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Workshop Descriptions & Instructors


Faith Adiele
Mary Allen
Kate Aspengren
Thomas Fox Averill
Nancy Barry
Timothy Bascom
Linda Bendorf
Venise Berry
Bruce Bond

Michael Dennis Browne
Susan Taylor Chehak
John Dalton
Thomas K. Dean
Amber Dermont
Kelly Dwyer
Hope Edelman
Josh Emmons
Katie Ford
Patricia Foster
Laura Fraser
Cecile Goding
Douglas Goetsch
Kevin González
John Griesemer
Sands Hall
Christine Hemp
Jim Heynen
Rick Hillis
Charles Holdefer
Richard Jackson
Cheryl Fusco Johnson
Wayne Johnson
Bret Anthony Johnston
Daniel Khalastchi
Zachary Lazar
Carolyn Lieberg
BK Loren
Fritz Mc Donald
James McKean
Gordon Mennenga
Katherine Min
Sharelle Byars Moranville
Michael Morse
Barbara Robinette Moss
Marc Nieson
Shannon Olson
Lon Otto
Juliet Patterson
Anjali Sachdeva
Sarah Saffian
Sam Samuels
Leslie Schwartz
Sandra Scofield
Mary Kay Shanley
Carol Spindel
Karen Subach
Mary Vermillion
Ashley Warlick
Jan Weissmiller
Bart Yates

Mary Allen

Getting At The Essence: What Things Have To Teach Us
Weekend Workshop
June 21–22

Finding The Story In Your Story: A Memoir Writing Workshop
One-Week Workshop
July 6–11

Exploring Spiritual Writing
One-Week Workshop
July 20–25

Biography

 

 

Getting At The Essence: What Things Have To Teach Us
Weekend Workshop
June 21–22

Just as “God is in the details,” every object is a universe unto itself. Objects can serve as microcosms that illuminate reality, and the way we respond to a given object can tell us volumes about ourselves. In this weekend workshop, you’ll participate in a number of in-class writing exercises that use a series of unique objects as jumping off points. All participants will write about the same object at the same time, an exercise which, paradoxically, will allow each student to discover and appreciate his or her unique style and sensibility. This fun, surprising, and low-stress workshop is for beginning writers who are seeking to find their own voice and who are just beginning to explore what their material is. Even if you haven’t written a word, this workshop is for you.

Finding The Story In Your Story: A Memoir Writing Workshop
One-Week Workshop
July 6–11

Each life is full of stories, rich with meaning and peopled by fascinating characters. This class will help students find the stories in their own stories and get them down on paper. The course will use a variety of writing exercises to spark memories and help make their way onto the page. One of our goals will be learning to write more freely by practicing turning off the overly self-critical internal editor. We’ll also work on using specific detail and language, and become familiar with narrative techniques such as voice, narrative drive, and dual past/present perspective to develop our own stories effectively. Students will be generating new work through exercises and assignments, and student writing will be shared in a positive, supportive environment. The class is for writers at all stages—from beginners to those with work in progress.

Exploring Spiritual Writing
One-Week Workshop
July 20–25

What do the people, animals, events, and problems we encounter in our daily lives have to teach us? How can we tap into the sacred to enhance our sense of beauty and connectedness and to explore ourselves and our ways of being in the world? In this workshop, students will use a variety of in-class writing exercises to consider the answers to these questions, and to examine what they feel, sense, and know—or might not know—about hope, grace, the meaning of life and death, and more.

Biography
Mary Allen is the author of a memoir, The Rooms of Heaven, published by Alfred A. Knopf and Vintage Books. She received an M.F.A. from The University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop, and in 2002 was awarded a National Endowment for the Arts creative writing fellowship for work on a second book-length memoir. She has taught in the Nonfiction Writing Program at The University of Iowa and lives and writes in Iowa City.

 

 

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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 January 10, 2008