Fairhope 2019 Panels
OPEN PANELS FOR FAIRHOPE 2019
Note: These are panels seeking panelists/participants. If you'd like to join an open panel, please request to join.
Points of (Re-)Entry: Revision as Seeing Anew
Often in creative writing workshops, revision focuses on prescriptive strategies like line edits and formal choices. However, creative pieces frequently need to be re-seen in order to reach their full potential. To do this, it is beneficial to know ways to approach works from different angles and to ask of them different questions. As creative writing teachers, we want to help our students grow not just as writers, but as investigators of their own experiences. Using examples from our own writing and those of established writers, presenters will discuss the process of revision as a means of re-seeing. We will also present hands-on exercises for teachers to take back to their classrooms. ATTENDEES ARE ENCOURAGED TO BRING A SHORT CREATIVE PIECE OF THEIR OWN TO PRACTICE REVISION STRATEGIES WITH. Casey Clague, Katherine Nelson-Born. OTHER PANELISTS WELCOME.
Song and Story, Story and Song
Panelists will discuss ways that being a musician or an appreciator of music connects to and affects their writing of fiction. Topics may include: how music composition, song writing, or performance influences prose writing, the use of musicians as characters or musical elements in fiction, using music as a writing prompt, and other connections between story and song. Presenters: Lynne Barrett and Jessica Borsi. OTHER PANELISTS WELCOME.
Note: These are panels seeking panelists/participants. If you'd like to join an open panel, please request to join.
Points of (Re-)Entry: Revision as Seeing Anew
Often in creative writing workshops, revision focuses on prescriptive strategies like line edits and formal choices. However, creative pieces frequently need to be re-seen in order to reach their full potential. To do this, it is beneficial to know ways to approach works from different angles and to ask of them different questions. As creative writing teachers, we want to help our students grow not just as writers, but as investigators of their own experiences. Using examples from our own writing and those of established writers, presenters will discuss the process of revision as a means of re-seeing. We will also present hands-on exercises for teachers to take back to their classrooms. ATTENDEES ARE ENCOURAGED TO BRING A SHORT CREATIVE PIECE OF THEIR OWN TO PRACTICE REVISION STRATEGIES WITH. Casey Clague, Katherine Nelson-Born. OTHER PANELISTS WELCOME.
Song and Story, Story and Song
Panelists will discuss ways that being a musician or an appreciator of music connects to and affects their writing of fiction. Topics may include: how music composition, song writing, or performance influences prose writing, the use of musicians as characters or musical elements in fiction, using music as a writing prompt, and other connections between story and song. Presenters: Lynne Barrett and Jessica Borsi. OTHER PANELISTS WELCOME.
ACCEPTED PANELS FOR FAIRHOPE 2019:
Editor's Panel
What editors want, and the inside scoop on editing literary magazines, anthologies, and more.
Ralph Adamo (Xavier Review), Lynne Barrett (Florida Book Review), Mary Jane Ryals (Apalachee Review)
Micro, Fragmented, & More: The New Memoir
Short nonfiction is in vogue. Recent years have seen more book-length publications and literary journals dedicated to the form. This panel will discuss the craft aspects of these newly popular memoirs (what’s the difference between a fragmented memoir and a micro-memoir collection, and how do I teach them?) and why marginalized voices may be particularly attracted to these inventive narrative structures. Bianca Hernandez, Sarah Basil
Teaching Small Forms
We will focus on teaching short poetry, flash fiction, and flash nonfiction/micromemoir to undergraduate students of creative writing, as well as English Composition. Short forms give students lower stakes in creative writing and can encourage them to develop writing practices and styles without the anxiety of creating longer works. Short form writings are also uniquely poised in our current societal structure to deliver meaning and emotion in a limited space, working with the attention and expectation of contemporary readers. Thus, we have also founded Hunnybee Lit to publish and celebrate short form writing and the growing role it has in American society. Stephanie Karakochuk Hardy, Macey Sidlasky, Ashleigh Ray
Preparing Pedagogy for Poetry: A Millennial Perspective
As poets and academics in different stages of our 20s, this panel focuses on the literary facets of poetry in contemporary society. As MFA candidates, who are also millennials, we aim to create discourse around the ways poetry has evolved in public and private social spaces (e.g. print and social/online-media, underground/ local literary scenes). Our aim for this panel is to allow our identities to influence an analytical approach to contextualizing contemporary “popular” literature/ poetry in the current state of curriculum. The purpose of this panel is to focus on the millennial perspective with an emphasis on young writers and academics being the future of this academic field. Carmin Wong, Skye Jackson, “Swiss” McCall
Make Your Readings as Good as Your Writing
Are you worried about putting your audience to sleep? We will discuss presentation techniques often neglected by writers during their readings. The discussion will aim to address dealing with anxiety, mastering your nonverbals, choosing the best pieces for performance, and connecting with your audience. The panelists will give tips and perspectives based on instructing both writing and speech delivery.
Panelists: Michael Trammell, Mary Jane Ryals, Lynne Barrett.
Editor's Panel
What editors want, and the inside scoop on editing literary magazines, anthologies, and more.
Ralph Adamo (Xavier Review), Lynne Barrett (Florida Book Review), Mary Jane Ryals (Apalachee Review)
Micro, Fragmented, & More: The New Memoir
Short nonfiction is in vogue. Recent years have seen more book-length publications and literary journals dedicated to the form. This panel will discuss the craft aspects of these newly popular memoirs (what’s the difference between a fragmented memoir and a micro-memoir collection, and how do I teach them?) and why marginalized voices may be particularly attracted to these inventive narrative structures. Bianca Hernandez, Sarah Basil
Teaching Small Forms
We will focus on teaching short poetry, flash fiction, and flash nonfiction/micromemoir to undergraduate students of creative writing, as well as English Composition. Short forms give students lower stakes in creative writing and can encourage them to develop writing practices and styles without the anxiety of creating longer works. Short form writings are also uniquely poised in our current societal structure to deliver meaning and emotion in a limited space, working with the attention and expectation of contemporary readers. Thus, we have also founded Hunnybee Lit to publish and celebrate short form writing and the growing role it has in American society. Stephanie Karakochuk Hardy, Macey Sidlasky, Ashleigh Ray
Preparing Pedagogy for Poetry: A Millennial Perspective
As poets and academics in different stages of our 20s, this panel focuses on the literary facets of poetry in contemporary society. As MFA candidates, who are also millennials, we aim to create discourse around the ways poetry has evolved in public and private social spaces (e.g. print and social/online-media, underground/ local literary scenes). Our aim for this panel is to allow our identities to influence an analytical approach to contextualizing contemporary “popular” literature/ poetry in the current state of curriculum. The purpose of this panel is to focus on the millennial perspective with an emphasis on young writers and academics being the future of this academic field. Carmin Wong, Skye Jackson, “Swiss” McCall
Make Your Readings as Good as Your Writing
Are you worried about putting your audience to sleep? We will discuss presentation techniques often neglected by writers during their readings. The discussion will aim to address dealing with anxiety, mastering your nonverbals, choosing the best pieces for performance, and connecting with your audience. The panelists will give tips and perspectives based on instructing both writing and speech delivery.
Panelists: Michael Trammell, Mary Jane Ryals, Lynne Barrett.
_____________________________________________________________
Examples from previous years:
A Discussion of Current American Poetry: Jeff Newberry, Ralph Adamao, and Tom Holmes will discuss what they see as new, changing, not changing, and the trends in the ever-widening landscape of today's American poetry. While it's not possible to cover everything that is happening in poetry, these editors and teachers of poetry will focus on current aesthetic tendencies, as well as some or all of the following: cultural, political, social, and technological forces shaping the poetry of today, and where America’s poetry might be heading in this young century with its increasing diversity of new and established voices.
NEGATIVE CAPABILITY PRESS POETS: This panel will consist of short readings by three or four poets published by Mobile's literary press, Negative Capability. We will then entertain Q&A about the press and about poetry publishing in general.
Teaching What You Love: In this panel, teachers of creative writing will bring examples of poems, stories, essays, or comics that they love to teach. The panel will expand on the talk of creative writing pedagogy and offer firm examples of what has worked and why they work in the classroom.
A Bigger Tent: University and Community Collaboration For Public Readings: It can be easy for MFA programs to remain self-contained in their respective colleges, but literary communities often exist beyond campus in the city at-large. Off-site readings can be an excellent means for creative writing teachers to build their artistic presence and work experience while creating a more inclusive literary community in their area. Creative writing teachers may also include undergraduates or other mentees in the organization process as a way of building their experience and preparing them for graduate school. For this panel, University of South Florida MFA students Adam Carter, Alison Missler, Patrick Templeton, and Casey Clague will discuss their experience organizing Blank Pages, Writer’s Harvest, and the Read Herring reading series in Tampa, FL and offer practical suggestions for teachers and students who wish to establish similar events.
Hybrid works. In the midst of cross-genre and post-genre trends, writers and writing teachers alike are exploring hybrid works. Three University of South Florida writers who teach writing will present their own poetry comics, video essays, and creative work that takes its forms from the natural sciences. The panel will encompass a brief overview of each genre, a guide to getting started, and suggestions for incorporating these hybrid works into the creative writing classroom.
Strutting Our Stuff
In a matter of minutes, a good spoken word performance can unveil a writer’s essence and be a transformative experience for both author and audience. Though publishing is a familiar aspect of the business, live performance is another way word artists have of getting our oeuvre "out there". We’ve been doing it for centuries. Elements of a successful turn at the mic include a writer’s voice, timing, image and, of course, the host or person controlling the mic. Regardless of form – poetry or prose --writers have an opportunity and obligation to give the audience what it is looking for: a good story.
Culture & Writing--From Teaching Creative Writing to Instructing Required Writing
We will emphasize the importance of understanding and observing all aspects of "culture" to strengthen students' work. Culture will be defined broadly, from the "culture" of a group of friends to regional and national cultures. We will describe how making learners think about culture can enliven everything from class discussion to journal entries to poems, etc.
Under the Influence: Imbibing writers on writers who imbibed
Our panel will celebrate Southern writers who had a proclivity for drink. We will explore how the consumption of alcohol spurred creativity while also complicating the lives of its authors. A group of UNO MFA CWW graduating students will read their favorite passages and talk about the influence on their own work.
Readings and Muse-ings on Peauxdunque
The Peauxdunque Writers Alliance is a ten-year-old writers’ group based in New Orleans but with members in six states, each focused on bringing their particularized narratives and their personal podunks into the larger conversation. This year the PWA launches the Peauxdunque Review, to foster this same vision on an editorial level. In this proposed reading/panel, members of the Review’s editorial staff discuss writer-group longevity, publishing, launching a new journal, and then read from their work.
Women in the Literary World
This panel will discuss the presence of women in the literary world, with a focus on the VIDA statistics over the past few years, what we mean when we say "women's writing," and how to promote the work of women and minorities through writing and publishing. Feminism and intersectionality in publishing will be a concern, though not strictly a focus.
NEGATIVE CAPABILITY PRESS POETS: This panel will consist of short readings by three or four poets published by Mobile's literary press, Negative Capability. We will then entertain Q&A about the press and about poetry publishing in general.
Teaching What You Love: In this panel, teachers of creative writing will bring examples of poems, stories, essays, or comics that they love to teach. The panel will expand on the talk of creative writing pedagogy and offer firm examples of what has worked and why they work in the classroom.
A Bigger Tent: University and Community Collaboration For Public Readings: It can be easy for MFA programs to remain self-contained in their respective colleges, but literary communities often exist beyond campus in the city at-large. Off-site readings can be an excellent means for creative writing teachers to build their artistic presence and work experience while creating a more inclusive literary community in their area. Creative writing teachers may also include undergraduates or other mentees in the organization process as a way of building their experience and preparing them for graduate school. For this panel, University of South Florida MFA students Adam Carter, Alison Missler, Patrick Templeton, and Casey Clague will discuss their experience organizing Blank Pages, Writer’s Harvest, and the Read Herring reading series in Tampa, FL and offer practical suggestions for teachers and students who wish to establish similar events.
Hybrid works. In the midst of cross-genre and post-genre trends, writers and writing teachers alike are exploring hybrid works. Three University of South Florida writers who teach writing will present their own poetry comics, video essays, and creative work that takes its forms from the natural sciences. The panel will encompass a brief overview of each genre, a guide to getting started, and suggestions for incorporating these hybrid works into the creative writing classroom.
Strutting Our Stuff
In a matter of minutes, a good spoken word performance can unveil a writer’s essence and be a transformative experience for both author and audience. Though publishing is a familiar aspect of the business, live performance is another way word artists have of getting our oeuvre "out there". We’ve been doing it for centuries. Elements of a successful turn at the mic include a writer’s voice, timing, image and, of course, the host or person controlling the mic. Regardless of form – poetry or prose --writers have an opportunity and obligation to give the audience what it is looking for: a good story.
Culture & Writing--From Teaching Creative Writing to Instructing Required Writing
We will emphasize the importance of understanding and observing all aspects of "culture" to strengthen students' work. Culture will be defined broadly, from the "culture" of a group of friends to regional and national cultures. We will describe how making learners think about culture can enliven everything from class discussion to journal entries to poems, etc.
Under the Influence: Imbibing writers on writers who imbibed
Our panel will celebrate Southern writers who had a proclivity for drink. We will explore how the consumption of alcohol spurred creativity while also complicating the lives of its authors. A group of UNO MFA CWW graduating students will read their favorite passages and talk about the influence on their own work.
Readings and Muse-ings on Peauxdunque
The Peauxdunque Writers Alliance is a ten-year-old writers’ group based in New Orleans but with members in six states, each focused on bringing their particularized narratives and their personal podunks into the larger conversation. This year the PWA launches the Peauxdunque Review, to foster this same vision on an editorial level. In this proposed reading/panel, members of the Review’s editorial staff discuss writer-group longevity, publishing, launching a new journal, and then read from their work.
Women in the Literary World
This panel will discuss the presence of women in the literary world, with a focus on the VIDA statistics over the past few years, what we mean when we say "women's writing," and how to promote the work of women and minorities through writing and publishing. Feminism and intersectionality in publishing will be a concern, though not strictly a focus.
_____________________________________________________________