Hudson Valley Writers Guild Newsletter, August 1, 2011
In This Issue
Guild Announcements: 2011 Non-fiction Writing Contest, Donation to the Guild
Member Announcements: Anthony Bernini, K.A. Laity
Area Announcements: Writing Groups Seeking Members, John Roche at Caffe Lena in Saratoga, Public Reading of Hiroshima in Albany, Fiction Writing Workshop in Glens Falls, Poetry at the Arboretum, Naton Leslie at Social Justice Center in Albany, Stipends for Writers and Other Artists from the Arts Center, April Ossmann Poetry Editing Workshop in Saratoga
Guild Announcements
2011 Non-fiction writing contest accepting submissions—DEADLINE APPROACHING!
The HVWG annual writing contest rotates genres each year, and our 2011 contest is for Non-Fiction (humor, personal essay, and memoir). There is a $100 top prize in each of three categories. Submissions are being accepted through the end of August. The contest is open to residents of any part of New York State. The full guidelines are posted at our website – hvwg.org (under the “about” tab). Here is a direct link: hudsonvalleywritersguild.wordpress.com/about/contests/
Donation to the Guild
The board of the HVWG would like to publicly acknowledge the recent generous donation we received from East Line Books and Robyn Ringler. We also appreciate the efforts that Robyn makes to promote membership in the Guild at workshops held at her Clifton Park bookstore. Thank you Robyn!
Member Announcements
In Livy’s Early History of Rome, there is a brief reference to Cloelia, a remarkable girl who was represented in a statue that stood near the Forum, during the time of the Roman Republic. She was, perhaps, the first girl to be publicly honored anywhere in Western culture. Anthony Bernini has written a narrative poem that departs from Livy’s account. The poem now appears in the Spring 2011 online magazine, Italian Americana. You can read it at italianamericana.com/ItalianAmericana2011/. After some months, the poem will continue to be retained in the Italian Americana permanent archive. At the website, click on “Poetry Archive”, near the bottom of the page. At the Poetry Archive page, there is a box near the bottom; click on Anthony’s name in there.
K. A. Laity is happy to announce that she will be heading to the National University of Ireland Galway on a Fulbright Fellowship for the 2011-2012 academic year. Her project focuses on writers in the digital age. You can view her proposal online scribd.com/doc/55852249/Fulbright-Project-Statement
Area announcements
Writing Groups Looking for New Members
The Hudson Valley Fiction Writers Group has openings for new members interested in critiquing and being critiqued by a group of mutually supportive writers. The group, which meets every other Wednesday at 8 p.m., was founded by former Guild officer, Joachim Frank, and has been active for more than 25 years. We welcome new, as well as experienced, writers. If you are interested, please contact Noelle Wall at noelle@nycap.rr.com.
Glenmont/Delmar area group to meet once or twice a month. Early Thursday evenings (open for discussion). Poetry, prose & memoir. All levels welcome. Gentle critique. Place TBD. Send e-mail if interested to: Faith Green, fgreen13@nycap.rr.com. Will begin soon.
Collecting and Connecting Life’s Moments through Storytelling Classes
In storytelling, as in writing, we explore moments of experience for use in memoir, fiction, essays, and poetry. In this class we will look for connections between life moments, elements of similarity. You see a conflict you thought you had resolved appears again suddenly. A goal or challenge you once faced re-challenges at a new level. A personal relationship reminds you of lessons from an earlier encounter.
Dates: Wednesdays August 3, 10, 17, 24, 31
Time: 7:15-9:00 p.m.
Where: Marni Gillard’s Story Studio, 833 Parkside Ave. Schenectady, 518-381-9474
Cost: $100.00 (possible to pay as you go)
You may need to miss a class because of summer, but I would appreciate full registration. Sliding scale for un- or under-employed.
Marni Gillard is the author of Storyteller, Storyteacher: Discovering the Power of Storytelling for Teaching and Living. Marni delights in helping others find and explore the tales they want to share. Her double CD of life tales, Without a Splash: Diving into Childhood Memories, is a favorite of memoirists. Reach Marni at marnigillard.com or marni@marnigillard.com.
Caffe Lena Poetry Open Mic featuring John Roche, August 3, 7 p.m.
Caffe Lena Poetry Open Mic featuring John Roche. Wednesday, August 3, at 7 p.m. Location: Caffe Lena, Phila St. in Saratoga Springs.
Public Reading of Hiroshima, August 6, 11 a.m.
On August 6, 1945, the United States of America used the atomic bomb for the first time on the city of Hiroshima, Japan, destroying the city; on August 9, the United States used the atomic bomb again on Nagasaki, Japan. Over 200,000 people died immediately in the two bombings and over a hundred thousand more died in the following decades as a result of the effects of the radiation.
To remember those bombings and to commemorate the victims, local citizens will be gathering to read John Hersey’s Hiroshima. The public reading will take place on Saturday, August 6, 2011, in Townsend Park, Albany; the Park is where Central Ave. & Washington Ave. converge, just below Henry Johnson Blvd. The reading will start at 11 a.m. and continue until the reading of the book is completed (about 3 p.m.). The event is free and open to the public, and the public is encouraged to join in the reading. Those interested in reading can sign up to participate when they arrive.
Logistics & planning by the Poetry Motel Foundation. Co-sponsorship by the Hudson Valley Writers Guild and several area peace & social action organizations.
Hiroshima by John Hersey was first published in The New Yorker magazine in 1946; it tells the story of the bombing by following the story of six of the survivors. The book version has been in print since 1946. We will be reading the original book version (first four chapters of later editions).
For more information call Dan Wilcox, 482-0262, or email: dwlcx@earthlink.net.
ACW hosts full-day fiction writing workshop with Kathryn Kramer, August 6, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The Adirondack Center for Writing presents writer Kathryn Kramer for a full-day workshop on writing fiction, August 6 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., at LARAC (Lower Adirondack Regional Arts Council) in Glens Falls. It will be a full day of hands-on work-shopping, with specific emphasis on dialogue; point of view and voice; character development; and plot. The workshop will include discussion, readings, and writing exercises. Participants will be expected to create and share work at the event.
Registration is $75 for members of ACW and $85 for non-members, including the cost of lunch. To register or with questions, please contact the Adirondack Center for Writing at (518) 327-6278 or visit our web site, adirondackcenterforwriting.org. LARAC is located at 7 Lapham Place, Glens Falls.
Kathryn Kramer has published several novels, including her most recent, Sweet Water, which Publisher’s Weekly called an “ambitious and richly imagined tale of romantic intrigue.” She has written short fiction and non-fiction articles on subjects ranging from chanterelle mushrooms to Henry James. Kathryn in currently completing a memoir entitled, Missing History: The Covert Education of a Child of the Great Books.
Poetry at Pine Hollow Arboretum, Friday, August 12, 7 p.m.
Featuring Poets: Carol Graser, Marion Menna, John Abbuhl, Therese Broderick, Virginia Acquario, Howard Kogan, Alan Casline, Dennis Sullivan, Obeeduid, Ron Pavoldi, Mimi Moriarty, Catherine Connolly, Jim Williams and Mike Burke. Musical Interludes by Jim Williams. Pine Hollow Arboretum is located at 16 Maple Avenue, Slingerlands. Arboretum Tour at 6 p.m. A display and book sale of many of the reading poets will also be a feature of the event. For more information, phone: (518) 439-6472
Naton Leslie to Feature at Third Thursday Reading, August 18, 7:30 p.m.
The next open mic at the Social Justice Center in Albany (33 Central Ave.) will include a featured reading by poet Nation Leslie.
Stipends Available from the Arts Center of the Capital Region
The application for Strategic Opportunity Stipends (SOS) is now online. SOS grants are designed to help individual artists of all disciplines take advantage of unique opportunities that will significantly benefit their work or career development. Literary, media, visual, music and performing artists may request support ranging from $200 to $1,500 for specific, forthcoming opportunities that are distinct from work in progress.
Round I applications are due on September 12, 2011, for opportunities between November 2011 and October 2012. Please see the Arts Center website for more information and an application. For questions, contact Lauren Hittinger at lauren@artscenteronline.org or 518-273-0552 x229.
The Saratoga Poetry & Song Focus Group Presents an April Ossmann Workshop, September 24, 9:00 a.m. to noon
Thinking Like A Poetry Editor: How to be your own best critic (The Ossman Method Poetry Workshop. Learn how to think like a poetry editor! In this one-session poetry workshop we’ll turn the usual workshop model on its head and not only allow the poet being critiqued to speak, but to speak first and critique his or her own poem, listing its strengths and weaknesses before group discussion begins. This will offer a taste of what it means to be both poet and poetry editor, a position in which it becomes easier to objectively assess your own work, spot dull vs. energetic syntax, generic vs. original imagery and other strengths and weaknesses you may have overlooked. It also empowers the poet in the process and engenders an unusually congenial workshop atmosphere.
Saturday, September 24, 9 a.m.-Noon, Saratoga Arts Center. Fee: $75. Join April Ossmann for Brown Bag Lunch from noon-1 p.m. for Informal Q & A. Advance registration and payment required. Contact Barbara Garro at The Saratoga Poetry & Song Focus Group, (518) 587-9999, WriterBarbaraGarro@ElectricEnvisions.com or ElectricEnvisions.com
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The Hudson Valley Writers Guild offers space in its newsletter for submission and program opportunities but does not endorse any programs or publications that are not offered through the Guild. Two notes from the newsletter editors:
* Within each section, announcements/events are arranged, when possible, by relevant dates.
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Thank you!
–Carolee Sherwood, Newsletter Co-Editor
-Bob Sharkey, Newsletter Co-Editor
