Discipline: The Good Life

Dear Outsiders–my last entry focused on the idea of self-discipline, and the price we pay for the privilege to WORK WITH WORDS in our daily lives. Lest we think that studies in the humanities is all work and no play, let’s shift gears today and affirm that while our chosen discipline entails a lot of struggles, we got into this gig in the first place in order to have…

FUN WITH WORDS!

Indeed, those who have adopted the humanities, the liberal arts–and reading and writing in particular–as disciplines have done so, largely, because we find them FUN. I shared the definition of “discipline” in the first blog this week, but we didn’t discuss the etymology. Remember, words are fun, so let’s take a look, courtesy of Dr. Google:

So there you have it–the Latin form focused on “instruction” and “knowledge,” but by the time the English got ahold of “disciplus,” they transformed it into discipline–the “mortification” or “scourging oneself” as in religious penance. Given what I outlined in my previous post–the self-torture we administer in order to WORK WITH WORDS, the English may have translated it correctly! Think of Reverend Dimmesdale–literally whipping the guilty weight off his shoulders at night with bloody straps while countless English students on any given night are figuratively “scourged” in their forced reading of the text! Of course, for many of us, such self-discipline (the reading of The Scarlet Letter, I mean) is not “work” or “torture,” but, dare I say, FUN?

In this sense we adhere to the final transformation of the word–we become “disciples.” Life-long learners. Followers of an extensive parade of teachers–in classrooms, in texts, in person, in mind, in spirit. And why hitch ourselves to such a train? Because it’s fun!

A few weeks ago I found myself in a cornfield outside of the north-central Nebraska town of Neligh, grooving with a wild mix of ranch kids, political activists, hippies and farmers, listening to Neil Young lay down some impressive reverb with Willie Nelson’s kid–guitar sounds the likes of which had probably not echoed in that cottonwood shelter belt in, well, forever. Young is one of my favorite performers, so I was digging it, of course–but even in that moment of pure joy, the English major emerged: I became a disciple, once again, of the words. When Neil sang an acoustic version of “Comes a Time”–a song of great personal significance to me–the tears poured forth. Then came his pump-organ rendition of “Mother Earth,” and the harmonica for “Heart of Gold.” Somber–self-searching moments. Then he plugged in and things got loud and funky as he played a series of numbers from his rollicking album Ragged Glory, a pre-grunge favorite of mine, before wrapping his short set with a call to environmental arms with “Who’s Gonna Stand Up (and save the earth)?”

Now that was FUN! And, deep. The context–those words, with that music, in that place–and the conversations engendered from that moment, the reflection, the ideas pulled forth from deep in that brainstem. Wordsworth had Tintern Abbey, where he proclaimed  “That in this moment there is life and food/For future years” and that “Thy memory be as a dwelling-place/For all sweet sounds and harmonies” to be recreated in moments of tranquil recollection, in the mind, or on the page, as I am writing this very moment… Not an ancient church being reclaimed by nature, but I think my corn-field concert is just as worthy of such thoughts “too deep for tears.”

Or, to slightly alter the lyrics of another cut from Ragged Glory, you’ve got to “Love to Learn.”

Late one night I was walking
in the valley of hearts.
A spirit came to me and said:
You gotta move to start
You gotta take the first step
You gotta crawl to be tall
And then she told me something,
something that
I’ll never forget.

You gotta love to burn. LEARN!
You better
take your chance on love.
You got to let your guard down
You better take a chance,
A chance on love.
(OF WORDS)

Well, that was a stretch–but experiences like Neil Young jamming in a corn field do it for me. I think English Majors and students of the Humanities have a special affinity for such moments. We love to get together and get deep, man–drive life into the corner, as Thoreau was telling my students this morning, and see what it is all about. This is one of the true JOYS of our discipline–the FUN we get to have by living in close association with serious readers and writers on a daily basis. My students may not agree, but I have a lot of FUN in classes–even in the hard work of preparation and grading. We have tremendous FUN in and around our offices just sharing some thoughts over a cup of coffee on the latest thing we read, taught or learned–and both the pleasures and frustrations attendant with our discipline.

And there are the perks. I’m looking forward in two weeks to attending the Western Literature Association conference in Victoria, British Columbia. The theme for this year’s conference is “Bordersong,” and we have put together a panel presentation–from little Chadron State College–that is going to rock those Canucks. Here is the composition of our panel presenting on Thursday afternoon, November 6:

Plain Songs with a Beat: Music and Walking as Spiritual and Social Journey in the West:

Matthew Evertson: “Escape Artists: Songs and Settlement in Three Nebraska Writers”

Steven Coughlin: “Finding a Voice: Thea Kronberg’s Rejection of Gendered Social Conventions in Willa Cather’s The Song of the Lark”

Thomas Deane Tucker and Kathleen Woods: “Rucksack Revolution: Images of Walking in the West in Kerouac”

So notice the clever language used throughout–the alliteration and vivid imagery, the double meanings behind “Plain” and “Beat,” and the way we have integrated seemingly disparate themes and topics into one set of presentations? See how our panel aligns with the broader conference theme of “border songs”? What do we have here other than a shining example of FUN WITH WORDS?

And it is our WORK with words that allows us this opportunity–to travel to a part of the world we have never been. To mix and mingle with other lovers and workers of words. To attend several panels at the conference and continue to “love to learn.” (And, to skip several panels and learn more about Victoria and the region and the local taverns and restaurants).

For those of you planning to be future educators–such joys await (along with all the hard work). For our current students, you, too, can have FUN WITH WORDS. Two years ago our department helped to send EIGHT of our students to the Sigma Tau Delta International Conference in Portland, Oregon. (We sent students again last year to Savannah, Georgia).

Student trip to Porland, 2013

Portland, 2013

Our students have not only attended such conferences, they have presented their work to much acclaim. If you are involved with studies in English and Humanities at CSC, you have many such opportunities: open mic events, field trips, writing workshops, fundraisers, etc… You can learn more about such opportunities by reading earlier entries in the OUTSIDEYOURSELF blog–just scroll down for insights from students who attended the Portland conference, for example.  One of these blogs outlines specifically what you can do to WORK WITH WORDS and have a good time doing it. Here it is: https://outsideyourself.wordpress.com/2013/08/22/work-with-words-get-paid-for-your-passion/

If you live and learn in this region, perhaps you have a chance to visit our big city to the North. Driving back from Rapid City, I’m always impressed as I round the curve of Buffalo Gap National Grassland–and perceive the wide open plains before me. You can see all the way to Chadron–and at night you can see the lights beckoning. You pass a sign. This IS the Good Life–not because of where we live, but how we live.

You’ve gotta love to learn, baby. You gotta take a chance…

Outside Your Self-Discipline

Hello Outsiders. Yesterday we explored the definition of “discipline,” and I posed the following question:

As English Majors and Minors, teachers and students, and general lovers of the written word–can we advance in our discipline without discipline? How much of our work within the discipline will involve “obeying” and “rules”? As a teacher or a student–how much do we enforce one to support the other?

We all love to read and write, for sure–but it can’t be all fun, can it? In posting midterm grades today, I was reminded of the cycles and seasons of the academic life. I love college so much, I never left–but for some reason I find myself surprised at various times each semester by the sheer volume of reading and writing we all choose to take up as practitioners of this discipline (as teachers, students and life-long learners). At times like this, our lives certainly seem governed by a lot of “rules” we have to “obey.” Are we crazy?

My wife thinks so. She teaches High School English–and there the pressure is even more intense. This past Friday found her grading essays when she got done with school, much of the day on Saturday and Sunday, then meeting with a colleague at 7pm on Sunday evening to go over grades to be shared with students the following day. When she was able to join her children and husband for a brief respite and linger over dinner (pizza is a sure-fired way to call her forth from the grading den), we barely recognized the stranger in our midst. She had bloodshot eyes and “grading elbow.”

Now that’s crazy. Yet we have more English Education Majors in our program than ever. What gives?

We love words. What else can be the explanation? (Well, to be fair, we may not “love” the words in that particular passage of the seventeenth essay we have graded that evening, the one with all the comma errors, but we know that, eventually, we will arrive at a passage that blows us away and takes our heads clean off, as Emily would say). Those of us working within this discipline take on faith that language will be our savior, at some point–every week, we will be vindicated in our chosen path. My students suffering through those long passages of Emerson will emerge from the Concord woods, transparent eyeballs ablaze, arduous midterm exam conquered,  and encounter a black bird sitting in their study, ready to creep them out and reaffirm their belief that, somehow, literature is fun!

Our discipline requires of us a lot of hard work. Any professional career or course of study will, obviously–but are English majors special gluttons for punishment? As I chat with students this week of midterms, I’m reminded of just how much they have on their plates–all the writing projects and all the pages to read. I remember being overwhelmed many times throughout my undergraduate and graduate career, wondering just how in the hell I was going to digest all of that material! Let alone savor it, meditate on it–engage is slow reading, as Deane Tucker wisely advised a few blogs ago. How could I possibly get through it all. Sometimes (gasp), I couldn’t! I’d have to prioritize or “triage” which assignments across my courses demanded my attention first and foremost (hint to my students, it is always American Lit). When I was unable to complete a reading assignment, I would feel intense anxiety–not that the professor would call on me, or that I would screw up a quiz or exam–but that I was being left out of that shared reading experience of the class. I would sometimes get upset when the professor would CUT a reading from the schedule. How masochistic is that? I somehow felt, deeply, that motto you see emblazoned on bags from Barnes and Noble: “so many books, so little time.” But was it worth all the the 3am essays, the cups of joe, the frantic call of the inkjet minutes before class? Who would choose this?

And so I understand the near revolt of my students this morning who complained that we had set aside just ONE day for Edgar Allan Poe. (Trying to lure me into the catacombs for a nice draught of wine was a bit over the top, though). We are all addicted to reading–though we might not all pick the same poison. (For those of you going on to teach, when you get your own classrooms–you can assign as much Poe as you want. For now, let’s turn our pages to Walden…)

In short, we have chosen a discipline that does require, at times, a certain devil’s bargain. In order to get “paid” in good grades, diplomas and, eventually, salaries, we agree to live within a world of self-discipline. We will read a lot–and not always for pleasure. We will write a great deal–often, not for the fun of it. We will internalize the rules of acceptable usage and, when needed, obey them. We will prop open our eyelids and push through to the end of the chapter. We will tap tap on our keyboards until we reach that word count. We will assess the written work of others, many who won’t share our perverse love of language. We do this because we know no other way to fill our lives with what we love.

Words.

In this blog space a year or so ago, I penned a promotion for our program that sought to appeal to all you hopeless reading and writing addicts out there. WORK WITH WORDS became our mantra. It has that nice double-meaning that all English majors can appreciate: find a profession where reading and writing are integral, and where you get to literally “work” with language day in and day out. A colleague recently shared a link to a website that endorses this theme, helping us to imagine why we might want to study within the arts and humanities, and seek out those attendant careers. Here is a link to the website:

http://www.ah21cw.com/category/why-humanities/

You can make more money elsewhere, perhaps. You might have more free time to watch Big Bang Theory, or surf the internet. But at the end of the day, will your brain thank  you? Will you get outside yourself? Face it–you need words, and they need you. The sooner you accept this, the sooner you can turn the page…

 

 

In the Discipline: You can Leave Your Hat On….

Dear Outsiders–this week the blog will focus on the concept of “discipline.” I hope to explore this idea from several angles: discipline in the classroom, self-discipline within your chosen field of studies, the work of building expertise within a discipline and, finally, the idea of integrating disciplines (or being “interdisciplinary”).

Part ONE: “You Can Leave Your Hat on…”

I often “discipline” my writing students when they begin a paper with “Webster’s Defines…” (insert topic or idea here). This is possibly one of the lamest ways to start an essay–but, as the maxim goes: do as I say, not as a I do:

Google Defines “Discipline” like this:

So what do you think? Many of you reading this blog are educators, plan to be educators, or are currently in classrooms with all sorts of educators attempting to impose “discipline.” What IS our role in regards to discipline the classroom–particularly the ENGLISH classroom, which (I know it is hard to believe) is not always the most enthralling environment for some students. What frustrates you in your learning environment–either as a student or (potential) instructor? Texting okay? Snapchat? A noisy classroom is a sign of “learning in progress” we are often told–is this true, or an excuse for chaos? Those students chatting in the corner–disruptive? Open debate and discussion with no ground rules–should we raise hands? Pass around a conch?

And what about that guy over in the corner with the hat on? (here I would link to the titular Joe Cocker song, but it will bring up a clip from 9 1/2 Weeks, which introduces up all sorts of disciplinary problems for this blog, and perhaps disciplinary action against the blogger).

The reason why I bring up the HAT is that I know some teachers who simply cannot abide such cover in the classroom–and it struck a chord with me this weekend when I listened to an episode of This American Life that was devoted to the idea of classroom discipline. Here is a link to the episode:

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/538/is-this-working

In the opening anecdote, a middle school student has been asked to remove his hat. He refuses. Several teachers then share their views on how the situation should be handled–from a sharp look to throwing a shoe, and everything in between. The episode explores many issues related to classroom discipline–from what seems to be a pretty clear connection between race and discipline, to comparing and contrasting “zero tolerance” approaches vs. more discuss/redirect approaches. What is the best way for a teacher to manage a classroom? Listen to the program to find out. (Spoiler alert–there is no right or wrong approach…).

Which brings us back to Webster’s, er, Google–and that dictionary definition. In viewing the concept as a verb, we discipline our students, our classmates–maybe ourselves–by training to obey rules or codes of behavior, usually with some sort of punishment. As a noun, we think of discipline as that  “practice of training people to obey rules or a code of behavior, using punishment to correct disobedience.” Whether an action or a thing, neither one of these sounds too pleasant. But what of that second definition: “a branch of knowledge, typically one studied in higher education”? As English Majors and Minors, teachers and students, and general lovers of the written word–can we separate the two? Can we advance in our discipline without discipline? How much of our work within the discipline will involve “obeying” and “rules”? As a teacher or a student–how much do we enforce one to support the other?

“Tune in” for the next blog, which will explore this question further.

Dr. Evertson

Native tribes from Canada, U.S. sign treaty to restore bison to Great Plains | CTV News

Here’s an interesting story about Restoring Bison to the High Plains that may be of interest for students in CAPSTONE: GREAT PLAINS (with Dr. Evertson and Dr. Kinbacher)

Native tribes from Canada, U.S. sign treaty to restore bison to Great Plains | CTV News.

2014 Storycatcher Workshop: What’s YOUR Story?

June 10^th -13^th    2014

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Registration & Costs

Chadron State College Conferencing is pleased to sign you up! Full registration instructions can be found by visiting their website:   http://www.csc.edu/conferencing/upcoming/storycatcher/form/index.csc

Workshop Sessions are open to all aspiring writers of all ages and abilities.

(We recommend that High School Participants be at the Junior level or above).

General Registration:  $150

• All workshop participants must pay the general registration fee, which gains you access to all open workshops and special sessions over the four days.
• There is no deadline for General Registration, and you do not need to sign up for any specific sessions in advance. However, EARLY REGISTRATION IS ENCOURAGED—as materials and notices will be sent out to registered attendees in advance of the workshop.
• Students and Mari Sandoz Heritage Society Members Receive a 20% discount

Advanced Revision Workshop with Dan O’Brien (Fiction/Non-Fiction Prose) Additional Fee: $100

For writers who have work in progress and are interested in revising and refining their writing for publication with one-on-one feedback with our 2014 Writer-In-Residence, Dan O’Brien.

Space is limited to 10 writers, so early registration is encouraged.

ADVANCED WORKSHOP REGISTRATION DEADLINE: MAY 30, 2014

Questions? Fill out the form below…

Name(required)

Email(required)

Comment(required)

Submit

Δ

Story Catcher Writing Workshop and Festival is HERE!!!

Story Catcher Writing Workshop and Festival:

A GREAT PLACE TO CREATE!

We still have openings for folks who want to spend some time with critically-acclaimed, PUBLISHED writers starting on TUESDAY May 28. Visit storycatcherworkshop.com or simply come to the Sandoz Center on the campus of Chadron State college between 3 and 5 pm on Tuesday to register.

THE MOST UP TO DATE SCHEDULE IS BELOW

 

May 28 to May 31, 2013

storycatcherworkshop.com

facebook.com/storycatcherworkshop

twitter #storycatcherworkshop

We are thrilled to be back again this year with a stellar lineup of professional writers to lead our second annual Story Catcher Summer Writing Workshop & Festival–special guest Jonis Agee will give a keynote address and lead two workshops on  writing about place and getting started with your prose. Advanced/Intermediate multi-day workshops will be offered by award winning novelist Pamela Carter Joern and essayist Linda M. Hasselstrom. Renowned poet Kwame Dawes will lead a poetry workshop and read from his latest work, while Marianne Kunke, Managing Editor of Prairie Schooner, will offer an “insider’s view” on publishing in journals, such as Prairie Schooner, considered one of the first and finest. Additional workshops with experienced writers focusing on fiction, non-fiction prose and poetry will be offered throughout the three days–capped with a FESTIVAL that will celebrate the writing from the workshop and the region. A summary of the program follows.

Tuesday, May 28th

(Mari Sandoz High Plains Heritage Center Atrium)

3 to 5 pm  Check-in & Registration

5 to 6pm Reception

• Appetizers & Refreshments will be Served
• 5 to 5:30 Intermediate Workshop Participants meet with their instructors)
• 5:40 Opening Remarks

6 pm  Keynote:  Jonis Agee  “To Awaken the Sleepers”

Wednesday, May 29^th

(Chadron State College and/or Locations in Region)

7 to 9 am Continental Breakfast Sandoz Atrium

8 to 11 am Intermediate Workshops (1 of 3)

• Intermediate to Advanced Level. Space is limited and additional registration fee required. These workshops take place over three mornings and focus on writing that is already in progress, with an emphasis on peer editing, revision and shaping your narrative towards publication.

• Memoir/Nonfiction (Linda Hasselstrom)
  • Kosman Room—Sandoz Center Basemen
• Fiction (Pamela Carter Joern)
  • Old Admin Room #238—just East of the Sandoz Center

9 to 11 am Beginning Workshops  (1 of 2)

• These workshops take place over two mornings and focus on the elements of writing in a specific genre, generating material, and tips and techniques for shaping your work for publication.
  • Beginning Fiction (Poe Ballantine and Matthew Evertson)
    • Old Admin Room #101—just East of the Sandoz Center

• Beginning Poetry (R.F. McEwen)
  • Old Admin Room #137—just East of the Sandoz Center

• Beginning Non-Fiction Prose (Rich Kenney)
  • Old Admin Room #136—just East of the Sandoz Center

11 to 1 pm Lunch on Your Own

1 to 3 pm  Jonis Agee “A Sense of Where You Are”

• Non-fiction/Fiction: writing about place. (All levels–Sandoz Center Atrium)

3:15 to 4:15 pm  Paula Bosco Damon “Get Down to Writing”

• Non-fiction/Fiction: This hands-on workshop will demystify the perennial question of what to write about and demonstrate how to crack the code for writer’s block. (All levels–Sandoz Center Atrium)

4: 30 to 8 pm “Writing Around” Nature Hike, Cookout and Reading

We will travel 10 miles south of town to Chadron State Park for a nature hike with opportunities write. We will then gather at a the LAGOON shelter in the Park for a cookout. Participants in the “writing hike” will have the opportunity to share some of their writing from the outing. We will end the evening with readings from Story Catcher Workshop Leaders.

• 4:30 PM: Those interested in participating in the nature “writing” hike meet in the parking lot Behind/West of the Sandoz Center. There is room for up to 12 in our passenger van—otherwise, plan to caravan. A map of our course and a sign up sheet and field trip waiver are in your packets. Please return them to the registration desk if you plan to attend.
• 6:30 PM: COOKOUT. ALL participants of the workshop are invited to a cookout at Chadron State Park at the LAGOON SHELTER (near the pond and the park offices—see the enclosed map). Free Hot Dogs, Hamburgers and other cookout fare & refreshments will be provided by the English and Humanities Department at Chadron State College. (A sign up sheet is available at our registration desk so that we can plan the correct amount of food).
• 7 to 8 PM: Readings from participants in the nature hike and/or Story Catcher Workshop leaders. (Our passenger van will return those who sign up back to the college).

NOTE: if you drive your own vehicle, be aware that there is a $5 Daily Park Entry Fee payable at the visitor center.

Thursday, May 30th

(Chadron State College and/or Locations in Region)

7 to 9 am Continental Breakfast Sandoz Atrium

8 to 11 am Intermediate Workshops (2 of 3)

• Intermediate to Advanced Level. Space is limited and additional registration fee required. These workshops take place over three mornings and focus on writing that is already in progress, with an emphasis on peer editing, revision and shaping your narrative towards publication.
  

  • Memoir/Nonfiction (Linda Hasselstrom)
    • Kosman Room—Sandoz Center Basemen
  • Fiction (Pamela Carter Joern)
    • Old Admin Room #238—just East of the Sandoz Center

9 to 11 am Beginning Workshops  (2 of 2)

• These workshops take place over two mornings and focus on the elements of writing in a specific genre, generating material, and tips and techniques for shaping your work for publication.
  • Beginning Fiction (Poe Ballantine and Matthew Evertson)
    • Old Admin Room #101—just East of the Sandoz Center

 

• Beginning Poetry (R.F. McEwen)
  • Old Admin Room #137—just East of the Sandoz Center

• Beginning Non-Fiction Prose (Rich Kenney)
  • Old Admin Room #136—just East of the Sandoz Center

 

11 to 1 pm Lunch on Your Own

1 to 3 pm  Jonis Agee “The First Five Pages”

• Non-fiction/Fiction: how to open your story with a lasting impression. (All levels–Sandoz Center Atrium)

3:15 to 5 pm  Kwame Dawes “Chameleons of Suffering”

• Poetry: Beginning with a half-hour exploration of empathy through a short lecture, Kwame will then lead a hands-on workshop for poets through a series of exercises and discussion. (All levels–Sandoz Center Atrium)

7 pm “Reading at the Bean”

• Readings from Story Catcher Workshop Leaders at the Bean Broker Coffee House, 202 W. 2^nd Street. The Bean Broker serves a selection of sandwiches, baked goods, coffee, beers, wine and mixed drinks.

 

 Friday, May 31^st

(Chadron State College and/or Locations in Region)

7 to 9 am Continental Breakfast Sandoz Atrium

8 to 11 am Intermediate Workshops (3 of 3)

• Intermediate to Advanced Level. Space is limited and additional registration fee required. These workshops take place over three mornings and focus on writing that is already in progress, with an emphasis on peer editing, revision and shaping your narrative towards publication.
  

  • Memoir/Nonfiction (Linda Hasselstrom)
    • Kosman Room—Sandoz Center Basemen
  • Fiction (Pamela Carter Joern)
    • Old Admin Room #238—just East of the Sandoz Center

9 to 10 am Poe Ballantine “Writing Life”

• Stories from a working author and a life of writing (All levels–Sandoz Center Atrium)
  • (Because Mr. Ballantine will be on book tour, this will be a discussion recorded for presentation at this workshop)

10:15 to 11:15 am Paula Bosco Damon “Journaling, Blogging and Writing Environment”

• Non-fiction/Fiction: This workshop will touch on the benefits of establishing a journaling routine, the ups and downs of blogging and the importance of writing environment. (All levels–Sandoz Center Atrium)

11 to 1 pm Lunch on Your Own

WRITING FESTIVAL  1 to 5 pm

(Mari Sandoz High Plains Heritage Center Atrium—Open to the Public)

• Booksellers, Vendors, Displays all afternoon

1 to 2:20 pm Open Mic for Workshop Participants: SHARE YOUR WRITING!

• We encourage you to consider celebrating and sharing some of your writing from the workshop at the OPEN MIC session during the Festival. Those interested will need to sign up at the registration desk any time prior to Friday morning. We will then know how much time to allow for each reader.  This is your workshop—so please take advantage of this opportunity to celebrate your achievements!

2:30 to 3:30 pm  Marianne Kunkel “Publishing in Journals: An Insider’s View”

• Seminar—strategies of publishing poetry and prose in contemporary literary journals, and her talk will be followed by a  Q&A on the subject. (All levels–Sandoz Center Atrium)

3:45 to 4:45 pm Special Reading—Kwame Dawes and Marianne Kunkel

• Kwame Dawes and Marianne Kunkel will read from their work and from recent issues of Prairie Schooner, followed by a Q&A.

4:45 pm Book Signing

• Workshop Faculty will be available to sign books.

 

Faculty and Workshop Descriptions

Special Guest:  Jonis AgeeJonis Agee was born in Omaha, Nebraska and grew up in Nebraska and Missouri, places where many of her stories and novels are set. She was educated at The University of Iowa (BA) and The State University of New York at Binghamton (MA, PhD). She is Adele Hall Professor of English at The University of Nebraska — Lincoln, where she teaches creative writing and twentieth-century fiction. She is the author of twelve books, including five novels — Sweet Eyes, Strange Angels, South of Resurrection, The Weight of Dreams, and her most recent, The River Wife — and five collections of short fiction — Pretend We’ve Never Met, Bend This Heart, A .38 Special and a Broken Heart, Taking the Wall, and Acts of Love on Indigo Road. She has also published two books of poetry: Houses and Mercury.In her newest novel, The River Wife (Random House, 2007), five generations of women experience love and heartbreak, passion and deceit against the backdrop of the nineteenth-century South. The book has been selected by the Book of the Month Club, the Literary Guild, and as a main selection by the Quality Paperback Book Club.Jonis Agee’s awards include ForeWord Magazine’s Editor’s Choice Award for Taking the Wall and the Gold Medal in Fiction for Acts of Love on Indigo Road; a National Endowment for the Arts grant in fiction; a Loft-McKnight Award; a Loft-McKnight Award of Distinction; and two Nebraska Book Awards (for The Weight of Dreams and Acts of Love on Indigo Road. Three of her books — Strange Angels, Bend This Heart, and Sweet Eyes — were named Notable Books of the Year by The New York Times.Jonis owns twenty pairs of cowboy boots, some of them works of art, loves the open road, and believes that ecstasy and hard work are the basic ingredients of life and writing.(Author’s Website: http://mockingbird.creighton.edu/ncw/agee)Keynote Address:  “To Awaken the Sleepers”Afternoon Stand Alone Sessions: “A Sense of Where You Are”  (Non-fiction/Fiction: writing about place) “The First Five Pages”  (Non-fiction/Fiction: how to open your story with a lasting impression)

Linda M. HasselstromLinda M. Hasselstrom is the full-time resident writer at Windbreak House Writing retreats, established in 1996 on her ranch. Her latest nonfiction book, No Place Like Home: Notes from a Western Life, won the 2010 WILLA in creative nonfiction from Women Writing the West. Dirt Songs: A Plains Duet, poetry with Nebraskan Twyla Hansen (The Backwaters Press)  received the Nebraska Book Award for Poetry 2012. The book was also a finalist for best poetry book, High Plains Book Awards, Billings, MT, and finalist, WILLA award for poetry, Women Writing the West, both in 2012. She was recognized for Distinguished Service to the Humanities by the South Dakota Humanities Council in 2011 and is special consultant to the Rural Literature RALLY initiative, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY. Her writing has appeared in dozens of anthologies and magazines. A poetry collection, Bitter Creek Junction, won the Wrangler for Best Poetry from the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City, OK. Bison: Monarch of the Plains, was named best environmental and nature book of 1999 by the Independent Publishers Association. Formerly visiting faculty for Iowa State University, Ames and online mentor for the University of Minnesota’s Split Rock writing program, Linda is an advisor to Texas Tech University Press.(Author’s Website: http://www.windbreakhouse.com/index.htm)Intermediate Workshop: Memoir & Non fictionUPDATE: by popular request, we will be offering a unique take on this workshop tailored to the special interests of the region: Family History: Dancing Skeletons Students will submit up to 20 pages of writing about family or local history by May 10. I will write line-by-line comments in the text of each submission. Class time will focus on evaluating and revising the writing with the assumption that each student will eventually publish a collection of writings about family or local history in some form. I will bring examples of the many ways family history can be made relevant to general readers. We will discuss memoir and autobiographical writing in general, as well as various elements of good nonfiction writing including language, sentence structure, beginnings and endings. Please bring to class one copy of your submission for each student in your class. Please also attend the opening ceremonies to receive additional information. (Full submission instructions will be provided to participants of this workshop after they register). “If you cannot get rid of the family skeleton, you may as well make it dance.” –George Bernard Shaw, Immaturity OR—you can submit material focused on the following workshop theme: Clean as Bone, Pure as Water: Revising Your Writing Students will submit up to 20 pages of nonfiction writing by May 10. I will write line-by-line-comments in the text of each submission. Class time will focus on evaluating and revising essays for potential publication with emphasis on language, sentence structure, editing, beginnings and endings and abundant individualized handouts. Please bring to class one copy of your submission for each student. Please attend the opening ceremonies to receive additional information. (Full submission instructions will be provided to participants of this workshop after they register) The written word is to be clean as bone / pure as water, hard as stone. Two words are not as good as one. –Old Elizabethan rhyme

Pamela Carter JoernPamela Carter Joern is an award-winning novelist, short story writer, playwright, and a teacher of writing. The Plain Sense of Things, (University of Nebraska Press, 2008) was a Midwest Booksellers Association Connections Pick. The Floor of the Sky (University of Nebraska Press, 2006), was a Barnes and Noble Discover Great New Writers selection, winner of an Alex Award and the Nebraska Book Award.Pam won the 2001 and 2008 Tamarack Awards for the short story, sponsored by Minnesota Monthly Magazine. Her work has appeared in the Red Rock Review, South Dakota Review, Water~Stone, Laurel Review, Feminist Studies, Great River Review, Minnesota Monthly Magazine and an anthology, Times of Sorrow, Times of Grace ( Backwaters Press). She has received a Minnesota State Arts Board fellowship and a Career Initiative grant from the Jerome Foundation.Pam has written six plays that have been produced in the Twin Cities area. She holds an MFA in creative writing from Hamline University and teaches at the Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis.(Author’s Website: http://www.pamelacarterjoern.com) Intermediate Workshop: Fiction You will have the opportunity to respond respectfully to others’ work and to receive feedback on your own. We’ll focus on what works well and what questions are generated for further development. We’ll venture into elements of craft as they arise, i.e. using sensory detail, capitalizing on point-of-view, developing character, writing successful dialogue, creating tension, mining your setting. There will be handouts for your future reference, and in addition to the workshop comments, I will provide written feedback. Please submit up to 20 pages, double-spaced, by May 10, either a short story or excerpt from a short story or novel. If from a novel or longer story, please include a one paragraph synopsis. Ideally, participants will receive copies of submissions in advance of the workshop so we can be adequately prepared. You’ll receive further instructions once you’ve registered. Please also bring to the workshop a printed copy of your submission for each participant. (Full submission instructions will be provided to participants of this workshop after they register)

Kwame DawesGhanaian-born Jamaican poet, Kwame Dawes is the award-winning author of sixteen books of poetry (most recently, Wheels, 2011) and numerous books of fiction, non-fiction, criticism and drama. He is the Glenna Luschei Editor of Prairie Schooner, and a Chancellor’s Professor of English at the University of Nebraska.   Kwame Dawes also teaches in the Pacific MFA Writing program.  Dawes’ book, Duppy Conqueror: New and Selected Poems will be published by Copper Canyon in 2013.(Author’s Website: http://www.kwamedawes.com)“Chameleons of Suffering” Poetry WorkshopBeginning with a half-hour exploration of empathy through a short lecture, Kwame will then lead a hands-on workshop for poets through a series of exercises and discussion.Reading & Book Signing (with Marianne Kunkel)Kwame Dawes and Marianne Kunkel will read from their work and from recent issues of Prairie Schooner, followed by a Q&A.

Marianne KunkelMarianne Kunkel is the Managing Editor of Prairie Schooner and a Ph.D. student in poetry at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, with a specialization in women’s and gender studies. Her poems have appeared in Columbia Poetry Review, Hayden’s Ferry Review, Poet Lore, Rattle, River Styx, and elsewhere, and her chapbook is The Laughing Game (Finishing Line Press).Publishing in Journals: An Insider’s ViewSeminar—strategies of publishing poetry and prose in contemporary literary journals, and her talk will be followed by a  Q&A on the subject.Reading & Book Signing (with Kwame Dawes)Kwame Dawes and Marianne Kunkel will read from their work and from recent issues of Prairie Schooner, followed by a Q&A.Founded in 1927, Prairie Schooner is a national literary quarterly published with the support of the UNL English Department. It publishes fiction, poetry, essays, and reviews by beginning, mid-career and established writers. For more information, visit http://prairieschooner.unl.edu.

R.F. McEwenR.F. McEwen has been a tree trimmer since 1963 and English teacher since 1972. He is currently a professor of English at Chadron State College, in Chadron, Nebraska, where he has taught since 1986. His poems have appeared in the South Dakota Review,  Kansas Quarterly, Melville Extracts, Prairie Schooner, Rural Voices, Midwest Quarterly, The Literary Journal of the Seamus Heaney Center for Poetry, Belfast, and other journals. His Heartwood and other Poems was featured on CBS “Sunday Morning.”  He co-produced “Tell a Story: Joe Heaney in the Pacific Northwest” (Camsco), a two-CD collection of the stories of Joe Heaney, the noted Irish sean nos singer and storyteller. His forthcoming Bill’s Boy’s and other Poems is being published by Black Star Press, Lincoln, Nebraska. And his poem “Stacking Rick Wood: Getting On” is the poem for November in the current (2012) Nebraska Poets Calendar.  His poems are written for the most part in blank verse and are more often than not narrative.(Author Info: http://prairieschooner.unl.edu/?q=fusion/work/quare-garden-dry-end-state)Beginning Poetry (all levels)This workshop will be devoted to writing narrative poetry, poetry that tells a story, rather than confessional, emotive poetry that explores one’s own feelings. Narrative poems explore the feelings of fictional characters involved in fictional plots that carry the weight of universal themes. We will do quite a bit of writing, some reading and, I hope, discussion of the persistent problems involved whenever one attempts to tell a story that will change, mystify, and provoke an audience of strong readers and listeners.

Poe BallantinePoe Ballantine’s work has appeared in The Atlantic Monthly, regularly in The Sun Magazine, Kenyon Review, and The Coal City Review. His second novel, Decline of the Lawrence Welk Empire, won Foreword Magazine’s Book of the Year. The odd jobs, eccentric characters, boarding houses, buses, and beer that populate Ballantine’s work often draw comparisons to the life and work of Charles Bukowski and Jack Kerouac. In addition to garnering numerous award nominations including The Pushcart Prize and The Pen/O. Henry Prize, Ballantine’s work has been included in the 1998 Best American Short Story and 2006 Best American Essay anthologies. His memoir, Love and Terror on the Howling Plains of Nowhere, is being published by Hawthorne Press this September (and is now available for preorder).(Author Info: http://hawthornebooks.com/authors/poe-ballantine)Beginning Fiction (with Matthew Evertson, All Levels)This workshop will offer a blend of “theory” and “practice” in the fundamentals of writing fiction. The “theory” will be introduced through Matthew Evertson as he shares the “nuts and bolts” lessons he has gleaned over the years from both taking and teaching fiction writing classes. Poe Ballantine will then share his insights from years of honing his craft as a working writer, publishing his stories and novels to critical acclaim.Writing Life (All Levels)My workshops are inspired by my years of itinerancy,  “Mining the Lost Years,” “The Life of a Drifter,” “The Importance of Being an Outsider,” and so on.  I’m frequently lumped in with the Beat Movement, though I don’t share much with them (except the traveling). My non-fiction work is almost entirely emotion-based, and I will share my insights about process, the importance of the small press (breaking in), reader psychology, and any other questions, problems, and concerns the budding writer might have.

Matthew EvertsonMatthew Quinn Evertson is Professor and Chair of the Department of English and Humanities at Chadron State College in Chadron, Nebraska, where he teaches American Literature, Native American Literature, Western American Literature and Writing. He is currently working on a book-length comparative study of Stephen Crane and Theodore Roosevelt and is also currently teaching, researching and writing about the regional influences upon the literature of the Great Plains.  More recently he has focused on expanding creative writing opportunities at Chadron State College, complementing his scholarly work with his long interest in writing fiction (he has studied fiction writing at both the undergraduate and graduate level, and has completed several writing workshops). His publications include “Fields of Vision: Human Presence in the Plain Landscapes of Terrence Malick and Wright Morris” in Terrence Malick Film and Philosophy (New York: Continuum, May 2011) “Cather in the Rye: ‘Paul’s Case’ in Anticipation of Holden Caulfield” in Critical Insights: The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger (New York: EBSCO/Salem Press, 2011), “Strenuous Stories: The Wilderness Tales of Stephen Crane and Theodore Roosevelt” which appears in Stephen Crane Studies (2005); and “Love, Loss and Growing Up in J.D. Salinger and Cormac McCarthy” which appears in The Catcher in the Rye: New Essays (Peter Lang, 2002).Beginning Fiction (with Poe Ballantine, All Levels)This workshop will offer a blend of “theory” and “practice” in the fundamentals of writing fiction. The “theory” will be introduced through Matthew Evertson as he shares the “nuts and bolts” lessons he has gleaned over the years from both taking and teaching fiction writing classes. Poe Ballantine will then share his insights from years of honing his craft as a working writer, publishing his stories and novels to critical acclaim.

Rich KenneyRich Kenney is a former Little League centerfielder from Boston, Massachusetts. As a social worker, radio talk show host and newspaper columnist, he has worked with people like Big Ray, the cigar-smoking, twenty-year-old special needs student with a heart bigger than his 48-inch waistline; and Edgar, the elderly slide trombonist dying of cancer with a scheme to retrieve his horn from a hock shop. Kenney writes about hawks herding clouds or old ticket stubs caught in cobwebs. He writes about tiny canes the color of clouds hanging on a wall outside a preschool classroom for kids who are blind.The recipient of a Creative Writing Fellowship from the Arizona Commission on the Arts, Kenney has also contributed commentaries to National Public Radio. Recent publications include nonfiction prose in The New Social Worker and Social Work Today; and poetry in Rockhurst Review and Third Wednesday.Kenney holds degrees from the University of Texas (MSSW), and the University of Arizona (BA). He is currently an assistant professor and Director of the Social Work Program at Chadron State College in Chadron, Nebraska.Beginning Creative Nonfiction (all levels)Creative Nonfiction is the place for all writers to come clean. But don’t sweat the interrogation lights… In this workshop, we will use other techniques like language, setting and detail to help you tell your story.  You’ll fish for the moon with kites (metaphor), write “Dear Johns” to snappers (clarity), or mix sweet literary martinis (form) to uncover insights and truths. With focus on the word, creative, in creative nonfiction, you will tap into memories and life-changing moments to awaken the stories inside waiting to be told.

Paula Bosco Damon Paula Bosco Damon is an award-winning author, whose short non-fiction has won countless honors, including first place in national and state writing competitions.Damon has taught writing courses at the University of South Dakota, Vermillion; Briar Cliff University, Western Iowa Tech Community College and St. Luke’s College, all in Sioux City, Iowa. Additionally, she has led numerous writing workshops in South Dakota. In 2011, Damon conducted a writing workshop at the National Federation of Press Women’s annual convention.A popular keynote speaker, the writer has conducted readings in New York, Pennsylvania, Iowa, South Dakota and Nebraska, including Chadron State College and Chadron Public Library, among others.Currently, Damon is the director of marketing and communication at Briar Cliff University, Sioux City, where she is on the editorial staff for the University’s award-winning literary and art publication, The Briar Cliff Review and a guest lecturer in the University’s writing classes.A regular contributor to the Vermillion [S.D.] Plain Talk and the Carroll [Iowa] Times Daily Herald, the author submits a creative non-fiction piece to both papers weekly.  She holds a master’s degree in English and bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of South Dakota. For samples of Damon’s work, please visit her story archive at http://my-story-your-story.blogspot.com/. Her chapbook, Look. Don’t Look. [Briar Cliff University Press], is available upon request.Get Down to Writing (all levels)This hands-on workshop will demystify the perennial question of what to write about and demonstrate how to crack the code for writer’s block.Journaling, Blogging and Writing Environment (all levels)This workshop will touch on the benefits of establishing a journaling routine, the ups and downs of blogging and the importance of writing environment.

Registration & Costs

Workshop Sessions are open to all aspiring writers of all ages and abilities.

(We recommend that High School Participants be at the Junior level or above).

General Registration:  $150

• All workshop participants must pay the general registration fee, which gains you access to all beginning workshops and special sessions over the four days.
• There is no deadline for General Registration, and you do not need to sign up for any specific sessions in advance.
• Students and Mari Sandoz Heritage Society Members Receive a 20% discount

Additional Fees:

Intermediate Workshop Tuition: $100

For writers who have work in progress and are interested in revising and refining their writing for publication with one-on-one feedback with your workshop leader. When registering, please select ONE of the following options :

• Linda Hasselstrom (non-fiction prose/memoir)
• Pamela Carter Joern (fiction)

Space is limited to 12 writers per workshop, so early registration is encouraged.

INTERMEDIATE WORKSHOP REGISTRATION DEADLINE: MAY 10, 2013

• Late registration and on-site registration may be available for intermediate workshops—depending on enrollments. There will be a 20% surcharge on any late or on-site registrations for this workshop.
• In order to fulfill our workshop commitments to faculty and other participants, we cannot cancel your reservation or offer refunds after May 10.
• You need to pay both your general registration and your intermediate workshop fees ($250 total) when you register.

Scholarships:

A limited number of scholarships are available for student applicants based upon written samples of their work. Please follow the instructions in the application at the end of this document.

HOUSING

In order to provide the utmost value and flexibility for our workshop participants, housing costs have NOT been added to your workshop registration fee. Instead, participants will have the following options for securing their own accommodations while in the region:

• A limited number of dormitory-style rooms will be available for rent at Chadron State College during the Workshop and Festival. Costs are approximately $13 per person, per night, double occupancy, and $17.50 per person, per night, for a private room.
• A list of hotels in the region will be provided. Several of these will be partnering with us to provide a discount rate to our conference participants.
• Chadron State Park (approximately 9 miles south of CSC) and Fort Robinson State Park (approximately 25 miles to the south of CSC) have cabins, camping facilities and other forms of lodging as well.

MEALS:

Workshop participants often find that they need a relaxing break between sessions. Some may want to gather socially with other workshop members over a leisurely lunch, while others may want to grab a quick bite and work on their writing in solitude. In order to provide the most value and flexibility for your workshop experience, meals have NOT been added to your workshop registration fee.

• As part of your registration fee, snacks and refreshments WILL be provided for the Opening Ceremonies and Reception on Wednesday afternoon.
• As part of your registration fee, continental Breakfast with coffee and tea service (and other light refreshments) WILL be available each morning before the workshop sessions in the Sandoz Center Atrium. Coffee and Tea service will also be provided throughout the day for breaks during the workshop sessions.
• Tickets for the NOON banquet at the Saturday Festival will be $12
• Noontime lunches and evening dining will be on your own. A list of dining options will be provided, with several restaurants in the region providing special rates or discounts for workshop participants.

LOCATION

The workshop sessions will take place on the campus of Chadron State College, which lies within the southern boundary of the city of Chadron, Nebraska, with a population of approximately 6,000 residents.  Chadron State College is located about 290 miles north of Denver, Colo., and 100 miles south of Rapid City, S.D. U.S.  Highways 20 and 385 intersect in Chadron. For driving directions and regional and campus maps, please visit this website:  http://www.csc.edu/visitors/location.csc. The city of Chadron has a municipal airport with daily flights to Denver International Airport.

In addition to our workshop sessions on campus, other events will take place in the rugged beauty of the surrounding region. The scenic Pine Ridge of northwestern Nebraska has long been recognized as the most beautiful portion of the state.  The prairie and hills around Chadron are rich in pioneer history, and the town was founded in 1885.  Fort Robinson, twenty-eight miles away, was once a colorful frontier military post and provides a variety of activities amid its historic buildings, including the Post Playhouse, sponsored each summer by the college’s theatre department. Chadron State Park, the Pine Ridge, the Museum of the Fur Trade, the Sandhills of

Nebraska, the Hudson-Meng Bison Site, the Agate Fossil Beds, the Black Hills of South Dakota, and the Hot Springs Mammoth Site provide opportunities for exciting day trips, including sight-seeing, fishing, hunting, hiking, mountain biking and skiing. In 2000, Sports Afield designated Chadron as one of the “top 50 outdoor sports towns” in the nation and one of the four best

mountain biking towns in the United States.  Outside Magazine has selected Dawes County, where Chadron is located, as one of the nation’s top 100 counties in which to live.    The climate in the Pine Ridge Region during late May/Early June is typically pleasant, with clear skies and moderate temperatures—with highs in the low eighties and lows in the upper forties.

The Chadron State College residential campus, occupying two hundred eighty-one acres, is bound on the south by the tall, pine-clad buttes of the Pine Ridge.  Twenty-four major buildings with more than one million square feet of floor space provide state-of the art facilities for residential students. A highlight in the last decade was the  development of the Mari Sandoz High Plains Heritage Center, which pays tribute to the western Nebraska native who became one of America’s leading authors—and which will be our “headquarters” for the Workshop and Festival this year.  The center focuses on the settlement and development of the High Plains region, including the history of the cattle industry in the C.F. Coffee Gallery.  The center houses an archive of important historical documents and artifacts, as well as a state-of-the-art digitizing laboratory, the Kosman electronically mediated classroom, a gallery of rotating artistic and historical exhibits, permanent exhibits on Sandoz and the high plains environment, and the outdoor Heritage Gardens that feature Sandhills and pioneer plantings.

About the Workshop

The Story Catcher Writing Workshop and Festival takes its inspiration from one of Nebraska’s most prominent writers, Mari Sandoz (1896-1966), who grew up in the region on the homesteads her family settled in the late 1800s. In addition to building an impressive career as an author, Sandoz went to great lengths to encourage other writers, conducting summer writing workshops on college campuses, reviewing manuscripts sent to her by aspiring authors from all over the nation, and teaching creative writing through programming produced by Nebraska Public Television. A prolific writer and dogged researcher, her works crossed the boundaries of history, fiction, biography, memoir, journalism, ethnography, ecology, activism and advocacy for marginalized groups, such as Native Americans. It is fitting, therefore, that this passionate teacher of writing who captured so many stories from this region should be the inspiration for our workshop.

The workshop and festival itself takes its name from The Story Catcher, Sandoz’s last published novel, and winner of the Levi Strauss Golden Saddleman Award in 1963 and the Western Writers of America Spur Award for best juvenile fiction in 1964. Set in the same high plains region of our workshop, the novella follows the trials and tribulations of a young Oglala Sioux searching for his place within a mid-nineteenth century tribal society facing white encroachment and continued conflict with neighboring tribes. Turning his back on the glory he might gain as a warrior, he instead wins honor and a new name: “Story Catcher,” recorder of the history of his people.

It is our goal to channel this spirit of Sandoz and The Story Catcher—to guide and encourage the participants of our workshop in capturing their own creative ideas, to help transform those ideas into written works that can then be shared, discussed and revised, and to celebrate the best qualities of writing from this workshop—and this region—in a festival that may inspire the story catcher in all of us.

In response to requests from our previous workshop participants, this year we are offering a greater mix of workshops that focus on getting started/generating writing, workshops that focus on revising work in progress towards publication, and general sessions on writing, creativity and getting published.

Sponsors:

 Mari Sandoz High Plains Heritage Society

The vision of the Mari Sandoz Heritage Society is to perpetuate and foster an understanding of the literary and historical works of Mari Sandoz, and to honor the land and the people about which she wrote: Native Americans, ranchers, farmers and the people who settled the High Plains country. The Society hosts a conference and presents the Pilster Great Plains Lecture

Series. Additionally, the society provides collections on loan to the Mari Sandoz High Plains Heritage Center at Chadron State College. Contributions to the Mari Sandoz Heritage Society are tax-deductible. To join the Society, or for more information, e-mail marisandoz_society@windstream.net or visit our website: www.marisandoz

Chadron State College Department of English and Humanities

Chadron offers a wonderful setting for the study of English literature and the humanities, with abundant beauty, natural resources, and open spaces to help open our minds. Many of our English major course offerings, such as Great Plains Literature, Literature Across Borders, and Environmental Literature have been developed with an eye towards the natural spaces of the High Plains where we live, teach, and learn. Our unique partnership with the Mari Sandoz High Plains Heritage Center offers further opportunities to read and write within a regional and environmental context. In other words, English majors at CSC benefit from an unfettered exposure to the great outdoors; here, you can literally get outside yourself. For more information, please visit our website: http://www.csc.edu/english/

CONTACT INFORMATION

Please visit our website for updates and the most current information, as well procedures for registering for the workshop or attending the festival

http://www.storycatcherworkshop.com

Story Catcher Summer Writing Workshop and Festival Staff:

Dr. Matthew Evertson, Director

Chadron State College

Department of English & Humanities (ADM 206)

1000 Main Street

Chadron, NE. 69337
(308) 432-6462   mevertson@csc.edu

Cindy Evert Christ, Communication Coordinator

Mari Sandoz Heritage Society

(402) 304-8103 or marisandoz_society@windstream.net

Planning Committee:

Matthew Evertson, Professor,

Chadron State College Department of English and Humanities

Katherine Bahr, Professor,

Chadron State College Department of English and Humanities

Elisabeth Ellington, Assistant Professor,

Chadron State College Department of English and Humanities

Sarah Polak, Director,

Mari Sandoz High Plains Heritage Center

Story Catcher Updates!!!

Story Catcher Writing Workshop and Festival:

A GREAT PLACE TO CREATE!

As we near the application deadline for our two Intermediate Workshops (May 10th) we have a few updates.

FIRST: Please share and distribute our most up-to-date version of the workshop poster, with some updated images: 13storycatcherposterpage

SECOND: Please note we have an update to Linda M. Hasselstrom’s Memoir/Nonfiction Intermediate Workshop that we think will be very appealing to writers in our region. The workshop is entitled Family History: Dancing Skeletons, and will focus on writing about family or local history. Full details of the workshop are included below in the updated program.

Story Catcher Writing Workshop and Festival: A GREAT PLACE TO CREATE!

In an earlier blog ( http://wp.me/p3fZAT-K) I outlined the schedule and lots of details about the great writers we have on tap the Story Catcher Workshop this year (May 28-31) . Here are some important updates:

The May 6  Scholarship Deadline is drawing near. Click here for the application: scholarshipap13

We’ve got a new promotional flyer for the workshop. Get a PDF version here: 13StoryCatcherPAGE

The Full Schedule and Description can be found here: Storycatcher Program 2013

Please sign up! Registration for the ADVANCED workshops closes on May 10–but general registration for the workshop is open until our first day. Spread the word! This is an excellent opportunity for those of you writing fiction, non-fiction and poetry for some hands-on workshops, critical feedback and inspiring instruction from acclaimed authors and teachers who are passionate about writing and can help you get published.

We offer advanced workshops on revising your fiction and non-fiction, and a wide variety of sessions focused on poetry, story telling, blogging, memoir, generating new material and submitting your work for publication.

We wrap it all up with a festival celebrating the work of everyone involved in the workshop, from published authors to beginners.

Sigma Tau Delta International Convention Observations (Nikki Highfill)

Veronica “Nikki” Highfill

From donut shops to Virginia Euwer Wolff and everything in between, the international English Honor Society convention in Portland was one for the books. I love trips as much as the next guy, but a trip that involves being surrounded by literally hundreds of English lovers of all kinds? Sign me up.

Sigma Tau Delta International Convention Observations (Lindsey Ferguson)

Lindsey Ferguson

            Attending the Sigma Tau Delta Conference in Portland, Oregon was an amazing adventure! Exploring the city of Portland, listening to speakers, and being with fellow English lovers made this experience unforgettable. I was amazed at the number of sessions that we could attend and I wasn’t disappointed by any of them. Portland is an incredible city and offered some great highlights for this trip.