Fall GLS Exchange

Look what's up!
It's the Fall 2010 GLS Exchange.
There's all kinds of good stuff in here, including some lovely muse news from fellow alumni.
Check it out!

Bonfire Potluck this Saturday

West Egg Literati Autumn Potluck and Bonfire
Saturday, October 23rd at 6:00-10pm
Location: Sarah Hayes' House

Please join your fellow GLS students and alumnae/i for an autumn potluck and bonfire! Some drinks -- there was mention of mead and wine -- and finger food will be provided by our illustrious hosts, but please feel free to bring something to share.  I suggest something warm.

There will be an opportunity to read what we've been working on these past weeks, so feel free to bring something you would like to share with your fellow potluckers.  If you'd like directions, contact West Egg Literati or check out their Facebook page.

Two great events on Friday, October 22

5:30-7:30 

Friday, October 22

Faculty Appreciation Pot Luck Dinner: Made With Love 

GLC Art Gallery

GLS alumni are throwing a potluck to thank faculty for the wonderful teaching and inspiration they have provided over the years.  The event takes place on Friday, October 22 from 5:30 – 7:00 pm in the GLC Art Gallery.  It's that big, old, columned former-library building the GLC was built around.  Come for the architecture, come for the faculty, come for the Water~Stone reading, come for the company, just come! 

Yes, it's before the Water~Stone Reading, so you might happen to be on campus already anyway to snag a good parking spot.  If you’re interested in bringing a dish to share, post your ideas on the Facebook invite OR email glsalumnibrd@hamline.edu.  This was a really fun, low-key event last year.  We had a blast, and the faculty who came seemed to have a great time, too. With you there, it will be even better.  See you there!

7:30

Friday, October 22 

Water~Stone Reading

Sundin Hall

The annual Water~Stone reading will be held on Friday evening, October 22 at 7:30 pm in Sundin Hall.  The new edition should be here in about two weeks and it is going to be fabulous!  (Take a sneak peek here and be the first to see the new issue at Rain Taxi’s Twin Cities Book Festival, Saturday, October 16 at MCTC in downtown Minneapolis.)  Also, don't forget that now that we're alumni, we can submit to Water~Stone!  (Deadline December 1!)

We hope you will be able to join us for the reading and reception celebrating the 13th volume of Water~Stone Review on October 22.

Twin Cities Book Festival October 16th!

It's October and that means it's time for Rain Taxi's annual Twin Cities Book Festival.

Yes, it's that time already.  This free extravaganza showcasing all things literary is 

Saturday, October 16, 2010
10:00 am to 5:00 pm

at Minneapolis Community & Technical College

Have you seen the author list?!  There is seriously someone for everyone.  Good grief!  We're talking

• M.T. Anderson (co-sponsored by the Hamline University Creative Writing Program, no less!) at 3:30
• Mary Catherine Bateson
• Richard Paul Evans
• James Howard Kunstler
• Frederic Tuten
• Jean Valentine
• Jeffrey Zaslow 
• Bruce Lansky
• Alexander McCall Smith (10-11)
• and more, if you can believe it.

On top of that, there are panels on 

• Minnesota Debut Fiction
• The Changing World of Publishing: Getting Books to Readers
• The Great Midwest: Regional Writing
• Views From The Loft (featuring our own Barrie Jean Borich!)

I would be remiss as a comics fan not to mention the panel on Minnesota Comics at 1:30.  Bill Willingham of Fables (if you haven't read it, go read it now) will be there along with several other excellent panelists.


But wait!  There's more!  Seriously!

• A children's pavilion
• Book sales and signings
• Lit mag fair (be on the lookout for Water~Stone staff members and a huge variety of literary magazines)
• Publishers
• Literary organizations

How can there be so much literary goodness in one place?!  How can such an amazing thing occur?!  Find out for yourself!  (Volunteers are appreciated. :)  See you there . . .

If you have an event you'd like us to mention here on the GLaaS blog, just let us know.

Call for Writers/Readers and Submissions

Libby Casey Irwin (MFA 1995-2000) and ArtWorks of Art St Croix want your creative writing!

What they're looking for

• any creative writing genre (including songs and novel excerpts)
• family-friendly, yet vibrant, keen, original works
• authors able to attend a rehearsal on 3 December 2010
• authors willing to read their pieces on 4 December 2010 (probably under 5 minutes, depending on participation)

If this sounds like you 

Submit up to five literary pieces

• by November 15, 2010
• by email to libbycaseyirwin@live.com or 
• via snail mail at Libby Casey Irwin; 2710 Mallard Drive; Woodbury, Minnesota  55125.

Please include

• e‑mail address
• snail mail address
• phone number 
• a brief description of yourself and your work as a writing artist.

If you have any questions, call Libby at (651) 738‑7223.   (Libby teaches creative writing and coordinates this literary event at the end of the year. She thanks you for your support of a worthy recitation.)



If you have an event or a call for submissions, we'd love to post it on the GLaaS Blog.  Get in touch with us, let us know you'd like us to post on the blog (and what you'd like to post), and we'll do our best to shine the spotlight on you!

Mark your calendars now: Donna Isaac invites you to two readings

You are invited two poetry readings by Donna Isaac.

Saturday, October 9th

Fresh Grounds

1362 W. Seventh

St. Paul

1:00 p.m.

and

Saturday, November 20th

Jerabek's New Bohemian

63 Winifred St.

St. Paul's West Side

1:00 p.m.

For more information, check out Donna's website at www.donnaisaacpoet.com.

(Do you have a reading you'd like to share about? Send it along, and GLaaS will be happy to spread the word!)

This just in for the poetry book club on September 30th!

We'll have a guest with us this month! Oliver St. John, an intern for MinnPost.com, is writing about book clubs around town.  Mark your calendars and head to Micawber’s to pick up American Smooth by Rita Dove if you haven’t already!

See you Thursday, September 30th

7:30-9PM

on Jean's porch (if it's warm enough).

Have questions?  Need directions? Email us.

Have a great September!

Check out alumni blog: KunstKitchen

Name of your blog: KunstKitchen

Link to your blog: http://kunstkitchen.wordpress.com/

What your blog is about: Sharing cooking, dining and eating Slow food, as opposed to fast food. Recipes and humorous antidotes for a post modern really fast world.

Your name (if you're not blogging anonymously): Catherine Katt

Years you were in the program (and year you graduated from Hamline): 2000-2006 ('06)

When you started blogging: June 2010

Why you blog: Blogging to make the connection between food as the source and art as the spiritual source.  Inspired by my niece who is a culinary writer. She likes what I write.

Who your intended audience is: Anyone interested in the Slow Food movement and real food.

What blogs you like to read: My friends' blogs.

Advice to or question for bloggers: "Just do it."

September and October Poetry Book Club

In September and October, we will be meeting the last Thursday of the month, so mark your calendars for

Thursday, September 30: Rita Dove's American Smooth

Thursday, October 28: Stanley Plumly's Old Heart

7:30 to 9:00 pm
at Jean's

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to let us know, and we'll get you in touch with Jean.  See you there.

Alumni Spotlight on Aaron Wilson ('08)

In the last couple of months, Aaron M. Wilson (class of 2008) has started to succeed in finding a home for a few of his stories. He's placed stories both online and in traditional print media: most notably in Twin Cities: Cifiscape Vol. I (late August 2010) and The Last Man Anthology (which includes stories from Barry N. Malzberg, C.J Cherryh, and Ray Bradbury, and is available to pre-order). He was also awarded the June author spotlight in the third issue of eFiction Magazine that included an interview and publication of three of his stories.

He lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he attempts to understand life, others (including his two cats – one good and one bad), himself, and especially his wife – in that order. He writes about books, stories, movies, and his experiences as an adjunct instructor of English, Literature, and Environmental Science on his blog: Soulless Machine.

Here is what Aaron has been up since April 2010:

• The Last Man Anthology, published by Sword & Saga Press, (forthcoming October 2010, pre-order NOW) - “The Paperless Doctrine of 2152”
• Eclectic Flash. (forthcoming September 2010) - “Recession Love”
• eFiction Magazine: The Premier Internet Fiction Zine (forthcoming September 2010) - "Apophis"
• Twin Cities: Cifiscape Vol. I., published by Onxy Neon Press. (forthcoming August/September 2010) - "What's For Dinner"
• Evolve, 2 August 2010 - "Spilling Sunlight" Read Online
• The Hive Mind, 18 June 2010 - “Beyond Peaking” Read Online - “The Methuselah Project” Read Online
• eFiction Magazine: The Premier Internet Fiction Zine. Vol. 3, 2 June 2010
- “Keeping Watch" Download PDF - “Running of the Cows” Download PDF - “A Tea Party” Download PDF
• Pow Fast Flash Fiction 25 April 2010 - "Dog Fight” Read Online

So what have you been up to lately?  We'd love to hear about it!  Just email us, and you could be the next person basking in the glow of the GLaaS alumni spotlight . . .

Gatsby Lawn Party August 25th at 6

Yes, it's that time: the Gatsby Lawn Party is here again!  West Egg Literati, the GLS student org, is hosting this new student welcome bash once more!  Alumni are quite welcome.

Join us on the GLS House back lawn on Wednesday, August 25 

at about 6:00 (5:30 if you want to help us set up).  

Connect with new students.  Reconnect with alumni of yore.  Play some croquet, write some haiku, and maybe bring some money for West Egg merchandise and their always delightful and artistic lit mag rock, paper, scissors.

If you think you’ll be coming, we’d love an RSVP to help with our planning.  Just email Kelly at kkrebs@hamline.edu.  (In the case of inclement weather, the festivities will be moved to East Hall 5.)

See you there!

These brd members will be there.  Will you?

Help keep yourself accountable for writing (and have fun doing it)

A friend in the writers' group I'm in recommended the site 750words.com.  If you want to get cracking on being disciplined and really make the writing habit part of your everyday life, there's nothing like signing yourself up to be on a Wall of Shame.  Just kidding. 

There are some great tools here to help you keep track of your goals.  You also get points and badges and some really interesting features, one of which is like a mood ring based on your writing. 

3 pages a day might be how you start getting back into the practice of writing if you've fallen out of it.  You can do 3 pages a day.  And everyone likes penguin badges, right?

Do you use this site?  Any tips or tricks for those who might be interested?

This Tuesday big meeting (and no WHH)

Tuesday night 

August 10

6:30 

GLS house

We'll be meeting to toss around ideas for the coming year of GLaaS.  We'd love to get your ideas.  We'd love if you would bring your ideas and come yourself because we'd love to see you and have you join the board.  (WHH will not be meeting that night since your faithful blog editor can't be two places at once.  Yet.)

If you can't make it, but you have a suggestion for a great event or want to help us plan future events, please let us know (preferably before the meeting, but we love hearing from you any time).

We hope to see you there!

Love,

GLS Alumni Board/glsbrd/GLaaS board

Check out David Oppegaard's blog: Deep Thoughts With Blogagaard

Name of your blog: Deep Thoughts With Blogagaard

Link to your blog: www.blogagaard.blogspot.com

What your blog is about: The voice I blog in is a slightly insane version of myself that often refers to itself as “Blogagaard” or “We here at Blogagaard.”  Sometimes I review books or movies, sometimes I talk about writing, but mostly I just post on the world around Blogagaard and the skewed way Blogagaard perceives it, with the occasional posting or plug of my own writing along the way.

Your name (if you're not blogging anonymously): David Oppegaard

Years you were in the program (and year you graduated from Hamline): 2004-2006 ('06 grad)

When you started blogging: August 2005

Why you blog: I started a different blog when I was traveling in Europe to keep my friends updated. By the time I came back, I was already addicted to instant gratification of seeing your words on the web instantly.

Who your intended audience is: My intended audience, at the beginning, was pretty much just my friends. Now that I’m a published author, I try to aim my posts at a more general audience and discuss the craft of writing more than I used to. Hopefully my blog amuses as many people as possible.

What blogs you like to read: I used to read a lot of blogs, but then many of my friends stopped blogging, and I drifted away from blog reading in general. In some ways I see blogging as a big fad that reached its height in the ought’s, but there are obviously many hardcore bloggers still going strong and new blogs popping up every day.

Advice to or question for bloggers: I suppose my only advice is that blogging is a marathon, not a race, so if you’re just starting a blog, don’t pour your whole soul/life story into it in the first couple of months, because you’ll burn yourself out pretty fast and suddenly you won’t feel like blogging anymore.

P.S. from GLaaS: Be sure to check out David's blog because he's also experimenting with publishing some of his best blogging moments over the years.  All hail drunken blogging, indeed.  If you're new to blogging, there's a lot of material to laugh about here.  In a good way.

Alumni Spotlight on Laura Littleford in 2010 Minnesota Fringe Festival

"Romeo and Juliet Go to Winnipeg"
One Woman Show by Laura Littleford

Laura Littleford, MFA 1998, premieres her latest one woman show, "Romeo and Juliet Go to Winnipeg" on Friday, August 6, at 5:30 p.m. at the Playwrights' Center (2301 Franklin Avenue E, Minneapolis) as part of the 2010 Minnesota Fringe Festival (visit www.fringefestival.org for details).  Stay tuned for opening night festivities at www.lauralittleford.com.  Also, check out her event page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/edit/?id=105567592822663#!/pages/Laura-Littleford/105567592822663.

This autobiographical work features "misadventured, piteous overthrows" by two teens who try to escape bickering Baptist families in bucolic Burnsville.  Old dogma breaks into new insanity in 1969, while Romeo and Juliet make out for 491 miles on a high school choir tour to Winnipeg.

"Romeo and Juliet Go to Winnipeg" plays at the Playwrights' Center at the following dates and times:
·

Friday, August 6 at 5:30 p.m.
·

Sunday, August 8 at 4 p.m.
·

Wednesday, August 11 at 7 p.m.
·
Saturday, August 14 at 10 p.m.
·
Sunday, August 15 at 1 p.m.

It sounds hilarious, so we hope to see a lot of you turning out to support your fellow alumni and enjoying  gobs of all-around artistic talent at the Fringe Festival.  This year, the Minnesota Fringe Festival runs August 5th-15th.

July Poetry Book Club: July 27

Don't forget!  In just a little under one week, we meet to discuss In the Bird Museum by Kristy Bowen.

The Hamline GLS Alumni host a Poetry Book Club on the last Tuesday of each month from 7:30-9pm at Jean Larson's house.  This is an incentive for graduates interested in poetry to read a whole book of poems, to come up with questions/insights/what works what doesn't/ favorite moments, and discuss them with alumni. We have a deal going with one of the local bookstores to get each month's book at a discount.  You can sit back, engage, read part, read all. Come monthly, come sometimes. Flexible and low key (unless someone decides to raise a ruckus; you know how poetry can affect some of us).

Please email Jean at jeanielars@comcast.net for more information.

Check out Beth Greshwalk's blog: Coffee with a Koala: My Realities of Relocating from Minneapolis to Melbourne

Name of your blog: Coffee with a Koala: My Realities of Relocating from Minneapolis to Melbourne

Link to your blog: http://www.bethinoz.wordpress.com/

What your blog is about: In narrative essay form, this blog explores the journey of a 30-something American woman who packed up three suitcases, two cats, and a fist full of hope and ventured to Melbourne, Australia, to live. I was driven by the one thing women’s magazines and girlfriends have warned us about for years: a long distance relationship. My Aussie boyfriend (a travel writer) and I met at an Indonesian writer’s festival, fell in love over email and phone calls, and spent seventeen months of correspondence, visits and travel before I moved to Australia to see this adventure through. The purpose of this blog isn’t to (a) tell overly sentimental stories or (b) focus on love relationships. It’s about exploring the flip-sides to the fantasy of moving abroad.

Your name (if you're not blogging anonymously): Beth Greshwalk

Years you were at Hamline: 2001-2008 (M.F.A.)

When you started blogging: June 22, 2010 (still new; several entries and growing)

Why you blog: It allows me to write in the way I enjoy most (memoir) and be published, in a sense. This cathartic outlet also gives me confidence and keeps me writing on a regular basis. Great practice!

Who your intended audience is: It's possible that women may relate most, but I think it may work for anyone who tends to take chances and "follow their heart," over their head. Travelers or anyone else who is currently or has lived abroad may also be interested.

What blogs you like to read: I'm still pretty new to the blogging scene - would love some suggestions.

Advice to or question for bloggers: Just do it. It's a great platform for writers who want to get their voices out there. I think you'll be surprised by its hidden benefits. I'm still a newbie, and am sure to have questions for other bloggers soon!

Anything else you'd like to add: I was actually in the MFA program from 2001-2008, so a smattering of people may remember me, though I was only in one evening class per semester. Also, I did spend 2005-2006 living in Athens, Greece, where I completed my final MFA capstone project, a memoir about immersion in a foreign country (I did a long distance, independent study/correspondence with Barrie Jean Borich). And THAT was actually inspired by a MALS/MFA arts course in 2001, where we'd spent 11 days in Athens! So I can honestly thank the GLS program for changing my life in this way - inspiring me to live abroad and to write about it! :) Sorry for the gushing, but I seriously do owe this to GLS! :)

Come meet the low-residency folks on July 12th at 7

GLS Low-Residency Reading and Reception: Monday, July 12  7:00 pm  
A Meet and Greet for the GLS Community

Did you know that GLS offers a low-residency MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults?  Twice a year, students in this program come from across the nation to the Hamline campus for a 10-day residency full of seminars, workshops, lectures, and readings.  At this summer’s residency (July 8 – 18), faculty, visiting writers, graduating students, and guest editors/publishers will deliver lectures and offer seminars that examine a broad range of issues for writers in the field.  Because these low-residency students and faculty are only on campus for a short time, they rarely get to meet other students in our programs.  But this summer, we're opening the doors and bringing everyone together! 

We’d like to invite all members of the GLS community to a special residency reading and reception on Monday evening, July 12 at 7:00 pm in the Kay Fredericks room, 3rd floor of the Klas Center.  The reading will feature our faculty/authors Ron Koertge, Jane Resh Thomas, Anne Ursu, Lisa Jahn-Clough, and Jackie Briggs-Martin.  A book signing and reception will follow.  We hope you can join us for this special event.  It will be a great way to meet these students and the wonderful faculty who teach in our low-residency program!

These are really great authors with tons of writing experience and books under their belts, not to mention all the great students you've never met.  So come on out and meet them all!

Scriptwriting opportunity

One of our alumni let us know about this opportunity.  Be sure to check it out if you're interested.

"Seeking someone who would be interested/have experience/capability in writing a script for a family entertainment film. Work with a scriptwriter and computer animator to develop The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister to develop the character into a 3D computer animation film. The story would appeal to 8 - 12 years old and family. They are pretty far along in the development process and are  looking for people who can write dialog. The bones of the story are somewhat worked out. Character must change quite a bit (grow up) to appeal to a more grown up audience. For more information send your contact information to Joan Stavely."

The new GLS Exchange has arrived!

If you didn't receive the new GLS Exchange through email on Thursday 24 June, you can check it out here.

I'd also recommend letting GLS know your preferred and current email address, as well, so you can be notified of future issues as they are published.

This new, turbo-charged version of the Exchange contains all the content you looked forward to in the paper version and more. Be sure to check out fun additions like The View from West Egg and the Alumni Corner for updates on how you can connect. I'm looking forward to the In the Classroom and the Beyond the Classroom features, myself. Maybe all this community news will inspire you to send us an alumni update or a reading list or book review of your own.

Just because you've graduated doesn't mean you can't still be part of the great GLS community. :)