Formed by Family: Writing About Those Who Shape UsWhen we write memoirs or personal essays, we inevitably find ourselves depicting those who have had the most influence in our lives—our family members. To understand the self, we must understand them. Take a look at a shelf of memoirs, and you will see just how vital those relationships are—in Tara Westover's Educated or Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home or Frank McCourt's Angela's Ashes. However, writing about family is risky, and there are legendary stories of family members who stopped talking after a memoir was published. As a result, we don’t want to get it wrong. In this presentation, we will look at ways to write more freely and honestly while still honoring those we care about. We will discuss how other authors have handled writing about mothers, fathers, spouses, and children. Tim Bascom, who directs the Kansas Book Festival, is author of a novel, two collections of essays, and two prize-winning memoirs about years spent in East Africa as a youth: Chameleon Days and Running to the Fire. His essays have won editor’s prizes at The Missouri Review and Florida Review, also being selected for the anthologies Best Creative Nonfiction and Best American Travel Writing. His short fiction has appeared in a handful of journals as well, winning the 2021 Fiction Prize at Briar Cliff Review. Tim is scheduled to present at 3:20pm on Saturday, October 22. PRESENTATION BLOCK 5 – WRITING ABOUT SELF The Petroglyphs play original folk-rock music. Named after their day jobs, Randy Carlson (geologist/ “petro”) and Kevin Rabas (writer and teacher/“glyph”), the band has been performing steadily in Lawrence and surrounding areas since 1999 and held a monthly standing gig at Aimee’s Coffee for almost two decades. Carlson writes the music, sings, and plays guitar. Rabas plays drums and percussion. And the two are joined by Val Bontrager on bass. The Petroglyphs will play from 5:00 to 6:00 pm on Saturday, October 22. Countering Censorship by WritingRecently we’ve seen a movement to suppress what books schools and libraries readers can read. Books have been burned in Tennessee and a PEN study documented 1,145 unique book titles banned in 86 school districts in 26 states between July 2021 and April 2022. Kansas is among the states where such book bans have been imposed by school districts. There have been 713 instances of censorship in Texas, 456 bans in Pennsylvania, and 204 in Florida. As writers, how do we respond to these violations of our First Amendment rights? Gretchen Eick has taken up controversial issues in her two scholarly histories/biographies and five novels. She is committed to using the power of her pen (keyboard?) to fight this suppression. She encourages writers to do the same by including in their stories characters of diverse races, nationalities, religions, sexual identification, and classes, and in their historical fiction, by including what what was happening to people living with those different identities. How do you do that? Gretchen Eick is a professor of history emerita who now teaches in Wichita State’s Lifelong Learning program. She taught 20 years at Friends University and in Latvia and Bosnia and Herzegovina thanks to Fulbright Fellowships. Gretchen is scheduled to present at 10:15am-11:00am on Saturday, October 22. PRESENTATION BLOCK 1 – EXPANDING VIEWS AND PERSPECTIVES Daily Journaling, Motivational WritingJournaling 5 minutes daily can increase motivation for writers of all ages. Anne will share journaling prompts and ideas for making journaling a part of your writing routine. Anne Shiever is a lifelong Kansas resident. She is an artist and an author with a love for poetry. Anne is one of the first authors in Kansas to take the plunge into publishing inspirational Adult Coloring Books and Journals, as well as her own poetic works. Most of her recently published titles are available on Amazon (search author Anne Shiever). Anne is the author of Captivated, a book of romance poetry, two children's books; Taffy’s Wonderful Miracle, a story of a dachshund, and Time for Tigger Tales, where her photography tells a story of a kitten growing up. Her books are archived in the Spencer Library and Museum in Lawrence. Anne has served Kansas Authors Club as past President and Vice President of District 4 and has served as a member on the State Board as Publicity Chair, Assistant Recording Secretary, and Awards Chair. She’s been a member since 2004. When she isn’t writing or drawing, she loves creating t-shirts and other cool gifts with her husband Zane for their on-line stores by the brand A&Z Fun-time Designs for Anne's Collectibles and Gifts. She enjoys spending time with her son, Kevin Jr., on her weekends off, and of course her furry babies, three dachshund rescues named Katie, Missy, and Charlie. Anne is scheduled to present at 3:20pm on Saturday, October 22. PRESENTATION BLOCK 5 – WRITING ABOUT SELF Getting to the Story |
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