Creative Writing Program is turning pages, turning heads

By Kevin Hyde

Relaxed in t-shirt and shorts, novelist Brian Leung sits in the sun at an open-front restaurant in the Crescent Hill neighborhood of Louisville. It’s Derby Week. The early evening is clear and warm, and the place is bustling. Between bites from a bowl of thick, Texas-style chili and sips on an icy beverage, Leung is deliberate and contemplative as he answers questions about the Creative Writing Program at the University of Louisville, a program he has directed for the past two years.

“I guess the most important thing I want people to know about us is that the courses—all of the programming, really—are designed first and foremost to be in service of students. In everything we do, we’re consciously asking ourselves, ‘What will be useful to students?’ ”

What Leung and his fellow faculty of fiction writers and poets have developed is a unique, vibrant array of opportunities for their students. Not only can they take engaging, challenging undergraduate and graduate courses in poetry, fiction, drama and creative nonfiction, but they get the chance to interact with important writers from throughout the country, to compete for lucrative scholarships and interesting awards, to benefit from the Louisville’s vigorous literary scene, and, hopefully, to find their own voice in the conversation of ideas.

Focus on Students

For undergraduates, UofL’s Creative Writing Program offers introductory to advanced courses, with several covering special, constantly changing topics. At the graduate level, the program culminates with an English master’s degree—thesis or culminating project—with a focus in creative writing. The work includes a range of courses, including graduate level creative writing workshops.

“Our department faculty made the decision to focus on undergraduate and master’s students,” Leung says, “and explicitly decided not to go the MFA [master’s in fine art] route.”

All students in the Creative Writing Program—undergrad or graduate—get the chance to interact with some of the most important contemporary writers, poets and playwrights in the country, even participating in master classes with them through the Anne & William Axton reading series. Established in 1999 with a gift from the late William Axton (a former UofL English professor) and his wife, the late Anne, the series brings in renowned writers from across the country to campus for two-day visits to read from their work, and then share their knowledge and expertise.

“A visit usually includes a public reading by the writer followed by a Q&A on the first day,” Leung says. “The next morning, they conduct a master class where some selected student work is read and critiqued. It’s an invaluable opportunity for our students.”

It is also a wonderful resource for the local community. Both events are free, and the public is encouraged to attend. The reading series is just one of many ways the Creative Writing Program collaborates with the local literary community, tying several of its events with those of outside non-profit organizations like the Louisville Literary Arts (LLA).

The list of Axton Reading Series writers, who are chosen through a process Leung calls “kind vetting,” is impressive. Previous seasons have included Tobias Wolff, Terrance Hayes, Junot Diaz, Brian Teare, Robert Pinsky, Charles Wright, Nathaniel Mackey, Susan Minot, Mary Karr, Stephen Dobyns, Colson Whitehead, Robin Lippincott, Robert Hass, Silas House, Beverly Lowry, George Saunders, Louise Glück and more.

“The poet Richard Blanco was here about five years ago,” Leung says. “That was long before his recent fame as Obama’s inaugural poet.”

He adds: “What we try to do is bring in a class of writers who are in conversation with the world of ideas, and who we know will serve our students best.”

This past semester, the series included three excellent writers: Hannah Tinti, whose short story collection, Animal Crackers, has sold in 16 countries and was runner-up for the PEN/Hemingway award; Claire Vaye Watkins, whose stories and essays have appeared in Granta, One Story, The Paris Review and more; and Lynnell Major Edwards, author of three collections of poetry, most recently Covet (October, 2011), and also The Farmer’s Daughter (2003) and The Highwayman’s Wife (2007).

Among the writers on tap for this coming fall semester’s series is the poet Tony Hoagland, whose collection What Does Narcissism Mean to Me was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, and noted southern novelist Tim Gautreaux, author of the novel, The Missing in addition to many other books of fiction. Gautreaux’s reading and Q&A on Oct. 10 at the downtown Cressman Center for Visual Arts will also be part of LLA’s annual Writer’s Block Festival in Louisville’s NULU neighborhood.

World-Class Faculty

“Every year since I’ve been here, at least one of us has published a book,” Leung says. “Not to mention the numerous individual poems and prose pieces.”

But students in the Creative Writing Program don’t have to rely on visitors to campus. They have as their mentors a remarkable group of active, committed faculty who are working, producing writers and poets at or near the top of their game.

“Every year since I’ve been here, at least one of us has published a book,” Leung says. “Not to mention the numerous individual poems and prose pieces.”

Leung is the author of the short story collection, World Famous Love Acts (Sarabande), winner of the Mary McCarthy Award for short fiction and The Asian American Literary Award for Fiction. His novels are Lost Men (Random House) and Take Me Home (Harper/Collins), which won the 2011 Willa Award for Historical Fiction. His fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction appear in numerous magazines and journals. In 2012 he won a Lambda Literary Foundation Award for a Mid-career Novelist.

The professional bios of Leung’s colleagues are equally impressive and too long to include here in their entirety. Full bios: http://louisville.edu/english/creative-writing/faculty-biographies.html

Paul Griner, a former Fulbright Scholar, is the author of the short story collection Follow Me and the novels Collectors and The German Woman. He is the recipient of UofL’s Outstanding Teaching Awards at both the college and university levels as well as well as the Graduate School’s Outstanding Mentor Award.

Kiki Petrosino’s publications include a collection of poems, Fort Red Border and a chapbook, The Dark is Here. Her poems have appeared, or are forthcoming, in The New York Times, Tin House, Jubilat, Gulf Coast, Harvard Review and elsewhere. Along with a colleague, she co-edits Transom, an electronic poetry journal (http://www.transomjournal.com). Her latest collection of poems will be released from Sarabande in 2013.

Jeffrey Skinner’s collection of poetry Glaciology will be published in 2013. His prose book, The 6.5 Practices of Moderately Successful Poets: A Self-help Memoir, was published in 2012 by Sarabande Books. He has published five previous collections of poetry: Late Stars, A Guide to Forgetting (a winner in the 1987 National Poetry series), The Company of Heaven, Gender Studies and Salt Water Amnesia. He has written an informal text on creative writing for high school students, Real Toads in Imaginary Gardens , and, with the poet Sarah Gorham, edited an anthology, Last Call: Poems on Alcoholism, Addiction, & Deliverance.

Bronwyn T. Williams writes and teaches creative nonfiction as well as courses in rhetoric and composition (and is no relation to the romance novelist who uses his name as a pseudonym). All of his writing, including his research, involves elements of creative nonfiction. He has published essays on creative nonfiction in several journals and anthologies, including the forthcoming Blackwell Companion to Creative Writing. He is also on the editorial board of New Writing: The International Journal for the Practice and Theory of Creative Writing.

Creative Writing Program Writer in Residence, Sena Jeter Naslund, is the best-selling author of Ahab’s Wife, or the Star Gazer. The Birmingham, Ala., native received her master’s and doctorate degrees from the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Her recent works include Abundance, A Novel of Marie Antoinette (2006) and Adam & Eve (2010). She is the author of the novels Four Spirits, Ice Skating at the North Pole, The Animal Way to Love, Sherlock in Love and the short-story collection The Disobedience of Water. She has a novel due to be published in fall, 2013.

In 1980 she was appointed UofL’s first Distinguished Teaching Professor, and in 2000 she received the President's Award for Distinguished Creative Activity. She is editor of the literary magazine The Louisville Review, which she founded in 1976. She is a recipient of the Harper Lee Award and the former poet laureate of Kentucky.

Contests

The Creative Writing Program also promotes popular writing contests that draw submissions internationally and from throughout the region, including the Calvino Prize and the Kentuckiana Metroversity Writing Competition.

The Calvino Prize is an annual fiction competition that awards outstanding pieces in the fabulist, experimental style of Italo Calvino (1923-1985). The prizes are meant to encourage experimental writing “in the mode of Calvino,” Leung emphasizes.

“They’re not meant to encourage merely imitative work,” he says. “Every year we submissions from countries across the globe.”

First place is $1,500 and publication in the Salt Hill Journal of Syracuse University. Second place is $300. The winner is also invited to read the winning entry at the Louisville Conference on Literature and Culture Since 1900, which is held at UofL every February. Like the Axton Reading series, this writing contest is supported by a generous and committed donor.

“This kind of generous spirit is so important to a thriving creative writing program,” Leung says.

Another writing competition promoted by the program—Kentuckiana Metroversity—is open to any student registered during the academic year in one or more classes at a Metroversity institution. The categories are poetry, short fiction and academic writing along with themed categories for creative non-fiction and an international category. Prizes are typically $200 for first place; $100 for second place in the various categories.

Sense of Place

Leung, a California native who grew up in San Diego County, says the Creative Writing Program’s success can be credited to many factors: devoted faculty, passionate students and just enough community support from this weird city to keep things … interesting. Leung sometimes heads out to the Churchill Downs, and when he’s there he likes to write, treatingthe 30-minute break between races like intensely concentrated writing sessions.

Sitting in the sun at the restaurant last week, with those special Derby vibrations creeping in, he conceded: “This is one of the best places to live the writer’s life.”

He didn’t raise his drink … but he should have.

The A&S Research Office can help! If you have a research idea, we can help you at any or all stages to develop the idea, find a potential sponsor, assist in writing the proposal, develop your budget, fill out the paperwork required by U of L and the sponsor, make sure everything is done properly, and get it in for institutional review by the U of L deadline. Our goal is your success.

Dr. Robert Buchanan, Associate Dean of Research in Arts & Sciences, is a full professor in the chemistry department with many years of experience in securing funding for his research program as well as assisting others to obtain research funding. Diane Penrod, Research Manager, works with Dr. Buchanan processing PCFs and provides expertise on budgeting issues when needed, especially on indirect cost and faculty effort calculations. She also serves as the Unit Business Manager Senior for the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, and is the primary contact for A&S UBMs with grant-related questions. Teresa Wilkins and Susanna Cornett are Grant Manager Specialists; Teresa focuses on the natural sciences, and Susanna on the arts, humanities, and social sciences. Both can help with developing ideas, writing proposals, ensuring compliance with grant guidelines and university requirements, building budgets, and completing the paperwork for submissions. Both can also help you find possible funders! Holly Hogue, Administrative Specialist, works with Dr. Buchanan on PCFs, develops the website, and generally handles the administration of the Research Office.

You can find us in Gardiner Hall, Suite 320. You can email us at asresoff@louisville.edu.

The A&S Research Office provides support for A&S Faculty at all stages of the funding process. Pictured (from left): Theresa Wilkins, Diane Penrod, Dr. Robert Buchanan, Holly Hogue, and Susanna Cornett

Jasmine Farrier grew up in Brooklyn, New York, and developed her interest in political science as an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In graduate school, she studied American political development at the University of Texas at Austin and received her Ph.D. in Government in 2000. She was a post-doctoral fellow with the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia from 2000-2001. In 2002, Farrier joined the Dept. of Political Science at the University of Louisville.  Her current research includes a new book project on inter-branch lawsuits, separation of powers, and constitutional law.

Kiki Petrosino, assistant professor of English, for her proposal, “Moby Dick as Anthology."

“I would love to take this course myself, since it deliberately pulls students from all disciplines in an interactive format,” said one judge.

Kiki Petrosino’s publications include a collection of poems, Fort Red Border (Sarabande) and a chapbook, The Dark is Here (Forkift Ink).Her poems have appeared, or are forthcoming, in The New York Times, Tin House, Jubilat, Gulf Coast, Harvard Review, and elsewhere. Along with a colleague, she co-edits Transom, an electronic poetry journal (http://www.transomjournal.com). Petrosino holds graduate degrees from the University of Chicago and the Iowa Writers' Workshop. She has been awarded two staff scholarships from the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference and a post-graduate writing fellowship from the University of Iowa. Her latest collection of poems will be released from Sarabande in 2013.

Sherri Wallace, associate professor of political science, for “Using Community Based Learning Methods to Teach Diversity Politics and Policy.”

The judges were impressed by “the project-based CBL component and its incorporation into this capstone for seniors.”

Dr.  Sherri L. Wallace is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Louisville. She is a native of North Little Rock, Arkansas where she earned her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Encouraged to apply for the American Political Science Association’s (APSA) Annual Ralph Bunche Institute for Black Scholars, she became one of twenty-five national undergraduate recipients in the summer of 1988, to research issues on African American Politics at the Louisiana State University and Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  It was there that she discovered her love for academia and research questions dealing with African Americans and community economic development issues.   Also in 1989, she received recognition as an American Political Science Association Minority Graduate Fellow.  In 1993, she received the competitive President’s Council for Cornell Women Fellowship to conduct her dissertation research on “Minority Participation in the Philadelphia Enterprise Zone Program” under her dissertation chair, Dr. Theodore J. Lowi, the renowned J.L. Senior Professor of American Institutions. She graduated in 1995 from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York where she earned both her Master of Arts and Ph.D. in Government.

Carrye Wilkins and Cathy Leist, representing REACH and Undergraduate Affairs, for “Proposal for Special Topics in College Mathematics: GEN 104.”

“This course emphasizes competency and attempts to restructure mathematics curriculum for students who may need the most assistance,” said one judge. “My own institution faces similar challenges and has instituted similar measures, so I’m empathetic to this situation and admire this potential solution.”

Besides UofL, Kentuckiana Metroversity member institutions are Bellarmine University, Indiana University Southeast, Jefferson Community and Technical College, Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and Spalding University.

Jeffrey Skinner’s collection of poetry, Glaciology will be published in 2013 by Southern Illinois University Press.  His prose book, The 6.5 Practices of Moderately Successful Poets: A Self-help Memoir, was published in 2012 by Sarabande Books. His poems have appeared in many magazines, including The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The Nation, and The Georgia, Iowa, and Paris Reviews.

Skinner’s writing has gathered awards from such sources as the National Endowment for the Arts (2 NEA Individual Artists Fellowships), the Ingram Merrill Foundation, the Howard Foundation, and the state arts agencies of Connecticut, Delaware, and Kentucky.  Three of his plays have been finalists in the Eugene O’Neill Theater Conference competition, He has been awarded residencies at Yaddo, McDowell and the Fine Arts Center in Provincetown.  Skinner has been Poet-in-Residence at the Robert Frost House, the Arts Festival of Ireland, and the James Merrill House.

Creative Writing Program Faculty Bio

Officials will launch the revamped J. Blaine Hudson Saturday Academy with a special program May 18 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the traditional academy location, DuValle Education Center, 3610 Bohne Ave., in western Louisville.

UofL and community representatives, including Jefferson County Public Schools Superintendent Donna Hargens, will speak at 11 a.m.; then at noon journalist-speaker Betty Baye will conduct “A Conversation from Back in the Day” with physician Bob Martin, Hudson’s friend and fellow activist from their time together as UofL students.  A light meal will follow at 1 p.m. with an open microphone for attendees to share their thoughts about the Saturday Academy and Hudson.

Hudson, who died Jan. 5 at age 63, was a longtime history and Pan-African studies faculty member and was dean of UofL’s College of Arts and Sciences from 2005 to 2012. He had been chair of the Kentucky African American Heritage Commission and was author of two books about the underground railroad and co-author of a recent photographic history of black Louisville. Hudson spent most Saturday mornings teaching black history at the Saturday Academy, which UofL operated in partnership with other community groups.

The J.B. Hudson Saturday Academy will resume its regular midday September-May operations this fall under the direction of UofL’s Pan-African studies department, according to Theresa Rajack-Talley, the department chair. Jefferson County Public Schools will continue as a community partner.

"No one knows exactly what was in Blaine’s mind but he knew that PAS was the most appropriate nest to situate the Academy," Rajack-Talley said. "Outreach has always been an integral part of this department as it keeps us grounded from whence we came and why we are here.  Over the years PAS have been a significant partner with the Saturday Academy and now we are privileged to be its custodian.  The department is committed to keep it safe, grow its programs, and maintain its focus and integrity. We will work with past partners knowing that Blaine will always direct it."

"In an era where perspectives on history are omitted, misrepresented or revised, the Saturday Academy serves as an enlightening alternative." - J.Blaine Hudson

The goal in Hudson's words: “to grow the Saturday Academy into a permanent community-based Institute. In an era where perspectives on history are omitted, misrepresented or revised, the Saturday Academy serves as an enlightening alternative.”  Join us as we launch the new “J. Blaine Hudson Saturday Academy” and celebrate the department’s 40th anniversary and commitment to community outreach. We ask for your support in making the Academy a sustainable reality.

The free, public sessions on black history, issues and culture are geared to high school students and adults. The 11 a.m.-2 p.m. sessions open with a history lesson and then shift to current topical issues with invited panelists from UofL and the community.

For more information, contact Rajack-Talley at 502-852-4192 or tatall01@louisville.edu

In 2012 he earned an internship as a Henry Clay Intern, awarded from the Kentucky Society of Washington for a summer in D.C. where he worked in the Office of Senator Mitch McConnell. He spent Fall 2012 studying European politics at Kings College London.

On campus, Shepherd is an active member of the Student Orientation Staff (SOS), as well as being one of the founding members of the re-chartered Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity (AΦA). He is also active in the SGA, having served as Senator, Assistant to the President, and Assistant to the Political Director. His service to the community includes Go-to-High School Go-to-College, the African American Male Initiative, and Collegiate 100.

“Evan is extraordinary in so many ways,” said Patricia Condon, who directs UofL’s Office of National and International Scholarship Opportunities. “He’s a top scholar, leader and activist who has worked hard his entire life and impresses everyone with his humility and purity of spirit.”

Ten UofL students have been Truman Scholars since 1977, the year the national program was launched, and Shepherd is the only 2013 scholar from Kentucky, Condon said.

For more information, contact Condon at 502-852-0024.

The awards, which honor a sustained commitment to improving the quality of life of community citizens and students, salute volunteers and professionals whose civic engagement and social responsibility extend beyond their expected service.

Recipients were:

• Diane Whitlock, community volunteer and assistant to the UofL vice provost for diversity and international affairs. She has volunteered for the Healing Place and was instrumental in starting the lecture series.

• Eboni Neal Cochran, environmental activist in the Rubbertown area and founder of the West Louisville Math & Science Project Inc.

• Tom Moffett, community and civil rights activist; member of the Kentucky Alliance against Racist and Political Repression.

• Ruth Bryant, civil rights activist, especially in the area of affordable housing, was honored posthumously. Her daughter, Metro Councilwoman Cheri Bryant Hamilton, received the award.

The new awards program marks the 10th anniversary of the UofL/Yearlings Club discussion series, which runs monthly during the regular school year at the club. The series seeks to bring university faculty members and residents together to share expertise, discuss issues and forge bonds.

The Yearlings Club, established in 1951, is devoted to promoting civic responsibility, community service and leadership development.

Acting Director Tiffany Dillard-Knox received the national Female Coach of the Year award.

Watch online at http://youtu.be/gIBwvrBekOc

Our Anne Braden Institute for Social Justice Research designed, created and recently revised the tour, which is offered with three partner organizations: the Kentucky Center for African American Heritage, the Muhammad Ali Center and the Louisville Convention and Visitors Bureau. 

The civil rights history tour features 22 stops, including UofL’s Freedom Park, the Muhammad Ali Center and the boxer’s boyhood home, activists’ homesites, churches, schools and the Fourth Street section that was the scene of mass protests for open accommodations in 1961.

The self-guided tour includes a driving map and a pullout walking map for the downtown Louisville sites, with QR codes, readable with a smartphone, that give access to additional historical information. 

The tour map is available online at http://anne-braden.org/civil-rights-driving-tour-map/

The brochure also is available at:

• Anne Braden Institute, Room 258, Ekstrom Library;
• Muhammad Ali Center, 144 N. Sixth St.;
• Louisville Convention and Visitors Bureau, 301 S. Fourth St.;
• Kentucky Center for African American Heritage, 1701 W. Muhammad Ali Blvd. 

For more information on the driving tour, contact Cate Fosl, institute director and associate professor in the College of Arts and Sciences, at 502-852-2944 or check www.louisville.edu/braden.

See:

Midwest Peace Corps Volunteers

Students in grades 4-6  can experience a taste of college this summer thanks to a partnership between A&S and Louisville's Jewish Community Center (JCC). Two of the JCC daytime summer camps will be held on the UofL campus with instruction by A&S graduate students. The camps are offered to students in grades 4-6 and will be held July 22-26. All campers will participate in free swim at the JCC daily along with bus service between JCC and Belknap campus.

University of Louisville employees will receive a 10% discount for the two camps being held at UofL:

UofL Young Astronomer's Camp

This five-day adventure to the stars begins right here on planet Earth. Through hands-on activities and planetarium shows, campers will make their way through the Universe, investigating the moon, sun, planets, stars, galaxies, and more. They will learn about human space flight, how scientists discover what’s really out there, and how to navigate the night sky from their own backyard. Matt Nichols, graduate student in Physics, will lead the camp.

UofL Creative Writer's Camp

This camp, led by English graduate student Harley Ferris, will dive into creative writing, exploring the elements of fiction and poetry in fun and sometimes challenging ways. Through reading, writing, and discussion, campers will consider how stories and poems work while creating several of their own. At the end of the week, they will combine their creations into a camp anthology to share with friends and family.

For information on JCC Summer Camps and to register, please contact the JCC Camp Office directly at (502) 459-0660. NOTE: please indicate that you are a UofL employee when registering to receive the 10% discount. More: JCC Summer Camps 2013 (external link).

About the Camp Collaboration

This collaboration was proposed by A&S while exploring ways to accomplish several goals:

• address the issue of underutilized space during the summer months
• provide more instructional opportunities and funds for our graduate students
• Increase visibility and awareness in the community -- particularly among local youths -- of the cultural and educational offerings at UofL

The JCC's well-respected and well-attended summer day camp program provided a unique opportunity to accomplish these goals while building upon an existing partnership. The summer camp pilot program is the latest of several collaborative efforts between A&S and JCC, a charter member of our Center for Arts and Culture Partnerships.

If these two camps prove to be successful, the college hopes to provide additional opportunities in the future covering a wider range of A&S disciplines, according to A&S Interim Dean John Ferré.

JCC Summer Camps 2013

The team earned their bid based on their fifth place finish at the Sectional Tournament held at UT-Knoxville, where they went 9-4, including wins over Western Kentucky (535-170) and Kentucky (475-205). In the post Sectional Rankings, U of L was ranked 17^th and earned their championship bid ahead of teams from several high profile programs including UC Berkeley, Michigan, Amherst, Notre Dame, Vassar, and Toronto.

The ICT tournament will take place on April 12-13, 2013.

Best of luck to the team:

• Austin Brownlow - Computer and Electrical Engineering major
• Emma Johnson - English, French, and Humanities majors
• Ann-Claude Rakotoniaina - Biology major
• Matt Robeson - Chemical Engineering major
• Megan Seldon - English and Humanities major
• Coaches Matt Church and Eddie Bobbitt.