August E-News
If you hear a steady, raucous din emanating from the Ferril House, it's because our second annual Young Writers Camp is underway. We're buried under the enthusiasm and prolific scribblings of 30 budding writers, ages 10 through 18, all of them working madly on their chapbooks. We cap the week with their author's reading on Friday at the Tattered Cover LoDo; if you're downtown for lunch, stop by and hear them at 1:30 PM on the second floor. This is one event to attend if you'd like reassurance about the future.
Meanwhile, our adult programming resumes in two weeks, and there are still spaces in some of the classes. We've added or re-scheduled a few courses you should know about: The Intermediate Novel workshop with William Haywood Henderson has moved to 4-6 PM on Tuesdays; Forms of Poetry with David J. Rothman is 6:30-8:30 PM on Tuesdays; and Harrison Candelaria Fletcher will take over a round of the 8-week advanced narrative nonfiction course, 6:30-8:30 PM on Wednesdays. Check out our new Web site for a listing of classes, and note our new site has a few kinks to work out yet. If you're having trouble, please contact us.
Tobias Wolff arrives in Denver on September 14 for a busy weekend residency of readings, seminars, and even rooftop dining at Tamayo in Larimer Square.
We'll kick off with Inside the Writer's Studio at the Ricketson Theater in the Denver Performing Arts Complex, Saturday, September 15, 4-6 PM (doors open at 3:30 PM). This onstage reading and interview with our own Eli Gottlieb will bring you inside the writer's life, giving you access to the workings of the man who has been described as "an eerie talent" by Ann Beattie and "a captivating, brilliant writer, one of the best we've got," by Annie Dillard. (Not to mention that Raymond Carver said of Wolff's collection, In the Garden of the North American Martyrs, "I have not read a book of stories in years that has given me such a shock of amazement and recognition--and such pleasure.") Tickets for Inside the Writer's Studio are $20/Lighthouse members, students, and seniors; $25/general public.
After the Writer's Studio, from 7:30-10:00 PM, walk down the street with us to the lovely Larimer gourmet establishment Tamayo, where we'll take over the rooftop terrace and raise a glass to literature. Our annual fundraising dinner will feature a talk from Tobias Wolff, faculty contributions to the Lighthouse napkin story project (slightly ripped off from Esquire), participant napkin entries, and a fabulous sit-down meal overlooking Denver and the mountains. All proceeds from the evening will go toward Lighthouse programming, including the Young Writers Program. Tickets are $160/members; $175/non-members. Special seating opportunities available: contact andrea@lighthousewriters.org.
Finally, on Sunday morning, 9:30-11:15 AM at the Tattered Cover LoDo, Tobias Wolff will take on what he's best known for: memoir and fiction. In "The Lies of Memoir, the Truth of Fiction," you'll get a chance to hear from the author of the critically lauded memoirs This Boy's Life (which was made into a motion picture starring Robert DeNiro, Ellen Barkin, and a young Leo DeCaprio) and In the Pharaoh's Army, on the topic of truth in fiction and nonfiction. As one critic said of Wolff's memoirs: "Wolff's genius is in his fine storytelling. This Boy's Life reads and entertains as easily as a novel. Wolff's writing and timing are superb, as are his depictions of those of us who endured the '50s." Come hear this provocative talk, and get all your questions answered about truth in literature. Tickets: $65/members; $75/non-members.
Full Tobias Wolff weekend package for Lighthouse members only (including Inside the Writer's Studio, Wolff Dinner, Tattered Cover seminar): $235. Look forward to seeing you there!
Additional news follows:
FACULTY NEWS & KUDOS
One of the exciting reports from the second annual Lit Fest is that our own Michael Henry will be publishing his poetry collection (soon to be titled) with Ghost Road Press. The book will be coming out in 2008, so stay tuned! Also, Alexandre Philippe will lecture on Japanese Anime at the Belmar Lab's weekly Mixed Taste event on Thursday, August 23, at 6:30 PM. Cost $5/members ($10/non-members). For more information, visit www.belmarlab.org, or call 303.934.1777.
Andrea Dupree's interview with Francine Prose is coming out in the next issue of the The Writer's Chronicle, and one-day instructor Jeffrey Ethan Lee has learned that his book, identity papers (Ghost Road Press), is a finalist for the Colorado Book Award in poetry. Ryan Kelly's mug graced the pages of the Hollywood Reporter, discussing his experience as part of the NEA's "Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience." Check out the article here. And not to keep you in suspense from the last e-news, Shari Caudron won the adult essay category from the Colorado Author's League contest for her piece, "When in Jordan," which she drafted for last year's Lit Fest. Congrats, Shari! And journeyman Lighthouse instructor Harrison Candelaria Fletcher’s essay, “Writing a Shadowbox: Joseph Cornell and the Lyric Essay,” has been accepted for publication later this year in The Writer's Chronicle. Another essay, “One Prayer,” received an honorable mention in the 2006 New Millennium Writings Award, and is scheduled to appear in a forthcoming issue of Pilgrimage.
MEMBER NEWS & KUDOS
Our Lighthouse Grand Lake muse (and photographer!) Sarah Ockler saw her entry in Larry Doyle's contest for "most embarrassing adolescent moment" go live here as a finalist. She had us campers at the Shadowcliff lodge in sympathetic stitches with this one. Keep watching Larry Doyle's Web site to see if she wins the contest. Speaking of Grand Lake, if you meant to be there, but somehow you weren't, our member scribe Lisa Kenney can get you a virtual look through her Aristotelian-named blog, Eudaemonia. Vicarious thrills are yours at no cost. Longtime member Emily Sinclair won our most recent Wild Blue Yonder fiction contest with her story, "Should They Watch That Much TV?" If you're flying Frontier anytime this month or next, be sure to check out her story in their glossy mag. Member Tamara Palmer takes on contributing editor status at www.allthingsgirl.com starting in September. Check out her story, "The Space Between Heaven and Hell," in their current issue, and consider submitting. And speaking of e-zines, member David Boop saw his story "The Devil You Haven't Met," go live on The Martian Wave. Great, David!
And as a reminder, Lighthouse story writer Gary Schanbacher will be feted at an October 6, 5-7 PM party at the Ferril House, celebrating the October release of his collection of stories, Migration Patterns (Fulcrum). From the publishers: "This beautifully drawn collection of short stories features characters living in or touched by the American West. Young and old, with heartbreaking pasts and uncertain futures, these characters lead lives filled with tender compassions and incidental cruelties. The stories deal with migration in all of its nuances: the self-imposed exile of a young crab fisherman from the life he desires; an aging flower child who experiences enlightenment while waiting in the express checkout line; a veterinarian watching birds fall mysteriously from the sky; an old man who sees his life come full circle in his garden harvest. Spare, yet emotionally engaging, Migration Patterns is an exploration of the physical and spiritual aspects of moving on in life." We agree with the publishers! Save the date! And RSVP at some point so we order enough wine (and soft drinks). We may be announcing another member book contract coming out soon, so stay tuned to these pages.
WORKSHOPS, CLASSES, STUFF TO DO
Four-week workshop bonanza: Our little experiment of reprising the 4-week topical (non-workshoppy) courses has been a success. Our first course, Is it a Novel... or a Memoir?, co-taught by William Haywood Henderson and Shari Caudron has sold out. Up next are the following (spots selling out quickly):
4-Week Flash Forms, Or Maximizing Miniatures
Thursdays, 6:30-8:30 PM, starting 9/13
Instructor: Harrison Candelaria Fletcher, MFA
4-Week Experimental Structures in the Novel
Thursdays, 6:30-8:30 PM, starting 10/18
Instructor: Nick Arvin, MFA
No time for the continuous workshops? Come check out our one-days and half-days:
Half-day Plots on the Spot: Creating Great Characters and Page-Turning Stories
Saturday, August 11, 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM, Panera Bread (13th & Grant)
Instructor: Mario Acevedo
One-day Dramatic Structure
Saturday, August 25, 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM, Panera Bread (13th & Grant)
Instructor: Alexandre O. Philippe, MFA
Half-day Art of Collage
Saturday, September 9, 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM, Panera Bread (13th & Grant)
Instructor: Christina Mengert, MFA, PhD
Half-day Hermit Crabs, Harvard Outlines and Other Thievery: Borrowing One Form to Create Another
Saturday, September 22, 1-4 PM, Panera Bread (13th & Grant)
Instructor: Harrison Candelaria Fletcher, MFA
One-day Writing Your Truth (back by popular demand)
Saturday, September 29, 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM, Panera Bread (13th & Grant)
Instructor: Matt Kailey
Coming in October:
The Fairplay weekend retreat for book-length projects (Oct. 12-13).
Creative Food Writing: One Dish at a Time, taught by Lighthouse member-authors (of The Gyro's Journey) Clay Fong & Joey Porcelli.
LIGHTHOUSE LIKES: STORIES ON STAGE
Our pals at Stories on Stage launch their 7th Season with an exciting lineup of professionally read stories by top-notch writers. The season kicks off Sunday, August 26, with "Generation to Generation," a program of stories by Hanif Kureishi, Augusten Burroughs, Arturo Islas, and Ruth Reichl on the hot-button subject of cultural, racial and sexual identity struggles between familial generations. For ticket information and more details, check out www.storiesonstage.org or contact norma@storiesonstage.com.
COLORADO BOOK AWARD FINALISTS TO READ
Lighthouse and the Colorado Humanities will sponsor a series of finalist readings for this year's Colorado Book Awards. The public is invited to gather at the Mercury Café on August 17 and August 24 at 7:30 p.m. as fiction and poetry finalists in the 2007 Colorado Book Awards read from their nominated works. The finalists invited to read are among more than 100 entrants in this year’s competition. Here's the schedule: 8/17 poets and anthology finalists, including Jeffrey Ethan Lee, Sonya Unrein (of Ghost Road), and poet Maureen Owen. 8/24 will feature fiction finalists including Teague Bohlen and Patrice St. Onge. Our own Michael Henry will emcee, so let's all go out and celebrate local authors. While you're at it, save the date for this year's Colorado Book Awards: Wednesday, October 17, at the Seawell Ballroom. Order tickets now through www.coloradohumanities.org.
LIGHTHOUSE SCHWAG
Nothing makes us swoon more than catching a glimpse of our lovely members sporting smart Lighthouse sweatshirts and totebags. Sipping from a Lighthouse mug, so to speak. Order your own Lighthouse sweatshirt, totebag, journal, or thong (shhh!) by going to the Cafepress Web site: http://www.cafepress.com/lighthousewrite. It's the latest thing in Paris. Oh, and if you get a chance to order your Tattered Cover or Amazon books through our site, we're forever grateful (and we can't even tell what you bought--we promise): http://www.lighthousewriters.org/page/view/id/7/ (check the lower left corner).