Here is a list of events that comprise the growing Stonecoast AWP Schedule. Please take a look at the items below, and let us know if your event needs to be added. We’re looking to add any reading, signing, or panel that is happening as part of the 2013 AWP Conference.

AWP events are primarily held at the Hynes Convention Center located at 900 Boylston Street, Boston. However, we have several events that will be hosted off-site, which means you should look closely at the noted location.

** Please note that this is a schedule in progress. More events will be added and some may change. So please keep your eye out for updates!**

Thursday, March 7

Teaching the Writer and the Text: Writers of Color in the Creative Writing Workshop
Participants: Elmaz Abinader, M. Evelina Galang, Faith Adiele, Mat Johnson, David Mura

The efforts to diversify creative writing programs have succeeded in increasing the numbers of writers-of-color and the visibility of their work. However, students-of-color often report that the existing faculty and their own colleagues fail to provide in-depth examination of their writing. We will examine the reasons for and responses to these experiences by writers-of-color in the creative writing classroom, and discuss strategies to create teaching diversity with an obligation to each writer’s experience and legacy. We will offer suggestions for pedagogical resources for teaching all writers, inclusively.
Time: 3:00 p.m. to 4:15 p.m.
Location: Room 104, Hynes Convention Center

Stonecoast MFA Community Reading

Location: Boston Public Library, 700 Boylston Street, Boston
Time: 6:00-8:00 pm

• Jaed Coffin, faculty, alumnus
• Anthony D’Aries, alumnus
• Aaron Hamburger, faculty
• Lexa Hillyer, alumna
• Sandra McDonald, alumna
• Thomas McDonald, alumnus
• Suzanne Strempek Shea, faculty
• Sholeh Wolpe, faculty
• Lady Zen, student

Friday, March 8

The Low-Residency MFA Experience: An Alumni Perspective
Participants: Erin Underwood (m), Ann E. Michael, Ian Williams, Janet Pocorobba, Sandra McDonald

Low-residency MFA programs are on the rise. This panel features an alumni perspective on the educational and post MFA low-residency experience. We will examine how well the low-res model fits our needs as well as our programs’ resources for alumni, the development of alumni communities, and the reality of establishing a publishing or academic career. We will also look at the overall value of the experience on a personal, artistic, and professional level. A Q&A session will follow.
Time: 1:30 p.m. to 2:45 p.m.
Location: Room 108, Plaza Level, Hynes Convention Center

Creative Nonfiction Pedagogy: New Findings from the Field
Participants: Suzanne Cope, Christin Geall, Jan Donley, Stuart Horwitz

This panel features a recent study of approaches to teaching CNF in undergraduate, graduate, and community-based classes. Moderated by Dr. Suzanne Cope, lead researcher in the first participant-based study of CNF instruction for adults, panelists will reflect upon their pedagogy and influences. The conversation will revolve around the findings from the study, including the benefit of mentors and communities of practice, and the adaptation of instruction for various groups.
Time: 1:30 p.m. to 2:45 p.m.
Location: Room 105, Plaza Level, Hynes Convention Center

Home/Land: Inner Landscapes and Outer Geographies in the Work of Native Northeast Poets
Participants: Mihku Paul, Michael LeBlanc, Cheryl Savageau, Lisa Brooks

This event will examine and discuss the origin and persistence of internal topographies connected to cultural landscapes expressed in the poetry of Native writers from Eastern Woodland tribes. The panel will consider possible explanations for these persistent elements, including the concept that, for Native writers, the inner landscape has strenthened and expanded in correlation with the loss of tribal homelands. Both scholarly and creative perspectives will be shared.
Time: 1:30 p.m. to 2:45 p.m.
Location: Room 305, Level 3, Hynes Convention Center

Stonecoast MFA Faculty Reading: A Tenth Anniversary Celebration
Participants: Tim Seibles, David Mura, Barbara Hurd, David Anthony Durham, Annie Finch (m)

Celebrating the 10th anniversary of the University of Southern Maine’s Stonecoast MFA program in Creative Writing, this reading presents Stonecoast faculty from five genres: Barbara Hurd in creative nonfiction, David Mura in fiction and scriptwriting, David Durham in popular fiction, and Tim Seibles in poetry. The event showcases the power of aesthetic and cultural variety in the curriculum, the strength of Stonecoast’s community, and the energy and diversity of an acclaimed writing faculty.
Time: 3:00 p.m. to 4:15 p.m.
Location: Room 203, Level 2, Hynes Convention Center

Saturday, March 9

Wesleyan Poetry Series Reading
Participants: Stephanie Elliott, Rae Armantrout, Kazim Ali, Annie Finch, Jena Osman

Readings from the newest titles in the Wesleyan Poetry series. Rae Armantrout’s Just Saying continues her standard of inventive, tightly written verse. Spells: New and Collected Poems represents Annie Finch’s technical mastery and her illuminating response to the world. Kazim Ali’s carefully crafted Icarus is an ethereal meditation on the human spirit. Jena Osman’s Public Figures employs a hybrid form of poetry, prose, and found text to explore memory and remembrance in American culture.
Time: 12:00 p.m. to 1:15 p.m.
Location: Room 210, Level 2, Hynes Convention Center

Writers in the Boonies: Creating a Regional/Rural Literary Hub
Participants: Ellen Meeropol, Patricia Lee Lewis, Jacqueline Sheehan

Literary arts centers have been successful in cities, but what about in nonmetropolitan areas? Three western Massachusetts authors discuss the challenges and benefits of developing Straw Dog Writers Guild, a community literary arts organization in a rural/small town region. Starting with a vision but no money or backers, presenters explore strategies to build a new organization to engage and connect writers without infringing on existing workshops and programs.
Time: 4:30 p.m. to 5:45 p.m.
Location: Room 305, Level 3, Hynes Convention Center

“Altered Egos” – Stonecoast MFA Masquerade Literary Heroes and Villains

Come as you are, or . . . come as someone else
Co-hosted by Elizabeth Searle (faculty) and Mihku Paul (alumna)
Time: 9:00 pm-Midnight
Location: Sheraton Suite 2039

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MULTIPLE DAY EVENT

Book Signings (Thurs, Fri, & Sat)
Location: Stonecoast MFA Booth #507, AWP Bookfair
Faculty and Alumni will be signing their new books all day Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.
Special appearance by 2012 National Book Award Finalist in Poetry Tim Seibles.