Ursula Pflug's Blog - Posts Tagged "classes"
The Word is Wild, Maynooth, On. June 6-7
The Word Is Wild Literary Festival happens in Maynooth on June 6th and 7th. Maynooth is on the edge of Alqonquin Park and the festival takes place at The Arlington Hotel which is also the hostel for tourists, many from northern Europe, who have come to explore the park. I'll be facilitating a couple of writing workshops and reading on Saturday at 4 pm from The Alphabet Stones, sponsored by The National Public Readings Program of The Writers' Union of Canada.
Speaking of The Alphabet Stones there is a nice new review up at Amazing Stories online, by Canadian author/editor Steve Fahnestalk.
Among other things, Steve says: It has been a long while since a writer has kept me on this kind of knife edge: are there really two worlds? Even though we can see all kinds of things clearly through Jody’s eyes—and the book is a voyage of self-discovery as well as a sort of travelogue of mostly one place—we’re as uncertain as Jody is whether any of this is “real” in the usual sense. A lot of it deals with alienation—Jody’s as well as Ethan’s—which, in a very real sense, is a big problem for youth; often we don’t feel like we belong anywhere when we’re growing up. Like Jody, we sometimes don’t feel as if we’re part of our own family; they can appear to be strangers and we the halfling; as if we have been stolen away by fairies and replaced by some sort of golem. Are we the golem or the halfling? These questions are a part of the confusion Jody often feels, exacerbated by her feelings for Ethan, and the realization that Ethan feels for her sister what Jody feels for him. (It sounds more soap-opera-ish than it is.)
Anyway, I don’t want to quote large chunks of the book; I liked the writing so much I’d rather let the reader discover it for him/herself.
Speaking of The Alphabet Stones there is a nice new review up at Amazing Stories online, by Canadian author/editor Steve Fahnestalk.
Among other things, Steve says: It has been a long while since a writer has kept me on this kind of knife edge: are there really two worlds? Even though we can see all kinds of things clearly through Jody’s eyes—and the book is a voyage of self-discovery as well as a sort of travelogue of mostly one place—we’re as uncertain as Jody is whether any of this is “real” in the usual sense. A lot of it deals with alienation—Jody’s as well as Ethan’s—which, in a very real sense, is a big problem for youth; often we don’t feel like we belong anywhere when we’re growing up. Like Jody, we sometimes don’t feel as if we’re part of our own family; they can appear to be strangers and we the halfling; as if we have been stolen away by fairies and replaced by some sort of golem. Are we the golem or the halfling? These questions are a part of the confusion Jody often feels, exacerbated by her feelings for Ethan, and the realization that Ethan feels for her sister what Jody feels for him. (It sounds more soap-opera-ish than it is.)
Anyway, I don’t want to quote large chunks of the book; I liked the writing so much I’d rather let the reader discover it for him/herself.
New Con Ed Writing Course at Trent starts March 19!
Remember, award winning critic and blogger Derek Newman-Stille and I are teaching a creative writing class that begins this week. We are teaching it through Trent's Continuing Education department, which means it is open to all community members (not just current university students). So if you are interested in creative writing or even if you just want to try something new, make sure to sign up today.
While this class is called Writing Speculative Fiction, it leans heavily towards "mainstream." For example, in Thursday's inaugural class on character, it's wonderful if you want to write about a robot or an alien, but it isn't necessary. We expect most people will focus on humans!
As well, it's fine to sign up for one or two classes if that's what you can afford right now or if it's all you're interested in. Signing up for all eight classes is optional.
Looking forward to seeing you on Thursday night!
Call 705-748-1736 to register.
While this class is called Writing Speculative Fiction, it leans heavily towards "mainstream." For example, in Thursday's inaugural class on character, it's wonderful if you want to write about a robot or an alien, but it isn't necessary. We expect most people will focus on humans!
As well, it's fine to sign up for one or two classes if that's what you can afford right now or if it's all you're interested in. Signing up for all eight classes is optional.
Looking forward to seeing you on Thursday night!
Call 705-748-1736 to register.
