Iowa Summer Writing Festival


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Workshop Descriptions & Instructors Marilyn Abildskov Mary Allen Kate Aspengren Thomas Fox Averill Nancy Barry Timothy Bascom Kyle Beachy Karen Bender Linda Bendorf Maudy Benz Venise Berry Bruce Bond David Bouchier Michael Dennis Browne Maggie Conroy Mary Cross Thomas K. Dean Amber Dermont Janet Desaulniers Kelly Dwyer Hope Edelman Josh Emmons Jill Esbaum Sarah Fay Hugh Ferrer Katie Ford Geoffrey Forsyth Cecile Goding Douglas Goetsch Sands Hall Christine Hemp Jim Heynen Rick Hillis Charles Holdefer Richard Jackson Rebecca Johns Cheryl Fusco Johnson Wayne Johnson Daniel Khalastchi Carolyn Lieberg BK Loren Peter Markus Fritz Mc Donald James McKean Gordon Mennenga Sharelle Byars Moranville Michael Morse Barbara Robinette Moss Marc Nieson Shannon Olson Diana Ossana Lon Otto Juliet Patterson Kiki Petrosino Mark Jude Poirier Leslie Carol Roberts Anjali Sachdeva Sarah Saffian Sam Samuels Sandra Scofield Mary Kay Shanley Robert Anthony Siegel Carol Spindel Karen Subach Mary Vermillion Kris Vervaecke Ashley Warlick Michelle Wildgen Bart Yates	Marilyn Abildskov A Simple Matter: Prose Rhythm Weekend Workshop July 11–12 The Beauty of Brevity: Autobiography Distilled One-Week Workshop July 12–17 Biography A Simple Matter: Prose Rhythm Weekend Workshop July 11–12 “Style is a very simple matter,” Virginia Woolf once wrote: it is all about rhythm. “Once you get that, you can’t use the wrong words.” Yet even Woolf admitted that there she was, sitting there all morning, crammed with ideas that she couldn’t dislodge for lack of the right rhythm. In this course, we will gather as prose writers of both fiction and literary nonfiction to devote ourselves to a brief study of sentences, learning how to mine our material more effectively, intensifying a moment through cumulative moves or holding a reader in suspense by relying on periodic form or refining a punch-line with just the right kick. And even as we isolate structures for the purpose of stylistic practice in the process of generating new material, we’ll keep in mind that style is always a matter of substance. As Woolf herself went on to say, “This is very profound, what rhythm is, and goes far deeper than words.” Writers of all levels are welcome. The Beauty of Brevity: Autobiography Distilled One-Week Workshop July 12–17 If you’re like most writers, you dream of finding the perfect time to write—months in a romantic cabin in the snowy woods, weeks next to that picture-perfect river, days in a cozy café, happily scribbling away. That is the dream. Then there is the reality: stealing a few minutes in the early morning before your job begins, sacrificing sleep—as well as folding the laundry and doing the dishes—for an hour at the end of the day. This course embraces reality rather than striving for an impossible dream. We will read short published essays to learn how various writers pack a punch in a very small space, creating memorable characters, telling complex stories, and conjuring up a sense of place. And then we will informally workshop those pieces generated from in-class and overnight writing exercises with an eye toward revising—all with the idea of distilling the messiness of real life into shapely art. Writers of all levels are welcome. Biography Marilyn Abildskov (M.F.A., The University of Iowa) is the author of The Men In My Country. Her short stories, literary essays, and poems have appeared in literary magazines such as The Southern Review, Ascent, and Alaska Quarterly Review. A recipient of a Rona Jaffe Award as well as Yaddo fellowships, she lives in the Bay Area and teaches at Saint Mary’s College of California.

	Site Map \| Welcome \| Workshops by Session Date \| Workshops by Instructor Workshops by Genre \| Registration & Housing Information \| Registration Form Sponsored by the Division of Continuing Education Iowa Summer Writing Festival C215 Seashore Hall The University of Iowa Iowa City, IA 52242 Phone 319-335-4160 FAX 319-335-4743 iswfestival@uiowa.edu Last updated on February 9, 2009