Post-Turkey Joy: Written/Spoken Reading Tuesday, Nov. 30 features Stacey Waite

The 2010-2011 Pitt-Greensburg Written/Spoken Reading Series continues with November speaker Stacey Waite on Tuesday, Nov. 30 at 7 p.m. in the Coffeehouse.

After receiving her MFA in poetry in 2003, Waite has published two collections of poems, both of which were recognized with awards. Her poetry collection “Choke” won the 2004 Frank O’Hara Prize in Poetry, and her collection “Love Poem to Androgyny” was the winner of the 2006 Main Street Rag Chapbook Competition.

Waite’s most recent work has been published in “The Cream City Review,” “Interim,” “Knockout,” and “Black Warrior Review.” Her newest collection of poems, “The Lake Has No Saint,” has just been released from Tupelo Press. In addition, her poem “Trans,” which appears in the anthology “I Go to the Ruined Place: Contemporary Poems in Defense of Global Human Rights,” was nominated for a Pushcart Prize.

Originally from New York, Waite currently teaches courses in Composition, Women’s Studies, Literature, and Creative Writing as a PhD Candidate at the University of Pittsburgh. Her full length collection “Butch Geography” will be published by Tupelo Press in 2012.

Opening readers for Stacey include UPG poet Kim Wolff and nonfiction writer Montana Miller.

The Written/Spoken series offers readings on the last Tuesday of every month, and brings local and nationally-known poets and writers to campus for readings and workshops. The series is sponsored by the University’s writing program and is free and open to the public. All readings in the series begin at 7 p.m. in the campus coffeehouse, located in Village Hall. Book signings and receptions follow all events.

For more information about the series or about Waite’s visit, contact Lori Jakiela, associate professor of English, at 724.836.7481 or email loj@pitt.edu

Class canceled tomorrow, Tuesday Nov. 16

Our class tomorrow, Tuesday Nov. 16, is canceled. We'll pick up
on Thursday with an open-book quiz on Joan Didion's work. Please continue
reading Vintage Didion to prepare for the quiz.

Also, unless you were a member of Team 1 (the winners of News Jeopardy), there
will be a news section on your quiz. Please be familiar with this week's
headlines.

And remember to bring your Q&A to class (one hard copy + e-copy).

Thanks!

Thursday, November 4

More Terkel! We'll watch some short interviews with Studs himself, then move on to workshop of your own Terkel-inspired pieces.

Your next piece won't be due until Thursday, Nov. 18. It will be a Q&A piece. Base your work on the CITY PAPER handout I'll give you today in class. Pick a timely, news-worthy subject. AP Style. Grammar. All of it counts. Approximately 500-700 words. Bring an e-copy and a hard copy to class on November 18.

Also begin reading Joan Didion. I'll lecture a bit on her next week. We'll be focusing mostly on news next week, though, so be sure to read the headlines and follow the big stories.

Conferences on Tuesday, Nov. 2

Remember we won't meet in the classroom on Tuesday, Nov. 2. There's a sign-up sheet on my office door (208 FOB). Please sign up for individual conferences. The conferences aren't mandatory, but they're highly recommended. During the conferences, we'll go over your work one-on-one. Please be sure to bring any of your old stories with you if you'd like to review them; I'll have your profile piece on hand. I can let you know where you stand mid-term grade-wise.

Extra credit roster

The following folks will receive extra credit for attending the Written/Spoken series on Tuesday, Oct. 26:

Nicole H., Tiffany B., Phoebe N., Natalie S., Corey Fl., C.J. S., Jordan H., Eric R., Michelle W., and Justin M.

Happy bonus!

Extra credit opportunity!

If you'd like extra credit for our class -- or if you'd just like to enjoy a great night with wonderful writers -- please come to tonight's Written/Spoken reading. It's at 7 p.m. in the coffeehouse. We're celebrating Alumni Night, so all the guest writers will be graduates of Pitt-Greensburg's Writing Program.

The line-up includes our own Corey Florindi as the opening reader. Guest writers incude nonfiction/memoirist/poet Adam Matcho; poet/fictioneer Carrie Smith; and Dave Newman, whose novel Please Don't Shoot Anyone Tonight was just published by World Parade Books.

The reading is free and open to the public. Village credit. A reception and booksigning will follow the reading. We'll also have a raffle -- you can win signed copies of books by Pitt-Greensburg's faculty authors.

Your extra-credit points can buy your way out of one news brief.

Hope to see you all there!

The Art of the Interview -- Oct. 26 -28

This week we'll focus on the art of interviewing. A powerpoint lecture will advance your understanding of the basics, and we'll watch and listen to some of today's greatest interviewers at work.

We'll watch Larry King tangle with Jon Stewart, and compare King's style with NPR's Terry Gross' technique on her show "Fresh Air." We'll watch Barbara Walters as she re-visits Fidel Castro 25 years after their first interview. More!

On Thursday, we'll trace everything back to the master -- Studs Terkel. Over the weekend, you'll practice Terkel's interviewing technique with a subject of your choice.

Terkel Assignment details:

* Choose a subject whose job interests you. Preferably talk to a stranger.
* Record your conversation.
* Transcribe your conversation using Terkel's technique (as covered in class; use the handout as an example)
* E-mail your transcription -- complete with a "bingo" moment -- to me by 5 p.m. next Wednesday. E-mail your piece as a Word attachment. Put your name on your e-mail and on your piece. Send to: lljakiela@gmail.com.
* We'll use selected transcriptions for workshop in class on Thursday

Keep your edited transcription short -- 500 words. Use good grammar and AP Style. Be sure to meet the deadline.