Well, hey thereThis is an informal gathering place for writers and mentors in the MFA program at the University of Alaska Anchorage. If you desire authority and officialdom, head on over to the Department of Creative Writing and Literary Arts. If you'd rather hang out with your pals and loiter in the lit-osphere (we just made that word up), then check out the other pages here:
Blasts from the Not-So-Distant Past
Not that you're supposed to be reliving the good old days, but some of the residency's greatest hits are starting to appear on Commonplace. First up we have Richard Rodriguez's inspiring keynote talk as well as his craft talk. You'll find the audio links toward the bottom of Our Stuff. Look there, too, for a PDF download of "Imagining Ourselves: Narrative Stance in Memoir," a publication from Welcome Table Press that includes the panel talks given this summer by Nancy Lord, Judith Barrington, Valerie Miner, and Sherry Simpson. (Bonus: Thoughts from two other writers who participated in the original AWP panel.) More audio and video recordings of classes and colloquia are in the hopper, whatever a hopper is. Soon we'll also post a page where you can read completed thesis projects by our recent graduates. That one will require a password, which we'll share with current students as soon as we think of something less obvious than "password."
Fun Definitely Over; Hard Work and Whining Begins Happy Campers
Welcome back! You may have noticed this site hasn't been updated since the residency. Rumors that the Web Diva gave herself an accidental lobotomy during the Eagle River camping trip are mostly not true. The scars are healed, no bears were attracted to the blood, and all is well, as best as we can tell from the brain scans. So here we are again.
The fall semester begins with a reprise of Rich's entertaining, opinionated, and educational morning talk, "Twenty-Five Things I Know For Sure--Maybe." It will continue in installments until the next blogger is volunteered. Speaking of which: Why don't you volunteer to write a blog entry or two? Doesn't have to be fancy or even insightful. Just be mildly interesting. We know you want to save your best creative thinking for your own work, and we don't mind. The least you could do is send us news or links or anything vaguely writing-related. That's literally THE LEAST you could do. New additions to the site include photo albums from past years. Look under the "More" button for links to Flashbacks. You can find a video of the bluegrass version of "Pomp and Circumstance" here. We will also be adding theses (yes, it's a weird word) and eventually podcasts of Richard Rodriguez's talk and other highlights, whenever we figure out how to make them. Probably they will be uploaded sometime before the next residency, barring any further lobotomies, intentional or otherwise. 2011 Residency Over; Nearly All Survive. At the Open Mic
There. That wasn't so terrible, now was it? Or perhaps it's like what they say about childbirth: If anybody actually remembered the excruciating details, nobody would ever undergo it again.
Until our memories actually return, let's just try to dwell on the good parts. Look under "More" for a link to Flashbacks 2011, a photographic record that may or may not be used later in court. If you have incriminating evidence to contribute, mail it to the Web Diva at bixby2@mac.com. If you think that chair made your butt look big (it doesn't!) and you want the photo removed, make gentle requests at the same address. Finally, now that you've recalled what real food tastes like, you'll enjoy a stroll down memory lane with Hunter Whitworth's "Critique of Creekside Cafe" on the blog. Remember, we are not responsible for PTSD. If you have thoughts to share about the residency, get it all out in the blog's comments. You'll feel better. Probably. As for the "Word of Mouth" and "Arts and Crafts," look for updated material by [sometime in the future], too. The Web Lackey has been recovering from the residency. And no, that's not a nicer way of saying "in rehab." CWLA SummerResidency: A Cross Between Boot Camp,
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Alaska Writer Sites
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 Emcee interviews still under way (see below) Meanwhile, back at the home office . . . . MFA Program Elves
You should know that the elves are terribly excited about the impending residency. They are busy, busy, busy arranging schedules and thinking up useful and delightful things for you to do, none of which involves square dancing or whittling, alas. The elves have pretty much decided that we won't be repeating last year's unfortunate Poetry BodySlam (get well soon, poets!), nor will there be a repeat of "The Naked Memoirist: A Lot More Of Me." Certainly we will never hold another Jell-O Wrestling Match between the novelists and the short-story writers. That was just sad.
However, good news! The program elves did receive a substantial NEA grant to help plan the First Ever, How the Years Fly By, UAA Low-Residency MFA Graduation Ceremony, which may or may not involve burros. It could go either way at this point. Probably it depends on whether the Head Elf returns from South America with the checkbook. Stay tuned!  Potentially Your Emcees Other things to remember
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