2015 AWP Conference Schedule Wednesday, April 8, 2015 12:00 pm to 7:00 pm W100. Conference Registration Registration Area, Level 1 Attendees who have registered in advance may pick up their registration materials in AWP’s preregistered check-in area, located in the registration area on level 1 of the Minneapolis Convention Center. If you have not yet registered for the conference, please visit the unpaid registration area, also in the registration area on level 1. Please consult the bookfair map in the conference planner for location details. Students must present a valid student ID to check-in or register at our student rate. Seniors must present a valid ID to register at our senior rate. A $50 fee will be charged for all replacement badges. Thursday, April 9, 2015 9:00 am to 10:15 am R117. Literary Production and the Gift Economy Room 211 C&D, Level 2 ( Lisa Bowden, Teresa Carmody, Annie Guthrie) Editors, publishers, writers, and other culture-makers explore the often thorny topic of operating within, and against, the forces of both the market and gift economies at once. How do writers/artists and presenters work best with each other given a touchy cultural playing field where reading fees and literary citizenship are suspect, buying from big boxes online is cheap and easy, reviewers review who they know, and the economic reality of sustaining independent, literary enterprises is costly? 10:30 am to 11:45 am R139. Object and Subject: The Illustrated Book Room 200 F&G, Level 2 (Lincoln Michel, John Woods, Quintan Wikswo, Brad Zellar) “Bring back the illustrated book!” the New Yorker pled last year. We aim to comply. Three writers of illustrated novels and story collections examine the hows and whys of illustration versus graphic novel or comic, and the place of pictures in literary fiction. What does a picture add? How does it shape a narrative? Abstraction versus representation, photo versus drawing, and text versus image all ask the same question—how can we best tell this particular story? R152. Libraries Influence Readers, Writers, and Communities Room M100 J, Mezzanine Level (Margaret Simon, Ellen de Saint Phalle, Johannah Genett, Laurie Kincer) Don't just dream of your book on the library shelf—make sure it circulates! Most writers begin as readers in the library, and today, libraries are doing much of what publishers used to do for their authors -and more. Meet professionals from three libraries: Shaker Library (OH), Hennepin County Library (MN), and Friends of the Bronxville Public Library (NY), and learn about their successful programming for authors and poets. You’ll discover libraries are all they are stacked up to be and more! 12:00 pm to 1:15 pm R159. From Poverty to Poetry Auditorium Room 1, Level 1 (dawn lonsinger, Eduardo Corral, Jane Wong, Rachel McKibbens, Airea D. Matthews) What sounds and silences emerge from poverty? Does poetry rise up out of poverty like a phoenix from the ashes? Poets from working-class backgrounds will discuss how growing up poor has shaped their journey toward poetry, how it shades their relationship to language, how it influences their poetics, and how it affects the way they interface with the literary world. Poets will discuss the relationship between class and poetry and explore what it means to write with class consciousness in mind. R163. Persea Books 40th Anniversary Reading Room 101 B&C, Level 1 (Patrick Rosal, Michael White, Gabrielle Calvocoressi, Alexandra Teague, Matthew Vollmer) Persea Books has persevered and prospered over the past forty years, publishing essential works by Oscar Hijuelos, Nazim Hikmet, Marie Howe, Thylias Moss, Gary Soto, Lisa Russ Spaar, and hundreds of other wonderful writers. The press remains a family business, and its authors constitute a family in their own right. This reading gathers together five of them from various genres (essay, fiction, memoir, poetry) to showcase Persea's breadth of voices and dedication to literary publishing. 1:30 pm to 2:45 pm R190. The Pink Tuxedos Ballroom A, Level 1 (Carol Muske-Dukes, Rita Dove, Sophie Cabot Black) The poem-doo-wop singers, The Pink Tuxedos, appeared as a special event at AWP in Palm Springs in 2001. Their new, re-styled performance will reprise that earlier presentation (Great Poems sung to doo-wop melodies—i.e. Donne's, "Batter My Heart, Three Person'd God" to the tune of "One Summer Night", etc.). New arrangements by composer Reena Esmail include Plath's "Daddy" sung to "Dream Lover", Wordsworth's "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" to Marvin Gaye's "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," and beyond. The performance will feature a guest appearance by Marilyn Nelson. R195. Word and Music with Kim Addonizio, Peter Kline, Sam Ligon, Gary Copeland Lilley, and Brittany Perham Scott James Bookfair Stage, Level 1 (Kim Addonizio, Brittany Perham, Sam Ligon, Peter Kline) Nonstop Beautiful Ladies, a word and music group featuring poet and fiction writer Kim Addonizio; poets Peter Kline, Gary Copeland Lilley, and Brittany Perham; and fiction writer Sam Ligon performs intersections of language, music, and song to celebrate their latest books. Blues, spoken word, guitars, harmonica, and bringing down the holy spirit! R206. Teaching Without a Net: Resources for Teachers of Non-traditional Communities Room 205 C&D, Level 2 (Jennifer Jean, Jill McDonough, Fred Marchant, Kathleen Ryan, Julie Batten) Poetry workshops have long been taught outside academia to unique and nontraditional communities such as: military veterans, prison populations, sex trafficking survivors, and folks struggling with homelessness. Teachers and activists in these communities will discuss their work and the need to create a clearinghouse or resource website for people doing similar work. During a generous Q&A segment, audience members will be encouraged to offer suggestions in creating the best possible website. 4:30 pm to 5:45 pm R257. Women of Copper Canyon Press: A Reading and Discussion Auditorium Room 1, Level 1 (Tonaya Thompson, Brenda Shaughnessy, Deborah Landau, Natalie Diaz, Erin Belieu) A reading and discussion by a group of female authors who have published with Copper Canyon Press over the past decade. Hear these acclaimed poets read new work and share their insights on writing, teaching, and crafting a book. Audiences will listen to a brief reading from the authors before they participate in a discussion with the managing editor of Copper Canyon. R268. A Fable for Horror Room 200 H&I, Level 2 (Joyelle McSweeney, Valerie Mejer, Daniel Borzutzky, Anna Deeny) How do poets of Chile, South Korea, and Uruguay imagine historical horror? A panel of internationally renowned poets and translators from Mexico, Chile, and the US will explore how domination, power, dictatorships, torture, and massacres are imagined through fables of animals, insects, and flowers in the poetry of Marosa di Giorgio, Raul Zurita, Kim Hyesoon, and Valerie Mejer. R272. Developing Community Creative Writing Programs for Underserved Youth Room 208 C&D, Level 2 (Jennifer Minniti- Shippey, Garrett Bryant, Jen Lagedrost, Maya Washington, Pillsbury House Theatre) Panelists from diverse community outreach organizations share best practices for developing and maintaining youth writing programs. From launching a new program, to leveraging funding, to connecting with underserved communities, to the writing exercises themselves, these dedicated writer-educators will help you navigate the waters of community-based creative writing programs. Panelists will share success stories, challenges, and work created by program participants; prepare to be inspired. 6:00 pm to 7:15 pm R288. LGBTQ Caucus Room 200 F&G, Level 2 (Matthew R. K. Haynes-Kekahuna, Brittany Tonstad, Amee Schmidt) The LGBTQ caucus is for those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer to network and discuss common issues/challenges. These concerns are related to gender fluidity and identity while teaching and writing professionally along with leading a literary and socially responsible life. We share interests, publications, and projects in order to strengthen visibility and importance to AWP, along with addressing our social/creative significance to academic/literary communities. 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm R302. The Poetry Foundation Reception Seasons, Level 2 The Poetry Foundation invites AWP attendees to be guests at our public reception in celebrating another great year for poetry. Join us for a drink and a toast. 8:30 pm to 10:00 pm R303. #AWP15 Keynote Address by Karen Russell, Sponsored by Concordia College Main Auditorium, Level 1 (Karen Russell) Karen Russell’s novel, Swamplandia!, chosen by The New York Times as one of the “Ten Best Books of 2011,” was long-listed for the Orange Prize, and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. She is also the author of the celebrated short story collections, St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves and Vampires in the Lemon Grove. The recipient of fellowships from the American Academy in Berlin and the MacArthur Foundation, she has been featured in the New Yorker’s “20 Under 40” list, was chosen as one of Granta’s Best Young American Novelists, and received the “5 Under 35” award from the National Book Foundation. Friday, April 10, 2015 9:00 am to 10:15 am F122. Literature as Visual Art: A Conversation on Collaboration Room M100 B&C, Mezzanine Level (Kate Shuknecht, Deborah Keenan, Regula Russelle, Jean Larson, Charles Jones) Book arts, art books, broadsides, collage, sculpture. These are but some of the ways literature and visual art collide. With writers, publishers, and artists utilizing a variety of texts and images, this panel explores a world of collaborative possibilities. From fine press limited editions to small press multiples, from traditional letterpress to evolving 3-D forms, from paper and ink to found media, panelists will discuss not just the gorgeous array of made objects, but the community around them.