Fairhope 2018 Panels
OPEN PANELS FOR FAIRHOPE 2018
Note: These are panels seeking panelists/participants. If you'd like to join an open panel, please request to join.
Using Science to Sell Fine Arts in the Era of Edubusiness. Mark Whitaker, Xavier University of Louisiana: Can we explain (or package) what we teach in creative writing in a way that links our work to the STEAM initiative (a program with both tech industry and federal support that seeks to increase ‘innovation’ by including Arts instruction in the standard STEM menu)? A survey of cross-disciplinary research on the topic shows a broad misunderstanding of the nature of ‘Creativity’ among the general population, which manifests, in sometimes dangerous ways, within the educational community. Also interesting are the ways in which research seems to corroborate established arts practice and evaluation. Others working in this area are invited to join the panel.
Genre Drama: Teaching CW in Comp. Chair: Brooke Champagne (UA). As an MFA graduate, creative nonfiction writer, and composition teacher of almost two decades, I'd like to discuss where creative writing pedagogy and comp pedagogy intersect. Most MFAs who go on to teach will indeed teach their share of comp, and I want to delve into the research that suggests teaching creative writing (particularly CNF) in comp classrooms is beneficial to students and teachers alike, meeting course outcomes and teaches transferable writing skills (and above all, is rewarding, and fun). This discussion would be of interest to any creative writing teacher "forced" to teach comp against their will...must these genres remain so bifurcated, and how can we stitch them (and ourselves) up? I plan to offer up some recent pedagogical findings and some practical classroom applications of creative writing in comp (including assignments, syllabi, etc.). Panelist: Michael Rands.
Note: These are panels seeking panelists/participants. If you'd like to join an open panel, please request to join.
Using Science to Sell Fine Arts in the Era of Edubusiness. Mark Whitaker, Xavier University of Louisiana: Can we explain (or package) what we teach in creative writing in a way that links our work to the STEAM initiative (a program with both tech industry and federal support that seeks to increase ‘innovation’ by including Arts instruction in the standard STEM menu)? A survey of cross-disciplinary research on the topic shows a broad misunderstanding of the nature of ‘Creativity’ among the general population, which manifests, in sometimes dangerous ways, within the educational community. Also interesting are the ways in which research seems to corroborate established arts practice and evaluation. Others working in this area are invited to join the panel.
Genre Drama: Teaching CW in Comp. Chair: Brooke Champagne (UA). As an MFA graduate, creative nonfiction writer, and composition teacher of almost two decades, I'd like to discuss where creative writing pedagogy and comp pedagogy intersect. Most MFAs who go on to teach will indeed teach their share of comp, and I want to delve into the research that suggests teaching creative writing (particularly CNF) in comp classrooms is beneficial to students and teachers alike, meeting course outcomes and teaches transferable writing skills (and above all, is rewarding, and fun). This discussion would be of interest to any creative writing teacher "forced" to teach comp against their will...must these genres remain so bifurcated, and how can we stitch them (and ourselves) up? I plan to offer up some recent pedagogical findings and some practical classroom applications of creative writing in comp (including assignments, syllabi, etc.). Panelist: Michael Rands.
ACCEPTED PANELS FOR FAIRHOPE 2018:
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. Participants to include Jim Murphy, P.T. Paul and Glenda Slater. There's a chance that Negative Capability's director and Alabama Poet Laureate Sue Walker may also join us.
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. Ira Sukrungruang, Sarah Basil, Casey Clague.
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.
What are Editors Looking For? This panel will feature editors from literary magazines and small presses around the region discussing submissions. They'll talk about what moves a submission to the top of the slush pile as well as what gives a submission a one-way trip to the rejection folder. This panel needs more small-press editors. Panelists: Tom Holmes (Redactions: Poetry & Poetics), Ralph Adamo (New Orleans Review), other panelists TBA
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.
Chair: Claire Stephens. Panelists: Ashely Adams, Sarah Basil.
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.
Panelists: Rachel Reese (Chair)
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.
Panelists: Mary Jane Ryals, Michael Trammel
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.
Panelists: Tori Bush, Liz Brina, Dan Suttler, Joe Kelly, Jake Reecher
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. Panelists: April Blevins Pejic (nonfiction editor), Andrew Kooy (fiction editor), and Tad Bartlett (managing editor).
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. Participants to include Jim Murphy, P.T. Paul and Glenda Slater. There's a chance that Negative Capability's director and Alabama Poet Laureate Sue Walker may also join us.
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. Ira Sukrungruang, Sarah Basil, Casey Clague.
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.
What are Editors Looking For? This panel will feature editors from literary magazines and small presses around the region discussing submissions. They'll talk about what moves a submission to the top of the slush pile as well as what gives a submission a one-way trip to the rejection folder. This panel needs more small-press editors. Panelists: Tom Holmes (Redactions: Poetry & Poetics), Ralph Adamo (New Orleans Review), other panelists TBA
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.
Chair: Claire Stephens. Panelists: Ashely Adams, Sarah Basil.
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.
Panelists: Rachel Reese (Chair)
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.
Panelists: Mary Jane Ryals, Michael Trammel
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.
Panelists: Tori Bush, Liz Brina, Dan Suttler, Joe Kelly, Jake Reecher
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. Panelists: April Blevins Pejic (nonfiction editor), Andrew Kooy (fiction editor), and Tad Bartlett (managing editor).
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Examples from 2016
From 2016: 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. Confirmed participants are Rachael Peralez, Fiction editor for Quaint Magazine, and Kia Groom, founding and poetry edtior for Quaint. Contributing panelists welcome.
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. Confirmed participants are Rachael Peralez, Fiction editor for Quaint Magazine, and Kia Groom, founding and poetry edtior for Quaint. Contributing panelists welcome.
_____________________________________________________________
From 2016: What are Editors Looking For?
This panel will feature editors from literary magazines and small presses around the region discussing submissions. They'll talk about what moves a submission to the top of the slush pile as well as what gives a submission a one-way trip to the rejection folder. This panel needs more small-press editors.
Panelists: Danita Berg (Animal: A Beast of a Literary Magazine), Randy Bates (Bayou), Tom Holmes (Redactions: Poetry & Poetics), Kristine Snodgrass (CaKe), Jim Miller (ĕm), Ralph Adamo (New Orleans Review), other panelists TBA
This panel will feature editors from literary magazines and small presses around the region discussing submissions. They'll talk about what moves a submission to the top of the slush pile as well as what gives a submission a one-way trip to the rejection folder. This panel needs more small-press editors.
Panelists: Danita Berg (Animal: A Beast of a Literary Magazine), Randy Bates (Bayou), Tom Holmes (Redactions: Poetry & Poetics), Kristine Snodgrass (CaKe), Jim Miller (ĕm), Ralph Adamo (New Orleans Review), other panelists TBA