Faculty Feature: Hilda Raz

Hilda Raz is Luschei Professor emerita at the University of Nebraska where she taught in the Ph.D. program in creative writing. She is a past president of the Association of Writers and Writing Programs and has taught at Stanford, Harvard, Goucher, and elsewhere, as well as at MFA programs and writers’ conferences including Bread Loaf, Writers at Work, Taos, and University of Nebraska. A poet, nonfiction writer, and editor, she has published thirteen books. A member of the national literary board for the PRAIRIE SCHOONER Book Prize, she is poetry editor for bosque (the magazine) and now is director of the Mary Burritt Christiansen Poetry Series for the University of New Mexico Press.

At the 15th annual Taos Summer Writers' Conference, Hilda will be co-teaching a weekend workshop in ekphrastic poetry with our featured artist Ouida Touchón. The class is called "Making visual art with poetry, making poetry with visual art: an ekphrastic workshop." In this weekend workshop, you'll have the opportunity to write about a work of art - using tempera paint, colored pencils, or scissors and paste - to create visual art in response to poems. Think of form, color, or collage and your own favorite poems. Or you could write poems in response to visual images. It is going to be a great workshop!

Faculty Feature: Valerie Martinez

Valerie Martínez is a poet, translator, teacher, playwright, librettist, and collaborative artist. Her books include Absence, Luminescent, World to World, A Flock of Scarlet Doves, Each and Her, And They Called It Horizon and This is How It Began. Her most recent book, Each and Her (winner of the 2012 Arizona Book Award), was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Critics Circle Award, the PEN Open Book Award, the William Carlos William Award, and the Ron Ridenhour Prize. Her work has been widely published in journals, magazines, anthologies and media outlets including The Best American Poetry, the Washington Post, and the Poetry Foundation’s Poetry Everywhere series. Valerie has more than twenty years of experience as a teacher, primarily at the college level. For over fifteen years, she has also worked with children, young adults, adults, teachers, and seniors in a wide range of community outreach and educational programs. She is Executive Director of Littleglobe, Inc., a non-profit collaborative of artists who work in community. Valerie has a B.A. from Vassar College and an MFA from the University of Arizona. She was the Poet Laureate of Santa Fe, New Mexico for 2008-2010. Learn more about Valerie at her website: www.valeriemartinez.net

At the 15th annual Taos Summer Writers' Conference, Valerie will be teaching a weekend workshop called "Why Write: Living the Writing Life Regardless of Publication, Recognition, Money and Fame."

"I can't express my gratitude to Valerie enough for assisting me with "picking the bones clean." She was an invaluable asset in whittling down the manuscript to its essence--and reminding me that my work was "certainly" deserving. I am eternally grateful for the experience." - Raquel Flowers Rivera

April 23 is World Book Night US in Albuquerque!

How it Works:
Each year, 30 books are chosen by an independent panel of librarians and booksellers. The authors of the books waive their royalties and the publishers agree to pay the costs of producing the specially-printed World Book Night U.S. editions. Bookstores and libraries sign up to be community host locations for the volunteer book givers.

After the book titles are announced, members of the public apply to personally hand out 20 copies of a particular title in their community. The selected givers choose a local participating bookstore or library from which to pick up the 20 copies of their book, and World Book Night U.S. delivers the books to these host locations.

Givers pick up their books in the week before World Book Night. On April 23rd, they give their books to those who don’t regularly read and/or people who don’t normally have access to printed books, for reasons of means or access.

What it Means for NM:
Book-loving volunteers will fan out across central New Mexico on April 23, 2013 to take 20 free copies of generously donated books to someone or someplace that needs it! 

The goal is to give books to new readers, to encourage reading, and to share your passion for a great book. The entire publishing, bookstore, library, author, printing, and paper community is behind this effort with donated services and time. Several Albuquerque bookstores — including Alamosa Books, Bookworks and Page One — and a couple ABC Library branches — Cherry Hills and Taylor Ranch — are also pick-up locations.

One such volutneer, Beth Humphreys, said, "I love WBN. And I love that I am giving away The House on Mango Street." Beth took the novella workshop with TSWC Director, Sharon Oard Warner, in which they read The House on Mango Street.

Find Out More:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTfoEUaybNQ

Faculty Feature: Brent Spencer

Brent Spencer is the author of the novel The Lost Son and the collection Are We Not Men?, chosen by the editors of The Village Voice as the best book of its year. His most recent book, a memoir about his father’s mysterious life and death, is Rattlesnake Daddy: A Son’s Search for His Father, winner of the Little Bluestem Award and the Nebraska Book Award. The recipient of the Stegner Fellowship, the Jones Lectureship from Stanford, the Michener Award from Iowa, and the Distinguished Artist Award from the Nebraska Arts Council, his work has appeared in The Atlantic Monthly, GQ, River Teeth, Best American Mystery Stories, McSweeney's Online, and elsewhere. He is the Director of Creative Writing and Coordinator of Film Studies at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska.

Brent is teaching a Weeklong Memoir Workshop at this year's conference called, Life Writing: A Workshop on Memoir. "Artists sometimes take "Life Drawing," a course that has students draw the human figure based on a live model. In "Life Writing" we'll focus on writing about life--yours or someone else's."

Faculty Feature: Trey Ellis

Trey Ellis is a novelist, screenwriter, playwright, essayist and professor. He is the author of Bedtime Stories: Adventures in the Land of Single-Fatherhood. His acclaimed first novel, Platitudes, was reissued by Northeastern University Press along with his influential essay, “The New Black Aesthetic.” He is also the author of Home Repairs and Right Here, Right Now which was a recipient of the American Book Award. His work for the screen includes the Emmy nominated Tuskegee Airmen, and Good Fences starring Danny Glover and Whoopi Goldberg which was shortlisted for the PEN award for Best Teleplay of the year. His essays have appeared in The New York Times, Playboy, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, GQ and Vanity Fair, among others and he has contributed audio commentary to NPR’s All Things Considered. His first play, Fly, was performed at the Lincoln Center Institute, The Vineyard Playhouse and Washington, D.C.’s historic Ford’s Theater where the First Lady and her family were in attendance. He is a regular blogger on the HuffingtonPost.com and an Associate Professor in the Graduate School of the Arts at Columbia University. He is a 2012 Fletcher Fellow and non-resident fellow at Harvard University.

Trey is teaching a Weeklong Screenwriting Workshop at this summer's conference. "This is a course designed for anyone interested in tackling storytelling for film and television. You have a story to tell and you've decided that the best way to express it is through film or television. In this workshop we will explore the peculiar demands of the screenplay form; the pacing, characterizations and physical constraints to writing the blueprint for a filmed story."

Don't Forget to Apply for TSWC Scholarships!

Each year, the Taos Summer Writers' Conference awards various merit based scholarships. This year, the deadlines for scholarship and fellowship application materials is fast approaching. The various scholarships available are:

THE D. H. LAWRENCE FELLOWSHIP
The Fellowship is awarded to an emerging writer of fiction or poetry with one book in print or at press. The D. H. Lawrence Fellow will receive paid tuition for one weekend or weeklong workshop (a value up to $650), lodging at the Sagebrush Inn or Comfort Suites, and two meals a day (breakfast and lunch). In return, the Fellow contributes to Conference activities and gives a formal reading. Application Procedure.
Postmark Deadline: April 12, 2013

LEO LOVE MERIT SCHOLARSHIP IN POETRY AND PROSE
The two Leo Love Merit Scholarships—awarded in poetry and fiction/nonfiction—are available to any potential Conference participant. Each Merit Scholarship pays tuition for a weeklong workshop or partial tuition for a master class (a value of $650). Each Merit Scholarship recipient is responsible for her or his transportation and/or lodging costs. Leo Love Merit Scholarship applicants must register for the Conference (including paying the deposit) at the time application is made for the scholarship. Application Procedure.    
Postmark Deadline: April 29, 2013

NATIVE WRITER AWARD
The Native Writer Award, established in the memory of Native author and former colleague Louis Owens, offers paid tuition for one weekend or weeklong workshop (a value up to $650) as well as paid lodging to any Native American who is resident of New Mexico. The award recognizes excellence in fiction, poetry, or non-fiction. Applicants may apply in more than one genre and are eligible for only one award. Unlike the merit scholarships in poetry and fiction/nonfiction, applicants for the Native Writer Award do not need to be registered for the Conference before applying. Application Procedure.
Postmark Deadline: April 29, 2013

HISPANIC WRITER AWARD
The Hispanic Writer Award is open to any New Mexican resident of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish heritage. The award pays tuition for one weekend or weeklong workshop (a value up to $650) in fiction, non-fiction, or poetry as well as paid lodging. Applicants may apply in more than one genre and are eligible for only one award. Unlike the merit scholarships in poetry and fiction/nonfiction, applicants for the Hispanic Writer Award do not need to be registered for the Conference before applying. Application Procedure.
Postmark Deadline: April 29, 2013

TAOS RESIDENT AWARD
The Taos Resident Writer Award offers paid tuition support for one weekend or weeklong workshop (a value up to $650) to a resident of Taos or the Taos vicinity. The award recognizes excellence in fiction, poetry, or non-fiction. Applicants may apply in more than one genre and are eligible for only one award. Unlike the merit scholarships in poetry and fiction/nonfiction, applicants for the Taos Resident Writer Award do not need to be registered for the Conference before applying. Applicants must be residents of Taos County. Application Procedure.
Postmark Deadline: April 29, 2013

'My Favorite Poem' Project

Luci Tapahonso

Acclaimed poet and for­mer U.S. Poet Lau­re­ate Rita Dove wrote, “By mak­ing us stop for a moment, poetry gives us an oppor­tu­nity to think about our­selves as human beings on this planet and what we mean to each other.”

In this same spirit, com­mu­nity mem­bers of Santa Fe and Albu­querque will gather to share poems they love dur­ing National Poetry Month in April. The read­ings are hosted by the UNM Eng­lish Depart­ment and the Insti­tute of Amer­i­can Indian Arts and are directed by award-winning poet and UNM pro­fes­sor Luci Tapa­honso. The read­ings begin at 6 p.m. on Fri­day evenings: UNM Zim­mer­man Library (Willard Room) on April 5 and in the Waters Room, also at Zim­mer­man on April 19, and at IAIA (CLE Com­mons) on April 12 and April 26. The events are free, open to the pub­lic and a recep­tion will follow.

The “My Favorite Poem” Project is based on for­mer US Poet Lau­re­ate Robert Pinsky’s ini­tia­tive in 1998 that was held in major cities and fea­tured thou­sands of read­ers from all walks of life includ­ing school chil­dren, busi­ness own­ers, civic lead­ers, teach­ers, col­lege stu­dents, spir­i­tual lead­ers, ranch­ers and media personalities.

Read­ers on April 5 (Willard Room) include: Monte Vista stu­dents Lily Rosano-Mueller and Arden Bur­kett, Eng­lish Chair Gail Hous­ton, Asso­ciate Dean Phillip Gan­der­ton, Escuela del Sol stu­dent Samiyah Dezbah James, National Dance Insti­tute Direc­tor Rus­sell Baker, Eng­lish Lec­turer Kyle Fiore, UNM Accoun­tant Misty Dawn Ortiz, Dr. Doris Fields, Librar­ian Maria Teresa Mar­quez, Poet Deme­tria Mar­tinez. Nov­el­ist and IAIA Pro­fes­sor Evalina Zuni Lucero.

Read­ers on April 19 (Waters Room) include SIPI Pres­i­dent Dr. Sherry Alli­son, Colum­nist David Stein­berg, UNM Pub­li­cist Car­olyn Gon­za­les, MFA stu­dents Adam Nunez and Natalie Scen­ters– Zapico, UNM Libraries Dean Martha Bedard, UNM Book­store Events Coor­di­na­tor Lani Tay­lor, West End Pub­lisher John Craw­ford, and Asso­ciate Dean Kevin Mal­loy and NM Cen­ten­nial Poet Levi Romero.

Tapa­honso, who pre­vi­ously orga­nized Favorite Poem projects in Lawrence, Kan. and Tuc­son, Ariz., said that the read­ings reveal the impor­tance of poetry in our per­sonal his­to­ries and how shar­ing poems can strengthen a community’s sense of cul­ture and place. “We often turn to poetry in moments of ela­tion, grat­i­tude, loss or fear, and this is a won­der­ful oppor­tu­nity to share with oth­ers the ways in which par­tic­u­lar poems speak to us,” Tapa­honso said.

At this year's conference, Luci Tapahonso is teaching a weeklong poetry workshop of which she says, "We will read poems, write in various poetic forms and most important of all, we will share our poetry in order to strengthen, and maybe discover, our poetic voices."

Participant Accomplishments: Tamra Carraher's New Children's Book!

Congratulations to Tamra Carraher! Her new children's book, PICUTRE/BOOK, is now available. Tamra took Ana Baca's Children's Book Weekend Workshop at last summer's Taos Summer Writers' Conference.

Faculty Feature: Frank Huyler

Frank Huyler is the author of the nonfiction collection The Blood of Strangers (UC Press/Henry Holt/Picador), two novels--The Laws of Invisible Things, (Henry Holt/Picador) and Right of Thirst   (HarperPerennial)—as well as the forthcoming Byliner Originals Boxing and Leukemia and the recently released The Castaway. His poems and essays have appeared in a variety of publications including The American Scholar, The Atlantic Monthly, Poetry, The Georgia Review, and Columbia Journal among others. He is a regular columnist on healthcare issues for The New York Daily News. His work has been optioned for film and translated widely.

At this year's conference Frank is teaching a weeklong beginning novel workshop. Be sure, if you didn't see it above, to check out Frank Huyler's new novella, The Castaway, a Byliner Original!

Faculty Feature: Annie Dawid

 
Annie Dawid won the 2012 Flash Fiction Award from A Room of One’s Own (AROHO) foundation. She is a former professor of English and Director of Creative Writing at Lewis & Clark College (1990-2006) now living in Southern Colorado’s Wet Mountain Valley. Her last book, And Darkness Was Under His Feet: Stories of a Family (2009), won the Litchfield Review Award for Short Fiction. Previous works include Lily in the Desert: Stories (Carnegie-Mellon University Press, 2001) and York Ferry: A Novel (Cane Hill Press, 1993). Her story of September 11th, “The Closer You Were, the Less You Knew,” won second prize in Glimmer Train Magazine’s Fiction Open in 2006. In 2007, she opened BloomsburyWest, a retreat for writers and artists in Silver Cliff, Colorado (www.bloomsburywest.com).

At the 15th annual Taos Summer Writers' Conference, Annie will be teaching a weekend workshop called "The Sound of Her Voice: Narrative Character."

Some recent good news for Annie:

• Her short piece, "Homeless with Dad," is a finalist for the Eric Hoffer Award and will be published in this year's New American Fiction Anthology.
•  Her short Essay, "Being Jewish in the Shadow of the Sangre de Cristos," will be published in the spring Jewish Currents magazine.
• Her short story excerpt, "Instinct," was published in Colorado Central's Jan/Feb issue.
• Her nonfiction piece, "Dances Sacred and Profane," will be published this year in Progenitor, the magazine of the creative writing program at Arapahoe Community College.
• Her story, "Homeless Camping Jump," was awarded an Honorable Mention in the Glimmer Train recent Fiction Open.

 Congratulations Annie!

Dan Mueller Reading at Bookworks this Saturday!

Daniel Mueller will be reading this Saturday, March 30th at 3:00 PM at Bookworks from his story collection NIGHTS I DREAMED OF HUBERT HUMPHREY.

Dan is teaching a weekend Flash Fiction workshop this year the at the 15th Annual Taos Summer Writers' Conference. Find out more here.

We look forward to seeing you at Bookworks Saturday!

Poetry Reading: Natalie Diaz

Thursday, March 28, 2013 at 7:00pm at CNM Main Campus, Smith Brasher Hall, room 100

Natalie Diaz was born and raised in the Fort Mojave Indian Village in Needles, California. She is Mojave and an enrolled member of the Gila River Indian Tribe. She was part of the Old Dominion Lady Monarch basketball team that made it to the NCAA Championship game in 1997. After playing professional basketball in Europe and Asia for several years, Diaz returned to Old Dominion and completed a double-MFA in poetry and fiction. Her first poetry collection, When My Brother Was an Aztec, was published by Copper Canyon Press in May of 2012. Her work has been published or is forthcoming in The Iowa Review, North American Review, Prairie Schooner, Black Renaissance Noire, Crab Orchard Review, and others. She is a 2012 Bread Loaf Scholar and a recipient of a Lannan Residency in Marfa, TX. She was also awarded a 2012 Lannan Literary Fellowship, the 2012 Narrative Prize from Narrative Magazine, and a 2012 Native Arts & Culture Foundation Artist Fellowship. Diaz currently lives in Mohave Valley, Arizona, and directs the Fort Mojave Language Recovery Program, working with the last remaining speakers at Fort Mojave to teach and revitalize the Mojave language.

Participant Accomplishments: Eleni Bastea's New Book of Poems

We are thrilled to announce that former Taos Summer Writers' Conference participant, Eleni Bastea's first poetry collection, Venice without Gondolas, is scheduled to be published this summer by Finishing Line Press. The book is available for pre-order now!

Eleni Bastéa was born and raised in Greece. She studied art history at Bryn Mawr College and architecture and architectural history at the University of California at Berkeley. She teaches at the University of New Mexico.

“Eleni Bastéa's "Venice Without Gondolas" is a collection rich in sense of place, highly imagistic, and labyrinthian in its explorations of the past. The poems work beautifully as a sequence exploring family, history and mythology, often simultaneously. It begins with Marco Polo's reflections on Venice and ends with a liturgy at a contemporary kitchen table. This small book travels great distances.” — Diane Thiel, "Echolocations," Winner of the 13th Annual Nicholas Roerich Poetry Prize

Faculty Feature: Amy Beeder

Amy Beeder is the author of Burn the Field (Carnegie Mellon UP, 2006) and Now Make An Altar (2012.) Her poems have appeared in Poetry, Ploughshares, The Kenyon Review, AGNI, The Nation and many other journals. She has taught poetry at the University of New Mexico and The Taos Summer Writers' Conference. Check out this recent review of Now Make An Altar by Cerise Press.

At the 15th annual Taos Summer Writers' Conference, Amy will be teaching a weekend poetry workshop called Exercises in the Art of Poetry. "Amy has a wonderful and relaxed demeanor coupled with being astute, knowledgeable, insightful and enthusiastic." - 2012 Workshop Attendee

Participant Accomplishments: Marge Saiser's New Book of Poems

Marge Saiser was the 2007 Leo Love Scholarship recipient for the Taos Summer Writers' Conference. Her new book, Losing the Ring in the River, is forthcoming from UNM Press.We can't wait to read it!

Marge Saiser is the author of five books, including Lost in Seward County, Beside You at the Stoplight, and Bones of a Very Fine Hand. Her honors include an Academy of American Poets Prize and several Nebraska Book Awards. In 2009 Saiser was named Distinguished Artist in Poetry by the Nebraska Arts Council. Her poems have been published in Prairie Schooner, Chattahoochee Review, Field, and other journals.

The Leo Love Scholarship for the 15th annual Taos Summer Writers' Conference is now accepting applications. Go here for details.

Emily Rapp Reading at Bookworks this Sunday!

Emily Rapp will be reading at Bookworks Sunday, March 17th at 3:00 PM from her new book The Still Point of the Turning World. 

Emily is teaching a weeklong master class called "Mapping the Memoir" at this year's conference. 

We look forward to seeing you on Sunday!

Faculty Feature: Summer Wood

"Summer guided the workshop well and gave me great insight on how to proceed with my next draft." - 2012 Workshop Attendee

Summer Wood will be teaching a weeklong master class titled "Wrestling with the Angel: A master class in the novel" at this year's conference. Find out more about the class and how to register here.

Summer Wood is the author of two novels: Raising Wrecker, set amid the giant trees of Northern California’s magical Lost Coast, and Arroyo, placed in the fictional terrain of northern New Mexico. Raising Wrecker will be availabe soon as an audiobook from Audible and was recognized with the 2012 WILLA Award for Contemporary Fiction and was a Book-of-the-Month Club Selection and a BookBrowse Editors’ Choice. The 2007 recipient of the $50,000 Gift of Freedom Award from A Room of Her Own Foundation, Wood currently serves as Executive Editor for Voices from the American Land. Her work has appeared in National Geographic Traveler, Cutthroat, Western American Literature, and other places. Together with Kathy Namba she has raised three sons and three dogs. For more info visit her website at www.summerwoodwrites.com.

Emily Rapp On The Today Show

Tomorrow, Friday, March 8th, Taos Summer Writers' Conference faculty member Emily Rapp will be appearing on the Today Show to talk about her memoir, The Still Point of the Turning World. So tune in!

Emily Rapp is the author of Poster Child: A Memoir (BloomsburyUSA) and The Still Point of the Turning World (Penguin Press, March 2013). A former Fulbright scholar, she was educated at Harvard University, Trinity College-Dublin, Saint Olaf College, and the University of Texas-Austin, where she was a James A. Michener Fellow. She has received awards and recognition for her work from The Atlantic Monthly, StoryQuarterly, the Mary Roberts Rinehart Foundation, the Rona Jaffe Foundation, the Jentel Arts Foundation, the Corporation of Yaddo, the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, the Fundacion Valparaiso, and Bucknell University, where she was the Philip Roth writer-in-residence. Her blog, http://ourlittleseal.wordpress.com, was named by TIME as one of the top 25 blogs of 2012. Her work has appeared in VOGUE, The New York Times, The Sun, Salon, Slate, the Huffington Post, TIME, Body+Soul, Bodega, Fitness, Good Housekeeping, the Los Angeles Times and other publications. She is a regular contributor for The Rumpus and Role/Reboot. She has taught writing at Antioch University-Los Angeles, the Santa Fe University of Art and Design, the Gotham Writers’ Workshop, and 24PearlStreet. She is a core faculty member in the MFA program at University of California-Riverside. This is her third year in Taos.

“Emily Rapp is an exceptional teacher. She far exceeded my very high expectations!” – 2012 Workshop Participant 

This year, at the 15th Annual Taos Summer Writers' Conference, Emily Rapp will be teaching a Memoir Master Class, for which space is limited (and quickly disappearing!) Find out more here.