courtesy of Lila Vogt
wonderful to see such a strong turnout for the two 49 Writers events at the
Anchorage Reads celebration last Saturday. Thank you to the Anchorage Public
Library for initiating the collaboration and to our fantastic guest authors who
volunteered their services to teach a workshop on Writing Your Place (Douglass
Bourne), to moderate a panel on the same topic (the inimitable Don Rearden),
and to engage in a stimulating panel conversation about grounding your writing
in a specific place (Sherry Simpson, Eowyn Ivey, and Seth Kantner). Our
gratitude also goes to Lila Vogt and the Copper Whale Inn for sponsoring Seth
Kantner’s travel and accommodation.
 |
| Cinthia Ritchie at Great Harvest Bread |
Once
again it was standing room only at the latest Reading & Craft Talk at Great
Harvest Bread, this month featuring Cinthia Ritchie and her recently published Dolls
Behaving Badly. One takeaway from the discussion of finding the time to
write was the suggestion that you might be more productive when you have to
fit it into a full schedule than when you can dedicate your entire day to writing! Such is human nature. Take heart, those with lives packed
to the gunwales. Thanks to KONR Out North for recording the event, look for it
soon on their Facebook page. Kudos to Barbara Hood and the GHB staff (the
chocolate mint cookies were awesome) and volunteer coordinator Lucian Childs.
The
next Reading & Craft talk on Monday, March 4, 7pm, will
feature poet Anne Coray, who will discuss “The Poem Within.”
Alaska
Poets in Winter, a blog-based discussion, returns for its third year on Sunday,
February 24, 1-3 pm. Moderated by Sandra Kleven (thank you, Sandy), this
year’s discussion will feature Fairbanks poet John Morgan and Juneau poet Emily
Wall. Look for more details in an upcoming blog post.
Don’t
miss the chance to meet Alaska’s new State Writer Laureate, Nora Marks
Dauenhauer, who will be appearing in our first Crosscurrents event of 2013 for
an onstage conversation with Diane Benson on Tuesday, February 19,
7pm at the Wilda Marston Theatre, Loussac Library. We are pleased to
bring you this event in partnership with the Anchorage Public Library and
Alaska Writers Guild. While in Anchorage, Nora will also be teaching a Tlingit
language component to the after-school High School Program art class at the
Alaska Native Heritage Center, Tuesday through Friday.
The 2013 Crosscurrents schedule also features Nancy Zafris and Frank Soos on Friday,
April 5, 7 pm and Ron Carlson and Don Rearden on Wednesday, September
4, 7 pm, both at the Anchorage Museum at the Rasmuson Auditorium.
Here’s a reminder of upcoming 49 Writers classes:
- Saturday, February 16, 9am-4pm: “Bring in the
Clowns: the Uses of Humor in Writing,” a workshop with Richard Chiappone - Monday, February 19, 6:30-8:30pm: Building a
Platform as a Writer, a series of workshops with Lorena Knapp - Tuesday, February 19, 6-9pm: Spiritual
Writing: An Introduction, a series of classes with Kathleen Tarr - Wednesday, March 6, 6:30-9pm: Revision
Intensive, a six-week series with Andromeda Romano-Lax – one slot left!
O’Brien himself will be in Homer for the Capstone Address two weeks from now on
Friday, March 1, 7pm at the Mariner
Theater. Before that, many activities have been taking place throughout the
community. See this page at the National Endowment for the Arts for full
details. This week
coming up, there will be:
- A memory collage class with artist Ann-Margaret
Wimmerstadt at Homer Public Library, Tuesday
February 19, 6-8pm; - A book discussion at Homer Public Library, Wednesday February 20, 4.30-6pm; and
- A
Lecture by Erin Coughlin Hollowell on War Poetry Through the Ages at Homer
Public Library, Thursday February 21,
6-8pm.
Competition, F’AIR words, is underway. It is open to Poetry, Nonfiction, Short
Story Fiction, and Novel excerpts. Visit their Call for Entry site for more details
and to submit your work. Deadline: April 15.
for her new book Kayak Girl, published by the University of Alaska Press. She
will now compete at the national level through the National Federation of Press
Women.
Whiting is preparing a photographic/literary art exhibit, and is looking for
individuals 18 or over, male or female, from around the world and from all
walks of life, to share what it means to them to be a man or a woman.
Participation could be by questionnaire, being photographed, or by having their
stories recorded. All responses, photographs and recordings would be identified
by first name and age only. The goal is to create a traveling exhibit, a
website, and a coffee table book, or eBook. Contact Christina at alaskachristina@gmail.com with “A
Circle of Men and Women” in the subject line. Please share with anyone else
likely to be interested in sharing.