Just when spring’s on the way and the Alaskan life seems a little too easy, along comes a volcano to shake things up. At least this week’s calendar doesn’t appear to have writers jetting to events while jets are grounded.
On a less volatile note, National Poetry Month begins next week, and we’ve got a couple of great upcoming events to celebrate. On Saturday, April 4 at 7 p.m at the Alaska Wildberry Theater, the Alaska Poetry League presents the State of the Hood Panel Discussion and Poetic Performance. On the panel are Richard Dauenhauer, Sheila Nickerson, Diane Benson. Featured poets include Mark Muro, Corinna Delgado, Ishmael Hope (Juneau), Nicole Stellon (Fairbanks), Jeremy Pataky, Diane Benson. Then on Monday, April 6 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the UAA Campus Bookstore, you can celebrate poetry with UAA MFA poets Arlitia Jones, Jeffery Oliver, Sandra Kleven, and John McKay.
If you were inspired by Marybeth Holleman’s Poem a Day post, Writer’s Market Editor Robert Lee Brewer is leading a poem-a-day challenge at his Poetic Asides blog. “Last year, more than 400 poets posted more than 4,000 poems during the month of April,” Brewer notes. “This year, the participation may be even greater for two reasons: possible publication and well-known poet guest judges.” Completing the April poem-a-day challenge will net you a certificate and an online badge for display on your blog or website. The top fifty poems will also be published in a free e-book.
Remember that the UAA MFA Program is also among the sponsors of a panel on Alaska’s Land and Literature, featuring present and former Alaska State Writer Laureates, on Wednesday, April 1, from 5 to 8 p.m. at the UAA Campus Bookstore. Nancy Lord, John Haines, Anne Hanley, and Richard Dauenhauer will discuss how Alaska has informed their creative work. Time will be set aside for an audience Q&A, a mini-reading, and a book-signing. The event is being sponsored by: UAA’s Department of Creative Writing & Literary Arts; College of Arts & Sciences; UAA Campus Bookstore; Lila Vogt and the Poetry League; the Alaska Center for the Book; and the Alaska Humanities Forum. Light refreshments will be offered.
On Monday, April 13, also at the UAA Campus Bookstore from 5 to 7 p.m. will be the Alaska Mountaineering Literature Symposium, a panel discussion on the history and influence of Alaskan mountaineering books. Featured authors include Clare Chesher, of the UAA English Department, currently at work on a PhD dissertation about storytelling and narratology in mountaineering texts; Charlie Sassara, mountain climber who has ascended Denali and Mt. Augusta in the St. Elias Range and owner of Alaska Rock Gym; Bill Sherwonit, author of ten books, most recently, Living with Wildness: an Alaskan Odyssey and editor of To the Top of Denali: Climbing Adventures on North America’s Tallest Peak; and David Stevenson, Director, Low-Residency MFA Program at UAA, and for many years editor of the book review section of The American Alpine Journal.
Remember the Screenwriting Workshop for Writers we mentioned during our Movie Week? Film Office Development Director Mary Katzke announces details for the workshop, titled Every Film Begins with Story. “As interest in filming in Alaska grows with the new film incentives program, so grows the need for stories which can be filmed here,” Katzke says. “Sometimes great storytellers may not know how to use industry standard formatting and this workshop targets writers hoping to crossover into writing for film and television.”
Sponsored by the Alaska Film Office and Alaska Pacific University, a Screenwriting Workshop for Alaskan writers wishing to learn industry format and standards for original works or adaptations will be held on April 25th, from 2 to 5 p.m. on the APU Campus in the Carr-Gottstein Building, Room 102. Veteran screenwriter Dave Hunsaker will be the workshop leader. There is no fee. For further information, please call 269-8491.
Has anyone checked out the new website featuring 1.8 million author web pages launched by Filedby, Inc.?, According to a recent Publisher’s Weekly post, Filedby.com hosts Web pages with brief biographies and lists of works for all American and Canadian authors. Users can write reviews or make comments about authors. Authors, or their publishers, can update or link to the page. The site offers social networking opportunities as well as links to buy the books. Filedby will host the site for free, but will charge a fee for authors or publishers who want to add more options such as media postings, event listings and online press kits.
Finally, from Patrick Race, news of an unrestricted grant to help older writers trying to get a start. The Speculative Literature Foundation has a $750 grant that is awarded annually to a writer who is fifty years of age or older at the time of
grant application, and is intended to assist such writers who are just
starting to work at a professional level.
Please note that our Kenai Community Library will be holding a Poetry Night in honor of Poetry month. I’ll be one of 12 people reading poems on April 23, from 6:30 to 8pm that evening. I’ve decided to read Larry Beck’s ‘Alaska, My Alaska’ which I think is one of his best works.
Thanks much! I’ll add this event to next week’s roundup and to our calendar.