Belated Boston

Ben, Sanchit, Dustin, and Kelsea on the Boston subway.

At the end of February and leading into March, The Writer’s Guild at UC sent five intrepid members into the jaws of the country’s largest writing conference. Ben Truax, Kelsea Daulton, Dustin Zamora, Sanchit Gulati, and I formed an expedition to the 2013 AWP conference in Boston.

A quick shout out to board members Ben, Brian Keefe, and Megan Esterkamp, along with Professor Leah Stewart, who worked together for weeks to cut through paperwork, bureaucracy, and disbelief. Though there were already graduate students attending, as well as some of our professors, there was a strange sense that no one could remember that we were going to the conference. It was treated like a cute pipe dream: “Oh, is that so? That’s really sweet. Well, good luck!”

This experience, at least for me, bore an uncanny likeness to what it is to be an undergraduate writer at UC. You participate in class workshops, you get advice from peers and professors, you write a lot, and you work – but there is always an underlying sense that you’re either gearing up for graduate school or fast food service. Either way, you’re not a “serious” writer. At least not yet.

We set out to prove that undergraduate writers have just as much of a place in the larger writing community, and we accomplished just that. We walked through the halls of the conference, between published and unpublished writers alike (but for a subtle air of desperation, there didn’t seem to be much of a difference). The book fair was a crowded warehouse of tables manned by signing authors, literary magazines, and graduate schools – all eager for attention. Everyone competed against the writers at the podium, reading their work out in what is now, to some of us, the familiar and self-important “literary tone.” Numerous panels covered such a wide array of topics that it was difficult to choose which to attend. In the end, we mostly settled for stalking our professors.

Then there was the city itself. Boston already sounds like a bookish place to live, with brownstones and cobble streets and the historic, 19^th century fun house of architecture and atmosphere that is the main library. Our group explored Quincy Market, the Cheers Bar, and the facades of Boston’s Little Italy. Every night there was a dance party. Good times were had.

The funding for the trip came from a generous allotment from UC given to student organizations for various activities and endeavors. In the end, Guild members only had to contribute time and food money. Because of the work done – in particular by our treasurer, Brian – we were able to make ourselves known as members of the writing community. Every day The Writer’s Guild is proving that it isn’t just a student organization, but a family of writers that will be heard.

The event was the first in Writer’s Guild history, and hopefully not the last.

Bonus: Ben refuses to be a door mat!

You can see more awesome photos of our trip here.

-Ree Callahan, TWG Alumna

Podcast #2

Well, here it is listeners, our second podcast finally arrived. In this episode, we interviewed Dustin Zamora, author of the story Katentania, published in Short Vine's 2011-2012 edition. He is now one of the fiction editor of Short Vine. We discuss the merits of dystopias and what it is like to be an editor.
Enjoy!

http://www.spreaker.com/user/7464247






http://www.spreaker.com/user/7464247

Summoning Letters By Ben Walls

Writers, writers—hark ye sounds, announce thy
Encumbering minds. Let yon stationery,
Under quill’s spread, thus paint such phones. I vie
Ye then, noble ones—lurking visionary,
Where such genesis doth hide inside thee,
Crumple nor shun thy work, but bark pieces
In deservèd light; such is my decree.
Belles letters,  prosaic; white, lined creases:
Thine silence marks cold, Winter’s discontent,
Where words shrill, and hush, without chance to lark
truthful admission. Naught a compliment
Ranges where silence greets; thou must be stark.
Parry no longer art hidden away—
Share and exclaim, loudly now, on this day.

Books for Lunch

Not the actual pie, but close enough

Two weeks ago, I had the lovely experience of being allowed to attend the Seven Hills School's 27th annual Books for Lunch event at Xavier University. The hall was filled with tables set with salads and desserts for every attendee and then some. The salad was chicken over various leafy greens, cranberries, and feta cheese, topped with what I assumed was raspberry vinaigrette. Beyond the salads, on tables crowded with settings, was a dessert alternating for each person between dark chocolate cake with raspberry sauce and apple pie drenched in caramel with a side of cinnamon whipped cream. It was this dessert item that kept me occupied more than I'd like to admit, as it was a trial to get to it past the heavy plates, glasses of water, mugs of coffee, plates of fancy-shaped butter and the bread basket.

It might be clear at this point that I am a food person, but let's get beyond the lunch part, eh?

Beyond the clatter of forks, knives, and ceramic, the audience was treated to the warm and amusing introduction of the main speaker. The person conduction said introduction was none other than Cincinnati City Council member and brother to the guest, P.G. Sittenfeld. Councilman Sittenfeld regaled the audience with tales of his sister's unkempt appearance before and after she was published. He also commented on the rise of his sister's career. Despite knowing neither of these people personally, the effect was warming. Their parents must be proud to have such successful progeny.

Curtis Sittenfeld, the guest of honor, took the stage after a moment of light banter with her brother and a bit of sharp wit herself. She introduced her topic to the masticating masses and we listened amidst the shifting of chairs and plates. (It was at this point, I'm ashamed to note, that the forementioned preoccupation with the apple pie began, but let no one say I cannot multi-task.)

Sittenfeld's essay was a rather interesting one to me, as it was on something I find very irksome in fiction: a lack of research. She introduced the topic by explaining her own introduction to journalistic integrity at the Atlantic, and the crossover she discovered into works of fiction. She noted, and I agree, that research is essential to keep readers who might be familiar with your subject matter from being booted out of a work of fiction.

Though, she cautioned, this was not to let writers who research completely off the hook. There is a flipside to accurate research in that an author might contrive scenes for the sole purpose of showing off their research. Or, worse, writers who do the same but with walls and walls of exposition. Either way, Sittenfeld commented that writers need to strike a balance between well-researched content and necessary content.

Following her speech, Sittenfeld hosted a quick Q and A session that proved as enlightening as her essay. Here it is in quick summary for brevity: Sisterland was apparently inspired by earthquake tremors in Missouri combined with a doom-predicting psychic; there is a balance for writers to strike between loving to write and hating it; writing is a lot like "taking a shower" for her in being just something she does; finally, she might not want her kids reading her work until their around 13, if then.

After the Q and A, Sittenfeld left the podium for her post at the book signing table, where many eager attendees waited for her to christen their paperbacks - some only just purchased at the next table over.

The event overall was very lovely. My only negative thought was in regards to how tough it was to get to that pie, but eventually even I prevailed.

-Ree Callahan

First Post in the Word Cafe

Hello readers and welcome to the new blog of University of Cincinnati's Writer's Guild, Word Cafe!

Coming soon will be information on our about pages as well as other podcasts and news from our little club. Additionally, we'll be looking forward to featuring undergraduate writers from UC.

Ben Truax

Taryn Imwalle

To kick off our first post, I'd like to christen this blog with our first Word Cafe podcast, produced by yours truly! This podcast features TWG President and Chief Editor of Short Vine, Ben Truax,  interviewing our own member and recent feature of Short Vine, Taryn Imwalle. Taryn's story, "For Once We Were Men", will be featured in the Spring 2013 print issue of Short Vine as well as the online publication here. You can also hear Ms. Imwalle read her story in this podcast.