Goddard College MFAW-VT faculty member Jan Clausen: “I get it. I keep trying to build cathedrals when I should be building yurts.” This comment from an advisee, about her struggle to get annotations down to more manageable dimensions, has stuck with me for years as a witty image for one of the perennial dilemmas of critical writing.
Tag: Writing Advice
Laughs (Or Lack Of…)
Goddard MFAW faculty member Rogelio Martinez on writing comedy: “I place laughs in a play to carefully track the play’s relationship with the audience. If a laugh fails to land then there may be several reasons why. It may be the acting or the directing, but usually it’s the writing. It has little to do with the laugh itself but with those things surrounding the laugh – plot, characters, obstacles, etc. In other words, it’s not whether the joke is funny or not but whether the audience has been paying attention to the play.”
Body Language
Goddard MFA Faculty member Susan Kim writes, “When I discovered that the residency theme was “Body, Language” and that I was expected to deliver a keynote, I grew despondent. Maybe what I really was, was overwhelmed. Because let’s face it: anything with “body” in it is one hefty mother of a subject. Writing outside of the body is difficult…and risky. We risk getting it wrong. We risk looking really stupid. And we certainly risk offending, often the same readers we are trying to reach.
The Magical Mystery Tour of the Imagination
In this adaptation of her commencement speech, Goddard MFA Program Director Elena Georgiou challenges us to think about the pricelessness of our imaginations.
Who Are You and What Are You Hiding?
“When I walk down the street in jeans and a T-shirt, I’m hiding. When I wear these costumes, I am being honest about who I am.”
Wit’s End
Goddard MFA alumna Katrina Barnes asks, “At what point is a person at their wit’s end? And how does one reach this destination?”
For Orlando: Make Beautiful in Maine
I knew—gay club–when I heard it on the radio. Florida: old mistress to the Right, corrupt, stolen-election, multi-lingual, and one of the gay capitols. All at once.
The Limits of the World
Goddard MFA Faculty member Micheline Marcom recalls what Schopenhauer said: “Every man takes the limits of his own field of vision for the limits of the world.” She wonders how we might, in our “Information Age,” see better.
Sneak Preview: CWC&R Schedule
Co-Coordinators Lucy Turner and Carolyn Bardos have done a wonderful job organizing this year’s Clockhouse Writers’ Conference & Retreat. While there may be a bit more tweaking of the time slots, those attending can look forward to: Monday, June 27th 11:00 – 1:00 Arrivals, Check-ins, and Welcomes Aiken Lounge 11:45 – 12:45 Lunch… Continue reading Sneak Preview: CWC&R Schedule
Literary Life Tests
Goddard MFA Faculty member Victoria Nelson talks about literary life tests: the ones you face out there in the world after you graduate. “Pay attention to the outside cues…”
Last Call! Register Now for the Clockhouse Writers’ Conference & Retreat
The Registration for the Clockhouse Writers’ Conference & Retreat ends May 15, 2016! While it’s true we that we do take late registration if space permits, please do email co-coordinator Carolyn Bardos at cbardos@clockhouse.net if you’re still thinking of joining us. The conference occurs during the MFAW-VT residency and includes solitary time for writing; works-in-progress sessions… Continue reading Last Call! Register Now for the Clockhouse Writers’ Conference & Retreat
A Short Story Story
Goddard MFA Faculty member John McManus writes, “I’m trying to resist the temptation to take the novel I’m close to completing after fifteen years, cut 325 of its 350 pages, and turn it into a short story.”
Stations of the Word: A CWC&R TRADITION
Sam Sherman, a former co-coordinator of the conference and a past member of the Board of Stewards, has designed these sessions for the last several years, and she’s now at work designing a Stations of the Word to delight us in 2016. Here are her thoughts on this beloved CWC&R tradition: The first year I… Continue reading Stations of the Word: A CWC&R TRADITION
Once Upon Three Apples, or Notes on How to Measure a Story
Goddard MFA Faculty member Kyle Bass writes, “Dare to ask Edward Albee what the new play he’s writing is about and he will say, “It’s about 90 minutes.” While his prickly pithiness is a means by which to protect the sanctity of his process, Albee’s at-the-ready, stiletto reply cuts to an important truth about art and dimension: a short painting? A full-length poem? Of course not. A thing is complete in its own completeness.”
Giving Back: Clockhouse Writers’ Conference & Retreat
I love parties. I also love the opportunity to get to know people one-on-one, in some quiet book-walled room or garden corner. Perhaps most fundamentally, I love the chance to be of help in a good endeavor if and when an opportunity presents itself. Luckily for me—and for others similarly inclined—such things are part of… Continue reading Giving Back: Clockhouse Writers’ Conference & Retreat
Wondering What to Expect at CWC&R?
Registration is still open for the 2016 Clockhouse Writers’ Conference & Retreat. Wondering what to expect from the Goddard MFA alumni conference if you decide to attend? Read on!
Political Incorrectness: History in the Family
Today it’s popular to say that political correctness is destroying America, but a recently discovered set of century-old clippings offer a cautionary reminder of what our country was like without political correctness. Goddard MFA faculty member Aimee Liu’s opinion piece about political correctness and her family history was published in the LA Times on March 27.
The Backup Plan
Next year Duke will once again be in contention for the national championship, you will be in contention for a special place in some theater’s season, and some poor soul in high school will be hoping to be more than just someone’s backup plan.
CWC&R: Of Plenary Topics Past and Future
Registration for the 2016 Clockhouse Writers’ Conference & Retreat is Still Open! On a balmy summer night last year, the participants of the Clockhouse Writers’ Conference & Retreat gathered in the Clockhouse at the center of Goddard’s Vermont campus for the conference’s first readings. Some of us knew each other well already, and some had… Continue reading CWC&R: Of Plenary Topics Past and Future
And have you read… The Glass Jar? Poet’s Resume (An excerpt)
LANGUAGE SPOKEN
Port, starboard, forward, aft, bow, stern, fo’c’sle, lazarette, half hitch, clove hitch, bowline, lovers knot, freeboard, false deck, fairlead, deck-winch, vanging-winch, picking boom, power block, davit, dump-box, buoy stick, PTO, chiller, seacock, shaft, rudder, keel, magnetic north, true north, degrees of variation, aurora borealis, bio luminescence, Morning Star.