From Gemini Ink:
Summer Literary Festival: What Would Nature Do?
July 9-25, 2010ONGOING REGISTRATION
Registration for summer classes at Gemini Ink runs through July. Visit
www.geminiink.org for more information.
Summer Literary Festival
July 9-25, 2010Gemini Ink’s 2010 Summer Literary Festival focuses on biomimicry, which according to the Biomimicry Institute is “the science and art of emulating nature’s best biological ideas to solve human problems.” There has always been a bond between the natural world and the arts, a symbiotic relationship in which nature serves as conduit for artistic expression, and the artist works to preserve nature’s beauty and utility. Gemini Ink will celebrate artists focusing their work on the “green” age during our 2010 Summer Literary Festival, “What Would Nature Do?” Join us as we showcase a diverse group of writers, artists, and activists through the lens of the environment. The festival will feature workshops and readings with Joe Nick Patoski, Shin Yu Pai, Sherwin Bitsui, Mobi Warren, Lyle Rosdahl, and more. Our always popular, Young Writers Camp, with instructors Derek Delgado and Donna Peacock, will guide students as they nurture and celebrate their perspective and voice. And, in late July, our successful collaboration with Artpace continues with 2 to Watch, which will pair poet Trey Moore and artist/musician Ken Little together for a spirited demonstration and discussion.
CLASSESFICTION
#1 Structural Biomimicry in Short ProseLevel: All
Instructor: Lyle Rosdahl
Structure in nature weaves beauty and complexity into our world, why not in our writing as well? Come explore how nature, through biomimicry, can inspire not only content and form in short prose writing (flash fiction and cross-genre short prose), but structure. Prepare to stretch your imagination and the limits of your writing. The class will consist of discussion, in-class writing, in-class reading and collaborative creation. We will look at a variety of reading and visual materials both in class and online. Bring your laptop, or some paper and a pen and your insatiable desire for life, nature and writing.
Date: Monday – Thursday, July 12 – July 15; 7 – 9pm
Limit: 12 Participants
Registration Deadline: Friday, July 9
CPE Credits: 6 Language Arts
Fee: $99
POETRY#2 Poetry In Motion
Level: All
Instructor: Sherwin Bitsui
In Navajo language and thought, the world and universe are constantly in motion. This workshop will explore Navajo traditional and contemporary poetic works in an attempt to create a poem or the beginnings of a body of work that is informed by indigenous sensibilities of time and space. Utilizing indigenous perspective, participants will write into the formations of the land’s language by following the shapes and dimensions of places that speak to them.
Date: Saturday, July 10, 9am – noon
Limit: 12 Participants
Registration Deadline: Wednesday, July 7
CPE Credits: 3 Language Arts
Fee: $81
#3 The Exquisite Eye: A Poetry Workshop
Level: All
Instructor: Shin Yu Pai
This workshop will focus on ekphrastic poetry, writing inspired by the visual arts. We will look at various models that deploy a range of strategies including descriptive illustration, the poem as interpretive occasion, and ekphrasis as a critical meditation. We’ll read poets with ties to the Southwest including Carol Moldaw, Arthur Sze, and Miriam Sagan. Participants will sharpen their powers of observation and try their hand at writing poems based on photographic images from the Wittliff Collections’ Southwestern and Mexican Photography Collection. In keeping with the theme of environment and landscape, we will contemplate images of place, drawing inspiration from images composed by children from Mineral de Pozos, Guanajuato, to anonymous photographers documenting la zona de tolerancia in the red light districts of Mexican bordertowns, to Graciela Iturbide’s images of quotidian life in Juchitán, Oaxaca.
Date: Saturday, July 24, 9am - noon
Limit: 12 Participants
Registration Deadline: Wednesday, July 21
CPE Credits: 3 Language Arts
Fee: $81
#4 An Intense Exploration of Writing about Nature
Level: All
Instructor: Joe Nick Patoski
Over the course of four hours the class will cover what nature writing is and isn’t, how to effectively communicate ideas, concepts, and issues concerning the natural world through the use of words as opposed to images, and the various motivations behind nature writing. We will also explore who the audiences are, the use of nature writing to win hearts and minds, and what exactly constitutes great nature writing. The class will consist of lecture, discussion, and writing and reading.
Date: Friday, July 9, noon – 4pm (short break included)
Limit: 12 Participants
Registration Deadline: Wednesday, July 7
Required Materials: Students should bring pen and paper, laptop, and an article, book, or collection of their favorite nature writing. They should be prepared to read a passage and discuss it as means of explaining why the writing is so compelling.
Recommended Reading: For those lacking a background in nature writing, the following books are suggested – Walden by Henry David Thoreau, A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold, Desert Solitaire and Monkey Wrench Gang by Edward Abbey, Into the Wild and Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer, The Springs of Texas by Gunnar Brune and Helen Besse
CPE Credits: 4 Language Arts
Fee: $90
MULTI-GENRE#5 Getting Published Despite the Economy
Level: Intermediate and above
Instructor: Marcela Landres
Getting published is never easy, but the current economic climate offers additional challenges—and opportunities. In this workshop, you will learn: why debut writers are more valuable than published authors; what agents and editors are looking for more than ever; and the one trait that will ensure publication (hint: it’s not about the writing).
Date: Saturday, July 17, 9am - noon
Limit: 35 Participants
Registration Deadline: Wednesday, July 14
Fee: $45
#6 Private Appointments with Editorial Consultant
Level: Intermediate and above
Instructor: Marcela Landres
The first 20 writers to register and send a manuscript will each receive a 20-minute private consultation with editorial consultant Marcela Landres, who will offer professional suggestions and advice for each writer.
Date: Saturday, July 17; 1 – 8pm
Limit: 20 Participants
Registration Deadline: Wednesday, July 14
Required Manuscript: By the registration deadline, submit a writing sample of up to 10 double-spaced pages of prose. Please include your name, mailing address, phone number and e-mail address on the first page of your manuscript. Note: poetry and children’s books are not eligible.
Fee: $45
SCREENWRITING#7 Writing Treatments for Documentaries
Level: Intermediate
Instructor: Doug Hawes-Davis
You never know what a camera might catch when the script is thrown out! While this is the thrilling part of filming a documentary, it can also prove to be an impediment in the planning process. However, a solid treatment or outline will provide the framework necessary to bring your vision to fruition. Join producer and director of the award-winning documentary Libby, Montana, Doug Hawes-Davis, as he offers advice and guidance on writing treatments for documentaries. Students are encouraged to bring their ideas, outlines, and “films-in-progress” to be workshopped and refined in class.
Date: Saturday, July 17, noon – 4pm (short break included)
Limit: 12 Participants
Registration Deadline: Wednesday, July 14
CPE Credits: 3 Language Arts
Fee: $81
LIFELONG LEARNING#8 North American Indians: Spiritual and Physical Survival Through Nature
Level: All
Instructor: Marian Aitches
Have you ever wondered how indigenous people managed to thrive on this continent for thousands of years in balance with the earth and her resources? This course will introduce fundamental principles of respect for the natural world such as mimicry of natural forms, seasonal rounds, reciprocity, sustainability, and natural law. Students will experience lecture, documentary film, and discussion of readings provided. We will also workshop our writing (poetry and prose), focusing on ways we can regain balance through cooperative and generative work.
Date: Sunday, July 18, 1pm – 5pm (short break included)
Limit: 12 Participants
Registration Deadline: Wednesday, July 14
CPE Credits: 4 Language Arts
Fee: $45
#9 Dawn and Dusk: Crepuscular Writing
Level: All
Instructor: Mobi Warren
Certain mammals are most active at the crepuscular hours, dawn and dusk, when the soft blurring of light provides protection from predators. We will explore the crepuscular nuances, shadows and lights, in our own voices while exploring the trails of Government Canyon State Natural Area. This workshop combines 4-5 miles of hiking with journaling. We will meet at the Government Canyon Visitor’s Center on Sunday and Monday, and then gather at Gemini Ink on Tuesday to craft journal entries into poems.
Dates: Sunday, July 18th, 7am – 10am at Government Canyon State Natural Area, 12861 Galm Rd. San Antonio, TX 78254, Monday, July 19, 7pm – 10pm at same location, Tuesday, July 20, 1pm – 3pm at Gemini Ink
Limit: 12 Participants
Registration Deadline: Friday, July 16
Required Materials: $6.00 per day entry fee for Government Canyon, a journal to write in, a quart of water with a snack, wear sturdy walking shoes or hiking boots, a flashlight
CPE Credits: 6 Language Arts
Fee: $85
#10 Madroño Ranch Seminar
Instructors: Martin Kohout and Heather Catto Kohout
Where is the intersection of place and creativity? Of community and creativity? Solitude and creativity? These are the questions we ask in our efforts to open Madroño Ranch: A Center for Writing and the Environment in the heart of the Texas Hill Country, which we hope will combine humane ranching, organic farming, and ethical hunting, with a creative space. Join us for a discussion of what makes an artists’ community flourish in a rural setting. Time for lively talk and
writing will be included.
Date: Saturday, July 10, 9am – 1pm (short break included)
Limit: 20 Paticipants
Registration Deadline: Wednesday, July 7
Fee: $45
YOUNG WRITERS CAMP
How Does Your Story Grow?
Instructors: Derek Delgado and Donna Peacock
How does a caterpillar know when to spin a cocoon, a seed to pull itself from the earth towards the sun? From childhood tales of “Jack and the Beanstalk” and The Wind in the Willows, to classics of Twain and Melville, the poetry of Emily Dickinson and Robert Frost, and on into contemporary fiction writers and poets like Cormac McCarthy, Mary Oliver, and Gary Snyder, nature has proved a constant inspiration for art and literature. Students will explore ways they have been inspired by nature and experiment with bringing these muses to the page in prose and poetry. The playful environment will nurture and celebrate each student’s perspective and voice and encourage sharing within a supportive writing community. Finally, on Sunday, July 25, all camp participants are invited to share their work in a public reading at Gemini Ink.
#11 Session I (ages 13 – 18)
Dates: Monday – Friday, July 12 – July 16, 10:30am - 1:30pm
Limit: 20 Participants
Registration Deadline: Wednesday, July 7
Required Materials: Bring your favorite writing tools and a sack lunch
Fee: $140
#12 Session II (ages 8 – 12)
Date: Monday – Friday, July 19 – July 23, 10:30am - 1:30pm
Limit: 20 Participants
Registration Deadline: Wednesday, July 14
Required Materials: Bring your favorite writing tools and a sack lunch
Fee: $140
EVENTSCommunity Talk
Moderated by Annalisa Peace of the Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance, the executive director of Solar San Antonio Lanny Sinkin, and Greg Harman, the environmental writer from the San Antonio Current, this summer’s Community Talk will explore the issue of environmental justice and each citizen’s responsibility to protect land and natural resources. What can we do in our homes to protect the environment? What governmental policies will do the most to achieve our goals for the environment? And what should our priorities be regarding environmental issues? This honest, organic discussion is open to all members of the community. Come let us know what you think!
Gemini Ink
513 S. Presa
Sunday, July 25 at 4:30pm
Free and Open to the Public
PBS POV Documentary SeriesThis summer Gemini Ink, in partnership with SAY Sí, kicks off an ongoing PBS POV (point-of-view) documentary series with a screening of the award winning documentary Libby, Montana. Previously aired on PBS’ popular POV series, this documentary follows the tumultuous and shocking struggle of a small town whose health and security was sacrificed by the mining company that fueled their economy. Summer faculty member and the film’s director and producer, Doug Hawes-Davis, will be on hand to take questions following the screening.
SAY Sí
1518 S. Alamo
San Antonio, TX 78204
Friday, July 16 at 7pm
Free and Open to the Public
Summer Literary Festival Faculty ReadingJoin Gemini Ink welcome Summer Literary Festival faculty members Joe Nick Patoski, Sherwin Bitsui, and Marian Aitches as they read from their works.
DATE: Friday, July 9; 7pm
WHERE: Gemini Ink, 513 S. Presa, San Antonio, TX 78205
COST: Free and open to the public
CONTACT: (210) 734-9673, info@geminiink.org, www.geminiink.org
Summer Literary Festival Faculty ReadingJoin Gemini Ink welcome Summer Literary Festival faculty members Shin Yu Pai, Lyle Rosdahl, and Mobi Warren as they read from their works.
DATE: Friday, July 23; 7pm
WHERE: Gemini Ink, 513 S. Presa, San Antonio, TX 78205
COST: Free and open to the public
CONTACT: (210) 734-9673, info@geminiink.org, www.geminiink.org
2010 Young Writers Camp Reading
Join Gemini Ink’s 2010 Young Writers Camp participants as they read from their works.
DATE: Sunday, July 25; 2pm
WHERE: Gemini Ink, 513 S. Presa, San Antonio, TX 78205
COST: Free and open to the public
CONTACT: (210) 734-9673, info@geminiink.org, www.geminiink.org
Staff Reading
We work hard all year to build and maintain our community of writers. But we also find, make, and steal time to write. There’s a variety of forms practiced within our tribe, so come get to know us in a new way.
DATE: Friday, August 6; 7pm
WHERE: Gemini Ink, 513 S. Presa, San Antonio, TX 78205
COST: Free and open to the public
CONTACT: (210) 734-9673, info@geminiink.org, www.geminiink.org
2 to WatchArtpace and Gemini Ink team up again this summer to present our version of The Odd Couple. Join literary artist Trey Moore and visual artist Ken Little as they discuss the ins and outs of their work and their processes, and the intersections of their unique artistic perspectives.
Thursday, July 22
6:30pm
Artpace
445 N. Main
Open Writing WorkshopJoin this peer-driven workshop facilitated by longtime Gemini Ink volunteers Dario Beniquez, Jim Dawes and Roland Huff. Share your writing and get feedback on works-in-progress in a relaxed and supportive atmosphere. The workshop is held from 6:30 - 8:30 pm, on the last Monday of every month at Gemini Ink, 513 S. Presa. This season’s Open Writing Workshops will be held on June 28, July 26, and August 30. Bring 6 - 10 copies of your work to share! Free and open to all writers!
