VLP Poetry Slam Nov. 19; VLP Writing Group Nov. 16

November 14, 2009 by English

Two upcoming Vermillion Literary Project activities:

• VLP Reading & Poetry Slam – Join us Thursday, November 19, 7 p.m. at the Coffee Shop Gallery (24 W. Main Street), Vermillion, for the VLP Reading & Poetry Slam. Our featured reader this month will be Ed Allen. Allen has published two novels: Straight Through the Night, and Mustang Sally, which was made into a film, Easy Six (retitled in a Showtime DVD release as Easy Sex).  He is also the author of The Hands-On Fiction Workbook. His fiction and poetry have appeared in The New Yorker, GQ, Story, Prairie Schooner, The Indiana Review, and River Styx. His collection of short stories, Ate it Anyway, won the 2002 Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction. His first collection of poetry, the sonnet sequence 67 Mixed Messages was published by Ahsahta Press in 2006. He has been a contestant on Jeopardy and was once on the same Delta flight as Tiny Tim. He currently teaches in the creative writing program at USD.
• Join an exciting new writing community, EXORCISE YOUR WRITES! on Monday, November 16, 7 p.m. at the Washington Street Arts Center, 202 N Washington, Vermillion. Exorcise Your Writes is a community writers group that brings area writers together on the third Monday of every month to free themselves from the usual “anti-writing” spirits: The evil voice of the inner ear (self-censoring), the mind eraser (writer’s block), the blinding blank page, the floating fingers that lure writers to the web, and the spring in the chair that causes writers to pop up and make coffee. EVERYONE is welcome! Whether a published writer or just starting out, come to this supportive, inspiring, creative group to exorcise (and exercise) your writing, to share and receive feedback from your peers, and to listen to other creative spirits.  Bring your poems, scribbles, chapters, scenes, sketches, drafts, characters – or just come and listen! For more information, contact group organizer Sandra Kern Mollman at Sandra.Mollman-AT-usd-DOT-edu. Sponsored by the Vermillion Literary Project (VLP) http://orgs.usd.edu/projlit.
  

 

Upcoming Workshops in USD Writing Center

September 21, 2009 by English

Workshops, sponsored by the University Writing Center, University
Libraries, and the Department of English, are available to students,
faculty and staff who wish to improve their writing skills. No
pre-registration is required, and the workshops are free of charge. All workshops are held in Old Main 106 from 7 - 8 p.m. (unless otherwise noted).

Writing Assistance Workshop: English 101, 210, and IdEA Capstone Courses: December 2, 7-9 p.m.
This two-hour workshop provides opportunities for students to receive individualized assistance with papers in English 101, English 101+, English 210, or IdEA capstone courses. Students should bring their essay drafts and outlines, laptops, writing assignment sheets, grammar handbooks, as well as ideas for revision. This is a WORKING session, not a presentation. Ken  Green, Coordinator of the Writing Center and Writing Center Staff.

 

Writing Essay Exams: December 9, 7 p.m.
Prepares students for writing in-class essay exams. This workshop is intended especially for advanced undergraduates as well as graduate students preparing for comprehensive exams. The workshop includes techniques for planning, quick drafting, and proofreading and advice on most important elements of essay exam composition.

 

USD students, to schedule a one-on-one tutoring session for your writing or get other information, please visit the USD Writing Center at http://www.usd.edu/academics/academic-advising/writing-center.cfm.

 

Sorcerer's Apprentice Creative Writing Camp Sept. 26

August 20, 2009 by English

High school students can register, with a teacher or principal's nomination, for “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice: A Creative Writing Camp,” to be held Saturday, September 26, 2009, at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion.

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G. Douglas Atkins Lecture: The Observing Self, or Writing Upon Something

March 28, 2008 by English

“The Observing Self, or Writing Upon Something: An Essay on the Familiar Essay”

Friday, March 28 at 3:30 pm in Farber Hall, Old Main

G. Douglas Atkins is a Professor of English at the University of Kansas. He has written numerous books, including the forthcoming Writing the Essay: An Invitation and Tracing the Essay: Through Experience to Truth, Reading Essays (2005). He has twice been selected by Choice for “An Outstanding Academic Book” honor. He also serves as the “Creative Nonfiction” series editor for the University of Illinois Press. Dr. Atkins received a Kenyon Review prize for literary excellence in his nonfiction prose. At the University of Kansas, he has won three prestigious teaching awards.

Lecture sponsored by the Department of English, the College of Arts and
Sciences, and the Center for Teaching and Learning. Free and open to
the public.

 

The Milton Writers' Conference: Not to be Missed

October 23, 2007 by English

If you are at all interested in regional literature, popular culture, or the theme of "East Meets (the American) West," you should definitely attend the John R. Milton Writers' Conference, scheduled for Thursday, October 25 through Saturday, October 27, at the  University of South Dakota in Vermillion. Everyone is welcome!

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VLP Events: Sept. Meeting, Poetry Slams, and a Youth Writing Camp

August 03, 2007 by English

The Vermillion Literary Project, an award-winning student organization at the U., invites students of any major, undergraduate or graduate, to join. No experience is required, and members can participate in one activity or several. The VLP publishes an annual literary magazine, publishes electronically (via a website, weblog, and podcasts), runs a creative writing camp for high schools students, hosts monthly poetry slams, and holds a three-hour short story contest and other literary events, most of which are open to the general public. And the VLP has a good time doing it. The first meeting of the 2007-08 school year will be held Friday, September 7th, at 4 p.m., in Dakota Hall 201 (English Department, Writing Center). Come and learn more about the VLP!

 

Of course, the VLP has been busy over the summer. On the last Thursday of each month, they've held poetry slams, competitions for poets, in downtown Vermillion. You can catch the next two VLP poetry slams on Thursday, August 30 and Thursday, September 27, at the Coffee Shop Gallery, 24 W. Main Street, at 7 p.m. Everyone is welcome to come and slam, including newbies--prizes are awarded! Poets who plan to slam should bring at least three poems. There will also be a featured reader to start off the event each month. A good time will be had by all. These slams are free and open to the general public. For more information about the VLP, visit http://www.usd.edu/orgs/projlit.

The VLP and the Dakota Writing Project, a local teachers' organization affiliated with the National Writing Project, are holding the Sorcerer's Apprentice Creative Writers' Camp, a one-day camp for high school students, on Saturday, September 22nd, in Old Main. There will be workshops on fiction, poetry, revision, and performance, followed by a 4:30 p.m. reading by the participants for the general public. For more information and a registration form, visit http://www.usd.edu/orgs/projlit/camp.