February 2003 E-Calendar

Regional Literary Events

LSW MEMBERSHIP SPECIAL OFFER
JOIN Lake Superior Writers or RENEW your membership with a special spring offer. Beginning in 2003, all of our memberships will be offered on a July - June basis to match our fiscal year. In order to celebrate, we are offering a 17-month membership period from February 2003 - June 2004 for the 12-month rate of $25. Member benefits include discounts on LSW workshops, publications and the annual contest entry. LSW also offers mentoring; genre-based writing groups (we have 17 active groups!); venues for public reading; plus this E-calendar, a newsletter, discounts, special speakers, and more. And the best part is joining a dynamic and thriving organization! Send $25 and: Name, Genre(s) in which you write, Address, Phone numbers, and E-mail Address to: LSW PO BOX 3025, Duluth, MN 55812. Let us know if you are interested in attending workshops, participating in readings, attending social or outreach events, having or becoming a mentor, or joining/facilitating a writing group. Are you interested in joining a committee? The committees are: contest, development, fundraising, membership, program, publicity and social. Tax-deductible gifts for our scholarships, writers fund, and the writing center are appreciated.

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***EVENTS, CLASSES & WORKSHOPS

Feb 3, 10, 17, 24 8 p.m., Open mic, Mondays at Amazing Grace Bakery and Cafe, (basement of Dewitt-Seitz Bldg. in Canal Park) Info: 723-0075

Feb 5, 12, 19, 26, 7-10 p.m, Open mic, Wednesdays at Beaner's Central. Info: 624 5957.

Feb 6, 8 p.m. Norshor Theater. Poetry Slam, open mic. A poetry slam is a poetry reading holding a broken beer bottle. The emphasis is on the performance/presentation, and its also a competition!

Feb 8, 1 p.m, Booksigning with Hibbing writer Pat McGauley, author of To Bless or To Blame. Barnes & Noble, 786-0710

Feb 9, Reading 2 pm.; bookfair 9 am. to 9 pm. LSW and Barnes & Noble Bookstore (Miller Hill Mall) will host a St. Valentine's Reading and Bookfair to benefit Lake Superior Writers on Feb 9 at 2 pm. "Lovefest: Stories & Poems" will feature twelve local authors: Don Cameron, Kyle Eller, Nancy Fitzgerald, Joe Maiolo, Micky McGilligan, Liz Minette, Sheila Packa, Justin Powers, Cheryl Reitan, Ellie Schoenfeld, Bart Sutter, and Connie Wanek. An open reading will follow and the public is invited to participate. The reading is free and open to the public and a percentage of booksales throughout the day (from 9 am. to 9 pm.) will be donated to Lake Superior Writers, a nonprofit organization that helps support writers through workshops, readings, and publications. For further information, please contact Mara Hart (218) 728-1253.

Feb 11, 7 pm, Jennifer Baumgardner and Amy Richards, authors of the Third Wave feminist broadside, Manifesta: Young Women, Feminism, and the Future, will speak in Thorpe Langley Auditorium, Old Main, UW-Superior. A book selling and signing will take place after the lecture and at 5 - 6:45 reception in the Multicultural Center, 232 Old Main, with proceeds going to support the UW-Superior women's studies library collection. Both events are free and open to the public.

Feb 15, 1 p.m, Booksigning with John Dettloff, author of Three Record Muskies in his Day. Barnes & Noble, 786-0710

Feb 15, 7:30 pm, St. David's Day Open Poetry Reading, Somers Lounge, College of St. Scholastica. Free and open to the public. Each person reads one poem in a competition for one-year ownership of the coveted "Endowed Poetry Chair." For information, call 724-5599.

Feb 18, 7 pm, Grand Marais artist and author, Betsy Bowen will be the guest speaker for the next Minnesotans for Responsible Recreation Peace & Quiet Lecture Series. in the Arrowhead Place Building meeting room, 205 W. 2nd St. (across from the YWCA, enter from back of building). For more information, call 740-3175 or see www.MnResponsibleRec.org.

Feb. 20, 6:30 p.m. Greg Breining, author of Wild Shore: Exploring Lake Superior by Kayak. Virginia Public Library Auditorium, 215 5th Ave. S., Virginia MN. For info, check www.virginia.lib.mn.us or call Nancy at 218-748-7525.

Feb 21, 7 p.m, Booksigning with Duluth writer Ellen Sandbeck, author of Eat More Dirt: Diverting and Instructive Tips for Growing and Tending an Organic Garden. Barnes & Noble, 786-0710

Feb 22, 1 p.m, Booksigning with John Gilbert, author of Return to Gold Country , the story of the Minnesota Gophers and the 1996 men's hockey championship. Barnes & Noble, 786-0710

Feb 22, 1 p.m, Booksigning with Bruce Netland, author of the novel, Distant Judgment . Northern Lights Books & Gifts, 722-5267.

Feb 22, 2 p.m, Crime Wave-Mystery Writer Panel with special guests: William Kent Krueger, Carl Brookins and Deb Woodworth. Northern Lights Books & Gifts, 722 5267.

Feb 22, 4:30 p.m, William Kent Krueger, author of Iron Lake and Purgatory Ridge will be at J.W. Beecroft reading from his new book The Devil's Bed. A special dinner menu featuring "Devilish Delights" will be featured for the event. Free reading/ dinner optional. J.W. Beecroft Books & Coffee, 394-2665.

Feb 25, 7 pm, The Vibe Show with Jim Northrup and Linda LeGarde Grover, CHUM Drop -in Center, 125 N. First St. Info: 218-525-1854. Also on March 25 and April 29.

Feb 27, 6:30 p.m. Marjorie Dorner, author of Seasons of Sun and Rain. Virginia Public Library Auditorium, 215 5th Ave. S., Virginia MN. For info, check www.virginia.lib.mn.us or call Nancy at 218-748-7525.

March 6, 6:30 p.m. Tom Sullivan, co-author of Wildflower Safaris by Car: A Unique Guide to Minnesota's North Shore and the Superior National Forest Virginia Public Library Auditorium, 215 5th Ave. S., Virginia MN. For info, check www.virginia.lib.mn.us or call Nancy at 218-748-7525.

March 19 & 26, April 2 & 9, Stuck? Need a tow to get you to the end of your story? Finish your prose at a workshop designed to help you finish what you started. Margi Preus (herself a winner of several lifetime procrastination achievement awards) leads "All's Well that Ends at All:: Finish Your Story" at the College of St. Scholastica. This 4-week workshop will help you write those final paragraphs, cross the t’s, dot the i’s and lick the stamp you’ll put on the envelope to mail it out to anticipating editors. Cost: $25. Info? Call 723-5940.

March 27, April 3, 10 & 17, 6:30 - 8:30 pm, LSW Room, 1323 Rice Lake Road. Sheila Packa teaches "Poetry: Writing That Casts More Than One Shadow." $60 LSW members/$75 non-members. Register by March 20. 15 participants. Questions? Call 218-722-3094 and leave a message or see www.lakesuperiorwriters.org.

April 5, 9 am - 3 pm, LSW Room, 1323 Rice Lake Road, A One-day Workshop, "Writing From Myth" with Margi Preus $35 LSW members/$55 non-members. Register by March 31. 12 participants. Questions? Call 218-722-3094 and leave a message or see www.lakesuperiorwriters.org.

April 12, 9 am - 3 pm, LSW Room, 1323 Rice Lake Road, A One-day Poetry Workshop, with Ryan Vine. $35 LSW members/$55 non-members. Register by March 31. 15 participants. Questions? Call 218-722-3094 and leave a message or see www.lakesuperiorwriters.org. Scholarships for high school and college students are available for this class only. To apply, send a letter requesting the scholarship and one poem by March 14 to Lake Superior Writers, Attn. Poetry Scholarship. Register by April 7.

April: The Duluth Public Library has announced the selection for Duluth's second annual Reading: Bridge to a Wider World project --- Mitch Albom's Tuesdays With Morrie, a New York Times Bestseller. Tuesdays With Morrie is a poignant story of a professor and student confronting death, our ultimate common ground, and how the professor's wisdom can help all of us. Community-wide events featuring the book will be held in April 2003. A resource guide will be available at local book stores and libraries by March 2003. All members of the community are encouraged to read and discuss the book.

April 11-12, Midwest Writing Workshop with National Geographic Traveler Writer, Jeff Rennicke Three-day seminar centers on the ways we connect with our surroundings through writing. Learn about keeping journals, the revision process and getting work published, as well as methods for enhancing creativity, all in the Old Rittenhouse Inn.Two nights lodging, full breakfasts, workshops, a Sat.dinner and a Fri. reception is $425. For info see www.rittenhouseinn.com, Old Rittenhouse Inn, Bayfield, Wisconsin 54814, 715-779-5111, 888-611-4667.

Saturday April 26, 1:30 pm. "Writers Speak Out on Loss," Green Room, Duluth Public Library. This LSW event is held in conjuction with the city-wide reading of Mitch Albom's Tuesdays With Morrie. An open reading will follow the featured readers.

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***LSW MEMBER KUDOS!

JAN CHRONISTER, JILL HINNERS, CAITLIN TAYLOR, AND DEBORAH GORDON COOPER have work in the upcoming issue of Dust and Fire, published by Bemidji State University. Deb Cooper won the Diane Glancy Award in Poetry for her poem "One Bead at a Time."

FRANCINE STERLE reads with Leslie Adrienne Miller and Susan Steger-Welsh on Sunday, February 16, 7 p.m.at the Mildred Pierce Café, 786 Randolph Avenue, St. Paul.

DIANA RANDOLPH, Drummond, recently had work accepted in Poetry Motel and The Discerning Poet. She also had two articles published in the Winter Newsletter of CHARAC (Cable/Hayward Area Arts Council): a book review of Time Management From the Inside Out by Julie Morgenstern; and a review of Wisconsin Regional Writers' Association 2002 Fall Conference.

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LSW WRITING GROUPS

***OPEN, GENRE-BASED, WRITING GROUPS

Several LSW writing groups are open to all members. Expect a different number of people at each session and lively contributions from a variety of viewpoints.

Feb 6, 13, 20, 27, 7 - 9 p.m,Thursdays at Browsers N'etc, the Circular Muse Collective. All genres. Bring something to share. Contact Bob or Rachel at 786 0102.

Feb 12, 6 - 7 pm, Creative nonfiction group, At Sara’s Table,1902 East 8th Street Duluth,. Contact Gail Trowbridge at 218-728-1354.

Feb 16 (Third Sunday of the Month) LSW Memoir Group. 3 pm Bixby's Bagels. All are welcome. Contact Mara at 728-1253.

Feb 17, (Third Monday of the Month), 6:30 pm, LSW Children's Writers. Coordinated by children's author Tracy Maurer and designed for both published and unpublished writers of fiction or nonfiction children's materials. J.W. Beecroft Books & Coffee. Contact Tracy at 392-7290.

Feb 18, (Third Tuesday) 5:15 pm, Beecroft Writer's, Poetry and Short Stories. J.W. Beecroft Books & Coffee. 394-2665.

Feb 18. (Third Tuesday of the Month), FIRST MEETING of SF/FANTASY writers, 6 - 8 pm, Pepper McGregor's Coffeehouse & Cafe, 4721 E. Superior St. It's an open group, and it's geared toward fiction within the genre, not poetry. If anyone has questions, they can contact Lacey at the real_sedeara@yahoo.com.

Feb 19, (mid-month Wednesday) Open Fiction and Poetry group. 6 - 8 pm, Pepper McGregor's Coffeehouse & Cafe, 4721 E. Superior St. Contact Jill Hinners at 525 1463 or Cheryl Reitan at 728-3154.

***SMALL WRITING GROUPS

Writing is an extremely personal activity and often times a small group works best for giving support and critique. Several LSW groups meet regularly. When established groups have openings, we will list the contact people in this space. Call to arrange a meeting with the contact person to see if your work and style will be a good fit.

A Creative Prose group may have an opening. Contact Sheila Packa, 279-3549, spacka@juno.com

Fiction group may have an opening. Contact Kathy Leino, kayemhills@netscape.net, 724-4822

***ABOUT FACILITATING A GROUP

If you wish to start your own group, contact Mara Hart at mhart2@d.umn.edu for guidelines and help.

Do you like to write non-fiction? Plays? Journals? Would you like to discuss your work with other others writing in the same genre? LSW is looking for one or two people to facilitate a non-fiction/essay/ or scriptwriting group. Interested? Contact Mara Hart at mhart2@d.umn.edu.

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***NEWS/CONTESTS/SUBMISSIONS

CSS POETRY CONTEST for high school seniors! The College of St. Scholastica announces the deadline March 1 for its first annual poetry contest. Send up to three poems (typed, hard copy only) to Nancy Fitzgerald, English Department, CSS, 1200 Kenwood, Duluth, Mn 55811-4199. First prize: $500 cash or $2000 scholarship to CSS. Second prize: $250 cash or $1,000 scholarship to CSS. Include e-mail and street address. Manuscripts will not be returned.

SMALL TOWN USA. Small towns evoke a special tranquility that lends itself to story telling and sharing. Small Town USA publishes collections of stories and pictures about small town life across America. Contribute a story for Small Town USA's next book. For information see: http://smalltownusa.net/ or contact Devon LaHar, editor, devon@smalltownusa.net and Richard Barrett, publisher, richard@smalltownusa.net.

FREELANCE WRITER NEEDED Deborah Peterson is looking for a freelance writer to work with in regards to a court story. Her number: 722-2241.

NORTH COAST: Submit poetry to the North Coast Review. Poets residing in MN, WI, NP and the UP, send 3 - 6 pages with SASE and brief bio to Poetry Harbor, P.O. Box 103, Duluth, MN 55801. (Name and address on all pages) Always reading, 218-525-1854.

MN LIT: Minnesota Literature wants essays, up to 900 words, that express opinions on literary issues and questions, or profile interesting events or personalities. Payment $50. Minnesota Literature, 1387 Berkeley Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55105, 651-698-3059; or mnlit@aol.com. Minnesota Literature is a statewide, monthly newsletter ($10/10 issues) that provides the literary community with information about workshops, residencies, new publications, grants, awards, contests, and a monthly calendar of readings.

THE PEDESTAL Magazine is currently accepting submissions of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. For info and to read the work of contributors, including Sharon Olds, Michael McClure, Susan Ludvigson, Thomas Lux, and Maxine Kumin see www.thepedestalmagazine.com

OUT OF THE HAT PLAYS needs script writers! Renegade Comedy Theatre needs 8-10 writers, 8-10 directors, and a slew of actors for one-act scripts that are written, directed and performed in 24 hours. The tentative performance dates are May 2 & 3, 2003. * Here's how it works: Thursday evening, each writer gets a who, what, where and then writes a ten to fifteen minute one act play based on those suggestions before the next morning. On Friday morning, each director chooses a script from a hat and then draws names of actors until his or her script is cast. Friday evening, the doors open and 8-10 world premieres are staged! After the shows are complete, the audience provides new suggestions and the whole process starts all over again for a Saturday night show. For info on how to get involved, contact Brian Matuszak, Executive Producer, Renegade Comedy Theatre, matuszak3@msn.com.

RIVER OF WORDS student poetry and art contest. Sponsored by the Center for the Book, this national contest helps create watershed and environmental awareness through the arts. Deadline Feb 15. For info, go to www.riverofwords.org.

MONEY FOR CLASSROOMS 1: The Minnesota Reading Association awards up to $1000 to school and/or community literacy programs and events. Grants can be used to pay for author visits, workshops, storytelling and other book-related events. Deadline is May 1. More information and application forms available at www.mnreading.org

MONEY FOR CLASSROOMS 2: The Arrowhead Reading Council awards up to $200 locally in the Duluth region for similar reading/writing projects. Deadline is March 1. Contact Jan Chronister at chron@cheqnet.net for more information.

VIETNOW IS looking for a few good writers who can write from a positive point of view about things of interest to Vietnam veterans and their families. You don't have to be a veteran. VietNow National Magazine, P.O. Box 736, Pine Island, MN 55963. Writer's guidelines: www.vietnow.com/magazine.htm

SPEAKEASY: First Annual Prize in Poetry & Prose — a national award sponsored by The Loft Literary Center. Winners will receive $1,000 awards in each category, along with publication in Speakeasy. Entry fees: $10 for members / $15 for nonmembers; deadline: Feb 15. The final judges are Naomi Shihab Nye, author of the poetry collections _Red Suitcase_ and _Fuel_. And Sven Birkerts, author of _The Gutenberg Elegies_ and _My Sky Blue Trades_. The Loft Literary Center, Open Book, Suite 200, 1011 Washington Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55415, www.speakeasymagazine.org.

KUMQUAT Meringue is a strange acorn of poetry dedicated to the memory of Richard Brautigan. Send your quirky minutiae of love, sex, syrup, life, and death. If there's a connection to Richard Brautigan, so much the better. Sample: $6. Three issue subscription: $12. P.O. Box 736, Pine Island, MN 55963.

POETRY MOTEL is seeking poetry submissions for its magazine and Wallpaper, a broadside series. Send 3–6 pages, sase, brief bio. No deadline. Prefer work under one page. For a copy of the latest Poetry Motel include $7.95. Submit to Poetry Motel, P.O. Box 103, Duluth, MN 55801.

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***RESIDENCIES

ANDERSON CENTER for Interdisciplinary Studies, PO Box 406, Red Wing, MN 55066 (651) 388-2009. Deadline March 1 for 2003 season. Residencies of 2 weeks to one month from May to October. Room, workspace, and board provided. Residents provide community service. Open to literary artists, visual artists; scientists, and humanists. E-mail: acis@pressenter.com, Website: www.AndersonCenter.org

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***LSW NEWS!

WRITE IN THE LSW OFFICE ---The board of Lake Superior Writers is seeking applications by members who need a room of their own in which to write. For a nominal fee, you would be able to use our quiet, well-furnished office space. Please call 722-3094.

THE LSW ANTHOLOGY, "Between Stone and Flesh," contains twenty LSW poetry and prose writers. To purchase this book, which is available to LSW members for $8, or to find out more about our contest, contact Jim at 724 1653.

We have two e-mail addresses: writers@lakesuperiorwriters.org
and a special e-mail for this calendar at calendar@lakesuperiorwriters.org

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***ABOUT THE LSW CALENDAR

THIS CALENDAR is a benefit of your membership in Lake Superior Writers.

We are a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting the literary arts. We welcome information from you regarding events, classes, kudos or announcements to be included in upcoming calendars.We reserve the right to edit all submissions.

TELL US ABOUT IT! Have you just been published? Received a grant or an award? Let us know! We love to celebrate the successes of the members of our writing community. E-mail your news items to calendar@lakesuperiorwriters.org.

SEND CALENDAR ITEMS to calendar@lakesuperiorwriters.org by the third Friday of the month. Include date, time, location, brief description and contact person. Be sure to include "LSW Calendar" in your subject line.

LSW MISSION: to foster writing communities, to provide an audience for literature, and to further the artistic development of writers through workshops, readings, and publications.