The author of a 2008 L.A. Times “best book of the year” will be the keynote presenter at the 12th annual Cochise Community Creative Writing Celebration March 26-27 in Sierra Vista.
Lydia Millett is the author of six novels, including the Times selection “How the Dead Dream,” about an isolated character who finds solace in animals among the domestic disruptions of his personal life. Her 2005 novel “Oh Pure and Radiant Heart,” in which the souls of Robert Oppenheimer, Enrico Fermi and Leo Szilard take earthly form in the present-day southwest, where they work for disarmament, also received acclaim and was shortlisted for Britain’s Arthur C. Clarke Prize.
Lydia Millet
Millett, educated in creative writing and environmental management, will discuss the role of fiction in a society dominated by newer media and a publishing environment determined by large corporations, exploring what fiction does and can mean in a rapidly changing technological and material landscape.
It’s the first presentation in a weekend of creative workshops for novice and experienced writers alike. Millett is one of four authors who will share their experience and technique for writing novels, memoir, screenplays and poetry during breakout sessions spread over the course of two days. She will focus on her preference for writing flawed characters during the breakout session “Characters that Compel.”
Fenton Johnson
The age-old controversy about when and how one should or shouldn’t modify material for the sake of a better story is the topic of a workshop by Fenton Johnson, author of “Crossing the River;” “Scissors, Paper, Rock;” “Geography of the Heart: A Memoir;” and “Keeping Faith: A Skeptic’s Journey among Christian and Buddhist Monks.” He has contributed to a number of national magazines and received several awards and fellowships, including the National Endowment for the Arts, two Lambda Literary Awards, a Guggenheim Fellowship and the Kentucky Literary Award. Most recently, he received an Arizona Commission on the Arts fellowship to support a book-length meditation on the relationship between desire, celibacy, solitude, and creativity.
Logan Phillips
Practical tips on reading poetry aloud, and how performance can inform the creative process, are the topics of a workshop presented by Logan Phillips, a bilingual writer, performer, and multimedia artist from the Arizona/Mexico borderlands. Phillips has toured throughout the U.S. and Mexico, and as far as Canada, France, Colombia, and England. He is the author of five poetry chapbooks and co-founder of the binational multimedia performance group Verbolala Spoken Video, described by Mexican newspaper La Reforma as “going for a poetry written without letters.”
Howard Allen
The basics of visual storytelling, and using the power of landscaping as the subject, are the subjects of a screenwriting workshop presented by Howard Allen, who has worked as a professional actor, playwright, director, screenwriter and literary manager/dramaturg, as well as a reporter, reviewer, and editor. Allen was a Star Speaker at the L.A. Screenwriters Expo-6 and was chosen because of the skills he uses on ScriptDoctor.com, a Web site that accepts and reviews scripts. His newest venture is a production company focusing on low-budget movies using the work of great storytellers.
Past writing celebration attendees have commented about the diversity of the presenters, the quality of the workshops, and the value of networking and sharing ideas with other writers, and this year’s event will be no different, says Leslie Clark, a poet, teacher and organizer of the celebration.
The event kicks off at 10 a.m. Friday with registration at the City of Sierra Vista Ethel Berger Center and concludes with writing contest awards and a reading that begins at 3:15 p.m. Saturday. Day two of the event takes place at the Sierra Vista Campus of Cochise College. Participants may register before March 23 by completing the registration form available on the Cochise College website or event brochure, or after March 23 by registering the day of the conference. Registration rates range from $25 to $40 and include full or partial participation.
The creative writing celebration is co-sponsored by Cochise College, the University South Foundation, and Sierra Vista Parks & Leisure Services. To learn more about the event and the writing contest, visit the Cochise College Web site at www.cochise.edu, or call (520) 515-5468. Anyone needing an accommodation in order to attend should contact the Office of Disability Services, (520) 515-5337 or (520) 417-4023, at least 72 hours in advance.
If you go…
What: Cochise Community Creative Writing Celebration
When: Friday, March 26 and Saturday, March 27
Where: Friday, Ethel Berger Center; Saturday, Cochise College, Sierra Vista Campus
Cost: Registration ranges from $25 to $40 and includes full and partial participation rates
Contact: (520) 515-5468, www.cochise.edu