Wednesday, December 10, 2008

The Art of Ed Sandoval


This year the Taos Summer Writer's Conference is delighted to feature the work of Taos Artist Ed Sandoval on our website and promotional materials. His paintings truly capture the spirit of Northern New Mexico. You can read more about him and view more examples of his work here: http://www.decoloresgallery.com/esandoval/current_work.php


Monday, December 01, 2008

Registration is Open

Registration for the 2009 Taos Summer Writers' Conference is open! You can look at our course descriptions at:http://www.unm.edu/~taosconf/Workshops/Workshops.htm .

Friday, November 21, 2008

Joy Harjo Wins USA Fellows Grant

Poet and musician Joy Harjo has been both a keynote speaker and a special musical guest for the Taos Summer Writers' Conference. We are pleased to say that recently she won a grant from the United States Artists (USA). Congratulations Joy!

http://www.unitedstatesartists.org

Monday, November 17, 2008

An Interview with Sharon Oard Warner

Sharon Oard Warner, the Founding Director of the Conference has an interview up on the web. You'll find it linked on this page: http://www.culturalenergy.org/somos.htm .

Friday, November 14, 2008

Participant Feedback about the 2008 Conference


“Loved and was inspired by Joy Harjo and the Arrow Dynamics band.”

“The sessions with Jeff were spectacular. He was patient and encouraging. I hadn’t done yoga before.”


“This Conference is so well organized and offers such opportunities for building a writing community while you are here.”








“The Tao Summer Conference was a wonderful experience... My workshop group became very close over the two days. Even now we are sharing thoughts and memories from our experiences in Taos. I enjoyed all the social events and the hotel was beautiful and comfortable. I am already planning on returning next year... Again, my thanks for a magical experience in Taos!" Amy Block Joy

“The writers in my seminar were witty, funny, warm, kind, and intensely eager to learn. We were hot! The vibrant community of writers there, including both faculty and students, was a beautiful thing.” Priscilla Long

“I just wanted to tell you how much a blessing you and your wonderfully inspiring conference has been in my life. Not only did I benefit from having an insightful and funny teacher (Lisa Tucker) but the whole experience has made me a more confident and better writer.” Colette Gehr









“This was the first writing conference for me, and you’ve set the bar high.” Janet Elder





“I had an absolutely wonderful time with Dana and my workshop group, at the readings and meals. The program was beautifully organized and had a terrific “vibe.”... Thank you for this incredible experience in beautiful, beautiful Taos.” Nancy Pagh

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

An Interview with Dana Levin

Conference faculty member Dana Levin has an interview published with the Kenyon Review. Check it out here: http://www.kenyonreview.org/kro/levin_interview.php

Monday, November 10, 2008

2009 Conference Faculty

Here at the Conference office things are hopping as we get ready for registration to open on December 1st. Our list of faculty for the 2009 Conference has been finalized. We are excited by this year's lineup; what a great group!


Weeklong Workshops
Robert Boswell – Fiction
Jeff Davis – Yoga and Writing (All Levels)
Minrose Gwin – Memoir (Intermediate)
Pam Houston – Fiction (Advanced)
Jesse Lee Kercheval – Multi-Genre
Dana Levin – Poetry
Priscilla Long – Prose Style
Barbara Robinette Moss – Memoir (Beginning)
Daniel Mueller - Short Fiction (Beginning)
Antonya Nelson – Fiction
Elizabeth Strout – Fiction
Mark Sundeen – Creative Nonfiction

♦ ♦ ♦

Weeklong Master Classes
Jonis Agee – Novel
John Dufresne – Novel
Valerie Martinez – Poetry
Rob Wilder – Memoir

♦ ♦ ♦

Weekend Workshops
Ana Baca – Fiction
Rus Bradburd – Memoir
Charlene Geiss – Creative Journaling
Elizabeth Hadis – Publishing
Carol Moldaw – Poetry
Sean Murphy – Fiction
Connie Voisine – Poetry

Monday, July 28, 2008

Why Did I Go To Taos This Summer

...Well folks here's one example.

This is a snippet of a report that just came my way and it is typical of the sort of writing that passes for English around our company on a given day. You'll get the best take on these two sentences - yes, they really are, unless Priscilla Long writes back and says they're not - by running the phonetics over your tongue as you read.

"We have implemented MIL-STD-188-220D CN#1, includg R-NAD, DAP-NAD, DAV-NAD, Type 1, Type 3, and XNP. We are currently testing XNP in prep for FQT in AUG."

As much as I hate to admit it I can actually read and understand what is being said here. Explaining it to you would take a page or two. So maybe there is something to be said for engineering shorthand after all. No one with their wits about them would ever want to read a pageful of prose on this topic. This is not the post I promised my group but I just found out I can post from Google Docs and I wanted to test it out to see if it worked as advertised. I also wanted to knock the last post off teh top of the pile since I have the Taos blog linked to my blog and the 'cottage' issue is none to appealing a header. -rgh

Friday, June 27, 2008

share cottage w/garden during conference

i wish to share cottage w/ living room
(w/sofa-bed), kitchen, garden, bedroom.
$60 a day each, july 13 to 18th. no smoking
or tv or outcries. simone swan & catahoula hound
fatima, 15 years old. 832 277 4425.

Monday, June 16, 2008

Taos Vacation Adobe Cottage

TAOS, NEW MEXICO
VACATION
GUESTHOUSE…
Situated on a cotton-wooded lane in the Historic Artist Colony of Taos, New Mexico, enjoy your very own Adobe Cottage, 700 SF, fully furnished w/ private, coyote fenced & landscaped yard & garden. PETS OK!
Quiet, bright & cheerful…enter the Casita into a large living/sleeping room that sleeps 2 with high vega ceilings, through an adobe archway into a large, fully equipped kitchen, w/ Mexican tiled kitchen & full bath. Saltillo tiled, radiant heat floors. Satellite TV & WIFI. Listen to the coyotes howl at night while gazing at every star in the sky!!! Great painting & photography locations all around! Non-smoking casita, located in Historic Ranchos de Taos! $75/Night, up to 6 nights. Weekly Discounted Rate: $68/nite-7 nights. FOR RESERVATIONS CALL MICHELLE: 575-613-0443.
For more Information and Photos, go to www.vrbo.com/155745 Monthly Available.

Saturday, June 14, 2008

Are we there yet?

It took me a while to screw up enough  courage to sign up for this year's conference and then I was faced with the logistics. Everything seemed to fall into place. I used to travel extensively and had racked up a bundle of frequent flier points with United and frequent guest points with a number of hotel chains. So, other than registration costs (I lacked frequent thinking points with UNM) the decision was inexpensive. 

But where to stay? Does Sagebrush take my offerings? Nope. Nor Comfort Suites. The Hampton does. So there I be.  I wanted to find out how far away I'd be so I went into Google maps and put in Hampton (from); Sagebrush (to) and asked for directions and distance. It came back turn right, destination 258 feet. :)

See you all there.

-rgh

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Looking forward to July 2008

I'm already mentally packing my bags for the 2008 conference. Will I see you there?

Brenda from Falls Church