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	Mary Allen Finding the Story in Your Story: A Memoir Writing Workshop One-Week Workshop June 21–26 Exploring Spiritual Writing One-Week Workshop July 19–24 Biography Finding the Story in Your Story: A Memoir Writing Workshop One-Week Workshop June 21–26 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 19–24 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.

	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 4, 2009