11.25.2008

Portland Literary Events: Dec 7th Book Signing

December 7th at 23rd Avenue Books (1015 NW 23rd Avenue in Portland) four local authors will be in attendance to do a book signing: Judy Jewell, Maura Conlon-Mcivor, George Byron Wright, and Ursula Le Guinn.
The event runs from 3-5. There will be books available for purchase and Urusula has been kind enough to supply some titles and will be giving all of the sales of her books to the store.

"Pathos" Fall Term Release Party Nov 25th 7 - 10 PM

Pathos, PSU's student literary magazine, is hosting their fall term release party tonight, Tuesday, Nov 25th, from 7 - 10 PM in Food for Thought Cafe (basement of Smith).
Non-Fiction writer and professor Debra Gwartney will be speaking tonight.

Free food!

I hope that if you can make it, you do! Come out and support local literary events.

Summer Fishtrap Workshops! -- deadline Jan 31, 09


Summer Fellowships

Each year, Fishtrap, Inc. awards up to five Fellowships valued at $1000 for Summer Fishtrap Workshops and Gathering, held every July at Wallowa Lake, Oregon. Awards are made on the basis of writing submission only, and are not limited to any one genre. Submissions should follow the Fishtrap mission, which is to promote "good writing in and about the West." Therefore, applicants should be from the West, or writing of the West. Fellowships cover the cost of a workshop, registration for the Gathering, and food and lodging for the week. A small travel stipend is also included.

It is the goal of Fishtrap's Fellowship program to recognize and encourage emerging writers. Previous Fellows include novelists Kathleen Tyau and Michael FitzGerald, poets Charles Goodrich and Marilyn Johnston, short fiction writer Kelly Magee, and non-fiction writer Ellie Waterston.

Because we now receive a high volume of Fellowship applications, we are unable to accept applications that don't follow the guidelines stated below. PLEASE NOTE THAT WE DO NOT ACCEPT ELECTRONIC SUBMISSIONS. Thanks for reading these guidelines carefully.

Here's what to include in your Fellowship application:

A writing sample:

Material can be published or unpublished but MUST be in manuscript form, typed or printed– double-spaced for prose.

Writer's name MUST NOT appear anywhere on the manuscript.

Prose –fiction or non-fiction– 2500 words maximum; poetry 8 pages maximum.

If the work is from a book-length manuscript, you may send a half-page introduction in addition to the 2500 word selection.

DO NOT FOLD. Please use a 9" x 12" envelope to mail your manuscript flat.

Brief author's bio: The bio is not used in judging, but in publicizing winners.

Other optional enclosures: Self addressed stamped postcard if you'd like to be notified upon reciept of your manuscript. If you include an email address, this is the default method for receipt notification.

SASE if you want your manuscript returned to you. Make sure it has sufficient postage. If you do not provide a SASE with sufficient postage we'll dispose of the manuscript.

Fellowship applications must be postmarked no later than January 31, 2009. Awards will be made by March 27. Mail your application to: Fishtrap Fellowship c/o Fishtrap, PO Box 38, Enterprise, OR 97828

All applications will be read by a preliminary judging panel of current and/or past members of the Fishtrap Board of Directors. Final judging will be done by 2009 faculty members. None of the judges will see any information about the applicant, only the manuscript.

11.24.2008

Poetry Contest--Deadline Jan 16 '09

"Discovery"/Boston Review 2009 Poetry Contest:
The Joan Leiman Jacobson Poetry Prizes

Now in its fifth decade, the "Discovery"/Boston Review Poetry Contest, formerly "Discovery"/The Nation, is designed to attract large audiences to poets who have not yet published a book. For the second year, the Poetry Center is proud to partner with Boston Review. Four winners are awarded a reading at the Y (set for Monday, May 11, 2009, 8:15pm), publication in Boston Review and $500. Timothy Donnelly, poetry editor at Boston Review, coordinates the contest, and three leading poets are invited to judge. We're pleased to announce that Mary Jo Bang, Terrance Hayes and Mark Strand will judge in 2009. Many winners of this contest have gone on to distinguished careers as poets, among them Marilyn Hacker, Katha Pollitt, Mary Jo Salter, Nick Flynn, and Gary Soto.


Guidelines:

1. The contest is open to poets who have not published a book of poems (chapbooks and self-published books
included). Those who have a book contract at the time of submission or who are subsequently awarded a book
contract are not eligible for the contest if their book is scheduled for publication before Fall 2009. Individual
poems that have been or will be published in periodicals or anthologies may be submitted; however, at least two
of the submitted poems must be unpublished and under two pages in length.

2. Submit four identical sets of a typed ten-page manuscript. Each set is to contain the same ten pages in the
same order. Include no more than one poem per page. NO personal identification should appear on any of the
poems; no copyright attributions for previously published poems should appear on the poems.

3. Photocopied manuscripts are acceptable. However, in the case of previously published poems, do not send
photocopied pages of the periodical or book in which the poem(s) originally appeared.

4. Please staple each manuscript; do not use paper clips.

5. Enclose ONE cover letter including your name, address and day and evening telephone numbers, as well
as a list of the submitted poems in the order in which they appear, with copyright attributions for published
poems. Do not attach this cover letter to the manuscripts.

6. An entry fee of $10.00 must accompany the submission. Please make checks (drawn on U.S. banks only) or
money orders (in U.S. currency only) payable to the 92nd Street Y, and attach them to your cover letter. DO
NOT SEND CASH.

7. All poems must be original and in English (no translations).

8. No contestant may submit more than one entry. No corrections can be accepted after receipt of the contest
submission.

9. Entries must be received by Friday, January 16, 2009. If you wish to receive confirmation of receipt of
your manuscript, please enclose a stamped, self-addressed postcard (not envelope) and allow several weeks for
its return. Due to the large number of submission received, manuscripts cannot be returned. Winners will be
contacted by telephone in March 2009; all contest entrants will be mailed the names of the winners shortly
thereafter.

10. No phone queries can be taken, either to inquire about contest guidelines or to request the names of
winners. If you wish to hear a recording of the guidelines, or to receive another set of these guidelines in the
mail, call 212.415.5759. These guidelines are also available at: www.92Y.org/poetry.

Mail contest submissions to:
"Discovery"/Boston Review 2009
Unterberg Poetry Center
92nd Street Y
1395 Lexington Avenue
New York, NY 10128

11.17.2008

Things to know: here there and everywhere

* PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP : Workshop on Teaching at Community Colleges,Tuesday, November 18th, 7:00-8:30 PM, SMU 298

GLO has invited local community college instructors to come speak about their experiences in teaching, how they got where they are today, and what graduate students need to know to prepare themselves for teaching positions. These are full time instructors representing three different colleges.

Our guest speakers will be:
Jill Darley-Vanis - full-time English instructor at Clark Community College. Jill earned her M.A. at Portland State University.

Tom Huminski - full-time instructor of composition and literature at Portland Community College. Tom earned his M.A. at Portland State University.

Ryan Davis - Now a full-time instructor at Clackamas Community College, Ryan previously worked as an adjunct, or part-time instructor, at numerous other colleges and universities. Ryan earned his M.A. from Mississippi State University.
Carol Burnell - Carol works at Clackamas Community College and she also graduated from PSU with her M.A. in English. She also worked at PSU's Writing Center, and is now the coordinator of CCC's Writing Center, as well as a full-time instructor.

Please come to SMU 298 on Tuesday from 7:00-8:30 PM to hear wonderful insights and valuable job tips. This will be an open discussion, giving you a chance to hear answers to your questions.
These friendly faculty are enthusiastic about what they do and excited to help graduate students learn more about possible job opportunities. If you have ever thought of teaching at a community college, or at any other level, you should not miss this event!
* Blackfeet Writer STEPHEN GRAHAM JONES to read from his latest book, Ledfeather, on Wednesday, November 19th, from 12- 2 in the Multicultural Center, followed by a Q & A from 3-5, and then again from 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. at the Native American Student and Community Center, 710 SW Jackson (Broadway and Jackson), in Portland. Sponsored by Portland State University Studies, Native American Studies, Multicultural Center, Office of Diversity and Equity, Department of English, and Graduate Literary Organization.

Free event! Free refreshments. Books will be available for purchase. There will be time following the reading for questions.

"Stephen Graham Jones writes every line in blood from the deepest recesses of his heart." –slushpile.net

"Stephen Graham Jones is a thinking man's writer who possesses the uncanny ability to lay all of his cards out on the table yet keep readers from seeing his hand." –Dark Scribe Magazine

Jones' published novels include: Ledfeather (2008); The Long Trial of Nolan Dugatti (2008); The Fast Red Road - A Plainsong; All the Beautiful Sinners; The Bird is Gone: A Manifesto; and Demon Theory. His short story collection is titled, Bleed Into Me: A Book of Stories.

Jones has won several awards, including: Texas Institute of Letters Jesse Jones Award for Fiction (2005) Finalist, Independent Publishers Award for Multicultural Fiction (2004)
First Prize, Writer's League of Texas Fellowship in Literature (2002), National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in Literature: Fiction (2001), Independent Publishers Award for Multicultural Fiction (2001) nFinalist, Steven Turner Award for First Fiction, and Texas Institute of Letters (2001).

* BOOK DRIVE is going on for the next two weeks. We will have boxes set up outside the Writing Center (188F in CH) and the English Department office. All books will be donated to a local literacy program.
* CONFERENCE essays due on Friday, Nov 21 by 5 pm!!! GLO is hosting two contests--one for the CCCC (Conference on College Composition and Communication) in San Francisco March 11-14, 2009; and AWP (The Association of Writers and Writing Programs) in Chicago February 11-14, 2009. If you win, you get to go to your choice of conferencefor almost FREE!! That means, we pay the registration, flight, hotel--you'll be responsible for food, etc; that's a great deal!
Here are the guidelines:
Write a 500 word "essay" about what you planning on doing with your degree--going on to teach, write, PhD, join the circus? If you want to include how the conference will benefit you and what you're ultimate plans are, go for it. Write with finesse, style, charisma...show our judges what you've been learning in those grad classes!

The entries will be blind--simply put a cover sheet with your name, contact info, and WHAT CONFERENCE YOU'RE APPLYING FOR on your submission. On the submission itself, do not put your name or contact info--if you do, we'll have to disqualify you and that would be :-(
Judges are: Professor Hildy Miller for the CCCC and Professors Michele Glazer and Debra Gwartney for the AWP conference.

Leave all entries in the EGO or WEGO mailbox in the English Dept office. We like to think of them as GLO's one, giant mailbox.

ALL CONTEST ENTRIES ARE DUE BY 5 PM NOVEMBER 21.

Winners will be announced December 8th, 2008! :-)

We encourage everyone to submit--this is a great opportunity that you won't want to pass up!
Third Thursday Poets



  • T h a n k s g i v i n g



Third Thursday Poets gives thanks with a cornucopia of poetry.



The October event will be Thursday, November 20, 2008 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.in the Alumni Lounge in the Putnam University Center at Willamette University. The media is encouraged to attend. The theme for the reading is "Thanksgiving."



Featured poets will be Stephanie Lenox, Paulann Peterson, and Peter Sears.



Stephanie Lenox received an MFA in poetry from the University of Idaho and a BA in Literature and Writing from WhitworthUniversity. Her work can be found in Crab Orchard Review, GulfCoast, Seattle Review, and Washington Square, among others, and online in DIAGRAM and AGNI. The Heart That Lies Outside the Body, a chapbook of poems inspired by record holders, human superlatives, and ludicrous acts, won the 2007 Slapering Hol Chapbook Contest. Her work has been anthologized in Best New Poets 2006, nominated five times for a Pushcart Prize, and published as a limited-edition broadside by the Center for Book Arts. She is a recipient of a grant from the Oregon Arts Commission. She works in promotions at a children's museum in Salem, Oregon, and co-edits the online literary journal Blood Orange Review.



Paulann Petersen is a former Stegner Fellow at Stanford University whose poems have appeared in many publications including Poetry, The NewRepublic, Prairie Schooner, and Wilderness Magazine. She has three chapbooks (Under theSign of a Neon Wolf, The Animal Bride, and Fabrication). Her first full-length collection of poems, The Wild Awake, was published by Confluence Press in 2002. A second, Blood-Silk, poems about Turkey, was published by Quiet Lion Press of Portland in 2004. Another, A Bride of Narrow Escape was published by Cloudbank Books as part of its Northwest Poetry Series in 2006 and was a finalist for the Oregon Book Award. A fourth collection, Kindle, is just out from Mountains and Rivers Press.



Her work has been selected for Poetry Daily on the Internet, and for Poetry in Motion, which puts poems on busses and light rail cars in the Portland metropolitan area. In addition to having taught high school English (at West Linn High School, West Linn, Oregon, and at Mazama High School, KlamathFalls, Oregon), she's been on the faculty for the Creative Arts Community at Menucha, and has given workshops for Oregon Writers Workshop, Oregon State Poetry Association, Mountain Writers Series, OCTE and NCTE Conferences, and the Northwest Writing Institute at Lewis & Clark College. The recipient of the 2006 Literary Arts Stewart Holbrook Award for Outstanding Contributions to Oregon's Literary Life, she serves on the board for Friends of William Stafford, organizing the annual January William Stafford Birthday Events.



Cloudbank Books published Peter Sears's fifth chapbook "Luge" in June of 2008, and third next full-length collection "Green Diver" is due out in the fall of 2009. His poems have appeared in The Atlantic, Saturday Review, New York Times, Rolling Stones, The Christian Science Monitor, Mother Jones, Orion, and many literary journals and anthologies. He teaches at the Pacific University Writing Program in Forest Grove, Oregon. He lives in Corvallis.



WillametteUniversity is located at 900 State Street SE in Salem. For more information, contact Maureen Clifford at maureen@thirdthursdaypoets.org.




* WORDS FOR GIVING THANKS--HARVESTED FOR THE RADICALLY GRATEFUL


Celebrate the season for change with these four local activist-authors: Miriam Feder, Jane Glazer, Willa Schneberg and Evelyn Sharenov, as they read their work at 6:30 PM on Sunday, November 30 at Moonstruck Chocolate Cafe in downtown Lake Oswego. Books, broadsides available for purchase and signing.

Free and open to the public.

Arrive early enough to order chocolate and beverages before the program begins.

$5 Free will offering welcomed to support Haitian orphanage.

Contact: 503-697-7097 for directions
45 South State Street in downtown Lake Oswego, OR 97034


* Talking Earth Monday, November 17, 10-11 PM PST, KBOO 90.7 FM


Excerpts From Blog Entry Sep 13, 2008
Stumbles with Charlie:

There are just a couple of points I want to clear up from my little sit-down with Charlie Gibson on 9/11 here in Fairbanks, the second-largest city in the great state of Alaska (population almost 35,000!).

First, Charlie asked me about the Bush Doctrine, and a lot of people seem to think I looked kinda stupid, like I was stumblin' and didn't really know what he was talkin' about. The truth is, I was just a little confused. I thought he was sayin' the Bush doctorin'....

Let me be clear. I totally agree with the Bush DOC-TRINE, which states that, basically, the president can go and blow the heck out of anyone he sees fit to if they're, ya know, lookin' at us funny or whatever. As you all know, like George Bush, I'm all for shootin' first and askin' questions later. The second thing I want to address is when I told Charlie we might need to go to war with Russia to protect Georgia.... If you go way out to the Bering Straits and stand on Little Diomede Island, which is part of Alaska, you can see Big Diomede Island, which is Russian. You can literally wave to a Russian guy over there. And then, while he's busy wavin' back, you can pick up a rocket launcher and blow him to kingdom come. Like I told Charlie, you can't blink in those situations. Cause if you blink, that Russian might think you're winkin' at him, and then he might get the wrong idea and think you're a gay, and as we all know, bein' gay is an abomination in God's eyes and of course a sign of weakness, and if a Russian sees any sign of weakness he will attack, which brings us back to Georgia.

Now I'm not sayin' Georgia is gay, but it is a girl's name, after all. So maybe Russia thought, here's this little, weak country with a girly name, let's go ahead and invade. What are they gonna do? Hit us with their little girly purses? So let this be a lesson to all countries out there with girly or gay-soundin' names. And yes, I'm lookin' at you, Chad. You'd be a lot better off if you just changed your name to something tough. Like, I dunno, Grenada. I mean, you say "Grenada," what's the first thing that comes to mind? A grenade! Who's gonna attack a country that sounds like a small explosive, pin-activated device? No one!...

From "The Palin Prophecies"
by Brent Mooseburger
Ken Arnold Books
2008

Ken Arnold and Connie Kirk, publishers and editors for the new Ken Arnold Books, join forces to read from their new offering "The Palin Prophecies," and to talk about the press and on-demand publishing. According to Connie and Ken, "The Palin Prophecies" was brought to them by an Alaskan Pentecostal sports reporter, Brent Mooseburger. Mooseburger claims that,with the cooperation of God Almighty, he channeled Sarah Palin in a daily blog in the weeks leading up to the election.

Ken is a poet, non-fiction writer and prize-winning playwright. Connie is a poet, essayist and children's book author. Brent Mooseburger is a suspicious character.


VERSE IN PERSON, Wednesday, November 19, 7-8 PM.
Northwest Branch Library, 23 & NW Thurman
Free

Three new voices featured in VIP tonight: Mark Alter, Heidi Greenwald and Jeff Ettlin. Mark and Heidi are cutting their reading teeth, while Jeff shares material from his newest chapbook, "Poem Pie." Come for a slice of literary pie and comeraderie. Free.

&&&

A Note from Barbara

In the new KBOO line-up, Talking Earth will be broadcasting on the second (Walt Curtis) and third (Barbara LaMorticella) Mondays of every month, from 10-11 PM. I will be personally contacting the many people who called, wrote and pledged generously to KBOO in response to last month's call for support. While I am disappointed that the overall time for a pure poetry program has been (for the moment) cut back, there is also an element of liberation involved for Walt and I, as we both need to spend time on our own poetry and art.

We will both continue to urge that more time be allocated to on-air poetry, and we hope you will also-- not for more air time for Walt and I, but for live poetry on air in general. You proved with your flood of support that there is an enthusiastic audience for a general poetry show, not limited to a particular clique or age or genre, but broadly representative of the whole spectrum of poetry writing going on today.

The new Monday night line-up, broadcasting from 8 PM on every monday night, will feature new, experimental, live and eclectic music, performance pieces, and live theater, with two hours of "pure poetry," (and sometimes very impure poetry) each month, hosted by Walt and myself. For the inaugural program on this new strip, I join in the spirit of radio theater by featuring a theatrical reading, in monologue and dialogue form.
--

11.13.2008

"Georgetown Review" Contest--deadline Nov 15

2009 Georgetown Review Contest

$1,000 and publication to the winning short story, poem, or essay on any theme or subject. All genres welcome.

http://georgetownre view.georgetownc ollege.edu/ grcontest. htm

Submissions must be postmarked by on or before November 15, 2008.

Entry fee is $10 for the first entry, $5 for each entry thereafter. One poem, story, or essay counts as one entry. Please make out checks or money orders to "Georgetown Review."

If you want your work returned or want to receive a notice about the winner and runners-up, you must send us a stamped, self-addressed envelope. However, we will post a list of the work we choose on our website after the contest is judged, and we will do our best to have this list up by February 2009.

The magazine’s editors will judge.

Simultaneous and multiple submissions are okay. Your name can appear on your work as well, and in fact, we prefer that your name, address and email address appear on your entries. We have a small editorial staff and would not award the prize to any colleagues, students, or friends. You do not need a cover sheet.

All entries are considered for publication. In the 2008 contest, 20 runner-up works were selected for publication. If your work is published,Georgetow n Review acquires first North American rights, which means that after we publish the piece the rights to it revert back to you.

Send entries to:

2009 Contest
Georgetown Review
400 East College Street
Box 227
Georgetown, KY 40324

Professional Developement Workshop--Tues Nov 18th!!

Workshop on Teaching at Community Colleges
Tuesday, November 18th
7:00-8:30
SMU 298

GLO has invited local community college instructors to come speak about their experiences in teaching, how they got where they are today, and what graduate students need to know to prepare themselves for teaching positions. These are full time instructors representing three different colleges.

Our guest speakers will be:
Jill Darley-Vanis - full-time English instructor at Clark Community College. Jill earned her M.A. at Portland State University.

Tom Huminski - full-time instructor of composition and literature at Portland Community College. Tom earned his M.A. at Portland State University.

Ryan Davis - Now a full-time instructor at Clackamas Community College, Ryan previously worked as an adjunct, or part-time instructor, at numerous other colleges and universities. Ryan earned his M.A. from Mississippi State University.

Carol Burnell - Carol works at Clackamas Community College and she also graduated from PSU with her M.A. in English. She also worked at PSU's Writing Center, and is now the coordinator of CCC's Writing Center, as well as a full-time instructor.

Please come to SMU 298 on Tuesday from 7:00-8:30 to hear wonderful insights and valuable job tips. This will be an open discussion, giving you a chance to hear answers to your questions.
These friendly faculty are enthusiastic about what they do and excited to help graduate students learn more about possible job opportunities. If you have ever thought of teaching at a community college, or at any other level, you should not miss this event!

PSU Poets to Read for UNST TEACHING & RESEARCH SERIES, THUR. 11/20

UNST TEACHING AND RESEARCH SERIES CONTINUES, THURSDAY, NOV. 20:

We are very pleased to continue our Teaching & Research Series with a poetry reading THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20 at 4:00pm in the UNST conference room, Cramer 117. We will feature our very own talented poets including: Joel Bettridge, Tom Fisher, Rodney Koeneke, and Kaia Sand.

JOEL BETTRIDGE is the author of the poetry collection THAT ABRUPT HERE and co-editor of RONALD JOHNSON: LIFE AND WORKS, a gathering of essays on the increasingly influential poet. He teaches in the English Department and University Studies Program.

TOM FISHER is a poet and scholar of silence, whose research focuses on 20th-century poets who stopped writing. He teaches courses on literary modernism, popular culture, and American studies in the English Department and University Studies Program.

RODNEY KOENEKE is author of the poetry books MUSEE MECHANIQUE and ROUGE STATE. A new collection, RULES FOR DRINKING FORTIES, appears this fall. His teaching at PSU includes courses in History, International Studies, and University Studies.

KAIA SAND is the author of INTERVAL, selected as a Small Press Traffic Book of the Year, and co-author of LANDSCAPES OF DISSENT: GUERILLA POETRY AND PUBLIC SPACE. She co-curates the Tangent Reading Series, which pairs poets from around the country with writers and artists from Portland's vibrant creative community. Sand teaches courses in Popular Culture in the University Studies program.

11.11.2008

"Narrative" Fall Fiction Contest--deadline Nov 30

2008 Fall Fiction Contest


Narrative’s Fall Fiction Contest
is open to all fiction writers. For this contest we accept short shorts, short stories, and excerpts from longer works of fiction. Entries must be previously unpublished, no longer than 10,000 words, and must not have been previously chosen as a winner, finalist, or honorable mention in another contest.


As always, we look for works that have a strong narrative drive, with characters we can respond to as human beings—works in which the effects of language, situation, and insight are intense and total, and whose authors have the ambition of enlarging our view of ourselves and the world.

Click here to submit your work.



Awards: First Prize is $3,000, Second Prize is $1,500, and Third Prize is $750. The prize winners will be announced in Narrative and will be eligible for publication. Additionally, ten finalists will receive $100 each. We’ll announce finalists in the magazine as well. All entries will be considered for publication.

Submission Fee: There is a $20 fee for each entry. And with your entry, you’ll receive three months of complimentary access to Narrative Backstage.

Timing: Entries will be accepted between September 1 and November 30, 2008. (The contest will close to entries at midnight Pacific Standard Time on November 30.)

Judging: The contest will be judged by the editors of the magazine. Winners and finalists will be announced to the public by December 30, 2008. All writers who enter will be notified by email of the judges’ decisions.

Submission Guidelines: Please read our Submission Guidelines for manuscript formatting and other information.

Other Submission Categories: In addition to our contest, please review our other Submission Categories for areas that may interest you.

Professor Michele Glazer to read Wednesday Nov 12!


The Milwaukie Poetry Series
Second Season!

A reading by Michele Glazer
7 PM, Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2008
The Pond House in Milwaukie,
2215 SE Harrison
Adjacent to the Ledding Library


The Milwaukie Poetry Series Committee and the Ledding Library of Milwaukie are delighted to continue the Second Season of the Milwaukie Poetry Series with a reading by Michele Glazer.

This will take place on Wednesday, Oct. Nov. 12 at 7 PM in the Pond House adjacent to the Ledding Library, 2215 SE Harrison, Milwaukie, OR 97222.

Michele Glazer teaches in the English Department at Portland State University. Of her first book, It Is Hard to Look at What We Came to Think We’d Come to See (Pittsburgh), a critic wrote, “The poems in this extraordinary debut are (like its title) sinuous, refractory, highly structured, yet in a way implosive, too, their asymmetric blocks holding in balances always about to give way.” (Boston Review). The poet Sheryl St. Germain described her next book, Aggregate of Disturbances (Iowa), as “a stunning collection of meditations on language, landscape and loss.”

Her awards include fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Regional Arts & Culture Council, and the Oregon Arts Commission. She co-organized and participated in Word & Hand, two year-long collaborations between writers and visual artists that exhibited at Portland State University. She is the editor of Writers Collective, an anthology of Oregon poets.

The Pond House in Milwaukie is a delightful setting and easy to reach. It is located on SE 21st and Harrison in Milwaukie. From Portland travel south on McLoughlin Blvd. (99E) to Harrison St, the first light as you come into Milwaukie. Turn left and the Library is two blocks east.
From Oregon City, Gladstone and Oak Grove and I-205 from Salem, travel north on McLoughlin to Harrison, turn right and go two blocks east again to the Library.
From East Multnomah and Clackamas Counties, go west on Hwy. 224 to the Harrison St. Exit, turn left and go approximately ½ mile to the library.
The Pond House is 1 block east of the library.

We want to thank the City of Milwaukie for its generous support which makes the Series possible. For information about the readings, please contact the Series Coordinator Tom Hogan at 503-819-8367 or tomhogan2@comcast.net or Ledding Library Director Joe Sandfort at 503-786-7584 or SandfortJ@ci.milwaukie.or.us.


It will be a delightful evening. Please join us for this wonderful reading!

11.09.2008

Job Opportunity: Rosemont College--spring '09

Rosemont College, a private liberal arts college, located in Philadelphia' s beautiful Main Line, is seeking an Adjunct Instructor, Creative Writing. The Undergraduate College of Rosemont College invites applications for an adjunct instructor to teach Creative Writing in the spring 2009 semester. Qualified applicants will possess an M.A. or M.F.A. in Creative Writing. Previous teaching experience required. The course is offered twice a week in a late afternoon time slot.

To apply, please send a cover letter, curriculum vitae, graduate transcripts, and list of three references.

Application Information

Postal Address:

Office of Human Resources

Rosemont College

1400 Montgomery Avenue

Rosemont, PA 19010

11.06.2008

Go to a conference on us!

Jennifer and I have some very, very exciting news! GLO is hosting two contests--one for the CCCC (Conference on College Composition and Communication) in San Francisco March 11-14, 2009; and AWP (The Association of Writers and Writing Programs) in Chicago February 11-14, 2009. If you win, you get to go to your choice of conference for almost FREE!! That means, we pay the registration, flight, hotel--you'll be responsible for food, etc, but dang, that's a great deal!

Here are the guidelines:
Write a 500 word "essay" about what you planning on doing with your degree--going on to teach, write, PhD, join the circus? If you want to include how the conference will benefit you and what you're ultimate plans are, go for it. Write with finesse, style, charisma...show our judges what you've been learning in those grad classes!

The entries will be blind--simply put a cover sheet with your name, contact info, and WHAT CONFERENCE YOU'RE APPLYING FOR on your submission. On the submission itself, do not put your name or contact info--if you do, we'll have to disqualify you and that would be :-(
Judges are: Professor Hildy Miller for the CCCC and Professors Michele Glazer and Debra Gwartney for the AWP conference.

Leave all entries in the EGO or WEGO mailbox in the English Dept office. We like to think of them as GLO's one, giant mailbox.

ALL CONTEST ENTRIES ARE DUE BY 5 PM NOVEMBER 21.

Winners will be announced December 8th, 2008!
:-)

We encourage everyone to submit--this is a great opportunity that you won't want to pass up!

Stephen Graham Jones reading Wednesday, Nov 19th 6 - 8 PM


Blackfeet Writer STEPHEN GRAHAM JONES to read from his latest book, Ledfeather, on Wednesday, November 19th, from 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. at the Native American Student and Community Center, 710 SW Jackson (Broadway and Jackson). Sponsored by Portland State University Studies, Native American Studies, Multicultural Center, Office of Diversity and Equity, Department of English, and Graduate Literary Organization.

Free event! Free refreshments. Books will be available for purchase. There will be time following the reading for questions.

“Stephen Graham Jones writes every line in blood from the deepest recesses of his heart.” –slushpile.net

“Stephen Graham Jones is a thinking man’s writer who possesses the uncanny ability to lay all of his cards out on the table yet keep readers from seeing his hand.” –Dark Scribe Magazine

Jones’ published novels include: Ledfeather (2008); The Long Trial of Nolan Dugatti (2008); The Fast Red Road - A Plainsong; All the Beautiful Sinners; The Bird is Gone: A Manifesto; and Demon Theory. His short story collection is titled, Bleed Into Me: A Book of Stories.

Jones has won several awards, including: Texas Institute of Letters Jesse Jones Award for Fiction (2005) Finalist, Independent Publishers Award for Multicultural Fiction (2004)
First Prize, Writer’s League of Texas Fellowship in Literature (2002), National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in Literature: Fiction (2001), Independent Publishers Award for Multicultural Fiction (2001) nFinalist, Steven Turner Award for First Fiction, and Texas Institute of Letters (2001).

Non-Fiction Writer Alexandre Poussin Reading Friday!!


Alexandre Poussin is a best-selling French author who has written three books about his incredible journeys around the world. Portland's own Inkwater Press published the first English version of his third book, Africa Trek.

Alex will be reading and showing a brief film Friday, Nov 7, from 2:30 - 3:30, in the Native American Student and Community Center (on the corner of Broadway and Jackson). Free event, free food and drinks. Books will be available for purchase.

Africa Trek is the amazing tale of Alex and Sonia Poussin’s 8,700-mile walking honeymoon from the Cape of Good Hope to the Sea of Galilee. Of their journey, Alexandre says, "Most people approach Africa with fear, a lot of organization and little time. We had faith, confidence and no prejudice on one side; no organization, tour operator or back-up team of any kind on the other; and no time limit — we were as free as a walking bird can be. We shared every person’s lives to better understand them, and understand the issues of their lives. To share their fate, we had to walk, because they all walk a lot — to go the fields, to the market, to town, to school. To take their path was to take their pace, their pulse, their problems. Our approach was anything but sophisticated: one footstep after another, for almost ever. . . And let it be. Let adventure be.”


Along the way, the Poussins survived bouts of malaria, climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, swam at the edge of Victoria Falls, and walked the Great Rift Valley with Maasai warriors. Alexandre himself is charismatic, vivacious, and incredibly energetic, and would inspire PSU students to new academic and personal heights.

As “very freelance journalists,” says author Alexandre Poussin, “travelling is our way to reveal the world with a slower approach, one that is more intimate, more human.” Alex and Sonia completed their journey without sponsors, without support team, sharing the poverty of their hosts. They speak to us on each page of the generosity and enthusiasm of these men and women who populate the African continent. Day after day, they become a bit more African themselves.

Originally published in 2004 in France, Africa Trek captured the attention of the European nations. It was an International Herald Tribune Best Seller (France, over 280,000 sold to date); Express Tite-Live Best Seller for 17 weeks. It also won the Best Book Award at Cosne sur Loire Bookfair and the Best Book Award at the Adventure Festival of Les Angles in 2005.

Along with pen and paper, Alexandre and Sonia carried camera and video equipment. The footage was edited into a film that won multiple awards including Golden Fleece of the International Adventure Film Festival of Dijon 2004. It was also edited into a twelve-episode television special that ran on the Travel Channel over 40 times (over 300,000 viewers). OPB will be showing the public television documentary of their journey beginning in 2009.

11.03.2008

"Oregon Quarterly" Essay Contest--deadline Jan 31

Oregon Quarterly essay contest invites entries on Northwest themes


EUGENE, Ore. -- (10/30, 2008) -- Oregon Quarterly, the magazine of the University of Oregon, invites submissions to its tenth annual Northwest Perspectives Essay Contest.

The Northwest Perspectives Essay Contest, sponsored by Oregon Quarterly and The Duck Store (formerly the University of Oregon Bookstore), is open to previously unpublished writing about ideas affecting the Northwest.Non-fiction writers are encouraged to compete in open and student categories.

The winner in the open category will receive $750 and publication in the Summer 2009 issue of Oregon Quarterly, which is distributed to nearly 100,000 readers. The student winner will receive $500 and publication in the Autumn 2009 issue. The second- and third-place writers in both categories will also receive cash prizes.

Olympian marathoner and native Oregonian Kenny Moore, author of ³Bowerman and the Men of Oregon,² will judge this year¹s contest. Moore has written articles for Sports Illustrated beginning in 1971 and served as a senior writer for the magazine from 1980 to 1995. He co-wrote (with Robert Towne) ³Without Limits,² the 1998 Warner Bros. feature film on Steve Prefontaine and Bill Bowerman.


The 15 finalists will be announced in the Summer 2009 issue of Oregon Quarterly and invited to attend a workshop with Moore. Six top essays, from both the student and open categories, will be featured in a public reading.

Entries must be postmarked by Jan. 31, 2009. There is no entry fee.

For complete submission guidelines, visit http://www.OregonQuarterly.com

11.02.2008

Call for Submissions: "Crab Orchard Review"--deadline extended to Nov 7

Deadline extended to November 7, 2008

Special Issue: Color Wheel ~

Cultural Heritages in the Twenty-First Century

CRAB ORCHARD REVIEW is seeking work for our Summer/Fall 2009 issue focusing on writing inspired or informed by the experiences, observations, and/or cultural and historical possibilities of the following topic: “Color Wheel ~ Cultural Heritages in the Twenty-First Century.” We are open to work that covers any of the multitude of ways our ideas of identity, tradition, family, and place are challenged by an ever-changing world.

All submissions should be original, unpublished poetry, fiction, or literary nonfiction in English or unpublished translations in English (we do run bilingual, facing-page translations whenever possible). Please query before submitting any interview.

For our general submission guidelines, check our Web site at.

Mail submissions, along with SASE, to:

CRAB ORCHARD REVIEW

Cultural Heritages issue

Faner 2380, Mail Code 4503

Southern Illinois University Carbondale

1000 Faner Drive

Carbondale, IL 62901

The submission period for this issue is August 1, 2008 through November 7, 2008. We will be reading submissions throughout this period and hope to complete the editorial work on the issue by mid-February. Writers whose work is selected will receive $20 (US) per magazine page ($50 minimum for poetry; $100 minimum for prose), two copies of the issue, and a year’s subscription.