Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Social meeting time

The details for the new "Social Meeting" have been worked out.  We will hold this new meeting on the first Wednesday of each month in Durango Office Suites, Conference Room 100, (just down the block from the Crossroads Building) from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.  This will be a gathering of writers for the purpose of brainstorming, inspiration and camaraderie.  If you can't make it on time, come when you can; if you can't stay for the whole meeting, that's Ok, too.  The use of the bigger conference room facilitates the unstructured format of the meeting, allowing groups to break off and pursue a thought or discussion of their own making.

That being said, due to scheduling conflicts, our first "Social Meeting" will actually be held on the first Tuesday, October 5th, and will be held on the outdoor patio of the Crossroads Building (with heaters available) and we do have a back up room in case of truly inclement weather.  Elise and I will be hosting this inaugural meeting and will serve a few munchies and supply water and soda.  If you would like to bring anything else to drink, feel free... BYOB.

The outdoor patio is on the third floor of the Crossroads Building, half way down the hall to Conference Room 308.  Take a left down the short hall and out the door.  Please RSVP to this email and we hope to see everyone there.  If you need any information or further directions, don't hesitate to contact me.
 -------------



I'm offering a grant writing and fellowship class geared for artists and writers. It begins Sept. 29 and continues for 4 sessions. Please consider signing up or share with those who might be interested.

Leanne Goebel
Award-winning Arts Journalist
International Association of Art Critics/USA

2009 NEA International Arts Journalism Institute in the Visual Arts participant
2007 Creative Capital | Andy Warhol Foundation Arts Writers Grant recipient
artsjournalist@mac.com
http://leannegoebel.com
http://adobeairstream.com
(970) 731-1841 home office
(970) 903-5272 cell

"The arts flourish only when there are arbiters at work and civilisation dies when their voice is stilled." Norman Lebrecht



Wednesday, September 8, 2010

September meeting...and more

The September meeting of Wild Women Writing will take place Wednesday, Sept. 15, from 6:30 to 8 pm.  We will be at the Crossroads Center, 1099 Main Avenue, in Conference Room 308.  

Special guest Judy Hook will be joining us to discuss our upcoming participation in a series of literary readings at the Durango Public Library.  Several members of our group attended the session last night on "Women of the San Juans" and we were able to meet Judy in person after the presentation.  Our slot is coming up Tuesday, December 7, 7 to 8 p.m.  Please plan to participate!  We will be presenting one hour of readings, of our original poetry/prose.  I'd like you to think NOW about what you want to share with the group, and bring it with you on Wednesday so we can hear it (this will give everyone some practice).   
FYI- Our next few meetings will be VERY focused on this event.  I want to present our best work, and give them a professional, polished reading.  We can do it!!!  But we will need to focus, plan, and prepare.  Please plan accordingly, and come prepared to participate!  Each participant will have about 10 minutes to present her work, if 6 people from the group read.  If you're not planning to read, please come and give our brave readers some moral support. 
We've been talking about doing something like this to take our work to the next level- ladies, here's our chance!  Last night, there was a nice crowd, probably 60-75 people in the audience.  They were very open and enthusiastic about the performance, and I'd like to give them a real treat.  If you are planning to come to this meeting, and you want to participate in our reading in December, please RSVP to Molly at stealingplums@yahoo.com so she can get a head count. 
We will also have Anna Barendt speak to the group briefly at the end of this meeting regarding some nanowrimo events and issues.  She is looking for help and possibly someone to co-ML with her and help set up events.  

In other news, I have received a donation for our lending library, come and check out our new books!  We will also be discussing the option of having two meetings per month - one would be a writer's salon for writing chat and being social; the other meeting, held on the third Wednesday of each month, would continue to be a more focused meeting, with readings and prep for our upcoming event in December, and then our regular reading and critique sessions will be reinstated in January after the reading.  There has been some interest in this; please come prepared to make a decision on Wednesday about the possibility of meeting more often.


Also, I've just been contacted by poet Beth Paulson, who will be in our town in mid-October.  She is interested in doing a reading from her newest book just for Wild Women Writing.  It would be outside our regular meeting time, on the evening of Friday, October 15, 6 to 8:30ish.  She has said she will do this free of charge if we can find a space for it, and if we'll publicize it.  If you can attend a reading like this, please contact Molly at stealingplums@yahoo.com and let her know.  If you have ideas for a suitable space, or can offer additional publicity through posting it on your own blog, tweeting, etc., please get in touch with Molly as well.  Trying to get a response ASAP- let me know by Friday of this week at the latest whether or not you want to attend.  I think it's an amazing opportunity to support a fellow poet- what say you??

Friday, September 3, 2010

Poetry submissions being accepted

Hello everyone,
   Thank you for your interest in my current work-in-progress. The working title for this upcoming publication is Reflections.
   
To see an example of one of the many submissions I've received, please visit my blog at hank-englisheducation.blogspot.com. Note, also, that I'll be publishing more samples in the future.
   There's still plenty of time to submit your work, but I always appreciate prompt responses. I'll be taking a few days off later this month and would like to receive as many submissions as possible before then.
   Guidelines and additional information related to Reflections are below. Please feel free to give the information to students, friends, and colleagues.
   I'll consider just about any poem/photo combination for possible use in Reflections. I'll consider, also, poems without photos and photos without poems, especially photos taken by students.
   Poems that are fairly brief have an edge over longer poems. This is because of editorial requirements when the book finally goes to press. Please see Reflections on a Gift of Watermelon Pickle for examples.
   Again, thanks. I'll keep you posted as the work progresses. If you have questions, please contact me athankpix@yahoo.com.
Sincerely,
Hank
    
hank-englisheducation.blogspot.com




Poetry Guidelines
Deadline: October 29, 2010, 
                 Sooner if possible
About this Anthology

This anthology will feature poetry written by students in Grades 7 and up, teachers at all levels, and other writers. It will be unique in that, wherever possible, black and white or color photos will accompany the poems.
Students and their teachers are the intended audience for this work-in-progress. Although the primary purpose of the work is to use photos and poems to inspire students to write, teachers will find the book useful for simply reading and discussing poetry.

About the Editor

Hank Kellner is the author of Write What You See (Cottonwood Press, 2009). His series of ten articles titled “Using Photographs To Inspire Writing” appears at  HYPERLINK "http://www.creativity-portal.com/prompts/kellner" www.creativity-portal.com/prompts/kellner. Kellner also writes about photos, poetry, and inspiring students to write at hank-englisheducation.blogspot.com. 

Submit poems in any style and on any subject. Each page should contain just one poem, maximum 35 single spaced lines and spaces.  No More than three poems per person. WORD Documents only.  Please use 12 point Times New Roman. Accompanying photos aren’t required, but if you have them please submit .jpg images in separate files. 
If you’d like to download any of my images to use as prompts for your lessons in writing poetry, you’ll find many of them in my blog (above). You’ll also find a smaller selection at photobucket.com/hankpix. 

How To Submit: Each Entry Must Include the Information Shown in Red

POEMS BY STUDENTS: At the top of each page cite: Name; Age; School, City, State, Name of Parent (If under 18), Name of Teacher; Email Address, and the words “Permission Granted”

POEMS BY TEACHERS: At the top of each page cite: Name; School; City, State;   
                                                       Classes Taught; Email Address , and the words “Permission Granted” 

POEMS BY OTHERS: At the top of each page cite:  Name; Occupation; City, State;
                                                                      Email Address, and the words “Permission Granted”  

IN ALL CASES: Note when you submit your work, you certify that the work is original and that you grant permission to Hank Kellner to use your poems/photos in an upcoming anthology and in his blog hank-englisheducation.blogspot.com. You retain copyright. Cite “Poetry Submission” in the subject line.

Send Submissions To :  HYPERLINK "mailto:hankpix@yahoo.com" hankpix@yahoo.com with cc: to  HYPERLINK "mailto:ebowmanguy@aol.com" ebowmanguy@aol.com

OR

Hank Kellner, 2735 Atwood Road, Winston-Salem NC 27103

Note: if your submissions are accepted, we’ll let you know ASAP. Although we can’t return submissions, we will acknowledge receipt of them. Please contact me via email if you have questions. Thank you.




AUTHOR SEEKS POEMS BY STUDENTS FOR NEW ANTHOLOGY

"When Stephen Dunning's Reflections on a Gift of Watermelon Pickle was published in the 1960s," writes Hank Kellner, "it quickly found its way into classrooms nationwide. Today, more than forty years later, this unique collection of 114 poems accompanied by black and white photographs still enjoys a great deal of popularity with students and teachers.

"Because 21st Century students are more visually oriented than ever before," he continues,  "the combination of poems and photographs is a very powerful teaching aid." Kellner points out, also, that astute teachers have discovered that by combining poems with photographs they create a stimulating environment that provides inspiration for writing. "Few students," he adds, "fail to respond positively to the marriage of graphic images and written images."

For a work-in-progress that will combine photos with poetry, Kellner is on the lookout for original poems by students in Grades 7-12 and up. "I'd also like to include poetry by teachers and other adults," he concludes. Interested students, teachers, and others may request more information at  HYPERLINK "mailto:hankpix@yahoo.com" \t "_blank" hankpix@yahoo.com. Please cite POETRY in the subject line of your email.

Hank Kellner is the author of Write What You See (Cottonwood Press, 2009. Visit his blog at  HYPERLINK "http://hank-englisheducation.blogspot.com/" \t "_blank" hank-englisheducation.blogspot.com.





Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Recitation opportunity!!!

Hello all! 

I have just received a call from Judy Hook, who is in charge of some programs at the Durango Public Library.  She would like our group to do a public reading in December! It's an adult audience, usually composed of anywhere from 8-80 folks from the community. 

 
The first Tuesday of each month, they will have a series of readings in the downstairs program room, 7 to 8:30 p.m., beginning next week, Sept. 7, with "Women of the San Juans." She suggested we attend a reading or two before our gig in December, just to get the feel of the room.  I'm going to try and go next tuesday, Sept. 7.  

So-is anyone here free to join me?  All we have to do is listen the first few times, maybe say hi to the organizers and schmooze a bit.
 
At the gig, in December, we will be reading all of our own original work!!!!  We will not be using mikes, so in upcoming meetings we are going to practice projection and presentation techniques to get everyone feeling confident and ready to go.  December is open, and I immediately snagged the spot for us!!!  It's the first Tues. in December, 7 to 8:30ish.  Short fiction, poetry....she sounded open to anything.  Such a nice gal.  I have invited her to our September meeting on Sept. 15, so we can get the down and dirty then, but I wanted to write and give you all the news of this amazing and fab opportunity!!

WILD WOMEN ROCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 
 
Who's with me Tuesday?  Time to storm the castle...
Maybe we could rendezvous for coffee beforehand and some writing chat?  If I don't see you Tuesday nite at the library, and you are interested in participating in this event in December, please think about what you may want to present, and bring it to our next meeting on Sept. 15!! 

Molly