly interested in genre fiction. His first novel, The Caretaker, was published in 2013, followed by Bollywood Taxi a year later.

JUNE 6: RED-HOT FIRST PAGES: HOW TO SPARK AN AGENT’S INTEREST Berta Treitl This will be an interactive program where participants will be asked to bring the first few pages of their book. This is a great opportunity to have a literary agent comment on your work. More information will be provided as the date approaches. Berta Treitl is an attorney and literary agent. Before joining the Grosvenor Literary Agency, Berta worked at a New York agency and in private legal practice. She is a member of the New York Bar, the District of Columbia Bar, and Washington Area Lawyers for the Arts.

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LOCAL AUTHORS

Workshop & Event Guide Summer 2014

WORKSHOP GUIDELINES WORKSHOP GUIDELINES Learning to write is an ongoing process that requires time and practice. Our writing workshops are for everyone, from novices to seasoned writers looking to improve their skills, to published authors seeking refinement and feedback, to professionals with an eye on the competition. Group settings encourage the writing process by teaching writers to prioritize and to help each other using many skills at once. From our workshops, participants can expect: • Guidance and encouragement from a published, working writer; • Instruction on technical aspects such as structure, diction and form; • Kind, honest, constructive feedback directed at individual work; • Peer readers/editors who act as “spotters” for sections of your writing that need attention, and who become your community of working colleagues even after your workshop is completed; • Tips on how to keep writing and integrate this “habit of being” into your life; • Tactics for getting published; • Time to share work with other writers and read peers’ work, and • Help with addressing trouble areas and incorporating multiple, sometimes conflicting ideas into the revision.

BEGINNER LEVEL We strongly suggest that newcomers start with a beginner level workshop. They are structured to help you discover the fundamentals of creative writing, such as:

• Getting your ideas on the page; • Choosing a genre and the shape your material should take; • Learning the elements of poetry, playwriting, fiction, memoir, etc.; • Identifying your writing strengths and areas of opportunity and • Gaining beginning mastery of the basic tools of all writing, such as concise, accurate language, and learning how to tailor them to fit your style.

The Writer’s Center smaller groups with distinguished writers on a specific project or manuscript. Workshop leaders select participants from the pool of applicants; selection is competitive.

REGISTRATION Workshop registration is available online at www.writer.org, in person at The Writer’s Center, via mail, online or by phone at (301) 654-8664.

INTERMEDIATE LEVEL

REFUND POLICY

These workshops will build on skills you developed in the beginner level, and are designed for writers who have: • Critiqued some published works; • Taken a beginner-level workshop; • Achieved some grace in using the tools of language and form and • Have projects in progress that they want to develop further.

To receive a credit, you must notify TWC by e-mail (laura.spencer@ writer.org) within the drop period. • Full refunds are given when TWC cancels a workshop. Participants who have already enrolled and paid for their class will receive a full refund or credit. • Workshop participants who have enrolled in and paid for a workshop and choose to withdraw from it within the drop period (see below) will receive full credit that can be used within one year to pay for another workshop and/or a membership.

ADVANCED LEVEL Participants should have manuscripts that have been critiqued in workshops at the intermediate level and have been revised substantially. This level offers:

Find Your Niche

• Focus on the final revision and completion of a specific work; • Fast-paced setting with higher expectations of participation and • Deep insight and feedback.

MASTER LEVEL Master classes are designed for writers who have taken several advanced workshops and have reworked their manuscript into what they believe is its final form. Master classes are unique opportunities to work in

The Writer’s Center recognizes that all writers and styles are unique! Our staff can help you find the right course(s) for your level of experience, preferred genre and overall goals. Call us at (301) 654-8664.

Drop Period for Credit 5 or more sessions: 48 hours notice required before the second meeting 4 or fewer sessions: 48 hours notice required before the first meeting 16

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FICTION (PAGES 22-24)

LEADER

DATES

DAY

TIME

LEVEL

Fiction I: Just Fiction

Jennifer Buxton

5/6–6/10

7–9:30 p.m.

The Telling Detail

Ann McLaughlin

5/10–6/28

10 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

ALL

Beginning Fantasy Fiction

Brenda Clough

5/13–5/20

7:30–9:30 p.m.

Historical Fiction for the 21st Century Reader

Kathryn Johnson

5/21

7–9:30 p.m.

ALL

The High-Concept Novel

Kathryn Johnson

5/24–5/31

10 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

ALL

Creating Conflict

Kathryn Johnson

5/28

7–9:30 p.m.

ALL

The Extreme Novelist

Kathryn Johnson

6/4–7/23

7–9:30 p.m.

I/A

Mythology for Writers

Carolyn Clark

6/7–6/8

Sa/Su 10 a.m.–1 p.m.

ALL

Fiction II: Keeping It Short

Jennifer Buxton

6/11–7/16

7–9:30 p.m.

Mastering the “Hook”

Kathryn Johnson

6/14

10 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

ALL

Children’s Book Publishing 101

Andra Abramson

6/14

1–3 p.m.

The Short Story

Dana Cann

6/17–7/22

7:30–10 p.m.

I/A

Creating Your Book for Children: Shape it, Submit it, See it in Print

Peter Mandel

6/24

7–9:30 p.m.

ALL

Getting Started: Fiction Intensive

Liz Poliner

6/25–7/16

7–9:30 p.m.

Powerful Perspective

Kathryn Johnson

6/28

10 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

ALL

Workshop Your Novel!

Aaron Hamburger

7/1–8/19

7–9:30 p.m.

ALL

Beginning Fantasy Fiction

Brenda Clough

7/8–7/15

7:30–9:30 p.m.

The Idea Factory

Kathryn Johnson

7/12

10 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

ALL

How to Write a Lot

Kathryn Johnson

7/26

10 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

ALL

6 Stories, 6 Weeks

Mark Cugini

7/26–8/30

10 a.m.–1 p.m.

ALL

Power Plotting

Kathryn Johnson

8/6–8/27

7–9:30 p.m.

ALL

The Genre Studio

Kathryn Johnson

8/9

10 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

ALL

Let’s Talk about Sex: How to Use Eroticism Effectively in Prose

Aaron Hamburger

8/21

7–9:30 p.m.

ALL

Building Characters Readers Love… or Love to Hate

Kathryn Johnson

8/23

10 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

ALL

MIXED GENRE (PAGES 24-25)

LEADER

DATES

DAY

TIME

LEVEL

Writing for Young Children

Andra Abramson

5/7–6/11

7:30–8:30 p.m.

ALL

Tweens Rock the Page

Andra Abramson

5/7–6/11

6–7 p.m.

8-14

Dream, Draft, and Develop: Setting Your Sierra Prasada Creative Compass

5/10–5/11

Sa-Su 10 a.m.–3 p.m.

B/I

The Hero’s Voyage

Amy Abrams

5/17

10 a.m.–4 p.m.

ALL

Getting Started: Creative Writing

Elizabeth Rees

5/21–7/9

7–9:30 p.m.

ALL

See! Hear! Feel! Write!

Sierra Prasada

5/24

2–5 p.m.

B/I

B—beginner

I—intermediate

A—advanced

M—master

ALL—all levels

* Indicates workshops held at one of our satellite locations. Please see descriptions for more information. Workshop & Event Guide Summer 2014

SCHEDULE

SUMMER WORKSHOP SCHEDULE

The Writer’s Center

SCHEDULE

MIXED GENRE (continued)

LEADER

DATES

DAY

TIME

LEVEL

Transformation and the Voice of the Authentic Self

Amy Abrams

6/7

10 a.m.–4 p.m.

ALL

Writing Staycation

Zahara Heckscher

6/9–6/13

M-F

10 a.m.–5 p.m.

ALL

Getting Started: Creative Writing

Liz Poliner

6/16–7/28

7–9:30 p.m.

Transitions

Mary Carpenter

6/17–7/22

10:30 a.m.–1 p.m.

ALL

How to Write a Lot*

Willona Sloan

6/28

9 a.m.–12 p.m.

ALL

Getting Started: Creative Writing *

Jessica Garratt

7/17–8/7

6–8:30 p.m.

NONFICTION (PAGES 25-26)

LEADER

DATES

DAY

TIME

LEVEL

Writing the Family Memoir

Cheryl Somers Aubin

5/10

1–4 p.m.

Feature Writing Workshop

Ellyn Wexler

5/15–6/19

7–9 p.m.

ALL

Creative Nonfiction I

Sierra Prasada

5/21–7/23

7–9:30 p.m.

Writing from Life

Ellen Herbert

5/28–7/2

10:30 a.m.–1 p.m.

ALL

Life Stories

Lynn Schwartz

5/31

9:30 a.m–12:30 p.m.

ALL

The Writer’s Toolbox

Sara Taber

6/7–6/8

Sa/Su 10 a.m.–4 p.m.

ALL

A Personal Essay in a Day

Sara Taber

6/14

10 a.m.–4 p.m.

ALL

Writing About Illness Workshop

Thomas Larson

6/23–6/27

M-F

9 a.m.–3:30 p.m.

ALL

Capturing Summer Memories: Session I Cheryl Somers Aubin

6/28

10 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

Capturing Summer Memories: Session II Cheryl Somers Aubin

6/28

1:30 p.m.–4 p.m.

Writing Memoir: Getting Started

7/14–7/18

M-F

10 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

ALL

Researching and Writing Local History * David Taylor

7/25

10 a.m.–2 p.m.

B/I

Weekend Memoir/Nonfiction Workshop for Teens

Sierra Prasada

8/2–8/9

10 a.m.–3 p.m.

POETRY (PAGES 26-28)

LEADER

DATES

DAY

TIME

LEVEL

Introduction to Poetry

Melanie Figg

5/1–6/5

7–9:30 p.m.

Getting Your Poetry Published

Michele Wolf

5/3

3–6 p.m.

ALL

6 Poems, 6 Weeks

Mark Cugini

5/5–6/9

7–10 p.m.

ALL

Going for the Gold: Writing the Perfect Poem

Nancy Naomi Carlson

5/6–6/10

7–9:30 p.m.

ALL

Poetry I

Nan Fry

5/6–6/10

10:30 a.m.–1 p.m.

The Force of Poetry

Elizabeth Rees

5/20–7/8

7–9:30 p.m.

ALL

Imagination in the Americas: Six Modern and Contemporary Poets

Nan Fry

6/7–7/26

10:30 a.m.–1 p.m.

I/A

Translation as Inspiration: A Generative Workshop

Suzanne Zweizig

6/7

10:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

ALL

How to Build the Poetic Portrait

Samuel Miranda

6/7–6/14

10 a.m.–12 p.m.

ALL

Making It Whole: Advanced Poetry Workshop

Anne Becker

6/12–8/7

7–9:30 p.m.

Poems in Conversation: Imagery, Musicality and Form

Samuel Miranda

6/24-7/1

7–9 p.m.

ALL

Marilyn Smith

View online at www.writer.org/guide

POETRY (CONTINUED)

LEADER

DATES

DAY

TIME

LEVEL

The Editor’s Eye: Preparing Your Poems for Submission

Jody Bolz

7/12

2–4:30 p.m.

ALL

Advanced Poetry Workshop

Jessica Garratt

7/15–8/5

6–8 p.m.

I/A

Simple Elegance: Nature Poetry and Japanese Forms

Melanie Figg

7/19–8/16

10 a.m.–12 p.m.

ALL

The Critic’s Eye: Reading and Writing about Poems

Jean Nordhaus

7/26

10 a.m.–12 p.m.

ALL

PROFESSIONAL WRITING (PAGES 28-29) LEADER

DATES

DAY

TIME

LEVEL

Write Like the News

Hank Wallace

5/3

10 a.m.–12 p.m.

Telling Stories Using Culinary History*

Claudia Kousoulas

6/7–6/14

10 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

Telling Stories Using Culinary History*

Claudia Kousoulas

6/21–6/28

10 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

Selling Your Point: Fundamentals of Persuasive Writing

James Alexander

7/9–8/13

7–9:30 p.m.

How to Write Grant Proposals

Cara Seitchek

7/12–7/26

1:30–4 p.m.

Break on Through: Breaking into Music Journalism

Willona Sloan

7/12

9 a.m.–3 p.m.

ALL

The Art of the Interview*

Sierra Prasada

7/19–7/26

10 a.m.–3 p.m.

B/I

Arts and Culture Writing: How to Build Your Portfolio for Publication

Willona Sloan

8/6–8/27

7–9 p.m.

ALL

STAGE AND SCREEN (PAGES 29-30)

LEADER

DATES

DAY

TIME

LEVEL

Playwriting I

Randy Baker

5/6–6/10

7–9:30 p.m.

Screenwriting I

Monica Lee Bellais

5/6–5/27

6:30–9:30 p.m.

Screenwriting II

Lyn Vaus

5/8–6/26

7:30–10 p.m.

I/A

Character and Development for the Screenwriter

Monica Lee Bellais

5/17

10 a.m.–4 p.m.

ALL

Screenwriting II: Arcs and Subplots

Monica Lee Bellais

6/3–6/24

6:30–9:30 p.m.

I/A

24-hour Play Workshop

Randy Baker

6/7–6/8

Sa/Su 11 a.m.–9 p.m.

The Art and Craft of Screenwriting*

Khris Baxter

6/21

10 a.m.–4 p.m.

B/I

Building a Blockbuster: Screenwriting Workshop

Monica Lee Bellais

6/21

10 a.m.–4 p.m.

ALL

Screenwriting II*

Monica Lee Bellais

7/8–7/29

6:30–9:30 p.m.

I/A

Talking the Talk: Dialogue and the Perfect Script

Monica Lee Bellais

7/19

10 a.m.–4 p.m.

ALL

Screenwriting II: Character and Dialogue

Monica Lee Bellais

8/5–8/26

6:30–9:30 p.m.

I/A

B—beginner

I—intermediate

A—advanced

M—master

ALL—all levels

* Indicates workshops held at one of our satellite locations. Please see descriptions for more information. Workshop & Event Guide Summer 2014

SCHEDULE

SUMMER WORKSHOP SCHEDULE

The Writer’s Center

View sample online workshops @ www.onlinetwc.org/workshops

SCHEDULE

ONLINE

LEADER

DATES

LEVEL

Fiction I

T. Greenwood

5/2–6/20

B/I

Fiction III

T. Greenwood

5/30–7/18

I/A

Intro to Hybrid Texts

Erin M. Bertram

6/16–8/4

ALL

Intro to the Lyric Essay

Erin M. Bertram

6/18–8/6

ALL

The Art of the Book Proposal: Pitching for Nonfiction

Jack McEnany

5/1–6/19

ALL

Creative Nonfiction I

Brook Wilensky-Lanford

5/5–6/9

Reinventing the Ekphrasis

Bianca Stone

4/7–5/26

ALL

Methods in Collaboration: Poetry and the Visual Image

Bianca Stone

4/7–5/26

ALL

Online Poetry Workshop I

Bernadette Geyer

5/5–5/26

ALL

Online Poetry Workshop II

Bernadette Geyer

6/2–6/23

ALL

8 Poems, 8 Weeks

Erin M. Bertram

6/17–8/5

ALL

Everyone’s a Critic: Getting Your Opinion Published

Brook Wilensky-Lanford

7/21–8/25

ALL

Write from the Comfort of Home With a growing selection of online workshops in fiction, poetry and creative nonfiction, our online courses are ideal for busy writers of all genres. Online workshops offer 24-hour access to lectures, assignments & critique via Moodle, an online course management platform with customizable classrooms. Browse a free sample online workshops to get a feel for how they run.

onlinetwc.org/workshop 20

View online at www.writer.org/guide

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Workshop & Event Guide Summer 2014

WORKSHOPS

The Writer’s Center

FOR MORE DETAILED CLASS DESCRIPTIONS, PLEASE VISIT WRITER.ORG NOTE: TWC will be closed for Memorial Day on May 26th and July 4th.

Fiction Fiction I T. Greenwood If you have always wanted to write a novel but do not know where to start, this workshop will help you understand the process so you can start putting pen to paper. We will focus on everything from generating ideas to developing characters to establishing point of view. We will touch on many elements of fiction (dialogue, scene, etc.), but the emphasis will be on discovering the writing process that works best for you. 8 Fridays Online

N/A 5/2–6/20 Beginner/Intermed $360

WORKSHOPS

Fiction I: Just Fiction Jennifer Buxton Now is the time to work on that story you’ve always wanted to write. Join this workshop for lively discussions of the elements of craft, what makes a good story and how to keep it all going once you’ve started. Take part in in-class exercises, outside readings and roundtable talks about works-in-progress. Each student may workshop at least one piece up to 30 pages. For beginning or returning writers as well as those looking for a class to get them going. 6 Tuesdays 7–9:30 p.m. Bethesda Beginner

5/6–6/10 $270

The Telling Detail Ann McLaughlin Our focus will be on using detail to write fiction (both for novels and short fiction), and discuss character, setting and plot. Each student will have the opportunity to submit at least two manuscripts for discussion. We will read and discuss a novel by a well-known writer. Students can expect thoughtful consideration of their work in both written comments and discussion, and will critique manuscripts by fellow class members. 8 Saturdays 10 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Bethesda All

5/10–6/28 $360

your story is set in ancient Rome, during the American Civil War or in more recent history such as the 1960s, you will learn how to weave historical details into your stories and bring the past to life for readers. Come join us for coffee, pastries and a dynamic discussion. 1 Wednesday 7–9:30 p.m. Bethesda All

5/21 $50

The High-Concept Novel Kathryn Johnson Publishing has gone Hollywood. Book editors, just like film makers, look for novels that stand out as splashy, important or likely to attract a maximum number of readers. Learn what high-concept means and how to use fiction techniques to add appeal to your work-in-progress. Each student will bring a basic story concept to the first class for discussion and brainstorming. Suggestions for fine tuning of the idea will generate a homework assignment. During the second session, the instructor and students will analyze the resulting plan for each novel. 2 Saturdays 10 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Bethesda All

5/24–5/31 $100

Kathryn Johnson It is said that “without conflict, there is no story.” Strengthening the conflict in any type of novel or short story will bump up the tension and turn a limp, ordinary tale into an extraordinary adventure that will grip readers and keep them turning pages. Learn how to turn up the heat through action, dialogue, setting details and plot twists to make your story stand out from the crowd. An inspiring Saturday morning coffee-and-pastry session. 5/28 $50

Fiction III

The first of this two-part class will be devoted to the basics of fiction and story construction. In the second session, we’ll do an exercise to help get you started on a possibly longer work. Students will take away basic fiction tools that can be used anywhere. 2 Tuesdays 7:30–9:30 p.m. Bethesda Beginner

8 Fridays Online

Brenda Clough

5/13–5/20 $80

Historical Fiction for the 21st Century Reader

N/A 5/30–7/18 Intermed/Advanced $360

The Extreme Novelist Kathryn Johnson

Kathryn Johnson The rebirth of historical fiction has opened up exciting opportunities for fiction writers. Whether

7–9:30 p.m. 6/4–7/23 Intermed/Advanced $360

Mythology for Writers Carolyn Clark Students will learn fundamentals of mythology and practice the technique of weaving mythological themes and allusions into their own writing products. Each participant will produce and share in a writing activity based upon personal interest in specific myths, characters and creatures. Students can expect to achieve basic mastery of the foundations of mythology and its inclusion in their respective genre. 6/7–6/8 $100

Fiction II: Keeping It Short Jennifer Buxton Give a new start to your fiction by exploring the short story. What can we learn from keeping things short? We’ll use exercises in radically short forms to hone craft, launching larger pieces from the skeletal shorts. Weekly readings, in-class exercises and discussion of your in-progress pieces with an emphasis on finding the heart of a story. Each student may submit one or two pieces to the group for discussion, and all should gain a deeper understanding of the ambition of the short story. 6 Wednesdays 7–9:30 p.m. 6/11–7/16 Bethesda Intermediate $270

T. Greenwood What do published novelists do between the raw first draft and the final manuscript to make their plots sizzle and their prose sing? The key lies in reworking the manuscript until your writing jumps off the page. For those who have completed the first draft of a novel, this workshop will help develop skills to shape your plot for maximum dramatic impact and give life and texture to characters, dialogue and setting.

Beginning Fantasy Fiction

8 Wednesdays Bethesda

Sat-Sun 10 a.m.–1 p.m. Bethesda All

Creating Conflict

1 Wednesday 7–9:30 p.m. Bethesda All

the encouraging guidance of professional writing coach and author of more than 40 published books. Students commit to an aggressive writing schedule and learn the tricks pros use to create a productive working environment and meet their deadlines despite distractions. Each class will include troubleshooting discussions, a brief lecture and handouts, writing time and the opportunity to submit portions of your work-in-progress for individual feedback and guidance. Note: This is not a workshopping course. Further information will be sent to registered students in advance of the first class.

Can’t find the time/energy/inspiration to get your novel written? This popular course will help you complete a rough draft in just eight weeks, with

Mastering the “Hook” Kathryn Johnson If an agent, acquiring book editor or reader picks up your manuscript, will they read past the first page? Learn how to create an effective hook for your story in the first few sentences to ensure that you get a fair read. We know that those with the power to buy novels make snap judgments. Why doom a good book with a weak opening? Each student should bring either the opening two pages of their work-in-progress or a one-page plot summary for discussion and feedback from the instructor and the group. Another inspiring Saturday morning coffee-and-pastry session. 1 Saturday 10 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Bethesda All

View online at www.writer.org/guide

6/14 $50

WORKSHOPS Powerful Perspective

Andra Abramson

Kathryn Johnson

If you’ve written a children’s book manuscript and are wondering “What do I do now?”, this workshop is for you. Bring questions, concerns and puzzlements, and the instructor, a children’s book editor and published author, will fill in the details. From how does the editing process work to what should I look for in a contract to do I need to include a cover letter, no question is too naïve, no query too basic, no inquiry too simple for this beginning level publishing course designed to introduce new writers to the often confusing and frustrating world of children’s book publishing.

Acquiring editors name lack of control of Point of View (“head hopping”) as one of the most frequent reasons for rejection of fiction manuscripts. Yet many authors don’t even consider perspective while writing their stories. Learn how to create a solid POV plan for your novel or short story, and with it, a crisp focus for your story that enables readers to follow your plot easily. Students will get a better understanding of a critical skill that can make or break a novel.

1 Saturday 1–3 p.m. Bethesda Beginner

6/14 $40

1 Saturday 10 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Bethesda All

6/28 $50

Workshop Your Novel!

The Short Story

Aaron Hamburger

Dana Cann

While most fiction classes give budding novelists the chance to critique individual scenes, here, students will focus on how their book-length project works as a whole. Participants will submit an overview of their book-in-progress (including parts yet to be written but planned) as well as two scenes from the book. One scene should be an example of the book’s strongest parts, the ideal you are working toward and the other, an example of where you think the writing needs the most help. We’ll workshop each student’s book as a whole, and do focused writing activities to address craft issues. We’ll also discuss how to get your book out into the world. Students will gain a grasp of the novel-writing process as well as the momentum necessary to continue working on and complete their novels. Please submit a five-page writing sample. Those admitted will receive a welcome packet with detailed instructions.

Short story writers will focus on their work and the work of their peers. Each writer will submit at least one short story for constructive critique. We will examine short story elements and techniques, using published contemporary short stories as our guide, and review short story markets and strategies for submitting work. Any participant with a complete story is encouraged to bring 15 copies to the first session. 6 Tuesdays Bethesda

7:30–10 p.m. 6/17–7/22 Intermed/Advanced $270

Creating Your Book for Children: Shape it, Submit it, See it in Print Peter Mandel Having a children’s book published in today’s tough market may seem like an impossible dream. But, in reality, getting your book idea into shape and into print can hinge on just the right advice and a timely critique from a pro. Do you need an agent? Should you connect with an artist? What about self-publishing? In a DC-area exclusive onesession workshop, a nationally-known author will pass on the insiders’ tips writers need to know in order to create a marketable first book and get it into the hands of exactly the right gatekeepers in the publishing world. During class, participants will come up with a working title for their book, focus in on a target audience and learn how to make professional-quality manuscript submissions. 1 Tuesday 7–9:30 p.m. Bethesda All

6/24 $50

This fiction intensive will get you started on the fiction writing you’ve always wanted to do. We’ll focus on understanding the elements of fiction first (setting, characterization, point-of-view, plot, etc.) and then on combining those elements to create whole stories. Join with other emerging writers as we explore writing prompts that draw out memories of summers past. We’ll alternate between writing exercises and creating art pieces based on the memories recalled. 6/25–7/16 $195

1 Saturday 10 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Bethesda All

7/26 $50

6 Stories, 6 Weeks Mark Cugini Students will write, workshop and critique six new stories. In-class discussions will focus on the various elements of fiction, and writers will receive weekly prompts to “jumpstart” their writing. The goals are to complete new work, and to receive specific feedback for revisions. 6 Saturdays 10 a.m.–1 p.m. Bethesda All

7/26–8/30 $270

Power Plotting Kathryn Johnson Whether you think you’re a plotting wizard or believe you can’t plot at all, this course is for you. Plot provides structure for a novel, regardless of genre. Even literary fiction -once described as purely character-driven- needs things to happen during the course of the book. Each student will bring one to three basic story ideas to the first class for discussion. During the course, the instructor will guide writers through the plotting process of one complete novel of their choice. By the end of the course, students will have completed a one- to five-page plot synopsis for a novel, which can then serve as a practical roadmap for writing the story. 4 Wednesdays 7–9:30 p.m. Bethesda All

8/6–8/27 $195

Beginning Fantasy Fiction

The Genre Studio

Brenda Clough

Kathryn Johnson

Do you know agent-speak? Understanding what to call the type of novel you are writing, how to describe your story to a professional in the publishing industry, how to shape your plot to best suit that genre--all of this is critical to achieving publication. During this eye-opening Saturday morning coffeeand-pastry session, we’ll discuss the possible genre labels for each student’s work-in-progress and brainstorm ways to shape the work to the market--and thus pitch it most effectively.

2 Tuesdays Bethesda

7:30.–9:30 p.m. Beginner

7/8–7/15 $80

Kathryn Johnson

Liz Poliner

7–9:30 p.m. Beginner

7/1–8/19 $360

The Idea Factory

Getting Started: Fiction Intensive

4 Wednesdays Bethesda

8 Tuesdays 7–9:30 p.m. Bethesda All

and learn what Extreme Novelists know about organizing their time. We’ll share the methods EN Grads (and many published writers) use to finish their books in months instead of years, their short stories in mere weeks. Join us for coffee and pastries and find out how it’s done.

Join the ranks of writers who never run out of concepts for exciting stories. Students will brainstorm with a veteran novelist to generate fresh story ideas suitable for short stories, novellas or novels. Walk away with anywhere from three to 30 new and interesting story concepts by the end of the session. 1 Saturday 10 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Bethesda All

7/12 $50

How to Write a Lot Kathryn Johnson You may think you don’t have the time or energy to write because of your hectic schedule. But come

Workshop & Event Guide Summer 2014

1 Saturday 10 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Bethesda All

8/9 $50

Let’s Talk about Sex: How to Use Eroticism Effectively in Prose Aaron Hamburger Writing about sex can cause a lot of grief. Some try to dance around the topic, perhaps out of fear that if we include too much sex in our work or write about sex in the wrong way, we won’t be taken seriously. Others are eager to write about sexual subjects openly, but sometimes what seems erotic and authentic in the imagination can turn out childish and cringe-worthy when it

WORKSHOPS

Children’s Book Publishing 101

WORKSHOPS appears on the page. We will take a look at how writers have depicted eroticism in effective and original ways. Specifically, we’ll examine how in their descriptions of erotic habits or behavior, writers have transcended simply reporting the mechanics of sex, instead using sex as a means to develop story and/or character. Then we’ll consider how to employ these strategies in our own work. Students will acquire the tools to write with confidence and clarity not only about sex, but also about any deeply sensory experience. 1 Thursday 7–9:30 p.m. Bethesda All

8/21 $50

Building Characters Readers Love…or Love to Hate Kathryn Johnson

WORKSHOPS

How do authors breathe life into their fictional characters? How do they make them so believable that readers bond with their paper people and keep turning pages? A new way of looking at characterization based on emotional connections between each reader and your central character. Students will leave with a handout and game plan for applying learned techniques to their stories. Instructor will provide coffee cake and beverage. 1 Saturday 10 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Bethesda All

6 Wednesdays 7:30–8:30 p.m. Bethesda All

5/7–6/11 $115

Tweens Rock the Page Andra Abramson Aspiring 8 to 12-year-old writers will develop the skills to help get their stories out of their heads and onto paper. Designed to be fast-moving and collaborative, this hands-on workshop will use story prompts, brain-storming sessions, and even speed rounds to take away the inhibition many young writers feel about writing and allow them to craft the stories, anecdotes, poems and narratives. Whether your student loves to write or has problems, this workshop will aim to reduce anxiety about getting it right and switch the focus to getting it out. By the end of the workshop, writers will have an arsenal of techniques they can use to start the writing process and make it easier and more enjoyable. 6 Wednesdays Bethesda

6–7 p.m. Ages 8-14

5/7–6/11 $115

The Hero’s Voyage

8/23 $50

Dream, Draft, and Develop: Setting Your Creative Compass Sierra Prasada This workshop for fiction, nonfiction and dramatic writers aims to demystify the creative process without dispelling the magic. You’ll discover how you move through a cycle of five universal stages — and how to do so more effectively as you dream, draft, develop, refine and share your best work. You’ll learn and practice specific techniques, including the What If question; dreaming in dialogue; drafting in layers; developmental analysis and finding your master metaphor. You’ll either begin a promising new project or return home with the vision and tools to transform an ongoing one. 10 a.m.–3 p.m. 5/10–5/11 Beginner/Intermed $135

Writing for Young Children Andra Abramson Students will not only get the inside scoop on the world of children’s book publishing but also work with a published children’s book author and editor to craft a proposal or story with the potential to catch an agent’s eye. Each session will have three parts: a behind-the-scenes peek at the children’s book publishing world, including agents and editors; a look at different types of children’s books and the elements that make each type successful for the audience and publishing house and an opportunity to share students’ manuscripts and get constructive advice from the instructor and classmates. Students will acquire a basic understanding

The most important element of your short story, novel or personal essay is a compelling protagonist. You will learn how to create a sympathetic and strong character as well as how to make all your characters come alive. We’ll discuss plot, tension, tone, dialogue and point of view. You will receive feedback on your work, as well as advice and insider tips about publishing. All levels welcome. Class size limited to 15 students. 1 Saturday 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Bethesda All

5/17 $100

Getting Started: Creative Writing Elizabeth Rees Beginning writers will have the chance to explore three different genres: memoir writing, short fiction and poetry. Each week students will be given a writing assignment and several readings, to be followed by a critique of each student’s assignment. Students will learn about voice, point of view, dialogue, description, imagery and sound. Students will write one personal memoir, one short-short story and three original poems, and develop a greater understanding of their own writing interests. 8 Wednesdays 7–9:30 p.m. Bethesda All

fresh source of ideas, a richer sense of possibility and an enhanced ability to bring the world onto your page. 1 Saturday Bethesda

2–5 p.m. 5/24 Beginner/Intermed $50

Transformation and the Voice of the Authentic Self Amy Abrams In many lives, loss or trauma ignites transformation. Often, courage is summoned, enabling the false self to become the real self. The surrender may feel radical. Chronicling initiatory events promotes understanding and ultimately healing. In this workshop, you learn to document your personal journey, giving voice to revelatory experience. You develop creativity and imagination with encouragement and by inspiration. Arrive with a work in process or begin anew. All levels welcome. Class size limited to 15 students. 1 Saturday 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Bethesda All

6/7 $100

Writing Staycation Zahara Heckscher

Amy Abrams

Mixed Genre

Sa-Su Bethesda

of the children’s publishing process and be ready to craft a manuscript to submit for consideration.

The Writer’s Center

5/21–7/9 $360

See! Hear! Feel! Write! Sierra Prasada This workshop will help you write your best by showing you how to sharpen your natural senses. Just as your favorite fiction and nonfiction works come alive to readers through their authors’ judicious use of sensory and emotional detail, you’ll develop a foundation for doing so yourself by way of short writing exercises (such as object writing), partner/small group work, and guided class discussion. You’ll go back to your writing desk with a

This workshop, a non-residential retreat at The Writer’s Center, will be an intensive, supportive, exhilarating, focused week of writing. Each day begins with a short reading and brief discussion. Then tons of time for working on your own writing– whether it is poetry, a novel or nonfiction work in your brain, or a manuscript that needs some final polish. Be prepared for optional lunch speakers, afternoon walks and group shares. 1 Mon-Fri 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Bethesda All

6/9–6/13 $430

Intro to Hybrid Texts Erin M. Bertram Students will become familiar with hybrid texts, arguably the “fifth genre” of creative writing. Each week, we’ll explore a different element of this loose and fascinating form via a variety of assigned readings, focused writing assignments and occasional film clips. We will consider speakers, literary and non-literary genres, visual elements, connective tissue, negative space, different types of research, meaningful confusion and the Kuleshov Effect work together to make a hybrid text an effective, moving and very contemporary piece of literature. Students should expect to have a basic understanding of hybrid texts, as well as one revised hybrid text of their own that focuses on a historical individual or a social issue of their choice. 8 Mondays N/A Online All

6/16–8/4 $360

Getting Started: Creative Writing Liz Poliner If you have always wanted to write but don’t know how to begin, this workshop is for you. We will explore journals, stories and poems in order to jumpstart your writing. Exercises will focus on transforming a creative idea into actual words on

View online at www.writer.org/guide

WORKSHOPS

7 Mondays 7–9:30 p.m. Bethesda Beginner

6/16–7/28 $315

Transitions Mary Carpenter We will explore what makes a good piece of writing and how to help each other in a writing group. We will spend the first half hour or so of every class writing from prompts, or whatever the writer chooses, and then read aloud. We will work on finding the most helpful comments for these raw pieces, on looking for spots where the story begins to come alive and draw the reader in and on how to listen for and create voice. Students are encouraged to bring in pieces written outside class for group comment. 6 Tuesdays 10:30 a.m.–1 p.m. Bethesda All

6/17–7/22 $270

Intro to the Lyric Essay Erin M. Bertram Students will become familiar with the lyric essay, a hybrid type of creative writing that combines the lyricism of poetry with the non-fiction prose style of the essay. Each week, we’ll explore a different element via assigned readings, focused writing assignments and occasional film clips. During our eight weeks, we’ll consider how speaker, diction, syntax, the sentence, the paragraph, imagery, repetition and different types of research work together to make a lyric essay a brief but powerful piece of literature. By the end of this workshop, students can expect to have a basic understanding of the lyric essay, as well as one revised lyric essay of their own that focuses on a particular subject of their choice. 8 Wednesdays N/A Online All

6/18–8/6 $360

How to Write a Lot Willona Sloan Do you find it impossible to squeeze time for creative writing into your hectic life? Well, you can’t publish if you’re not writing. Writing requires discipline and commitment. Here, you will learn how to develop the habits of a successful writer, including how to set and track your writing goals, create a schedule and project plan, and use writing prompts to advance your story or generate new work. We will do in-class fiction and non-fiction writing exercises designed to show you how to make the most of your writing time. 1 Saturday Capitol Hill

9 a.m.–12 p.m. All

6/28 $50

Getting Started: Creative Writing Jessica Garratt This workshop will introduce you to the fundamentals of writing strong poetry and fiction by focusing on the foundations the genres have in common and courting a sense of discovery—an important secret

to all good writing. We will learn about issues of craft such as voice, character, point of view, image, narrative, concision and description through reading published works as well as exercises and assignments designed to get your creative mind working in new ways. We also will explore journalwriting and how it can serve as a springboard for other writing endeavors. You will produce at least two new poems and one short work of fiction, and have ample fodder for future projects. 4 Thursdays Capitol Hill

6–8:30 p.m. Beginner

7/17–8/7 $195

Nonfiction The Art of the Book Proposal: Pitching for Nonfiction Jack McEnany Writers will learn and create the seven essential elements of the non-fiction book proposal. First step: write the jacket copy for your book—four of five paragraphs that describe it and make people want to read. For the writer, this can be a moment of clarity. Next is a crisp and compelling introduction and/or first chapter. The remaining five sections are largely marketing. A tight, creative, well-researched marketing plan is an integral requirement of every proposal. Each writer will create a non-fiction book proposal, element by element. By the end of term, writers will have a well-worked draft book proposal. 8 Thursdays N/A Online All

5/1–6/19 $360

Sierra Prasada This workshop will build skills in the fundamentals of elegant nonfiction writing. Each class will feature short writing exercises, partner work, class discussion and brief lectures to help generate and cultivate ideas. As you produce one or two short pieces or progress in an excerpt from a longer work, you’ll have opportunities to get feedback from your peers and the instructor. Whether you’re writing articles, personal essays, a book-length memoir or another form of expository writing, you will get a renewed sense of momentum, structure, clarity and confidence in your own ability to take your work to the next level. Note: There will be a one-week break in the class. 8 Wednesdays 7–9:30 p.m. Bethesda Beginner

5/21–7/23 $360

Feature Writing Workshop Ellyn Wexler Learn to craft nonfiction feature stories for newspapers, magazines and websites. Career writer and editor will offer tips, tools and techniques for identifying a good subject, interviewing, using research and multiple sources, writing headlines and lead sentences, using quotations and structuring story, from outline through rough draft to polished professional product. The goal is for students to produce four stories during the eight weeks. 6 Wednesdays 7–9 p.m. Bethesda All

5/15–6/19 $215

Writing from Life

Creative Nonfiction I

Ellen Herbert

Brook Wilensky-Lanford Everyone has a true story to tell. This online class will give beginning writers a chance to practice nonfiction writing skills, whether on a personal memoir, an exotic travel history or anything in between. Suitable for starting work on a longer project, or generating several different topics. The class covers basic tools for the nonfiction storyteller, including criticism, dialogue and description. It also offers resources to help with the topic-finding, editing and publication process. Students will complete three short writing assignments and one essay. 6 Mondays N/A 5/5–6/9 Online Beginner $270

Writing the Family Memoir Cheryl Somers Aubin Join other emerging writers as you learn about different types of family memoirs and how to work on them. Students will take part in many writing exercises, including writing prompts based on photographs and music. After each writing exercise, students will have a chance to share their work in small groups. Participants will leave the class with a greater understanding of family memoirs, resources available to help them and enthusiasm to begin or continue their family memoirs. 1 Saturday 1–4 p.m. Bethesda All

Creative Nonfiction I

5/10 $50

Workshop & Event Guide Summer 2014

How trustworthy is memory? How do we cull the stories we need to tell from the complicated tangle of memory? This workshop will explore “true writing,” creative nonfiction in the form of personal narratives, employing literary techniques such as recreated dialogue, time compression and “stimulus and response.” 6 Wednesdays 10:30 a.m.–1 p.m. Bethesda All

5/28–7/2 $270

Life Stories Lynn Schwartz Whether you want to write a memoir, blog, college essay, letter to your granddaughter or use your own life as the basis for fiction, life writing requires that we tell where we come from and who we are. Discover the best format for your story. Learn to identify your story’s essence and engage the reader through fictional techniques. Participants will leave inspired to begin or improve a work-in-progress. 1 Saturday 9:30 a.m–12:30 p.m. 5/31 Bethesda All $50

The Writer’s Toolbox Sara Taber Writing is “a careful act of construction,” William Zinsser notes. “You must know what the essential tools are and what job they are designed to do.”

WORKSHOPS

a page. Our goals are loosening up, generating material, learning basic technique and enjoying the excitement of writing.

WORKSHOPS This workshop is for those who wish to sharpen the tools in their writer’s toolbox to create fine literary nonfiction. We examine published essays and memoirs, and practice aspects of the writer’s craft such as: concrete detail; use of the senses; figurative language; characterization; dialogue and scene, summary and musing. Time for the sharing of work and a free-write are included each morning and afternoon Sat-Sun 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Bethesda All

6/7–6/8 $195

1 Saturday 1:30 p.m.–4 p.m. Bethesda Beginner

A Personal Essay in a Day Sara Taber

WORKSHOPS

The personal essay is a wonderfully hospitable form. Drawing on a range of literary traditions and styles—memoirs and portraiture, nature writing, letters and diaries, philosophy and humor—the personal essay lends itself to a variety of voices and topics. We will listen to recordings of published essays, learn about the building blocks of the personal essay and do writing exercises. By the end of the class, each participant should have a strong sense of the personal essay form as well as the makings of their own personal essay. 1 Saturday 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Bethesda All

6/14 $100

Writing About Illness Workshop Thomas Larson This workshop explores the intersection of narrative, illness and healing. Among the writing issues to be covered are: writing during the illness versus after; writing about the suffering of loved ones afflicted by illness; sharing a difficult condition with others inexperienced with illness and tailoring the writing of those with the ailment to a broader audience. Participants will write and have critiqued a substantive personal essay on illness, learn and practice narrative techniques used in illness writing, and discover ways to participate more fully in medical encounters with family and healthcare professionals. Mon-Fri 9 a.m.–3:30 p.m. Bethesda All

summers past. In this one day, two and ½ hour class, we’ll alternate between writing exercises and creating art pieces based on the memories recalled. There will be an abundance of art and crafts material available with a summer theme so participants can create their own unique pieces based on their memories. Students will leave the class with several written pieces started and with art they have created.

6/23–6/27 $430

Capturing Summer Memories: Session I

6/28 $65

Writing Memoir: Getting Started Marilyn Smith

6/28 $55

Capturing Summer Memories: Session II Cheryl Somers Aubin Join with other emerging writers as we explore writing prompts which will draw out memories of

Reinventing the Ekphrasis Bianca Stone We will approach Ekphrasis form in poetry from a contemporary perspective, looking at a wide range of examples, both traditional and radical. Students will write poems based on what examples we’ve explored, and have the option to invert the form, literally creating hybrid ekphrasis using visual art. We’ll explore how the lines between genres can be bent in order to open ourselves up more creatively and help us become more thoughtful poets. Students should have a basic understanding of poetry and be comfortable writing poetry. While any knacks for visual art is a plus, it is not required. Students will acquire a better grasp of how art can inform and inspire poetry.

Mon-Fri 10 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Bethesda All

Bianca Stone

7/14–7/18 $215

Researching and Writing Local History David Taylor Often an essay emerges from your curiosity and a process like quilting. You can draw on many resources available locally—from manuscripts or photography collections at the Library of Congress or the public library, to interviews and walking tours—to create narratives about a slice of D.C. life. This can be a profile of an individual or a local angle on a historical event or some combination. This workshop will explore the process from research to writing, revising and publication. It includes exercises, discussion and examples from the instructor’s articles and books. 10 a.m.–2 p.m. 7/25 Beginner/Intermed $80

Cheryl Somers Aubin

1 Saturday 10 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Bethesda Beginner

Poetry

This introductory course is designed for students with an interest in capturing their memories through writing. Through interactive in-class exercises and supportive small-group discussions, students will examine an element of memoir each day. These will include character, setting, storyline, imagery and “getting readers hooked” with a great opening. Participants will complete one short memoir.

1 Friday Capitol Hill

Join with other emerging writers as we explore writing prompts which will draw out memories of summers past. In this class, we’ll alternate between writing exercises and creating art pieces based on the memories recalled. There will be an abundance of art and crafts material available with a summer theme so participants can create their own unique pieces based on their memories. Students will leave the class with several written pieces started and with art they have created.

The Writer’s Center

Weekend Memoir/Nonfiction Workshop for Teens Sierra Prasada Meet friends and collaborators at this weekend workshop aimed at helping the younger writer tell true stories and express powerful ideas. Through engaging writing exercises, partner work and spirited discussion, you’ll develop the self-confidence and skill to recognize and capture the compelling plots and important truths hidden in everyday life. Whether you want to impress your English instructors or attract the admiration of your peers, you’ll finish this workshop better equipped to take advantage of new opportunities on and off the page. 2 Saturdays 10 a.m.–3 p.m. Bethesda Beginner

8/2–8/9 $135

8 Mondays N/A Online All

4/7–5/26 $360

Methods in Collaboration: Poetry and the Visual Image We will explore poetry through the lens of other media. Our premise will be based on the idea that by juxtaposing two art forms, our sensory input has more to absorb, providing a fuller experience. Based around the idea of the poem lending itself to subgenre that combine the traditions of graphic literature/comics and poetry, this eight-week class will discuss these examples and create our own work based on those weekly findings. This will generate new poetry as well as expand our understanding of inspiration, revision and presentation. It will be fun and inspiring! Previous experience with art is not required. 8 Mondays N/A Online All

4/7–5/26 $360

Introduction to Poetry Melanie Figg Students will get a solid grounding in the fundamentals of poetry. Each week, we’ll read a chapter on craft (image, line, sound, voice, etc.) and have weekly assignments to get students writing. Each class will include an option to share what you’ve written that week, fun in-class exercises and discussions while reading poems by masters. The instructor will offer lots of encouraging feedback and advice. By the end of class, students will have a solid knowledge of how poems work as well as at least four new poems of their own. Please bring a copy of our text, The Poet’s Companion (by Kim Addonizio and Dorianne Laux), to the first class. 6 Thursdays 7–9:30 p.m. Bethesda Beginner

5/1–6/5 $270

Getting Your Poetry Published Michele Wolf Whether you have yet to submit your first poem to a literary journal or are ready to offer a publisher a book-length manuscript, this intensive workshop will give you advice on how to succeed, tailored to

View online at www.writer.org/guide

WORKSHOPS

1 Saturday 3–6 p.m. Bethesda All

5/3 $50

Online Poetry Workshop I Bernadette Geyer Don’t just sit around waiting for the muse. For four weeks, this workshop will provide inspiration for generating new poems. Lessons will be posted weekly, featuring example poems and links to additional reading. Participants will share and comment on each other’s work and will receive individual feedback from the workshop leader. 4 Mondays N/A Online All

5/5–5/26 $195

6 Poems, 6 Weeks Mark Cugini In this beginner’s level class, students will write, workshop and critique six new poems. Class discussions will focus on poetic technique and writers will be given weekly prompts to “jumpstart” their writing. 6 Mondays 7–10 p.m. Bethesda All

5/5–6/9 $315

Students writing at all levels will learn how to hone and polish their poems for their “personal best” and/ or publication. Each week we will briefly discuss a different element of poetry, looking at work found in contemporary literary journals (magazines to be provided), then spend the rest of our class workshopping one another’s poems in a supportive and collegial setting. We will explore such considerations as form, line breaks, voice, meter, rhyme and narrative vs. lyric forces. By the end of our workshop, students should expect to have at least one (and hopefully three) “perfect” poems. Feel free to bring 15 copies of one of your own poems to our first class. 5/6–6/10 $270

8 Tuesdays 7–9:30 p.m. Bethesda All

5/20–7/8 $360

Online Poetry Workshop II Bernadette Geyer With the same structure as Online Poetry Workshop I, this workshop will provide different topics for generating new poems. Lessons will be posted weekly, featuring example poems and links to additional reading. Participants will share and comment on each other’s work and will receive individual feedback from the workshop leader. Completion of Online Poetry Workshop I is not required for Workshop II. 4 Mondays N/A Online All

6/2–6/23 $195

Walt Whitman proposed in his “Song of the Exposition” that Americans need no longer look to Europe for inspiration, but could find the Muse “here, installed among the kitchen ware”—that is, in their own experience, technology and environment. We will investigate how Whitman pioneered one strand of modern American poetry and read poems by five of his successors: Pablo Neruda, Allen Ginsburg, Nancy Willard, Ellen Bass and Richard Blanco. Participants will examine a few of their strategies such as catalogues, litanies, chants and odes and experiment with some of these techniques through inclass exercises and at-home writing assignments. Participants will generate several poems of their own and gain a greater appreciation of Whitman’s impact on modern and contemporary poetry. 7 Saturdays Bethesda

Poetry I Nan Fry Workshop participants will be introduced to the key elements of poetry—imagery, metaphor, sound and rhythm, tone and voice. We will explore these elements through in-class exercises and at-home assignments. Students can expect to have a stronger grasp of these components of poetry, to experiment with them in their own work and to create several drafts and perhaps one or two finished poems. 5/6–6/10 $270

Intermediate and advanced poets will concentrate on reading, writing and critiquing poetry. Each session will include a brief discussion of selected contemporary poems, an in-class writing prompt and workshops of every student’s poem. Specific exercises will be given to free the imagination, and quiet the inner censor. We will explore formal considerations, stylistic choices and the moments when a poem catches its own voice. Students will produce seven original poems and one revision as well as refine their poetic voice. Bring 15 copies of a poem you love (not your own) to the first session, as well as 15 copies of one of your own.

Nan Fry

Nancy Naomi Carlson

6 Tuesdays 10:30 a.m.–1 p.m. Bethesda Beginner

Elizabeth Rees

Imagination in the Americas: Six Modern and Contemporary Poets

Going for the Gold: Writing the Perfect Poem

6 Tuesdays 7–9:30 p.m. Bethesda All

The Force of Poetry

10:30 a.m.–1 p.m. 6/7–7/26 Intermed/Advanced $315

Translation as Inspiration: A Generative Workshop Suzanne Zweizig Part of the From the Editor’s Desk: Poet Lore at The Writer’s Center series, this workshop will explore ways translation can inspire new work, new ways of thinking and new approaches to our writing—even if you don’t speak another language. Based on the definition and theory of translation as something that transports us to new places, it will introduce participants to poetry from a variety of languages

Workshop & Event Guide Summer 2014

and give them the opportunity to engage in translation exercises that go beyond the literal rendering of word-for-word. Participants will create two “translations” that may serve as the basis for new work. 1 Saturday 10:30 a.m. -12:30 p.m. 6/7 Bethesda All $40

How to Build the Poetic Portrait Samuel Miranda Students will be able to develop poems that are tied to a community. They will work on using observation, memory, and listening in order to create poetic portraits of people and events that help define a community during a period of time. Writers will learn to identify details that build visual references for their readers. Writers will be asked to draft one to three poems and participate in critiques of one of those poems. 2 Saturdays 10 a.m.–12 p.m. Bethesda All

6/7–6/14 $80

Making It Whole: Advanced Poetry Workshop Anne Becker In this advanced, intensive workshop for students who are ready to put together a chapbook (must have 30 pages of strong poetry), we’ll explore how groups of poems can work together to create a focused and whole experience. During the first seven weeks, students read model chapbooks and consider various strategies of organization, prepare their chapbook manuscripts, have them critiqued by the group and in turn critique the chapbooks of the other participants, revise their chapbooks and have the final draft critiqued. The eighth meeting will consist of an hour-long private session with the instructor. Submit five poems before June 1. Note: No class on 6/26/2014. 8 Thursdays 7–9:30 p.m. Bethesda Advanced

6/12–8/7 $360

8 Poems, 8 Weeks Erin M. Bertram Students will become familiar with poetry, the oldest and most condensed type of creative writing used to convey moment and mood. Each week, we’ll explore a different element of this emotionally charged form via a variety of assigned readings, focused writing assignments and occasional film clips. We’ll consider how speaker(s), diction, syntax, tone, description, imagery, repetition and form work together to make a poem a meaningful piece of literature. Students can expect to get a basic understanding of poetry, as well as eight drafts of poems that cover a wide variety of styles and subjects. 8 Tuesdays N/A Online All

6/17–8/5 $360

Poems in Conversation: Imagery, Musicality and Form Samuel Miranda In this 2 session workshop writers will be able to develop poems that are influenced by other art

WORKSHOPS

your work’s strengths. Get tips on placing poems in print and online journals, why anthologies are such an appealing platform, how to publish chapbooks and books, the pros and cons of contests, the etiquette of poetry submission, how to develop your poetry network, and how to keep your morale high while facing rejection in a highly competitive field. Magazine handouts will be provided.

WORKSHOPS forms. Writers will use music and visual art as guides for how they develop rhythm and create images and select a form to match content. This course will be an opportunity to build a conversation with other art forms, develop the eye and the ear and draft 1-3 poems. By the end of the workshop writers will be able to more effectively incorporate the elements of other art forms into their own work and to craft poems that contain musicality and detail that engages the reader visually. 2 Tuesdays 7–9 p.m. Bethesda All

6/24–7/1 $80

The Editor’s Eye: Preparing Your Poems for Submission Jody Bolz

WORKSHOPS

How does a journal editor decide which poems to accept—which to reject—when reading through hundreds of submissions each month? As part of the From the Editor’s Desk: Poet Lore at The Writer’s Center series, this class will offer sound advice from an editor’s perspective on how to give your work the best chance of drawing interest. We’ll discuss ways to make three critical decisions: where to submit, what to submit (in terms of matching poems to publications and grouping those poems to good effect) and how to present yourself in a cover letter. Students should bring along a sample cover letter and six to eight poems for an in-class exercise. 1 Saturday 2–4:30 p.m. Bethesda All

7/12 $50

Jessica Garratt This course will be an experiment in resourcefulness: we’ll collect some of the most prevalent criticisms members of the class have received of their poems over the years and attempt to turn them into generative fodder for new poems. The two main approaches will be: reading and discussing published poems that seem to follow or defy each piece of advice or criticism, to good effect in either case; and doing exercises and assignments that home in on particulars of craft suggested by the criticism/advice. By the end of the course, you will have written three new poems, and at least one of them will be defiant. [Note: Each student should submit one short piece of advice or criticism you’ve received on your poetry (that is general enough to be useful to others as well) two weeks before the first day of class. Instructor will assemble a list and relevant texts.] 4 Tuesdays Bethesda

Buson, Wright) as well as some free verse poems by modern masters of brevity like Williams, Ryan, Creeley, Clifton, and Dickinson.

news examples you’ll see in this workshop and you’ll enhance your writing voice with lively, engaging news style.

The fifth session of workshop will meet at Pyramid Atlantic for an extended class with letterpress instructor Lauren Emeritz who will teach students to typeset their poems. At the end of class, students will take home printed handmade cards/broadsides of their finished work. This is part of the “Ready, Set Type!” workshop series and is sponsored by The Writer’s Center and Pyramid Atlantic.

1 Saturday 10 a.m.–12 p.m. 5/3 Bethesda Intermediate $40

5 Saturdays 10 a.m.–12 p.m. Bethesda All

7/19–8/16 $300

The Critic’s Eye: Reading and Writing about Poems Jean Nordhaus Reviewing a collection of poems not only requires close reading, but also an ability to articulate our reactions to work we love. Part of the From the Editor’s Desk: Poet Lore at The Writer’s Center series, this workshop will address the elements of a successful review. Each class member will bring in a favorite poem by a contemporary poet and explain why we should value it, working with the class to identify insights that might guide a piece of critical writing. Students will gain a better understanding of the qualities an editor looks for when considering a review for publication. 1 Saturday 10 a.m.–12 p.m. Bethesda All

7/26 $40

Professional Writing

Advanced Poetry Workshop

6–8 p.m. 7/15–8/5 Intermed/Advanced $135

Selling Your Point: Fundamentals of Persuasive Writing James Alexander Students will learn the concepts and techniques for conceiving and developing persuasive writing products as ghostwriters, perhaps for their bosses on the job or for supporting spokespersons for their favorite causes. In every aspect of writing, it pays to be persuasive. Students will learn how to devise a core message, conduct research appropriate to persuasive writing, structure their drafts. By the end of the course, students will have written at least one persuasive document (op-ed or speech) and will have the skills and know-how to pursue this style of writing in their workplaces. 6 Wednesdays 7–9:30 p.m. Bethesda All

7/9–8/13 $270

Write Like the News Hank Wallace

Simple Elegance: Nature Poetry and Japanese Forms Melanie Figg In this five-week course, you’ll spend the first four weeks at The Writer’s Center writing and refining poems about nature. We’ll focus on the Japanese haiku, tanka, and katuata. We’ll study and practice the challenges and simplicity of short poems by reading these forms by masters (Basho, Issa,

The Writer’s Center

Lead with the future -- rather than with background. That’s the most important of eight journalism skills that will transform your queries, proposals and manuscripts. The others: write your readers’ language, be positive (to be both clear and upbeat), lay out logically, be consistent, be precise, be brief and choose strong verbs. Highlights: master crisis communication, correct errors the correct way, choose between absolute numbers and ratios and write around generic “he.” Emulate the striking

Telling Stories Using Culinary History Claudia Kousoulas Every dish, recipe and ingredient tells a story and this class will help writers find and tell those stories using history, recipes, and personal experience. In this 2-week workshop, discussions of culinary history approaches, writing exercises and a field visit to the Bethesda Farmwomen’s Market will guide students to find a story, build it with a culinary history framework and fill in the details with precise writing and personal observations. Students will develop a number of story ideas and approaches to build them into universally appealing stories. 2 Saturdays 10 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Bethesda Beginner

6/7–6/14 $100

Telling Stories Using Culinary History Claudia Kousoulas Every dish, recipe and ingredient tells a story, and this class will help writers find and tell those stories using history, recipes and personal experience. Discussions of culinary history approaches, writing exercises and a field visit to Eastern Market will guide students to find a story, build it with a culinary history framework and fill in the details with precise writing and personal observations. Students will develop story ideas and approaches to build them into universally appealing stories. 2 Saturdays Capitol Hill

10 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Beginner

6/21–6/28 $100

How to Write Grant Proposals Cara Seitchek Learn how to write proposals to request grants from funders. The class will cover how to research prospective funders, the elements of a good proposal and how to approach funders. Proposal writing is a practical skill that applies to those who work or volunteer for non-profit organizations and can be a good source of freelance income. Have a nonprofit or project in mind to use as the focus of your research and proposal. This class meets in-person for the first and third sessions, and online via email for the remainder of the class. 3 Saturdays 1:30–4 p.m. Bethesda/Online Beginner

7/12–7/26 $135

Break on Through: Breaking into Music Journalism Willona Sloan Are you interested in breaking into music journalism? Here you will learn how to score interviews with bands and work with record labels and publicists to review new records. You will learn tips for writing compelling feature stories, artist profiles

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WORKSHOPS and live show reviews. You also will learn how to sell your writing for publication and how to build your own music blog to showcase your work. 7/12 $80

6 Tuesdays 7–9:30 p.m. Bethesda Beginner

The Art of the Interview

Screenwriting II

Sierra Prasada This double session, ideal for fiction, nonfiction and dramatic writers, will illuminate the creative potential of the interview — a tool that can enhance both writing and daily life. You’ll learn how the craft of interviewing, taught by an experienced journalist, can help you generate and cultivate more personally meaningful ideas; get useful feedback; develop your works in progress and transform your own practice. The second session will focus on applying the insight gained from doing an interview to a new or ongoing piece. 2 Saturdays Capitol Hill

10 a.m.–3 p.m. 7/19–7/26 Beginner/Intermed $195

We will concentrate on the art of rewriting your screenplay with the end goal of creating an air tight screenplay that can survive the scrutiny of even the most jaded film industry professional. Special emphasis will be on placed on pacing, structure, dialogue and paying off the expectations that arise from the genre or signal events of your story. A completed or near completed script is required. 8 Thursdays Bethesda

Give a Little, Learn a Lot

7:30–10 p.m. 5/8–6/26 Intermed/Advanced $360

Randy Baker

Brook Wilensky-Lanford It’s time for writers to reclaim the word “critic”—as Oscar Wilde wrote, the critic too is an artist. Besides, joining the conversation about contemporary politics and culture is one of the best ways to see your words published! In this six-week online class for all levels, we will learn to write the classic book review, the oped, opinion piece and the personal-critical essay. You will develop a “beat,” complete at least two critical pieces and learn how to submit them for publication. 7/21–8/25 $270

Arts and Culture Writing: How to Build Your Portfolio for Publication Willona Sloan Breaking into arts writing takes determination -and good clips. The best way to land your first paying gig is to have a portfolio of reviews and feature stories that demonstrate your skill and writing style. You will learn tips for interviewing artists and musicians; writing art and music reviews and contacting record labels, publicists and artists. Through weekly assignments you will learn how to build a professional arts and culture blog to serve as your portfolio, as well as how to market your writing and pitch ideas to publications to sell your first story. Students must complete 400- to 500-word writing assignments each week. 4 Wednesdays 7–9 p.m. Bethesda All

Lyn Vaus

24-Hour Play Workshop

Everyone’s a Critic: Getting Your Opinion Published

6 Mondays N/A Online All

5/6–6/10 $270

This course is modeled on the popular 24-hour play projects in which a play is written overnight, rehearsed the next day and produced within 24 hours of the first meeting. Writers receive a boot camp in structure and 10-minute play construction and at the end of class are given “prompts” to begin writing. The class meets again the next morning; writers return with fully completed drafts and jump into a workshop. The playwrights have a few hours to revise their plays before giving them to a group of professional actors to perform that evening. First meeting: 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday. Revision workshop: 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Sunday. Performance: 7-9 p.m. Sunday. 1 Sat-Sun 11 a.m.–9 p.m. Bethesda All

Volunteer at The Writer’s Center! We need interns, contributors & photo/video/design gurus. In return, we offer credit to use towards any workshop. Contact Mia@Writer.org for more details.

6/7–6/8 $135

The Art and Craft of Screenwriting Khris Baxter This intensive workshop will guide the beginning or intermediate screenwriter through the entire screenwriting process: idea, story, plot, structure, character development, scene construction and dialogue, the tools necessary to begin writing a feature-length screenplay. Participants should arrive with a short synopsis (no more than a page) of their screenplay idea. One-hour lunch break. 1 Saturday Glen Echo

10 a.m.–4 p.m. 6/21 Beginner/Intermed $100

Screenwriting I Monica Lee Bellais

8/6–8/27 $135

Stage and Screen Playwriting I Randy Baker Designed for first time or beginning playwrights, this course will develop the writer’s individual theatrical style through the writing of scenes and discussion of literary examples. Writers will gain a working literacy of the most important elements of

In this beginning workshop, students will learn the story development process and the craft of industry-standard formatting. Screenplay writing tasks and techniques will be assigned and discussed each week as tangible tools, using a building block approach for developing a first-draft screenplay. Students will learn the story development tools vital for the competitive entertainment industry marketplace. 4 Tuesdays 6:30–9:30 p.m. Bethesda Beginner

5/6–5/27 $215

Workshop & Event Guide Summer 2014

WORKSHOPS

1 Saturday 9 a.m.–3 p.m. Bethesda All

performance and will be introduced to key areas of craft including language, dialogue and the essentials of dramatic form and structure. Students will end the class with a completed one-act play.

WORKSHOPS

The Writer’s Center

Character and Development for the Screenwriter

Building a Blockbuster: Screenwriting Workshop

Talking the Talk: Dialogue and the Perfect Script

Monica Lee Bellais

Intensive screenwriting workshop for all levels will focus on building characters through story development and dialogue. Without strong characters, dialogue will be flat and the script will be lifeless. Don’t destroy a cool, powerful, funny, romantic, culturally shocking or politically moving scene with predictably bad dialogue. Students will gain an understanding of formatting tricks for crisp scene flow to make characters come to life.

Intensive screenwriting workshop for all levels will focus on writing action based movies. Washington, D.C. is a unique place where people have incredible global experiences that translate into a blockbuster concept. Get that amazing political thriller, spy, espionage, humanitarian, military and/or war movie out of your mind and into a marketable screenplay. Students will learn the essential development skills needed to write an amazing movie that will grab the attention of Hollywood producers.

One-day intensive screenwriting dialogue workshop for all levels will focus on what is hot in today’s marketplace and how to grab the attention of a producer and get talent interested in your project. Regardless of genre, the script has to be strong, hook the reader and withstand the pitch. Students will gain an understanding of story development, from writing a screenplay to how to land the interest of feature film producers.

1 Saturday 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Bethesda All

Screenwriting II: Character and Dialogue

1 Saturday 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Bethesda All

5/17 $100

Screenwriting II: Arcs & Subplots Monica Lee Bellais

WORKSHOPS

The plot is vital and guides the character’s motivations, actions and dialogue. Where do the motivations and actions have the greatest impact on your lead character’s inciting incident? Does it propel your characters over hurdles throughout the screenplay? Learn how subplots help to create the world for your storyline and serve as a way of making more tension in the main plot. Students will learn the story development tools vital for the competitive entertainment industry marketplace. 4 Tuesdays Bethesda

6:30–9:30 p.m. 6/3–6/24 Intermed/Advanced $215

6/21 $100

Screenwriting II Monica Lee Bellais

1 Saturday 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Bethesda All

7/19 $100

Monica Lee Bellais

D.C. is a unique place where people have incredible global experiences that translate into a blockbuster concept. Get that amazing political thriller, spy, espionage, military and/or war movie out of your mind and into a marketable screenplay. Students will learn the essential development skills and development process, which is vital to getting a screenplay though the Hollywood development pipeline.

The focus of this workshop will be on character arc through dialogue. The character’s goals are a critical element in storytelling. Learn the craft of writing powerful dialogue without exposition. Discover the process vital to getting a screenplay though the Hollywood development pipeline. Students will learn to craft a screenplay that is entertaining, as well as hook a reader by strong, interesting characters that actors want to play and audiences want to watch.

4 Tuesdays McLean

4 Tuesdays Bethesda

6:30–9:30 p.m. 7/8–7/29 Intermed/Advanced $215

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6:30–9:30 p.m. 8/5–8/26 Intermed/Advanced $215

ART EXHIBITS

Of Water and Land: Michael Ross & Glen Kessler

f Water and Land, featuring the work of Michael Ross and Glen Kessler, was on exhibit at The Writer’s Center from Dec. 20, 2013 to March 9, 2014. Ross’ human figures, birds, dense foliage and aquatic landscapes refer to movement, memory, connection and discord between people and the natural world. Kessler plays with clarity and obfuscation as he permits us to teeter on the edge of certainty and confusion, embracing the vibrant spirit and vision of the impressionist era.

Joram Piatigorsky, Michael Ross, Glen Kessler & Lona Piatigorsky

Photo by Mia Cortez

See their work at MichaelRossArt. com and GlenKessler.com. Our current exhibit, Colorful View, runs through June 22.

Author’s Coach/ Writing Mentor Writing your first novel or in need of professional support to further your writing career? Kathryn Johnson, developer of The Extreme Novelist course for The Writer’s Center, is now accepting new clients. Services designed to fit the individual author’s needs. Including: • Partial or Full Content Editing • Critical Reads & Brainstorming Sessions • Publish-ready Analysis & Tips • Help with Queries/Synopses/Pitches • Private Consultation & Instruction at all levels • Specializing in all fiction genres & the creative memoir

Reasonable rates, no contracts/retainers, privacy guaranteed. Free 20-minute phone consultation: 301-439-7567 For more information, check out: www.WriteByYou.com or email Kathryn@WriteByYou.com

Workshop & Event Guide Summer 2014

CLASS ACTS

The Writer’s Center

Table Talk Workshop gave food writer recipe for success By Mía R. Cortez

hat could be better than writing about food? Researching it, says Pati Jinich, author of Pati’s Mexican Table: The Secrets of Real Home Mexican Cooking. She’s proud to say that her book is now a top seller in Amazon’s “Mexican Cooking, Food & Wine” category, although it’s not what she envisioned herself doing early on. “I was trained as a political analyst,” says the Mexico City native and graduate of the National Autonomous University of Mexico. “I wanted to be an academic.” Well-versed in Mexican history, geography and social sciences, soon after she and her husband relocated to Dallas, Texas, Jinich says she found herself in a sort of cultural limbo. “It looks like Mexico, but it’s not. It sounds like Spanish, but it’s not. It looks like Mexican food, but it’s not,” she says. “So I started cooking a lot.” She cooked for friends and neighbors, then in a stroke of luck she became a production assistant for the PBS food series New Tastes from Texas. (She originally inquired about helping with a documentary on the Mexican revolution, but missed production by a hair.) The show was hosted by Chef Stephan Pyles, along with Diana Kennedy and Patricia

Quintana, pioneers who helped introduce Mexican ingredients into American cooking. “My husband insisted time and again I quit my academic path to jump into cooking, and I started to think he was a macho man in disguise!” she exclaims. Upon moving to D.C., Jinich retook her formal path as a political analyst and received a master’s degree in Latin American Studies from Georgetown. She landed what she considered her think tank “dream job” at the InterAmerican Dialogue, a policy research center. After a year of “obsessively thinking about food rather than politics,” Jinich left her job to give food a real try. She enrolled in an intense sixmonth course at L’Academie de Cuisine, and found she could fuse her two passions. “I still envisioned myself doing research,” she says. “But instead of comparing data I would compare ceviches in Mexico!”

Photos by Michael Ventura

That’s when Jinich discovered The Writer’s Center. In 2006, she took a class with Ellen Ryan, a former Washingtonian editor. She attributes her own fresh and different approach to that class. It gave her the confidence to start writing, and enhance her curricula. “I really remember with endearment the class that I took at The Writer’s Center because it helped a lot in framing my thinking in presenting a topic or writ-

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Continued on page 37

CLASS ACTS

Second Chance Physician’s First Novel is Testament to Learning & Collaboration By Joan Atchinson

Photo by Stephen H. Mintz, MD

aoul Wientzen always wanted to be a writer. As a student at Georgetown University in the ‘60s, he was drawn to writing, but felt pressured to go to medical school instead. “It was a time when family really mattered,” he recalls. “When my parents said ‘you should be a doctor,’ I said ‘OK.’” Decades later, as a physician specializing in pediatric infectious disease, Wientzen’s desire to write resurfaced. He needed an outlet to process the human drama inherent in a practice made up of sick children.

“I wanted to come to grips with the joy, loss, stress and strain of marching hand in hand with families that have been dealt a terrible blow,” he says. However, the reality of balancing a full-time practice and an active family, and the pressures of professional teaching, research and publishing left little time for creative writing. He tried many times to put pen to paper, but was unable to make any real headway. In 2002, two significant events occurred: Wientzen cut back to a part-time clinical practice, and he discovered The Writer’s Center in Bethesda. With blocks of time newly available, he began writing in earnest every day. He brought a manuscript to Barbara Esstman’s “Advanced Novel and Memoir” workshop, which he acknowledges was full of mistakes. He set that one aside, began working on another, and enrolled in Esstman’s next workshop.

Workshop & Event Guide Summer 2014

The workshop leader and participants received the manuscript well. Since the students shared a similar approach to writing, they formed a group, and Wientzen continued work on the manuscript with their support and critical feedback. A year later, Wientzen found an agent, and 18 months after that, the manuscript was sent to an editor. The Assembler of Parts was published in September of 2013. The book, dubbed an “astonishing first novel” by Kirkus Reviews, is about the brief, tumultuous life of a physically disabled young girl, narrated from the afterlife via a series of tapes shown by a supreme being called The Assembler. The story draws on Wientzen’s 30 years of experience treating critically ill children. “After years of practicing medicine, the problem of an imperfect world, of a God who would allow an innocent child to get sick and die, lodges in your soul,” he says. In his practice, Wientzen found that the families who railed against the unfairness of a sick child and wouldn’t let go of their anger fared much worse than those who were more forgiving and accepting. He says he gained strength from the families who said, “This Continued on page 37

BOOK TALK The Survivor Tree: Inspired by a True Story Cheryl Somers Aubin ISBN: 978-0983833406

Cheryl Somers Aubin’s book, The Survivor Tree: Inspired by a True Story, takes the reader on a journey of hope and healing by imaginatively describing the experiences, memories, and feelings of the 9/11 Survivor Tree. Illustrations by Sheila Harrington. Available on Amazon.com. All profits go to charity. The Discreet Charms of a Bourgeois Beach Town: Rehoboth Beach Stories Rich Barnett ISBN: 978-0984999408

Local writer and columnist Rich Barnett’s first book is a humorous and gently satiric portrait of Rehoboth Beach, DE, one of the East Coast’s most unique beach towns. A fun beach read, this book is available at Browseabout Books in Rehoboth and on Amazon.com. RehobothBook.com

zin. A well-kept secret shatters her perfect life. War breaks out and she flees with her brother to Nigeria. Her secrets resurrect with a flash of gold beads. She must fight for her life and soul. NikeCFatoki.com

Jody Bolz ISBN: 978-1-62549-057-5

John Balaban writes, “Shadow Play explores such longing between a sensible married woman and a ghost from when she was young, backpacking through Asia.” TurningPointBooks.com/ bolz.html

Lucid Waking David B Churchill ISBN: 978-0-9753095-0-6

Historic first collection of non-academic, non-MFA poetry in the “Poetry is Mindfulness” movement. Includes the essay, “An Introduction to Poetry.” Especially recommended for aspiring or established poets searching for ways to make their work relevant in today’s fast-paced world. Not available as an e-book. Available on Amazon.com or on order from your local bookseller. Shaman Kelly Conrad

Shaman is an awardwinning Civil War-era novel, telling the story of Dr. Matt Tyler, a former surgeon for the Union Army, and Degan, a young woman of the Seneca Nation. With a rich sense of place and historical detail, Shaman is a powerful story of interracial romance. KellyZConrad.com The Water that Broke You

Nike Campbell-Fatoki

Patricia Davis

ISBN: 978-0988193208

ISBN:978-1-6229-572-2

Marie de la Fère Edited and introduced by C.M. Mayo

A free PDF download ebook from Dancing Chiva, this previously very rare English language eyewitness memoir of 1860s Mexico has been published by permission of the Bancroft Library, UC Berkeley. DancingChiva.com Running All the Way: A Marine, a Runner, a Journey through Life Lawrence Dickerson ISBN: 978-1493597918

Running All the Way is a memoir. Larry Dickerson, a retired Marine colonel and ative runner, recounts growing up in West Virginia, serving in combat in Korea, graduating from Northwestern University and capping a bucket list by running in all 50 states. The writing is clean, vivid and well organized. Available on Amazon.com. LawrenceDickerson.com The Light in Your Pocket: Illuminate Your Life in 140-Characters or Less Judy M. Ford

Thread of Gold Beads

Set in the 1890s the novel chronicles the life of Amelia, daughter of King Gbèhan-

ries of creation tales . . . pure music.” A blend of geophysics, mythology, and mother love, the poems undertake a search for the sacred in all of us. PatriciaDavisAuthor. com My Recollections of Maximilian

ISBN# 978-1-46207327-6

Shadow Play

The Writer’s Center

The Water that Broke You, as Myra Sklarew puts it, is “a book of origins, a se-

ISBN: 978-1492754046

While social media allows us to communicate and move through our lives with lightening speed, life coach Judy M. Ford uses it to encourage each of us to pause, slow down and balance our movements

View online at www.writer.org/guide

BOOK TALK with the power and light of our being. In this collection of ‘illuminations,’ inspirational and motivational quotes are presented to take the reader on an inner journey of discovery – that, in fact, the light in your pocket…is you! SunriseConsultingCo.com

instead of astronauts. It’s Hitchhiker’s Guide meets the Space Race. Can Neil, a 13-year-old sorcerer’s apprentice, survive the Soviet’s attempts to kill him and lead the U.S. to victory? Azerbaijan: Essential Guide to Customs and Culture Nikki Kazimova

No Accounts

ISBN: 1857335449

Tom Glenn, DPA ISBN: 978-1-62720-008-0

No-Accounts is a story of two men, one gay, one straight, who learn from one another how to become men by accepting loss, including, in the end, life itself. The crisis comes when Martin, an AIDS volunteer, discovers that his gay patient, Peter, infected Martin’s student who died of AIDS. Tom-Tells-Tales.org Scorched by the Sun: Poems by Moshe Dor

If your summer travels take you to the Caucasus, where East meets West, remember to put in your pocket this concise culture guide to Azerbaijan from a DC-based writer Nikki Kazimova. Gain insight into the local way of life and learn about cultural differences before you get off the plane. In The Secret Service, The True Story of the Man Who Saved President Reagan’s Life Jerry & Carolyn Parr

Translated by Barbara Goldberg ISBN: 978-0299227203

These poems by renowned Israeli poet Moshe Dor breathe, smell and taste like Israel. Here is the agony of war while craving for peace, the harsh reality of clashes in biblical landscapes. “Ardent, compressed, pungent and lyrical, these poems have a glorious force that recalls the roots of all poetry.” - Robert Pinsky, former U.S. poet laureate.

ISBN 978-1-4143-7871-8 (Softcover) ISBN 978-1-4143-8748-2 (Hardcover)

Follow the spiritual journey of Jerry Parr, who rose from a tough childhood in a working class neighborhood to accompany the most powerful leaders in the world – and retired to stand with the poorest of the poor. ‘Til the Well Runs Dry Lauren Francis-Sharma

Sorcerers in Space

ISBN-13: 9780805098037

Larry Hodges

Available April 22, 2104

ISBN: 978-1-938703-23-2

Sorcerers in Space is a humorous fantasy retelling of the U.S.-Soviet race to the moon in the ‘60s, but with sorcerers

A multi-generational saga that begins in the 1940s and sweeps through the 1960s. ‘Til the Well Runs Dry opens in a seaside village in Trinidad where Marcia GarWorkshop & Event Guide Summer 2014

cia, raising two small boys, guards a secret. When she meets Farouk Karam, a young policeman, so smitten that he elicits the help of an obeah woman, the risks and rewards amplify forever. LaurenFrancisSharma.com Left at the Mango Tree Stephanie Siciarz ISBN: 9780989686303

Named one of the Best Books of 2013 (Kirkus Reviews), Left at the Mango Tree by Stephanie Siciarz is a lyrical and whimsical island mystery, “a tropical feast of charming, clever characters, smart storytelling, and just the right amount of magic.” Amzn.to/MangoTree Patriot Priest; The Story of Monsignor William A. Hemmick, The Vatican’s First American Canon Patricia Daly-Lipe ISBN: 9781939521064

“Patricia Daly-Lipe puts us back in time to 1916, where we are caught up in the bloody, unrelenting trench warfare of World War I. She tells the true story of her great uncle, a Catholic priest who lived through the nightmare of a war that couldn’t be won or lost, but had to be endured. His steadfast sense of duty in the face of death and destruction is especially moving to us today, as we try and make sense of the endless wars that rage around us, and the inevitable moral question of whether we should get involved.” - (Donna Evers, The Georgetowner) LiteraryLady.com

BOOK TALK Loving Lord Ash Sally MacKenzie ISBN: 978-1420123234

An heir to a duchy, his estranged wife, a very large dog, a nasty villain, and a meddling mother add up to one happily ever after. “Readers will love being treated to this lively, hilarious Regency romp...” -(Booklist, STARRED REVIEW) www.SallyMacKenzie.net

The Writer’s Center

Miraculous Air: Journey of a Thousand Miles through Baja California, the Other Mexico

Chesapeake Views – Catching the Light

C.M. Mayo

ISBN: 978-0988345607

ISBN: 978-1571313041

Of Miraculous Air, Library Journal wrote, “With elegant prose and an artist’s eye for detail, C.M. Mayo may just have written one of the best books ever about Baja California. Highly recommended.” In paperback from Milkweed Editions and now in Kindle. CMMayo.com

Searching for Paradise

Wilson Wyatt, Jr.

A collector’s edition of original Chesapeake Bay photography captures the changing light of the seasons and our neighbors in nature, on and off the water. The author gives details of how the images were taken for photography enthusiasts. WilsonWyattJr.com Sand and Fire

El Último Príncipe del Imperio Mexicano

Gerard Marconi ISBN: 978-1626466708

Searching for Paradise is a collection of short stories that explore the need for something more than this world can offer. They include the creation of art and the quest for immortality, but most are about ordinary people searching for something meaningful in their everyday lives. Available on Amazon.com. BaltimoreWriter.com

C.M. Mayo Traducción de Agustín Cadena ISBN: 978-0985278144

Novela histórica basada le increíble y verdadera historia del desconocido nieto de Agustín de Iturbide, a quien Maximiliano de Habsburgo “adopto´”, convirtiéndolo en el presunto heredero de su imperio. Publicado en México por Random House MondadoriGrijalbo, y ahora disponsible en Kindle. CMMayo.com

Tom Young ISBN: 978-0399166884

A jihadist leader has seized a supply of sarin gas and is wreaking havoc: a nightclub in Sicily, a packed street in Gibraltar. Marine gunnery sergeant A. E. Blount, at six-foot-eight a formidable warrior, the grandson of one of the first black Marines, sets out with a strike force to kill or capture the terrorist. But he finds himself lured into a trap.

Advertise Your Book in Book Talk!

The Milk of Birds

Los Visitantes Traducción de Bertha Ruiz de la Concha

Sylvia Whitman ISBN 9781442446823

“In this debut, an American teen from Richmond, Va., and a Sudanese teen in Darfur exchange letters during 2008, transforming their very different lives” (Kirkus, starred review). The International Reading Association has named this story of an unlikely friendship one of 25 “Notable Books for a Global Society” for 2014.

C.M. Mayo ISBN: 978-0967409320

Una visita a Todos Santos, Baja California Sur, un pueblo único y mágico en la costa del pacifico-- y en la antesala de una gran transformación. Libro digital (iBook) Dancing Chiva, 2012 CMMayo.com

$50 ($45 Members) Fall Issue Deadline: June 20, 2014 editor@writer.org We distribute 15,000 copies of the Workshop & Event Guide throughout the D.C.-metro area. Our readers find us in City Paper, at Metro stations, libraries, art centers, cafes and more!

View online at www.writer.org/guide

CLASS ACTS Jinich . . . continued from p. 32

ing an article,” she says.

iarize people with its ingredients and cooking techniques, with a sprinkling of culture, history and traditions.” Teaching at the institute has opened many doors for Jinich – from radio shows and TV segments to a spot on PBS. Pati’s Mexican Table, the TV show, is now in its third season. It airs Saturdays at 11:30 a.m. on WETA. As for the cookbook, published in 2013, Jinich calls it “a whole different animal.” “In cookbooks, you fail when you can’t get people to cook your recipes,” she says. “You succeed when people say they tried it. They may say they made it and it was terrible, or they made it and it was good - but at least they made it.” To learn more about Jinich or

She’s now writing more than ever, churning out fresh content for web, print and TV. In 2007, prompted by the Director of the Mexican Cultural Institute, she launched Mexican Table, a culinary program that consists of a series of cooking demonstrations, tasting dinners and workshops at the Mexican Cultural Institute. From classes on regions and festivities to new trends and the history and uses of indigenous ingredients such as vanilla and cacao, the program incorporates anything that relates to the Mexican culinary universe. “Through this program, I try to swing a window wide open into the fascinating world of Mexican cuisine,” she says. “I help famil-

Mexican “Marranitos,” or piggy cookies Photo by Peggy de los Santos

sign up for her email newsletter that features practical cooking tips and mouth-watering recipes, visit PatisMexicanTable.com.

Wientzen . . . continued from p. 33

is what we have to do. Find the way out that is best for everybody.” The book was a way for Wientzen to process the emotions of working with those families and explore why the world is so imperfect. “This was a major issue of debate and meditation and consideration for me,” he says. Wientzen credits his writing group and The Writer’s Center for the success of his first novel.

teaching and collaboration. Wientzen is working on his second novel, again with the encouragement of the group. “We all write and we come together to read, write and have some difficult and wonderful discussions about that,” he says.

We come together to read, write and have some difficult and wonderful discussions. - Raoul Wientzen “I could never have written this book without the help I received at the center,” he says. He maintains that The Assembler of Parts is a testament to the power of

Share Your Story! What role have we played in your development as a writer? Send a pitch to our Class Acts Series.

editor@writer.org Workshop & Event Guide Summer 2014

More than a B & B Eastern Shore retreat a haven for writers By Mía R. Cortez

ometimes all you need is a little peace and quiet to get ideas flowing onto the page. Far from the distractions of home and work, Alexander House Booklovers B&B on the Eastern Shore is a literary-themed haven for writers of all levels. From November through April, innkeeper Elizabeth Alexander hosts writing retreat weekends where writers can discuss their work over meals and receive feedback, suggestions, ideas and inspiration. In between discussions, silence is observed throughout the inn for writing. “As someone wanting to tap into my creative side, I attended the writing retreat to get inspired,” said Jill Ashby of Riviera Beach, MD. “I not only received inspiration, but I also gained encouragement and guidance in a positive atmosphere. I especially liked the designated quiet time.” The Victorian home boasts a number of spaces where one can tap into their creative side. Guests can be found writing in front of the fire in the Mark Twain Parlor, in the Parisian-themed Cafe Collette or the private veranda. The guest rooms - Jane Austen, Langston Hughes and Robert Louis Stevenson - are named after Alexander’s favorite authors. The Hughes room has a

Alexander House B & B in Princess Ann, MD Photo by Mía Cortez

jazzy Harlem renaissance feel, a high-seas adventure awaits in the Stevenson room and the Austen room captures the romance of Regency England, complete with a clawfoot tub. Aspiring writers often leave the retreat with a lot more than what they came with. Holly H., a retired nurse and realtor from Annapolis, had never written creatively before attending the Booklovers retreat. After a solid weekend of writing and discussing her book with

more seasoned writers, including two participants who actually teach creative writing for a living, she found herself with the beginning of a novel. “I’m so glad I decided to do this,” she said. “It has opened up a new avenue in my life." Alexander is a retired journalist and teacher who now writes books and plays. The retreats were her brainchild. “I wanted to create a space for other writers to find support and inspiration, and to escape from

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all the daily distractions that often stop one from writing,” she says. “I use the energy from the retreat to do some of my own writing as well.” The next retreat weekend is set for April 4-6. The package ($275) includes a two-night stay, hot breakfasts and lunches, a wine and cheese reception and evening liqueurs. Alexander said there may be an additional retreat in late April, depending on demand. The schedule consists of quiet writing time and facilitated group discussions. Day packages ($30-$75) that include use of space, lunches and evening discussions. For more information, visit www.bookloversbnb. com or call 410-651-5195.

Workshop & Event Guide Summer 2014

Above: An Eastern Shore sunset Left: An L.C. Smith typewriter adorns the Langston Hughes room. Photos by Mia Cortez

WORKSHOP LEADERS AMY ABRAMS is the author of The Cage and the Key and Schenck in the 21st Century. Her work has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Art in America and Village Voice Media. Abrams has appeared on National Public Radio and lectured at universities, museums and writing conferences across America. ANDRA ABRAMSON is the author of the Kids Meet and Up Close series, as well as many other books for young readers. She has been a children’s book editor for 15 years, and has edited dozens of books for children of all ages, including the New York Times bestseller, Cathy’s Book. JAMES ALEXANDER has worked for The Charlotte Observer and The Atlanta JournalConstitution. He served as a U.S. Congressional Fellow in the House and Senate before working for several years as a press secretary on Capitol Hill.

LEADERS

CHERYL SOMERS AUBIN is a featured speaker at personal history writing symposia, writing conferences and workshops. Her work has appeared in The Washington Post, Boston Globe, Foundation Magazine and other newspapers, magazines and online journals. She holds an MA in writing from Johns Hopkins University. RANDY BAKER is a playwright, director and the co-artistic director of Rorschach Theatre. His plays have appeared at Rorschach Theatre and Source Theatre, among others. A member of The Playwright’s Arena, he is developing a play as a part of Theater J’s Locally Grown series. KHRIS BAXTER is a screenwriter, producer and founder of Boundary Stone Films, a Washington, D.C.-based film and television development company. A member of the Virginia Film Office, he is a judge for the annual Virginia Screenwriting Competition. ANNE BECKER is the Poet Laureate Emerita of Takoma Park, and author of The Transmutation Notebooks: Poems in the voices of Charles and Emma Darwin and The Good Body. She was senior producer of Watershed Tapes, recordings of major American and international poets reading their work. MONICA LEE BELLAIS is the screenwriter/ producer of Ocotillo, developed with Michael Uslan, the Executive Producer of The Dark Knight. She is the co-producer/co-writer of

Yellow Footprints with Nick Dash. Bellais has worked in production at James Cameron’s Lightstorm Entertainment, DreamWorks and Warner Bros. Records. ERIN M. BERTRAM is the author of several chapbooks, including Body of Water (Frank O’Hara Chapbook Award) and Inland Sea (Robin Becker Chapbook Prize), as well as three forthcoming titles: Memento Mori, The Vanishing of Camille Claudel and Where the Wind Bends Backward (with Ryan Collins). JODY BOLZ has served as an executive editor of Poet Lore since 2002. She worked as a magazine editor for The Wilderness Society and The Nature Conservancy and taught creative writing at George Washington University. She is the author, most recently, of the novella-inverse Shadow Play and A Lesson in Narrative Time. JENNIFER BUXTON has published fiction in Epoch, Puerto del Sol and Blue Penny Quarterly, among others, and nonfiction in periodicals such as Seventeen and Scholastic magazines. She has taught at the University of Virginia and the Young Writer’s Workshop, and holds an MFA in fiction from the University of Virginia. DANA CANN has published stories in The Massachusetts Review, The Sun, The Gettysburg Review, Bethesda Magazine, The Florida Review and Blackbird. He has received fellowships from the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts and the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation. MARY CARPENTER has 30 years of experience as a published journalist. She has written two nonfiction books for young adults and is working on a series of personal essays. Carpenter holds a BA in English from Wellesley College and a graduate degree in journalism from Boston University. NANCY NAOMI CARLSON has won grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Maryland Arts Council and the Arts & Humanities Council of Montgomery County. She is the author of three poetry collections as well as the critically acclaimed Stone Lyre: Poems of René Char. She is an associate editor for Tupelo Press and translation editor for Blue Lyra Review. CAROLYN CLARK is a devoted teacher and a personal trainer. She has studied at Cornell University, Brown University and The Johns

The Writer’s Center Hopkins University for degrees in classicsrelated fields. BRENDA W. CLOUGH is the author of the novels How Like a God, The Doors of Death and Revise the World, as well as the e-book Speak to Our Desires. She has been a finalist for the Hugo award, and has been teaching at The Writer’s Center for more than 10 years. MARK CUGINI is the author of a chapbook forthcoming from Ink Press, as well as the founding editor of Big Lucks and curator of the Three Tents Reading Series. He is a regular contributor to HTMLGiant, and his work has appeared in Melville House, among others. He holds an MFA from American University. MELANIE FIGG teaches poetry to adult learners, children, college students and prisoners. Her work has been featured in The Iowa Review, among others. In addition to The Writer’s Center, she teaches at Politics & Prose, DC Arts and other local venues. She also curates Literary Art Tours in D.C. galleries. NAN FRY is the author of two books of poetry: Relearning the Dark and Say What I Am Called. Her work has appeared in numerous journals, including Spillway and the Delmarva Review. Her honors include an EdPress Award for Excellence in Educational Journalism. JESSICA GARRATT is the author of Fire Pond, winner of the Agha Shahid Prize in Poetry and a forthcoming second collection. Her work has appeared in the Colorado Review, among others. She holds a doctorate from the University of Missouri and an MFA from the University of Texas at Austin. BERNADETTE GEYER is the author of the poetry chapbook What Remains as well as a freelance writer and copy editor. Her work has appeared in WRITER’S Journal, Freelance Writer’s Report, The Montserrat Review and The Los Angeles Review, among others. Her honors include a 2010 Strauss Fellowship from the Arts Council of Fairfax County. T. GREENWOOD is the author of six novels. Her honors include grants from the Sherwood Anderson Foundation, the Christopher Isherwood Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts and, most recently, the Maryland State Arts Council. She teaches at both the University of California, San Diego’s Extension Program and The Ink Spot.

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WORKSHOP LEADERS

ZAHARA HECKSCHER is the co-author of the book How to Live Your Dream of Volunteering Overseas.She also has written articles that have appeared in books and the online travel magazine www.TransitionsAbroad.com, where she serves as contributing editor. Heckscher teaches professional writing at University of Maryland at College Park. ELLEN HERBERT is the author of the short story collection Falling Women and Other Stories. Her short fiction has been awarded a PEN Fiction and a Virginia Fiction Fellowship. Her creative nonfiction has been published in women’s magazines and literary magazines. She is the recipient The Flint Hills Review Prize for Creative Nonfiction. KATHRYN JOHNSON is the founder of WriteByYou.com, an author’s mentoring service. More than 40 of her novels have sold to major U.S. and foreign publishers. Her recent series of Victorian thrillers includes The Wild Princess: A Novel of Queen Victoria’s Defiant Daughter and Seducing the Princess. Johnson is Vice President of the Mid-Atlantic region of the Mystery Writers Association. CLAUDIA KOUSOULAS is a freelance food and feature writer whose work has appeared in local and national publications. She is the author of Cast Iron Cooking and a board member of the Culinary Historians of Washington, D.C. She spoke at Blogher Food 2013 on Telling Community Stories and History through Food.

His books include the new Jackhammer Sam and Zoo Ah-Choooo, a PBS Reading Rainbow selection. JACK MCENANY’s work has appeared in Men’s Journal, The Nation, The Humanist, Exquisite Corpse, NBC Online, Maclean’s and many others. He is the author of two books: Bode (winner of the Ullr Award) and: Brush Cat (Mother Jones Top Books of 2009). ANN MCLAUGHLIN is the author of six novels, including most recently Lightning in July. Her honors include 11 fellowships from the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts as well as fellowships from Yaddo and Laverny. She studied literature at Radcliffe College and received a doctorate from American University. SAMUEL MIRANDA is an educator, poet and visual artist. His work has been published in Full Moon on K St, the Chiron Review, DC Poets against the War Anthology, MiPoesias.com and Beltway, among others. He has performed at the Kennedy Center, The Smithsonian Museum of American Art, The Arts Club of Washington, GALA Theatre, and other venues. JEAN NORDHAUS is the review editor of Poet Lore. Her most recent collection of poems, Innocence, won Ohio State University Press’s Charles B. Wheeler award. She has taught at the University of Maryland and UDC and served as Poetry Coordinator at the Folger Shakespeare Library. Nordhaus holds a doctorate in modern German literature from Yale University. SIERRA PRASADA is the author of The Creative Compass: Writing Your Way from Inspiration to Publication (with Dan Millman) and Creative Lives: Portraits of Lebanese Artists. She is adapting the bestselling novel The Journeys of Socrates into a screenplay.

THOMAS LARSON is the author of three books: The Sanctuary of Illness: A Memoir of Heart Disease, The Saddest Music Ever Written: The Story of Samuel Barber’s “Adagio for Strings,” and The Memoir and the Memoirist. A staff writer for the San Diego Reader, he teaches in the MFA Program at Ashland University, Ashland, Ohio.

ELIZABETH POLINER is the author of Mutual Life & Casualty, a novel-in-stories. Her short fiction has appeared in The Kenyon Review, Other Voices, Ascent and others, with several Pushcart nominations. Her poetry has appeared in The Southern Review, Prairie Schooner, Seneca Review and others.

PETER MANDEL is an adventure travel journalist for The Washington Post and Boston Globe and the author of 11 books for children.

ELIZABETH REES is the author of four chapbooks, including most recently Tilting Gravity. Her work has been featured in The Kenyon

Workshop & Event Guide Summer 2014

Review and North American Review, among others. Rees has taught at Harvard University, the U.S. Naval Academy, Howard University and Johns Hopkins University. She currently works as a “Poet-in-the-Schools” for Maryland State Arts Council. CARA SEITCHEK has written grant proposals for local, state and national nonprofit organizations. In addition, she evaluates proposals for the Institute of Museum and Library Services, American Association of Museums and the Maryland State Arts Council. She holds an MA in writing from The Johns Hopkins University. LYNN SCHWARTZ is a story development editor and ghostwriter. She founded the Temple Bar Literary Reading and is the recipient of two Individual Artist Awards in Fiction from the Maryland State Arts Council. Schwartz holds degrees from The City College of New York, Columbia University and The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theater. WILLONA SLOAN has published articles about art, culture and education in magazines including Publishers Weekly, Northern Virginia Magazine and the University of Virginia Magazine. She received a 2013 Artist Fellowship award from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, and was awarded a 2012 residency at the Banff Centre for the Arts in Alberta, Canada. MARILYN SMITH has taken numerous writing classes from The Writer’s Center, and has taught a wide variety of courses/workshops/ seminars since 1969. She retired a few years ago and has recently published two books— her memoir and an anthology of medical memoirs. Smith holds a doctorate in education policy/higher education and a MA in reading education. BIANCA STONE is the author of Someone Else’s Wedding Vows, several poetry chapbooks and an ongoing poetry-comic series from Factory Hollow Press. She is the illustrator of Antigonick, and her poems have appeared in Tin House, American Poetry Review and Crazyhorse. She lives in Brooklyn where she runs Monk Books with Ben Pease and chairs the Ruth Stone Foundation. SARA MANSFIELD TABER is the author of four books, including most recently Born Under an Assumed Name. Her work has appeared in Southwest Review and The Wash-

LEADERS

AARON HAMBURGER is the author of Faith for Beginners, and The View from Stalin’s Head, which was awarded the Rome Prize by the American Academy of Arts and Letters. His writing has appeared in the New York Times and Poets and Writers, among others. He received fellowships from the Edward F. Albee Foundation and the Civitella Ranieri Foundation.

WORKSHOP LEADERS ington Post, among others. She has taught at Johns Hopkins University and the Vermont College of Fine Arts. Her honors include a William Sloane Fellow in Nonfiction from the Bread Loaf Writer’s Conference. DAVID TAYLOR is the author of Soul of a People: The WPA Writers’ Project Uncovers Depression America, named among Best Books of 2009. He wrote and co-produced the companion Smithsonian documentary Soul of a People: Writing America’s Story, which received a CINE Golden Eagle, Best of DC Peer award and a Writer’s Guild Award nomination. LYN VAUS is a screenwriter best known for his Next Stop Wonderland. He began his career as a story editor for a production company in Hollywood, where he oversaw the script for New Line’s The Lawnmower Man. Many of his screenplays have been optioned and in some cases, produced by Imax and Miramax, among others.

HANK WALLACE, a Columbia Law School graduate, was a government reporter for New Jersey’s Middletown Courier and Red Bank Daily Register and the assistant director of law-school publishing for Matthew Bender. He wrote the FCC’s plain-language newsletter and newswriting tips for the Radio Television Digital News Association. ELLYN WEXLER spent 25 years at The Gazette, the Washington Post’s chain of suburban newspapers in Maryland, predominantly as features editor, covering arts and entertainment in Montgomery, Prince George’s and Frederick counties, online and in print. She serves as a regular freelance writer for The Gazette. BROOK WILENSKY-L ANFORD is the author of Paradise Lust, a New York Times Book Review Editor’s Choice. Her work has appeared in Salon, The Huffington Post and others. Brook earned an MFA from Columbia University, where she won the Arthur J. Harris Memorial

The Writer’s Center Prize. She also received a Vermont Studio Center Fellowship from the National Endowment of the Arts.

MICHELE WOLF is the author of Immersion, Conversations During Sleep and The Keeper of the Light. Her poems have also appeared in Poetry, The Hudson Review, North American Review, Antioch Review, Boulevard, and numerous other literary journals and anthologies.

SUZANNE ZWEIZIG is the translation editor for Poet Lore. Her poetry has appeared in such publications as Beloit Poetry Journal and Subtropics. She has received numerous fellowships, including from the MacDowell Colony. She holds an MFA in poetry from the University of Florida and a doctorate in English from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

LEADERS

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Renowned Cellist Evan Drachman Gives Riveting Performance concert featuring cellist Evan DrachA maninterandbenefit pianist Richard Dowling took place on w

Dec. 12, 2013. The duo entranced the audience with pieces by Beethoven, Saint Saëns and Fauré. The concert was made possible with the support of Joram and Lona Piatigorsky. Thanks to all who came out to support The Writer's Center. Photography by Maria Enns

Our evening’s audience

Evan Drachman Richard Dowling

Joram Piatigorsky, Lona Piatigorsky, Sally Mott Freeman, Evan Drachman Our Performers

Richard Dowling and Andrew Greene

THANKS TO OUR DONORS

The Writer’s Center

For all gifts made between July 1, 2013 - February 24, 2014 Langston Hughes Circle - $2,500+

Zora Neale Hurston Circle - $1,000+

Anton Chekhov Circle - $500+

Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County

Kenneth D. Ackerman

Anonymous

Margot Backas

Bruce and Laurie Berger

Christian Mixter and Linna Barnes

The Bydale Foundation

Brooks Cressman

Mark Cymrot

Timothy Crawford

Virginia M. Grandison

John Freeman and Sally Mott Freeman

Patricia M. Davis

Felix Jakob and Kate Blackwell

Maryland State Arts Council

Sandor Slager and Patricia Harris

Kathryn S. Kolar

William Reynolds and Nancy M. Lincoln

John and Barbara Ann Hill

Desiree Magney

Ann McLaughlin

James Mathews

Teresa Burns Murphy The Omega Foundation

Emily Dickinson Circle - $250+ Kaya Adams

John J. Gaudet

David McKinney

Mary Jo Anderson

Karen Gray

Raymond Palmer

Michelle Berberet

Melinda Halpert

Robert Blair

Laurel Huber

Amy and Peter Pastan

Susan Coll

Erika Horton

Elizabeth Drachman

Phyllis A. Langton

Ralph Dweck

Steven A. Lerman

Craig Tregillus

Kathleen Emmet

Dan Logan

Brent and Jung Weil

Glen Finland

Scott F. McCarthy

Robert Wise

Joram and Lona Piatigorsky Jonathan Stillerman

Endowment Gifts For investment in The Writer’s Center’s future The Tau Foundation

The Omega Foundation

PDP Foundation

Designated Gifts For capital and restricted projects at The Writer’s Center Army Officers’ Wives’ Club Jud and Sherry Ashman Margot Backas

Elizabeth Buchanek

Robert Freedman

Ted Lardner

Laurie Sewall

Malve S. Burns

John Freeman and Sally Mott Freeman

Kerry Malawista

Laura Spencer

Catherine Mansell

Christopher Sten

Patricia Chapla

Gail Gorlitzz

James Mathews

Barbara B. Torrey

John Beardsley

James and Naomi Collins

Samantha Guerry

Annilee Oppenheimer

Marcia Wagner

Molly N. Bloom

Genevieve DeLeon

Charles Jensen

Mark Rubin

Jora M. Young

Jody Bolz

Dianne Driessen

Lori Katz

Mady Segal

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THANKS TO OUR DONORS Founder’s Circle - $100+ Anonymous Elizabeth Abell Linda Adcock B. K. Atrostic Lynn W. Bailets Mel Belin Elizabeth S. Bennett Emily Best Judith Bowles Ellen R. Braaf Dana Cann Nancy N. Carlson William Carrington Cecilia Cassidy Jennifer Cockburn Leslie Cohen James and Naomi Collins Sharon Craig Deborah Darr Joe Dellinger

Siobhan Dugan Harold P. Hanson Susan Land P.C. Nair Ramsey Shehadeh Robert Eccles Robert Leddy Phillip G. Nelson Les Hatley Larry and Louise Smith Solveig Eggerz Alan H. and Jean Nordhaus Jay and Linda Herson Michael and Lynn Priscilla Levine Elaine English Terrance O’Connor Jamie Holland Springer Amanda Lockhart Ed Finn Diana Parsell Tim and Sharle Hussion Eric Stone Tarpley M. Long Cheryl Fisher Marie Pavlicek-Wehrli Paul Hyman Peter Sullivan John Malin Lauren Francis-Sharma Andrew F. Popper The John and Ann Karla Taylor Frank and Elizabeth Donald A. Franck Montgomery Fund Kathy B. Ramsperger Malone Martin Galvin Gerald B Thompson Holly Johnson Robin Rausch Steven and Janice Majda Gama Paul Thorn Warren Jones Darrel and Marilyn Marcom Gerald Giesecke Regier Dick Jorgensen Jane T. Udelson Greg and Lois McBride Maria E. Gimenez Helen Reid Kevin Kennedy Ann Varnon Judith McCombs Robert L. Giron Emily Rich Arthur Karlin and Claire McGoff Riggin Waugh and Jorge Goldstein Beth Brophy Robert Richardson Meredith Pond Rekha Mehra Sherry GoldsteinKaren Kirkbride David Roach David Metz Askwith Naomi Weiss Gayle Roehm Agnes Kiss Kristie Miller Peter Gray Aaron Williams Barbara P. Rosing Peter Kissel Velda Moog Theodore Groll Mier and Cathy Wolf Phyllis Rozman Ann Kline Stewart Moss Sushma Gupta Stacy Woodruff Alan Schechter Barbara Kline Cantwell Muckenfuss Janet Hahn and and Angela Lancaster Mady Segal Ken Simon James Yagley Susan Korytkowski

Other Contributors Jill C. Alt Luis A. Ambroggio Charlotte Anker Nancy P. Arbuthnot Pinar Arcan Barri J. Armitage Cheryl Somers Aubin Paige Baldwin Patricia Bartlett Debra Basilis Stephanie Berry Kate Blackwell Sarah Blake Dillard Boland Sharlie Bouic Patricia Brown Ralph and Coralie Bryant Laura Brylawski-Miller Malve S. Burns Michael Bustin Jo A. Buxton John Byrne Ellen Callahan Paul W. Carlson Carolyn Carroll Joseph Cerquone Ira Chaleff Patricia E. Chapla David Churchill

Alexandra Coburn Anne Conover William Cook Ann (Bertie) Cottin Henry Crawford Sylvia Csiffary Keri Culver Siobhan Davenport Andrew Dayton Mary Ann Deak Joanne Delaplaine Rachel Dellon David Diskin Kenneth Doggett Therese Doucet Anne Dougherty Christine Dove Linda Dreeben Dianne Driessen Jeannette P. Dubrow Deborah Dwyer Jonathan Eig Barbara Esstman Michael S. Febrey Jay Fellows Lynne Fitzhugh Bonnie Fogel Candida M. Fraze Nan Fry

Thomas and Ann Gannon Tracee Garner Neal and Mary Margaret Gillen Lois J. Godel John Grady Paul E. Grayson Iris Green Andrew Greene Betty Hafner Robert Gibson Michael Hamilton and E. Laura Golberg Ann Haman Regina Harrison Paulette Harvey Charles Hedetniemi Deborah Hefferon Dewey R. Heising Levi Hilling Maureen Hinkle Suzanne Hood Jad Hopper Daniel Horner Millicent Hughes Lorna Irvine Miriam S. Israel Llenda Jackson-Leslie Christopher James

Rod Jellema Susan S. Jonsberg Michael Johnson Caroline H. Keith Sarah Kellogg Susan Kennington Elaine Kessler Beth Kevles Michael Kirkland amy Kostant Mollee C. Kruger Susan Lane Jeffrey LaPointe Linda LaPrade Raima Larter Elaine Laube Jonathan and Judith Levin Louis Levy Earl Lindveit Talbot C. Mack Susie Marucci Catherine Mathews Karen Mazze James McGee Caroline V. Meirs Margaret Meleney Bonny H. Miller Margaret Miller

Workshop & Event Guide Summer 2014

Elizabeth Miranda Denise Stablein Joan M. Mitric Sharon Stanley Larry and Laurence Stanley Stern Moffi Kathy S. Strom Faye Moskowitz Linda S. Sullivan Madeleine Newkirk Carrington Tarr Les Nicholson Andrea Tisi Jason Newman Howard E. O’Leary Ayana Touval Mary K. O’Melveny Norma S. Tucker Janique Parrott Wanda Van Goor Vinnie Perrone Julia Vickers Frances F. Porter Davi Walders Carol M. Purcell Sharain Ward Michael Purcell Richard C. Washer Karen Reichert Walter Weiss Gretchen RobertsShorter Thomas Wetterer Sandra Robinson James F. Whalen Joan Rudel Kathleen Wheaton Kathryn K. Rushing David White Anthony Rylands David and Jane Winer Phyllis Schottenstein Anita Winters Kathryn Scott Stanton Wormley Jessica Seigel Katherine Young Richard Seldin Jacqueline R. Debra Shafer Zakrewsky William Schofield Boris Zemtzov Joyce Schwartz Judith Zimmerman Gordon Silcox

REGISTRATION

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The Writerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Center

THE LAST WORD

Writer’s Center Community Nurtures Longtime Member By Genevieve DeLeon

riter and activist Pat Davis has been involved with The Writer’s Center for more than ten years. Her work has appeared in The Nation, Hispanic, Counterpunch and Foreign Policy in Focus. Her poems and translations have been published in Poet Lore, Smartish Pace, Tar River Poetry, Salt Hill and Puerto del Sol, among others. On the heels of the publication of her chapbook, The Water that Broke You, she graciously agreed to answer a few questions on her experiences at The Writer’s Center. What first brought you to The Writer’s Center? Did entering this literary community change your work or process? What relationships have formed as a result of your time here? I was new to the DC area and was interested in writing poetry. I don’t remember how I heard about The Writer’s Center. I took Laura Fargas’ wonderful classes for a couple of years, and she suggested that I go on to get my MFA at American University. I made a friendship in Laura’s classes that I still have today, and in later classes with Rose Solari, I made more long-time friends. Writer’s Center staff member and fellow poet and activist Sunil Freeman also became a friend. I have taken Master classes with Moshe Dor, Agha Shahid

Ali, and Stanley Plumly, as well as playwriting and memoir-writing classes. I have been lucky always to find support at The Writer’s Center for whatever new genre I’ve wanted to explore. I’m now part of a poetry-writing group that meets every two weeks at The Writer’s Center to share poems. After many years at The Writer’s Center, you’ll be publishing your first chapbook, The Water that Broke You, with Finishing Line Press - congratulations! What was the driving inspiration behind the collection? What themes or concerns does the collection address? Did your experiences at The Writer’s Center help inform or shape that project? Rod Jellema’s class, in the spring of 2011, was the driving inspiration. I was coming back to poetry after a few years of working on plays, and Rod’s approach was so supportive and encouraging that I generated a lot of new work. A few months after that class ended, I realized I had common themes running through a number of my poems, and I saw that they could make a collection. I approached two of my old Writer’s Center teachers, Michele Wolf and Laura Fargas, and they both helped me shape the manuscript into its current form. The chapbook deals

Workshop & Event Guide Summer 2014

Photo by Johannes Markus

with motherhood; the body and nature as a site of the sacred; the desire to transcend, by whatever means possible, this world in which loss is inevitable; and the necessity of sinking, instead, more deeply into life. What are you working on now? What are your writingrelated goals for the coming year? I’m writing new poems. I’m also doing research for a couple of new plays. I write articles occasionally and regularly write theater reviews, all of which can be seen on my website. *** Learn more about our membership benefits at Writer.org/membership. Read more about Patricia Davis at patriciadavisauthor.com.