Pearl S. Buck Writing Center ~ 2015 Writing
Events Calendar
*Registration: www.pearlsbuck.org/events. Information 267-421-6203 –
email: clouden@pearlsbuck.org
*Registration fees refunded only if class is cancelled. Includes abbreviated
Author’s Tour of the historic Pearl S. Buck House
Novel Critique & Revision Workshop: Jan 10, Feb 14, March
14. 9:30 – 12:30. $100/3 Saturday classes. Register on-line by January
3. Cultural Center, Upper Level. For writers who have successfully completed
the “2014 Write a Novel in a Year” unless granted permission by instructor after
review of submitted manuscript. Presenter: Anita Nolan - www.anitanolan.com
Write a Novel in a Year-long Workshop: March 28, April 25, June
27, July 25, Sept 26, Oct 24. 9:30-11:30. $150/6 Saturday Classes ~ Please
register on-line by March 14. Cultural Center, Upper Level
For fiction writers of all levels. Includes a Yahoo Writing
Group. Presenter: Anita Nolan – www.anitanolan.com
Memoirs & Family Stories Part II Year-long Workshop: Mar 16,
April 13, May 18, June 15, July 20, Sept 21, Oct 19. $175/7 Monday
Classes ~ Please register on-line by March 7. Cultural Center, Upper Level
For writers who have successfully completed the “2014 Memoirs Part I” unless
granted permission by instructor after review of submitted writings. Includes a
Yahoo Writing Group. Presenter: Linda C. Wisniewski – www.lindawis.com
Writers Guild: Feb 15, Mar 15, April 19, May 17, June 21, July 19, Aug
16, Sept 20, Oct 18. 1:30-3:30. $50/year ~ Cultural Center, Lower
Level. Editor: Anne K. Kaler, Ph.D. akkaler@verizon.net
Bring your writings & questions for monthly critiques, sharings &
networking. For adult writers of all levels of expertise.
March 7 ~ Fiction Writers Conference: Cultural Center, Upper
Level. 9 – 3:30. Bring a Bag Lunch. $50
Fiction as the Bridge to Truth. Presenter: Robert Moulthrop. How to get
from “I have nothing to say” to “I can’t wait to write.” Writing about what makes
us go “ah.” Finding what you really want to say by writing about something
else. Dialogue: “What’s that you said?!” The privilege of The Writing
Journey. Writing is re-writing. Is it ready for the real world? Dot that “i” and
cross that “t.” What is the real world today? Journals and e-zines and blogs
and…oh my! Setting your own goal. Building a tool kit. Robert Moulthrop
lives and works in New York City. Three NY International Fringe Festival plays
won two awards. His short story collection To Tell You The Truth (“…highly
recommended for followers of modern short fiction.” Clarion Syndicate) is
available on Amazon and Kindle. He received a grant from the New Jersey State
Council on the Arts for prose fiction; his award-winning short stories have been
published in such journals as Reed, Berkeley Fiction Review, Confrontation,
Eclipse, The MacGuffin, and Sou’Wester. His stories also appear in the invitationonly premiere and subsequent two issues of the fiction-only magazine Lovers And
Other Strangers. His short story collection Grace was awarded a 2011 eChapbook publication by Wordrunner, and his story “Four Stories From the Quiet”
won first prize in Literal Latte’s 2010 Fiction Contest. Robert is a graduate of
Brandeis University (BA, Music) and the Catholic University of America (MA,
Theatre). “Your work is to discover your work and then, with all your heart, to
give yourself to it.” The Buddha. rmoulthrop@robertmoulthrop.com
Find Your Unique Vision to Jump-Start Your Writing:
Presenter Janet Benton. Writing powerful fiction and memoir is an ongoing
process of finding out who we are. Writing draws on where we’ve been in life, on
what we know, and on what we have to say as a result. Any formative experience
is a gift, and we each have a unique voice and vision. What gifts do you bring to
the page? What stories are you uniquely positioned to tell, whether in nonfiction or
fiction? In this workshop, we’ll engage in discussion and exercises to explore our
story resources. You can take them farther for many years to come! Janet Benton
has been a professional writer and editor for 30 years and a writing teacher for 20
years, both privately and at four universities. She received her M.F.A. from the
University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Her fiction has been nominated for a
Pushcart Prize and has appeared recently in Switchback, the Green Hills Literary
Lantern, and elsewhere. Glimmer Train published her interview with novelist
Valerie Martin. An essay appeared in the New York Times “Modern Love” column
in 2013. She has co-written documentaries on Philadelphia history, of which
Fever: 1793 won a regional 2013 Emmy for Best Feature Documentary. She has
received three fellowships, co-directed Cummington Community of the Arts, and
attended Cottages at Hedgebrook. Benton is represented by the Bresnick/Weil
Literary Agency and is completing a historical novel. www.thewordstudio.us
janet.thewordstudio@gmail.com
April 18 ~ Writing Workshop for Teachers of Writing: Cultural
Center, 8:30 – 1:30. Bring Bag Lunch $35
TEACHERS of Writing Spring Conference: REGISTRATION: 8:00 am -
8:30 w/Breakfast Snacks provided
8:30 – 9:40 SESSION I: The World of Poetry: Imagining the Possibilities
~Presenters: Janice Ewing & Lynne Dorfman Participants will explore
myriad forms of poetry: acrostics, poems for two voices, persona poems, haiku,
free verse, found poems, pantoum, and list poems.
· Facilitators will model and provide a packet of examples as mentor texts to
imitate.
· All participants will leave with four or five drafts of poetry types and many
ideas for crafting more poems
· 50+ poetry books for children and adults will be available for browsing.
· Five poetry books will be given away as door prizes.
Janice Ewing is a Co-director of the PA Writing & Literature Project. Janice cochairs the pawlpblog and continuity days. She serves as an adjunct professor for
Cabrini College. Janice presents at local, state, and national conferences including
NCTE and KSRA. She is co-president of Philadelphia Reading Council. Janice
writes for the PA Writing Project eJournal and the pawlpblog. She often conducts
staff development sessions on reading and writing. You can find her on twitter
Janice Ewing (@JanMEwing).
Lynne Dorfman is currently a co-director of the PA Writing & Literature Project
and a co-chair of pawlpblog. She has written four books for Stenhouse Publishers.
Her newest book, Grammar Matters: Lessons, Tips and Conversations Using
Mentor Texts K-6, was published in September 2014. Lynne presents at local,
state, and national conferences. She is president of the Chester County Reading
Association. Lynne has co-authored a chapter on mentor texts in Write Now!
Empowering Writers in Today's K–6 Classroom, an International Reading
Association
publication.
9:45-10:55: SESSION II: Tools for Writing & Publishing ~ Presenter: Rita
Sorrentino Participants will explore various aspects of “getting ready to
publish.” Tools will include writer’s notebooks, Internet sites, writers’ magazines
and professional books about writing (available for browsing), and other options
such as animoto, kizoa, and story bird. Each participant will receive a packet with
instructions for a variety of technology tools to use with fiction and nonfiction
writing.
~ Rita Sorrentino is a retired teacher from Overbrook Elementary in Philadelphia.
She simply loves all things digital! A snapshot of Rita’s role/work is included in a
professional book about teaching called Thrive by Meenoo Rami. Rita is a fellow
of the PA Writing & Literature Project, has published pieces on the PA Writing
Project’s eJournal, and is a co-chair of pawlpblog. She is co-president of
Philadelphia Reading Council. Find her on twitter - Rita Sorrentino (@ritaas).
11:05 - 12:15 SESSION III: Exercises for Writers: Writing Daily in a
Writer’s Notebook ~ Presenters: Kathy Wirth & Lynne Dorfman
Children and adults often struggle with the idea of getting started on their writing,
in school, at work, at home, and on vacation. Many of us need a structured way to
overcome writer’s block and get our ideas flowing. Writer’s notebooks allow
children, teens, and adults to take in the world around them and document their
daily lives.
· This workshop will provide an easy, informal way to start thinking about a
writer’s notebook and how to percolate new topics and ideas.
· A notebook will be provided for each participant in this session and a packet
of simple, interesting writing exercises to awaken the writer within!
~ Kathy Wirth is a professor at Arcadia University where she orchestrates the
reading practicum for future reading specialists. Dr. Wirth taught for the School
District of Philadelphia for 30 years. During her tenure in the district, she served
as an Elementary Education and Special Education teacher, a Reading Specialist,
and Literacy Coach. Dr. Wirth attained the status of “Master Teacher” and was a
“Mentor Teacher” for new teachers in the district. She received several awards
during her years of teaching including the Brighter Futures Award (City of
Philadelphia); Teacher of the Year (School District of Philadelphia); and Portrait
of a Teacher Award (Campbell Industries).
12:15 – 1:30 Bring Bag Lunch, Writers Tour of Pearl Buck Historical
House & Exhibit Room, Gift shop
July 18 ~ Labyrinths & Wellness Writing Workshop: Cultural Center,
Upper Level & Doylestown Labyrinth. 9-3.
Bring a Bag Lunch & good walking shoes. $50
Presenters: Sue Wagner Zawoiski & Joanne Maroney
Pearl S. Buck “Book Discussion Group”: March – Nov, 3rd
Mondays. 2:30 – 3:30. Cultural Center Lower Level
Mar 16, April 20, May 18, June 15, July 20, Aug 17, Sept 21, Oct 19
~
Portrait of a Marriage, Video/Pavilion of Women; Come, My Beloved; The
Townsman; My Several Worlds; Peony; Kinfolk ~ Discussion Leader, Charles
Snyder, PSBVA Librarian Emeritus.
Pearl S. Buck “Short Stories Discussion Group”: 2nd
Tuesdays.10 – 11:30. Mar 10, April 14, May 12, June 9, July
14, Aug 11, Sept 15, Oct 13. Cultural Center Lower
Level. Purchase book in Gift Shop/$8.
The Woman Who Was
Changed & Other Stories: a novella & John-John Chinaman, If It Must Be So, The
Castle, Pleasant Evening, The Three Daughters.
Get to know Pearl Buck through her short stories! You’ve enjoyed Pearl Buck’s
many successful novels. Here’s an opportunity to read and discuss her short stories,
a genre in which Buck explores some familiar themes and many new ones. In the
collection to be discussed, Buck imaginatively and fearlessly tackles some
complex, controversial issues, including women’s reproductive rights, gender
equality, and the prospects for healthy marriages and families in the nuclear
age. Pearl Buck is at her best here when she carefully constructs the thought
processes of men and women trying to make decisions in a world where ethical,
gender, and class boundaries have shifted and blurred. This thoughtful,
provocative volume of short stories is bound to lead to lively discussion and
further insight into Buck’s own life and character. ~ Discussion Leader, Carol
Breslin, Ph.D. Professor Emerita, Gwynedd Mercy Univ