THE MAGAZINE OF THE PIPER CENTER FOR CREATIVE WRITING | COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES ON PLACE WRITERS IN THE WORLD AIMEE NEZHUKUMATATHIL ON THIS WRITER’S LIFE PREVIEW: 2008 WRITERS CONFERENCE PROFILES OF LOUISE GLÜCK C.D. WRIGHT SPECIAL REPORT: MFA STUDENTS VISIT CHINA ALSOINSIDE DENISEDUHAMEL | DINTYWMOORE | LAURATOHE IN THIS ISSUE VOL 3, ISS 1 SPRING 2008 FEATURES EDITOR CONVERGING VOICES ..............................................................................................................4 Beth Staples Brian Diamond previews the 2008 Desert Nights, Rising Stars converence. COPYEDITOR DISCOVERING “MANY INDIAS” ..............................................................................................6 Veronica Lucero Liz Wimberly reflects on her trip to India. CONTRIBUTORS THE REAL WORLD ....................................................................................................................9 Aimée Baker Dinty W. Moore Charles Jensen explains why the work of Louise Glück matters. Matthew Brennan Aimee Nezhukumatathil Katie Cortese Arijit Sen Denise Duhamel AREA CODE ............................................................................................................................ 11 Leah Soderburg Robby Taylor considers what it means to write from the Southwest. Brian Diamond Rose Swartz Charles Jensen Robby Taylor Brian Lee Dinh Vong CREATIVE WRITING GOES TO CHINA .................................................................................. 17 Beth Staples travels from Tempe to Tibet. Nadine Lockhart Liz Wimberly FINDING OUR ROOTS ............................................................................................................ 19 Charles Jensen and Arijit Sen reconstruct the Piper House. PIPER CENTER STAFF T.R. Hummer, Director COFFEE, COFFEE EVERYWHERE ...........................................................................................22 Charles Jensen, Assistant Director Nadine Lockhart reveals the best places to get your fix around campus. Tom McDermott, Director of Communication Beth Staples, Managing Editor Aimée Baker, Program Assistant FREEDOM IN THE SUN .........................................................................................................29 Matthew Brennan retreats to Casa Libre en la Solana. Matthew Brennan, Program Assistant Meghan Brinson, Program Assistant Kristina Morgan, Program Assistant HER WORD IS WORLD .......................................................................................................... 31 Rose Swartz profiles poet C.D. Wright. LIFE ON A HALF SHELL ..........................................................................................................35 PIPER CENTER Katie Cortese describes life after MFA graduation. ADVISORY COUNCIL Ben Bova Barbara Peters, ex oficio- Janaki Ram THE SECRET LIFE OF WRITERS ...........................................................................................38 Billy Collins Brian Lee joins the Graduate Creative Writing Student Association. Harold Dorenbecher John Rothschild Dana Jamison, chair Greg Thielen Simi Juneja Theresa Wilhoit THE NATURE OF THE BEAST ................................................................................................40 Matthew Brennan gets inside the writer’s mind. Jo Krueger George Witte Kathleen Laskowski C. D. Wright Maxine Marshall NEW AND SEASONED VOICES ..............................................................................................42 Naomi Shihab Nye Dinh Vong chronicles her trip to Canada’s WordFest. DEPARTMENTS THIS WRITER’S LIFE: AIMEE NEZHUKUMATATHIL ............................................................... 14 Q & A: DUHAMEL, MOORE, TOHE .......................................................................................24 TABLE OF CONTENTS PHOTO 2008 ONLINE BOOK CLUB SELECTIONS ................................................................................33 Geoffrey Gray MFA FACULTY NEWS ..............................................................................................................44 ALUMNI LINER NOTES ...........................................................................................................45 2 FROM THE DIRECTOR LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR As the observers of their cultures, writers are often called upon to not only comment on the places they inhabit, but also to define them, explain them, enliven them through the business of phrase, description, metaphor. Think of a writer whose work you know well and you’ll likely be able to evoke a sense of a place they are connected to: Hemingway’s Spain, for instance, or the Patterson, New Jersey of William Carlos Williams’s poems. It is perhaps the job of the writer, then, to make place universally under- stood but uniquely rendered. In this issue of Marginalia, we tasked ourselves with exploring the places writers inhabit. What connects us to a place? How do we find there the rich beginnings of our voices and our stories? Our writers have criss- crossed Phoenix and the globe on their journeys, landing as close as local coffeeshops and as far as China and Tibet. Every place is an opportunity for us to learn about the world, but we can learn about ourselves as artists as well. Wherever your community happens to be—whatever places you inhabit—I hope these articles encourage you to write about your world, to help you locate the speakers and narratives within you. Sincerely, Terry Hummer Director, Creative Writing Program and Piper Center Domestic Initiatives 3 CONFERENCE CONVERGING VOICES A PREVIEW OF THE 2008 DESERT NIGHTS, RISING STARS CONFERENCE BY BRIAN DIAMOND There’s no magic formula for putting together a successful tain what the final list of writers will look like. As Piper Center writers conference, though having a diverse collection of distin- for Creative Writing Assistant Director Charlie Jensen puts it, guished and emerging writers is a good place to start. And in that “It’s best not to have any assumptions when planning the list.” regard, the 2008 Desert Nights, Rising Stars Writers Conference Checking assumptions at the door is probably an appropriate taking place February 20–23 promises to be something special. strategy with the Desert Nights, Rising Stars Writers Conference. Of course, putting together the right mix of writers and events The true power of the conference comes not only from allow- for a conference is no easy task. It can take two to three years of ing participants to listen to and work with their favorite writers planning to get writers such as former US Poet Laureate Louise but also in the unexpected discoveries of new and emerging Glück or Nebula and Hugo award-winner Orson Scott Card on writers. In a literary landscape that is increasingly segregated board. And even with endless hours of preparation, it’s never cer- between fiction and nonfiction, poetry and prose, academic and 4 CONFERENCE commercial writers, a writing conference serves as one of the sessions to allow participants a chance to catch their breath. To cre- rare sites of cross-pollination between genres and sensibilities. ate a more intimate feel, the Meet the Writers session will be held The conference is a place where literary scholars can hear in the gardems bejomd the Piper House. An open mic reading from and enjoy those “popular” writers that may not be consid- will also be held during lunch so participants can share their work; ered appropriate for study inside the academy, while the general the event will community can experience avant-garde poets whose work is be hosted by not readily available at their local bookstore. Jensen points out Hayden’s Ferry that no matter who the “big names” are, it’s never certain which Review. This writer or writers will resonate with conference goers. “Even the year’s confer- most challenging poets who may not be read by a wide audi- ence also fea- ence have been well received. They bring something unique.” tured a “Quick To that end, this year’s conference will feature writing styles Registration” that cater to almost any literary taste, whether it be the playful, option that biting wit of a poet such as Denise allowed par- Duhamel (Two and Two, Mille et un ticipants to sentiments) or the emotionally nu- register for the General Confer- anced prose of best-selling author ence, Small Group Instruction, Rick Moody (Right Livelihoods, and to purchase one ticket to each The Ice Storm) or even the histori- evening reading at a discount over cally charged travel writing of Jeff the “a la carte” price. Participants Biggers (United States of Appalachia, who chose to experience only a In the Sierra Madre). Add to that list portion of the conference could readings by Arizona State Universi- still simply pay for the confer- ty’s own award-winning poet Beck- ence events they were interest in ian Fritz Goldberg (The Book of Ac- attending, even separate tickets to cident, Lie Awake Lake) and former the evening reading without the faculty member Peggy Shumaker, general conference fee. whose latest work of creative non- Last year’s participants said fiction, Just Breathe Normally, was of the conference, “The authors recently published, and you get the were amazingly accessible, helpful, CAROLYN FORCHE RETURNS FOR THE 2008 CONFERENCE. sense for the range of options avail- interesting, and more than willing able to conference goers. to share their se- Being exposed to a diverse literary palette is only part of the crets and impart appeal of the conference, however. Having the chance to work their wisdom.”