Sunday, February 13, 2011

Join Us at Normandale's Midwinter Writing Festival

Next week, on Thursday, February 17th, the Midwinter Writing Festival returns to Normandale Community College. Now in its second year, this year’s festival includes over thirty-six sessions on all aspects of writing taking place throughout the day. James Levine, author of The Blue Notebook, delivers the keynote address from 1:30-2:50. Click on the attached schedule to sample the sessions students, faculty, and visitors to Normandale have a chance to attend.



The keynote speaker, James Levine, is a world-renowned author who recently served as professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. He has worked with the World Health Organization and the United Nations, his research focusing on child labor. It was this very research that took him to streets of Mumbai, India, where a real-life encounter with a young girl on the infamous Street of Cages haunted him and led to his first novel, The Blue Notebook. To hear more, listen to this interview on Minnesota Public Radio: ttp://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/07/21/midmorning2/


Besides the keynote address, there are many other wonderful offerings throughout the day. At noon, NCC faculty member Mark Plenke facilitates a panel called “Writing for a Living: Working Journalists in the Twin Cities Scene,” that brings together Star Tribune Higher Education Reporter Jenna Ross, Rieta Buttaro from Kare-11, and local journalists Caitlin Burgess and David Brauer. Other sessions will show you “Magical Realism for Beginning Spell-casters,” introduce you to “Sherlock Holmes and the Victorian Age,” or allow you to sample an ancient art form by learning about “Haiku and You.”


The Midwinter Writing Festival is organized by the Normandale Writing Center’s WCAC committee. A full program will be available soon. Below, you'll find a listing of events. We look forward to seeing you there!

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Midwinter Schedule

*For an easy-to-print PDF schedule please email thomas.maltman@normandale.edu

Midwinter Writing Festival: February 17, 2011


9:00-9:50


  • Running Away from Run-On Sentences  Anna Gajdel     Room C1107
  • Writing as Community Action   Michael Berndt &Pat McGowan   Room C1022
  • How to Think Like Da Vinci!   Thomas Maltman   Room C3140
  • Writing in the Fine Arts    Molly, Skjei, Anne Byrd & Mark Jaros Room C1022
  • Minnesota: Land of 10,000 Writers   Lynette Reini-Grandell, Kari Fisher, &Patrick O’Donnell Room C3142
  • I’ve some Good News and Some Bad News Kris Bigalk Room C1020 
  • 10-Minute Playwriting Layla Dowlatshahi Room A2554
 10:00-10:50


  •  Grammar Bloopers   Molly Skjei & Debra Whited Room L1747 
  • A Sentence Diagrammed is a Story Excavated   David Pates Room F2264
  • How to Cite Sources &Use Quotations Phil Lowry Room C3061
  • How Queen Elizabeth I & Her Age Contributed to the Genius of Shakespeare     Patrick O’Donnell C 1020
  • Why Writing Matters in the Business World Gretchen Scherer-Luebke +Panel C 3140
  • Normandale AFA Alumni & Faculty Reading   Assorted Panel C1022
  • The Business of Creation John Reimringer C2018
 11:00-11:50

  •  Zombies and Essay Writing Kim Socha S2320 
  • Borrowing, Not Stealing: How to Use Sources Eric Mein C1107 
  • The Faces of Evil in American Film Michael Bielmeier S1328 
  • Creative Brainstorming Kurt Burch C1105 
  • Magical Realism for Beginners Melissa Siebke C3145
  • Pathways to Publication Alicia Conroy +Panel L1753 
  • Normandale’s Creative Writing Degree Kris Bigalk C3148
  • Performing Your Poem Matt Mauch C2018
 12:00-12:50

  • Small Steps to Great Writing Writing Center Tutors L1780 
  • Paragraphs Beyond the Pale Thomas Maltman F2264 
  • Making Your Own Journal Cindy Koopman F2250 
  • Sherlock Holmes and the Victorian Age Lynette Reini-Grandell C3147
  • Writing for a Living Mark Plenke S2336
  • Poem Generators Kris Bigalk and Anna Meek C3053
  • Creative Writing and the Immigrant Experience Nina Rosenfeld& Kari Fisher C3148
 1:30-2:50

 KEYNOTE ADDRESS: JAMES LEVINE, AUTHOR OF THE BLUE NOTEBOOK  F1265


 3:00-3:50

  •  Showing Versus Telling Matt Mauch C2040 
  • Summary Versus Analysis Linda Tetzlaff & Kate Anderson C1107
  • Battle of the Books Common Book Panel F1265
  • Student Writing: Clear Expectations,Great Results Anna Gajdel & Debi Whited C1105
  • Haiku and You Richard Brown C2042

Monday, February 7, 2011

Midwinter Writing Festival Returns on February 17, 2011

On February 17, 2011, Normandale Community College hosts its second annual Midwinter Writing Festival. Sponsored by the Normandale Writing Center and the Normandale Reading Series, the free, daylong event features hourly presentations on all aspects of writing. Sessions take place between 9:00 and 4:00, with a keynote discussion by James Levine, author of The Blue Notebook, at 2:00.


The hourly sessions are conducted by professional instructors and published authors. Sample topics include “Sherlock Holmes and the Victorian Age,” “Ten Minute Playwriting,” “Haiku and You,” and “Magical Realism for Beginners.” The Midwinter Writing Festival is cross-curricular, including professional, literary, and creative modes of writing. A full schedule is coming soon! All sessions and keynote presentations are free and open to the public.

CONTACT THOMAS.MALTMAN@NORMANDALE.EDU for more information