Thursday, May 27, 2021 – Saturday, May 29, 2021
Thursday, May 27
12:30 – 1:15 p.m. Eastern / 11:30 – 12:15 CT / 10:30 – 11:15 MT / 9:30 – 10:15 PT.
Mixer with Faculty, Alums, and Graduating Students! No sign-up needed.
- Alums Meet with Faculty.
- Alums Meet with Graduating Students.
1:30 – 2:30 p.m. Eastern / 12:30 – 1:30 CT / 11:30 – 12:30 MT / 10:30 – 11:30 PT.
Faculty Reading: Silas House, Maggie Smith, K. L. Cook, Crystal Wilkinson, and Kathleen Driskell.
2:45 – 4:00 p.m. Eastern / 1:45 – 3:00 CT / 12:45 – 2:00 MT / 11:45 – 1:00 PT.
Alumni-led sessions
- B. Carle (F ’16), “The Daily To-Do: A Generative Workshop in Writing the Flash Listicle.” (75-minute generative workshop)
- Farah Casalini (CNF ’17), “A Fickle Mind: Writing Outside of Your Memory & Inside Emotional Truth.” (60-minute lecture)
- Precious McKenzie (W4C ’20), “Using Your Senses: World Building in Writing for Children and Young Adults.” (75-minute generative workshop)
4:15 – 5:15 p.m. Eastern / 3:15 – 4:15 CT / 2:15 – 3:15 MT / 1:15 – 2:15 PT.
- Elizabeth Burton (F ’16), “So You Want to Publish a Literary Journal: Advice You Never Knew You Needed.” (60-minute lecture)
- Beatrice Bowles (W4C ’03), “Into the Numinous: Primal Myths for Children.” (60-minute lecture)
- Bobbi Buchanan (CNF ’04), “How to Build a Writing Program for Inmates, Substance Abusers, and People Recovering from Trauma.” (60-minute lecture)
5:30 – 6:45 p.m. Eastern / 4:30 – 5:45 CT / 3:30 – 4:45 MT / 2:30 – 3:45 PT.
Distinguished Visiting Writer Sena Jeter Naslund, author of Ahab’s Wife and co-founder of the MFA program. Introduction by Kathleen Driskell.
7:00 – 8:00 p.m. Eastern / 6:00 – 7: 00 CT / 5:00 – 6:00 MT / 4:00 – 5:00 PT.
LOBBY TIME! Drop in anytime and stay as long as you like!
- By the Piano, hosted by Marjetta Geerling (W4C ’11) and Omar Figueras (F ’13)
- Across from the Elevators, hosted by Jeffrey Fischer-Smith (PW ’17)
7:30 – 9:00 p.m. Eastern / 6:30 – 8:00 CT / 5:30 – 7:00 MT / 4:30 – 6:00 PT.
Trivia Night! Sharpen your brains, friends—we’re playing trivia! Teams of 3-5 people will compete, answering questions about writing, reading, and Spalding. Hosted by Jessica Evans (F ’15), Amy Foos Kapoor (W4C ’19), and Melanie Haws Sakalla (F ’19).
9:00 – 10:15 p.m. Eastern / 8:00 – 9:15 CT / 7:00 – 8:15 MT / 6:00 – 7:15 PT.
Café MFA. Five-minute readings by alumni. Hosted by Nancy Chen Long (P ’13). We’ll send around a sign-up sheet!
Friday, May 28
10:00 – 11:00 a.m. Eastern / 9:00 – 10:00 a.m. CT / 8:00 – 9:00 a.m. MT / 7:00 – 8:00 a.m. PT.
Alumni Celebration of Recently Published Books, Session 1. Nancy Chen Long (P ’13) hosts.
- Kimberly Garts Crum (CNF ’03) and Bonnie Omer Johnson (F ’04), eds., The Boom Project: Voices of a Generation
- Barry George (P ’09)), Sirens and Rain
- Teddy Jones (F ‘’12), Slanted Light
- Amy Clark (P ’04), Roundabout
- Katy Yocom (F ’03), Three Ways to Disappear
11:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. Eastern / 10:15 – 11:15 a.m. CT / 9:15 – 10:15 a.m. MT / 8:15 – 9:15 a.m. PT.
Alum-led sessions
- Claudia Love Mair (CNF ’17), “Writing to Inspire: What You Need to Know to Succeed as a Spiritual Writer.” (60-minute lecture)
- Philip Cohen (F ’16), “Marketing Your Work.” (60-minute lecture)
- Brett Niethamer (SW ’17), “How It All Begins: An Examination of Origin Stories in Film and Television.” (60-minute lecture)
1:30 – 2:30 p.m. Eastern / 12:30 – 1:30 CT/ 11:30 – 12:30 MT / 10:30 – 11:30 PT.
Faculty/Guest Lectures.
- Poetry. Maggie Smith, “On the Line.”
- Professional Writing. Andrew Soliday, guest. “Keeping a Louisville Legacy Company in the Spotlight During the Time of COVID.”
- Professional Enrichment. Annie Frazier (F ’17), “Envisioning Revision: How to See Your Own Writing with Editors’ Eyes.”
3:00 – 3:30 Writing sprint.
2:45 – 4:00 p.m. Eastern / 1:45 – 3:00 CT / 12:45 – 2:00 MT / 11:45 – 1:00 PT.
Alumni-led sessions
- Michele Zakis (W4C ’18), “Write Out of the Graveyard.” (75-minute generative workshop)
- Shawna Casey (PW ’12), “Write Like a Child.” (75-minute generative workshop)
- Kim Shaver (P ’18), “Birds and the Bees: A Generative Poetry Workshop.” (75-minute generative workshop)
3:00 – 3:30 p.m. Eastern / 2:00 – 2:30 CT / 1:00 – 1:30 MT / 12:00 – 12:30 PT.
Writing sprint. Join host Donna Gay Anderson (PW ’18) for a writing sprint using the Pomodoro method. A writing sprint is all about creating momentum by getting words on the page! Come with a writing project in mind, or just plan to free-write for 25 minutes straight. At the end, we’ll take five minutes for a quick check-in. If you feel inspired, come back tomorrow—same time, same place—for a second sprint!
4:00 – 5:15 p.m. Eastern / 3:00 – 4:15 CT / 2:00 – 3:15 MT / 1:00 – 2:15 PT. Break.
5:15 – 6:30 p.m. Eastern / 4:15 – 5:30 CT / 3:15 – 4:30 MT / 2:15 – 3:30 PT.
Alumni Celebration of Recently Published Books, Session 2. Hosted by Clint Martin (CNF ’20).
- Scott O’Connor (F ’16), Zero Zone
- Catherine Anthony Foy (F ’13), Bartleby: A Scrivener’s Tale
- Connor Bjotvedt (P ’18), A Contemporary Portrait of the Southwest
- Angela Elson (CNF ’11), Sleeping Together (as Kitty Cook)
- Jessica Love Kim (W4C ’16), This Is for Tonight (as Jessica Patrick)
- Angela Jackson-Brown (F ’09), When Stars Rain Down
7:00 – 8:15 p.m. Eastern / 6:00 – 7: 15 CT / 5:00 – 6:15 MT / 4:00 – 5:15 PT.
LOBBY TIME! Come hang out in the (virtual) Brown Hotel lobby. Drop in anytime and stay as long as you like!
- By the Piano, hosted by Jenny Luper (F ’11) and Marjetta Geerling (W4C ’11)
- Across from the Elevators, hosted by Clint Martin (CNF ’20)
9:00 – 10:15 p.m. Eastern / 8:00 – 9:15 CT / 7:00 – 8:15 MT / 6:00 – 7:15 PT.
Café MFA. Five-minute readings by alumni, including PGRAs Amy Foos Kapoor (W4C ’19) and Andrew Najberg (P ’10). Open-mic reading for other alums. Nancy Chen Long (P ’13) hosts. We’ll send around a sign-up sheet!
Saturday, May 29
10:00 – 11:00 a.m. Eastern / 9:00 – 10:00 a.m. CT / 8:00 – 9:00 a.m. MT / 7:00 – 8:00 a.m. PT.
Alumni Celebration of Recently Published Books, Session 3, hosted by Marjetta Geerling (W4C ’11).
- Jonathan Weinert (P ’05), A Slow Green Sleep
- Alicia Anthony (F ’16), Inherent Truth
- Precious McKenzie (W4C ’20), Ruffian
- Jill Kelly Koren (P ’08), Though the Word Is a Lie
- Amy Oden Simpson (PW ’13), Jeremy Plays the Blues
- Whitney Collins (F ’18), Big Bad: Stories
11:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. Eastern / 10:15 – 11:15 CT / 9:15 – 10:15 MT / 8:15 – 9:15 PT.
Faculty/Guest Lectures.
- Fiction. Crystal Wilkinson (F ’03), guest. “Still Life in Motion: Creating the Illusion of Movement in the Quiet Story.”
- Professional Enrichment. Alicia Anthony (F ’16), “Weighing the Options: An Author’s Guide to (Reluctantly) Self-Publishing.”
- Professional Enrichment. Keith S. Wilson, “Getting Interactive: Writing Digital ‘Choose-Your-Own-Adventure’-style Stories and Games.”
1:15 – 2:30 p.m. Eastern / 12:15 – 1:30 CT/ 11:15 – 12:30 MT / 10:15 – 11:30 PT.
Alumni-led HC sessions.
- Joseph Schmidt (P ’03), “In defense of Coleman Barks: Considerations of Islamic Aesthetic after the Success of Rumi in America.” (60-minute lecture)
- Angela Jackson-Brown (F ’09) and Katrina Kittle (F ’08), “Keeping it Real: How We Use Research as a Tool in our Writing.” (75-minute generative workshop)
- Rosanna Staffa (F ’13), “Revising Our Lives.” (75-minute generative workshop)
2:45 – 3:15 p.m. Community Story reading. Listen to the story we created together! Sena wrote the first sentence, and each subsequent sentence was authored by a different alum. Hosted by Kimm Stammen (F ’19).
3:00 – 3:30 p.m. Eastern / 2:00 – 2:30 CT / 1:00 – 1:30 MT / 12:00 – 12:30 PT.
Writing sprint. Join host Donna Gay Anderson (PW ’18) for a writing sprint using the Pomodoro method. A writing sprint is all about creating momentum by getting words on the page! Come with a writing project in mind, or just plan to free-write for 25 minutes straight. At the end, we’ll take five minutes for a quick check-in.
3:30 – 4:30 p.m. Eastern / 2:30 – 3:30 CT / 1:30 – 2:30 MT / 12:30 – 1:30 PT.
Commencement Ceremony, Class of Spring 2021.
4:30 – 5:00 p.m. Eastern / 3:30 – 4:00 CT / 2:30 – 3:00 MT / 1:30 – 2:00 PT.
Speed Congratulations. Pop into our small-group “celebration rooms” and congratulate the graduates!
- MAW graduates: Michelle Barger, Laura Johnsrude, Sarah Duncan Sloane.
- MFA graduates: Christy Talbot Potvin, Rachel Phillippo, Maureen Mullins-May.
- MFA graduates: Shirley Dees, Alisha Lavender, JoAnne Lehman.
- MFA graduates: Jasmine Lomax, Ashley Taylor, Dana VanderLugt.
- MFA graduates: Brent Coughenour, Patti Charron, Alexis York.
- MFA graduates: Carroll Grossman, Brittni Caudill.
- MFA graduates: Erin Adams, Mackenna Johnson, Joshua Smith.
- MFA graduates: Jacqueline Aguilar, Drew Dunlop, Veronica Mattaboni.
8:00 – 9:15 p.m. Eastern / 7:00 – 8:15 CT / 6:00 – 7:15 MT / 5:00 – 6:15 PT.
Literary After Party and Homecoming Farewell. A reading by alumni who signed up in advance with Teneice Durrant (P ’06), host. After the readings, we’ll say farewell with a celebratory toast.
This Virtual Homecoming is brought to you by the MFA Alumni Association Steering Committee:
Donna Gay Anderson (PW ’18)
Theresa Carey (SW ’20)
Jill Cox-Cordova (F ’17)
Jeffrey Fischer-Smith (PW ’17)
Marjetta Geerling (W4CYA ’11)
Meghan Holsclaw (SW ’19)
Pat Hudson (CNF, F ’19)
Andrea Kilpatrick (W4CYA ’18)
Nancy Chen Long (P ’13)
Clint Martin (CNF ’20)
Amina McIntyre (PW ’09)
Terry Price (F ’06)
Andie Redwine-Becker (SW ’20)
Cappy Rush (PW ’12)
Katy Yocom (F ’03)
With thanks to the chair, directors, and staff of the School of Creative and Professional Writing.