Writer’s Sampler summer series presented four samplers tied into Bibliophoria 2011 at Sebastopol Center for the Arts :
June 20 ~ Making Art with Words: A Collaboration in Print Art & Poetry. A lively evening of conversation as three artists of poetry and printmaking discussed their collaborations recently shown at Quicksilver Mine Company. Their discussion revealed the creative alchemy involved in making art of words, images, and typography.
Poet Elizabeth Herron says she has always been guided by intuition and synchronicity. Her work focuses on our relationship to the natural world, dreams, and imagination. She has several books of poetry including a book-length poem written to live inside sculptor Bruce Johnson’s Poetry House. Micah Schwaberow, woodblock print artist, says their collaboration “…kindled both an unquenchable curiosity and an unbridled penchant for experimentation and troublemaking.” His work is in the permanent collection of The California Legion of Honor. Eric Johnson, poet and letterpress printer of Iota Press says, “I want something new to be happening in poems… and with the ink itself. To feel bookmaking & poetics as jazz.”
June 27 ~ Inkling to Ink & Beyond: Developing and caring for your nonfiction book ~ A sampler to grow your inkling to the next stage of readiness toward publication. Three drivers —vision, clarity, and loyalty— combined with an understanding of production, promotion, and distribution can propel you to get what’s in your head and heart onto bound pages. Beyond publication, those same drivers help keep your book alive in the marketplace. The Inkling (believing in your idea, shaping and manifesting it so others can see it), the Ink (getting to know publishing language, honing your skills, and finding your audience), and Beyond (celebrating what you have produced and not giving up).
Christine Walker is an artist and author of A Painter’s Garden: Cultivating the Creative Life, co-author and illustrator of Wooleycat’s Musical Theater, and creator of Read to Write Books fiction craft courses. She has a BFA in Commercial Art, an MA in Interdisciplinary Creative Arts, and an MFA in Writing and Literature in Fiction.
July 11 ~ The Many Faces of Memoir: Finding the Style and Structure That Works for You. Are you writing a memoir or do you intend to? Do you have bits and pieces of your story scattered throughout your notebooks? This workshop looked at the various ways to structure a memoir. It can be a collection of vignettes, a year in the life of, a spiritual exploration. It can be braided or marbled, lyrical or narrative. The workshop explored several memoirs and incorporated writing exercises leading to a structure to feature individual writing styles in the best light.
Clara Rosemarda is an evocative writing teacher, memoirist, and poet whose work has been published in literary journals and anthologies. In private practice in Santa Rosa as a counselor for thirty years, Clara is co-author and co-editor of the literary anthology, STEEPED: In the World of Tea. She offers creative writing classes in Santa Rosa, including A Midsummer’s Write, June 25.
July 18 ~ The Making and Marketing of a Chapbook. How do you know when you have a collection of poems ready to audition in the world? How do you establish a thematic and create an arc for your poems? Is a chapbook the ideal vessel for your poems? The chapbook as a poetry collection predates Shakespeare. This sampler explored the renaissance of the chapbook and how best to gather and order poems into a persuasive arc for your own chapbook.The publication and marketing of the chapbook were also discussed.
Toni L. Wilkes is the author of two chapbooks, including the award winning Black Water Beneath a Lid of Ice, Finishing Line Press. Gregory W. Randall is the author of four chapbooks including the award-winning Double Happiness (forthcoming from Camber Press). They live in Santa Rosa, CA where they run a financial planning practice and host poetry readings in their home.
When Monday evenings, 7 to 9 pm, June 20, June 27, July 11, July 18, 2011
Fee $15 at the door, $50 for the series if signed up in advance
Register Sebastopol Center for the Arts, 829-4797
Questions Contact Linda Galletta, lindag@sonic.net
Bibliophoria.com 