murder.booklocker.com

Chicago Writers Association

Jen Wilding, A.D. Moore   Cheryl Hagedorn

Jen, Randy Richardson, A.D.

We were just across from a building with some extraordinary decorations:

More info Map and directions

The Chicago Writers Association (CWA) will be participating in the annual Chicago Tribune Printers Row Book Fair, June 9 and 10.In addition to “over 200 author programs, 150 booksellers and exhibitors,” there will be the Chicago Tribune’s Kids Alley: “Featuring performances by Children’s Poet Laureate Jack Prelutsky, Jane O’Connor, Jarrett Krosoczka, Justin Roberts and the Not Ready for Naptime Players. Play in the Gymboree Activity Zone and enjoy other kids activities, including the Kohl McCormick Story Bus.”       Our table is #271, which is in the main block between Polk and Dearborn. We’re on the east side of Dearborn, closer to Polk (between tents AA and Z). This is between the Kids Alley Stage and Printers Square.

Schedule for authors from CWA

Saturday June 9th

10am to 12pm

• Cheryl Hagedorn - PARK RIDGE: A Senior Center Murder
• AD Moore - Street Talk and Moore: Poetry for the People: A Collection

12pm to 2pm

• Mary Ellen Waszak - A Guide to Chicago Book Publishers & A Guide to Writing Jobs in Chicago
• Jen Wilding - Roses Prick for Sport

2pm to 4pm

• Jimmy Gordon - Caribbean Calling
• Randy Richardson - Lost in the Ivy

4pm to 6pm

• Greg Norton - An Infinity of Days in the Psychotic Atomik Empire
• Marguerite O’Connor - Griefstruck: When a Death Changes Your Life

Sunday June 10th

10am to 12pm

• Don Evans - Good Money After Bad
• Mary Ellen Waszak

12pm to 2pm

• Greg Norton
• Paul Wolf - Varied Images: The Stories of Paul F. Wolf & A Punk in Gallows America

2pm to 4pm

• Paul Wolf
• Lynn Voedisch - Excited Light

4pm to 6pm

• Jimmy Gordon
• Jen Wilding
• Randy Richardson

31 sessions with more than 80 thought-provoking presentations
from which to choose!

Poet and scholar Dr. Marcellus Leonard will be the special guest speaker at dinner on Friday night, and Dr. Jackie Jackson, poet and author, will entertain at luncheon on Saturday with “Eine Kleine Lunchmusik.”

April 13-14, 2007, University of Illinois at Springfield. See http://www.illinoisphilological.org/ for more details.

Since I’m a member in good standing of the Illinois Philological Association, and since they’re having some trouble with their website at the moment, I’m posting the Call for Papers (’07):

The ILLINOIS PHILOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION was founded in 1996 by representatives from several Illinois colleges and universities. Its purpose is to promote fellowship and intellectual exchange among faculty and student members of departments of English, Linguistics, Communication, and Foreign Languages, as well as independent scholars and writers throughout Illinois.

Come and share your work with interested colleagues and delight in the quality and diversity of Illinois scholars and writers!

The Association invites submissions in four categories:

1. 1. From faculty members, independent scholars, and graduate students — abstracts or proposals (300 words) for papers on any aspect of literature, literary criticism, linguistics, and composition theory or literary theory.
2. 2. From creative writers — original works of fiction, poetry, drama, or performance art. Dramatic works and performance pieces that can be staged within the timeframe of a session (90 minutes) are also solicited. Please submit manuscript for consideration.
3. 3. From undergraduate students — creative writing or scholarly papers. You must submit the entire text of your reading or paper, accompanied by a supporting letter from a faculty member.
4. 4. From any category of participant — session or panel proposals. Panels that deal with practical concerns of specific disciplines, including those relating to pedagogical issues, as well as panels on literary topics, are encouraged. You must submit a panel description/abstract and abstracts of all papers to be included in the panel or session.

Each submission must also include a proposal summary of no more than 50 words.

The maximum reading time for either creative writing selections or scholarly papers is 25 minutes. Sessions, panels, dramatic works, and performance pieces should be no longer than 90 minutes, including time for questions and discussion where appropriate. All presenters must register for the conference and be IPA members.

Please forward your proposal by email as an attached file in Microsoft Word or Word Perfect format to bcass1@uis.edu. Or send 2 copies of your submission by surface mail to Barbara Cass; University of Illinois at Springfield; MSUHB 4093; One University Plaza, Springfield, IL 62703-5407. Please include Name, Preferred Address, Phone Number, Email Address, Status, and Institutional Affiliation. EMAIL SUBMISSIONS PREFERRED.

IPA again is awarding grants to cover the cost of registration to student presenters. If you are a student and would like to be considered for a grant, please send a letter along with your submission requesting the grant and indicating why being a part of the IPA 2006 Conference is important to you. Please Note: Students who receive this grant will be expected to fully participate in the Conference.

Visit the IPA website at www.illinoisphilological.org Questions? Contact Barbara Cass at bcass1@uis.edu

Submission Deadline: January 30th, 2007

Illinois Philological Association

Dues Notice/Membership Application Form

To become a member of IPA: Fill out form, below, and make check or money order payable to “Illinois Philological Association”

Please circle appropriate dues category:
Students — $5
Adjunct faculty/Retired/Emeritus/Individual scholars — $10
Full-time faculty — $15

Name ___________
Institution _____________________________________
Department______________________
Preferred Mailing Address________________________
City___________ State_________ Zip__________
Phone________
Email__________

Please send this form to:
Kris Muschal, Treasurer; Illinois Philological Association
c/o English Department
Richland Community College
One College Park
Decatur, IL 62521

Please complete this form, then cut along the dotted line above, and send along with your check or money order for dues.

To get a printer-friendly copy

I couldn’t resist. The excerpt is from a letter to the Hollands and sounded so much like poetry — as do all Dickinson’s letters — that I just had to make a page for it. The script is great, too. It generates the falling snowflakes from a single asterisk.

I’m a proud member of the Emily Dickinson International Society.

I recently joined an online group that calls itself the Chicago Writers Association. It’s a new experience for me. The few times I’ve gone to groups online there’s been so much garbage to wade through that it hardly seemed worth it for one lone nugget. I signed up for this forum only to discover that almost no one uses it! [Some of them didn't even know how to log in]

Then a day or two after I joined, my in-box began to fill with email from different members of the group. I was intrigued by the topics and contributed a short response here and there. But by the end of the day, the email was full of the original comments AND the responses — multiplied by several users. There had to be a better way.

Upon asking the group’s leader, I was told that I could opt to have the comments and responses collected into a digest format, complete with a mini table of contents and links at the top. Now I can keep an eye on what’s happening, although not in real time unless I navigate to the website I guess. It’s still better than twenty messages a day — all repeating what went before.

While I’ve already learned some helpful things, about publishing, for instance, I am amazed that the folks in the group prefer not to use the forum. I admit that there is an informality and spontaneity to both email and the digest that might be missed with the forum. On the other hand, the information that the group shares remains with just the few on the list.

I mention the group now because I’m still learning how best to participate. One of the things that drew me the most was the opportunity to have others critique your work. I have a few short stories that I would love some feedback on.

But just today I got a critique of a published piece. The author is a person whose writing I enjoy and who has decent credentials. While I appreciate that he took the time to do the critique, I can’t help wondering what was behind some of the things he said. Maybe it’s the teacher in me. Not that some of what he said wasn’t right on target — it was. But there was no kindness, no gentleness, no hint of praise anywhere. No help for how to make it better other than to abandon it and start over.

Frankly, I can abuse myself just fine thank you. I don’t need anyone else to do it for me. What would have been helpful would have been comments like, “Where were you going with this?” Not, “This just plain doesn’t work.”

So while I hope to submit a short story or two to this writers association that I am now a member of, I can’t help feeling just a tad leery. What kind of people are they? How will they treat my work? With the respect that I hope to give theirs when asked for a critique? I’ll let you know.