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Co-sponsored by:
Straw Dog Writers Guild and Nan Parati (owner, Elmer's Store and the Inn at Norton Hill)
Featured Reader: Ernie Brill
Born in Brooklyn, Ernie Brill writes fiction and poetry. His short story "Crazy Hattie Enters The Ice Age" from his collection of hospital stories, I Looked Over Jordan (South End Press), was purchased and performed on PBS by the actress, writer, and activist Ruby Dee. He has published stories and poems in the US and Canada.
He received his BA, and MA from San Francisco State College and was an active participant in the 1968 Student Strike, the longest in American history that not only won the first Black Studies Department in the U.S., it also encouraged the establishment of a School of Ethnic Studies.
Brill taught high school in Northampton Ma for twenty years and pioneered curriculum in Middle East Literature, African literature, Latin American literature, literature of the Vietnam War, and a more inclusive American literature, bringing in such writers as Richard Wright, Toni Cade Bambara, Charles Johnson, Martin Espada, Janice Mirikitani and others.
He is currently writing a novel about the 1968 San Francisco State Student Strike.
His favorite writers include Virginia Woolf, Jean Toomer, Sterling Brown, Mahmoud Darwish, and Kim Hyesoon.
Here's how it works: The featured writer reads recent work and describes the journey to publication, followed by Q & A. Then the floor opens to other writers, who read for five minutes each. If you want to read, put your name in the hat before 3:15.
Hosted by Jane Roy Brown (brownjaneroy@gmail.com )
Upcoming: May 6th Lesléa Newman
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Two Community Book Festivals Coming Up!
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April 7 - Juniper Literary Festival Book Fair, UMASS Amherst. If you are a Straw Dog member and would like to include your most recent book publication in a list for people to pick up, please send Laura the title, genre, link to your website, and a .jpg of the cover.
April 14 - Easthampton BookFest Marketplace, Eastworks, Easthampton. We haven’t seen the details on the marketplace yet, but have had a table there the past two years and it’s great visibility for Straw Dogs and for our books. We can display one or two titles per member at the table, IF you provide books, and envelope with change, and are willing to take an hour shift at the table. Please let Laura know if you’re interested.
And ... Straw Dog will be debuting Compass Roads at the Easthampton BookFest.
Two chances to join us to celebrate!
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A challenge that many writers face is how to choose artful details when writing about strong emotional content. Some of us may shy away from expressing loss or anger, or we may produce work that’s overly sentimental. For inspiration we will read poems that elevate personal experience by paying close attention to craft. We’ll also engage in an exercise to discover fresh metaphors and experiment with form. Open to poets and prose writers, this workshop will illustrate how to use poetic craft as a means of diving more deeply.
Gail Thomas has published four books of poetry, Odd Mercy (2016), Waving Back (2015), No Simple Wilderness: An Elegy for Swift River Valley (2001) and Finding the Bear (1997).
Odd Mercy was chosen by Ellen Bass for the Charlotte Mew Prize of Headmistress Press, and its “Little Mommy Sonnets” won Honorable Mention for the Tom Howard/ Margaret Prize for Traditional Verse. Also, Waving Back was named a Must Read for 2016 by the Massachusetts Center for the Book and Honorable Mention in the New England Book Festival.
Thomas’s work has appeared in many journals and anthologies including The Beloit Poetry Journal, Calyx, The North American Review, Hanging Loose, and Valparaiso Poetry Review. Individual poems have won the Naugatuck Review’s Narrative Poetry Prize and the Pat Schneider Poetry Prize. She was awarded residencies at The McDowell Colony and Ucross.
Her book, No Simple Wilderness, about the creation of the Quabbin Reservoir in the 1930’s, has been taught in college courses. As one of the original teaching artists for the Massachusetts Cultural Council’s Elder Arts Initiative, Thomas led workshops and collaborated with dancers, musicians and storytellers in schools, nursing homes, hospitals and libraries across the State.
Thomas teaches, speaks at conferences and poetry festivals, and reads her work widely in community and academic settings. www.gailthomaspoet.com
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MORE INFORMATION COMING SOON!
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Blessings to Certain Spaces by Beth Filson
 When I was an undergrad in Athens, GA, the 40-Watt Club was the magnet that drew musicians and poets together. It was our shared space, our common ground, named after the bare bulb that lit the stage. It was where we came to listen and be listened to -- where REM, Guadalcanal Diary, Love Tractor, and others found their first fans. While the address changed over time, it was always the same space -- what we writers lovingly refer to as a hole in the wall. Why such places appeal to some of us, and not to others, I don’t know. It has something to do with being the type of place that is all rough draft, and up to the community that inhabits it to define. Such is The Basement in downtown Noho, home of Writers Night Out every first Tuesday of the month.
 Writers Night Out got its start at the old Elevens on Pleasant Street. When the Elevens closed, it brought us to our current location, and to a familiar, yet more intimate space. It has that same vibe, you know, where it’s just easier to be a stranger if that’s who you want to be, and easier to get to know people when you feel like it. You’re welcome to participate or not, share a table or not, and Naan, our barkeep, is as happy serving whiskey as he is club soda and lime.
 Writers Night Out was my first experience returning to a community of writers after an absence of years. I’m glad the lights were low. I’m glad there were dark edges and corners I could retreat to after five minutes at the mic. It was like dipping my toe in the water, pulling back, till gradually I was in all the way. It was my entry point, my door, the hole in the wall I crawled through to find a community on the other side. I don’t think I’m the only one who blesses such places, and the people one finds there.
Come as you are. Create what you want. Have a sip and a listen. Talk back. Take part. See you next month!
Writers Night Out was founded by Jacqueline Sheehan and is a monthly salon and open mic with a featured reader. It is held on the first Tuesday of every month from 7 – 9:00pm. Beth Filson is the MC. The Basement is located next to the Northampton Police Station on Center Street, entrance in the back of the building.
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In response to the overwhelming interest in peer-led critique groups expressed at the Annual Meeting, Straw Dog Writers Guild is offering a service to help writers create these groups.
Although SDWG cannot sponsor the groups, we offer:
•a web page with guidelines for starting and maintaining supportive and constructive critique groups
•a new writing group directory, to help writers find potential group members in their genre and/or geographical area, which can be accessed after reading the guidelines
•an experienced critique writer to attend the first meeting of new groups to offer suggestions and support.
This directory is open to both members and nonmembers in order to join and connect writers and create new peer led writing groups.
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Lesléa Newman’s Short Story, “A Letter To Harvey Milk” Adapted As Musical, Off-Broadway Debut!
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 Lesléa Newman’s short story, “A Letter to Harvey Milk,” which was first published in 1988 has been adapted as a musical (with 18 original songs!) and is having its off-Broadway debut. The show opens March 6 and runs through May 13. The story/musical focuses on Harry Weinberg, a 77-year-old widower and Holocaust survivor who takes a creative writing class at his local senior center. When he writes a letter to Harvey Milk as an assignment, his teacher, a Jewish lesbian, opens up to him and both their lives are forever changed.
Information can be found here:
https://www.lettertoharveymilk.com
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"In/Put: Live from the Valley" - Spoken Word Album featuring Nicole M. Young
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Performance and Live Recording of a Spoken Word Album
featuring Nicole M. Young
with special guests, singer & guitarist Diana Alvarez
and comedian Feyla McNamara
Saturday, March 31, 2018 at 8 p.m.
Click Workspace (8 1/2 Market Street, Northampton, MA)
Be in the audience for a unique opportunity! Nicole will be recording her debut spoken word album, "In/Put" in front of a live audience! Every laugh, sigh, and cry will be captured so prepare to be loud and have a great time.
 The poems of "In/Put" are (or, better yet, “express”) Nicole's exploration of living in the Pioneer Valley over the past ten years - a place where she's grown tremendously and has spent a majority of her seemingly few adult years. Single, Black, Plus-Size and always misidentified, she either feels hyper-visible or invisible in this rural college town. Nicole uses writing to inscribe herself into the experiences and terrain of spaces that attempt to assign her to the margins. Reflecting on dating experiences, consistently being misgendered and feeling like an outsider, Nicole shares her insights with "In/Put".
The album is due out for release in late August of 2018 and all proceeds will be used to create a year long writing residency for women and nonbinary writers of color hosted through Straw Dog Writers Guild.
This event is being produced with generous in-kind support from Click Workspace.
Free and open to the public but limited seating (please arrive early)
For more information on Nicole's work, please visit her website: www.nicolemyoung.com
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Spring Weekly Writing Workshops at Patchwork Farm
with Patricia Lee Lewis.
Tuesdays or Thursdays beginning the first week of May. Watch spring turn into summer from the vantage of Patricia's little mountain in Westhampton. Walk the trails, meet fellow writers and make progress on your writing project. Experienced and beginning writers alike meet weekly for meditation, guided writing sessions, and inspiring exercises. Individual consultations are included.
The weekly workshop is a wonderful way to take time out and allow the deeper levels of your own creative self to emerge onto the page. Besides all of this, we have fun. MORE
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Community Workshops with Edie Meidav and Ocean Vuong,
April 7 at the Juniper Literary Festival,
UMass Amherst
This year, Juniper Literary Festival is offering community workshops by Edie Meidav and Ocean Vuong, faculty members in the UMass Amherst MFA for Poets and Writers, that are free and open to the community.
Prose: Start (or Deepen) Your Novel with Edie Meidav
And
Poetry: Quiet as Creative Force: Dismantling the Language of Writer's Block and the Materiality of Composition with Ocean Vuong
Workshops will be 1:00-2:30 on Saturday, April 7, 2018 in South College on the UMass Amherst campus. MORE http://www.umass.edu/englishmfa/juniper-literary-festival-2018#commwkshps
To enroll, write JuniperFestival@umass.edu with subject heading NOVEL or QUIET. Enrollment will be on a first-come, first-served basis and is limited to 15 people per workshop. You must be 18+. They will notify you of your acceptance into the workshop.
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 Announces Winter/Spring 2018 Class Schedule
Great Barrington—Green Fire Writers’ Workshops, founded by local authors Jennifer Browdy and Jana Laiz, offer a rich array of workshops for writers of every level,
All workshops will be held at the South Berkshire Friends Meeting House, 280 State Road in Great Barrington, for three-hour sessions on weekend afternoons or Thursday mornings. The full schedule is available at Greenfirewriters.com.
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Casting Characters for Memorable Fiction, with Cindy Littlefield
 Protagonist, antagonist, mentor, minion, and foil—each and every character plays a necessary role in your stories! In this one-day workshop, we will delve deep into the psyche of primary and secondary character types, mining for those buried secrets, dicey dynamics, and ulterior motives that make all good stories a must-read. Through a series of fun, imaginative exercises, characters will be put to the test, navigating unexpected challenges and making impossible choices. We’ll also explore the amazing things that can happen when a character goes off script, or when a brand new character makes an unexpected appearance. Workshop participants will leave with a fully fleshed cast ready to take stage plus plenty of inspiration for several brand new scenes! Register Now Saturday, April 21, 9:30 am – 4:30 pm ($150)
Cindy Littlefield’s fiction has appeared in Litro, Dogzplot, and the Rose & Thorn Journal, and she was a former finalist in the Glimmer Train’s Short Story Award for New Writers. She holds an MFA in creative writing from Southern New Hampshire University and a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Michigan State University. Find out more.
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Dreaming on the Page, with Tzivia Gover
Dreams contain all the elements of a great story: metaphor, symbolism, humor, and catharsis. It should be no surprise then that writers from Samuel Coleridge to Stephen King have used dreams to craft their work. Dreams can offer writers themes, images, prompts, motifs or entire storylines. Likewise, crafting poems from dreams can help people find new levels of creativity, insight, and healing. In this weekly workshop, we will look to our own dream lives and explore the intersections between dreaming and writing. We will also consider how dreaming can serve the writer, and how writing can serve the dreamer. Because the aim of this workshop is to encourage creative expression, self-awareness, and growth, this workshop is perfect for writers of all levels and of every genre. Thursdays, 6-9 pm; 6-week workshop begins March 29th ($285) Register Now
Tzivia Gover is the author of The Mindful Way to a Good Night’s Sleep and Joy in Every Moment. She is a writer, educator, and certified dream therapist and the director of the Institute of Dream Studies. Gover has led numerous workshops and panels about dreams, mindfulness, and writing, and she holds an MFA in writing from Columbia University. She is an active member of the International Association for the Study of Dreams and the founder of 350 Dreamers, an international network of people who dream together for global healing. Find out more…
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Writers and Artists Retreat in Ireland
 June 30-July 28
County Galway/Kinvara
Share a beautiful 5 bedroom home in the west of Ireland. Double and single rooms available. One week minimum. Shared kitchen, walking distance to town, 30 minutes from Shannon Airport. Master class in Hybrid Writing will be offered. July 16-29 is the Galway Arts Festival, an extravaganza of art, music, writing, and theater. Galway City is 30 minutes away. $400 for a double room per week (double bed) and $350 for a single room (twin bed) for a week. Literary gathering once a week—otherwise you are free to write or do your art. There are ferries to the Aran Islands from Galway and the Burren, Flaggy Shore, and the Cliffs of Moher are nearby. The small harbor town of Kinvara has traditional music and good restaurants. Shopping is about 15 minutes away though there are grocery shops in town and a wonderful Farmer’s Market once a week.
For information, contact Lisa C. Taylor
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Green Fire Writers
- Do you care passionately about our world?
- Do you want to use writing or other forms of creative expression to make a difference?
- If so, you should contribute to Fired Up!
Editors Jana Laiz and Jennifer Browdy seek writing in any genre, along with photography, short videos or podcasts that express positive, forward-thinking perspectives on where we are now as individuals and as a society and envision the better world we hope to create.
We accept submissions on a rolling basis and will publish a new online edition once a month.
Check out our submission guidelines HERE
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Consultation w/ Gail Thomas
Poet and teacher Gail Thomas is available for individual consultation on your poetry submissions, manuscripts and residency applications. With more than 40 years of publishing and teaching experience, Gail offers feedback that not only focuses on your writing goals, but also strengthens your craft. Contact her at gailthomaspoet@gmail.com or http://www.gailthomaspoet.com/
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Manuscript Review by D M Gordon
 Want your writing to be the best it can be? Aching to be published? Thinking of an MFA? Why not work with an individual editor first. I’m less expensive than a low-residency program, with more focused, extensive attention. I work with post-MFA grads towards publication, poetry, and prose, as well as writers first seeking to share their work. From query letters to self-publication, we can discuss your immediate goals and how to achieve them. A prize-winning poet and fiction writer, and an experienced, respectful editor in multiple genres, I’d love to talk with you.
Visit my website at www.dmgordoneditorial.com for more information, then write to me, Diana Gordon, at dmgordon@comcast.net. I look forward to hearing from you.
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Body-Mind Centering work with Beth Goren
 Gentle and effective hands-on sessions in the Body-Mind Centering work. Beth is a certified and registered teacher-practitioner with 40+ years of practice. She offers sliding scale rates for elders via her Hands-on Elders non-profit. Approach bones, muscles, nerves, glands, fluids, organs, voice/reading with integrity. Single session or series.
Learn more: www.bethgoren.com
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