Mt. SAC is hosting its 10th Annual Writer’s Weekend from April 28-30 on the ground floor of building 26D. College students from the community are invited to attend a weekend filled with creative writing workshops, contests and prizes.
Tim Hatch, who will be teaching English Composition this upcoming fall, will be conducting a memory-based poetry workshop where part of the activities take place outside to inspire writers and overcome the infamous writer’s block.
He advises writers, “Don’t be afraid to suck because that will kill your ability to write. Whatever you’re writing and stuck on, your stream of consciousness will come. It really only takes 10 minutes for your brain to reorient itself back to the work.”
Special guest speaker and Canadian poet Anders Carson will be giving advice on revising poetry.
“I’m one of those who revises in the car, but I also read it out loud,” Carson said. “I’m a firm believer that poetry should also be heard.”
Continuing the idea of writing out loud, theater professor Christine Cummings is also hosting a theater workshop on Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. introducing the combination of creative writing and visual arts. The goal is to learn the basic techniques of bringing poetry to life.
Poetry isn’t the only type of writing this weekend. Creative writing professor Syd Bartman will also be discussing tips for generating ideas for creative non-fiction and writing memoirs.
She said, “We do an activity where we draw a map of where we lived when we were 10 and ideas pop up. It’s an idea generating activity for memoirs. Then, we share with each other and other people sharing sparks other ideas.”
One of the participants, Katie Funk, a 22-year-old English major, talked about her experience at the workshops.
“I enjoyed my last workshop with Stephanie Barbé Hammer about making a story about nothing,” Funk said.
Workshops are repeated throughout the day, so if any overlap, students can still attend them at a later time.
New to this year’s Writer’s Weekend, writers are welcome to participate in the event’s first writing contest. Participants are encouraged to submit either a poem, short story or any literary creative non-fiction piece under 1,000 words with a “mask” theme.
Submissions are due by Sunday, April 30, at 10:30 a.m. at the table on the ground floor of Building 26D. Winners will be announced at the Open Mic Reading that afternoon at 1 p.m. in building 28A, room 103.
