News & Events

UNC Asheville’s Great Smokies Writing Program Announces Summer 2012 Workshops

May 3, 2012

Local writers will have the opportunity to hone their skills with UNC Asheville's Great Smokies Writing Program summer workshops in poetry and prose. Classes are open to all interested writers but class size is limited; early registration is suggested.

Poet Jeff Davis will lead "Getting Back in Touch with the Muse: A Poetry Workshop," from 6-8:30 p.m. Tuesdays, June 5, 12, and 19, and July 3 and 10, at Montford Books & More, 31 Montford Ave. in Asheville. Working with Davis, students will use Oulipean approaches and techniques explored by Black Mountain College poet Jonathan Williams – found language and elements of chance – to bring new life to the writing process. Davis is the author of "Natures: Selected Poems, 1972-2005" (New Native Press, 2006), and hosts the weekly program "Wordplay" on Asheville FM.

Novelist Christine Hale will lead "Remembering, Misremembering, Disremembering: Our Memories Have a Story to Tell," from 6-8:30 p.m. Mondays, June 4 and 11, and July 2, 9, and 16 at Grateful Steps, 159 S. Lexington Ave. in Asheville. Using brief examples from published memoirs and in-class writing exercises, this class will model techniques for turning memory's mischief to literary advantage. The three-week break will facilitate completion of writing to be shared and developed during the last three sessions. Hale is the author of "Basil's Dream" (Livingston Press, 2009), which received an honorable mention in the 2010 Library of Virginia Literary Awards. Her prose has been featured in many literary journals, including Arts & Letters, Saw Palm, and The Sun.

Marjorie Klein, will lead "Déjà Vu All over Again: Writing the Personal Essay," from 6-8:30 p.m. Wednesdays, June 6, 13, 20, 27, and July 11 at Grateful Steps, 159 S. Lexington Ave. in Asheville. This course will give buried memories a voice through personal essays. Each session will focus on craft elements including description, character, setting, voice and theme, with in-class writing based on related prompts. Klein's novel, "Test Pattern" (Wm. Morrow, 2000; HarperCollins/Perenniel 2001), was a Barnes and Noble "Discover Great New Writers" selection. Her narrative nonfiction has appeared for 20 years in "Tropic," the Miami Herald's Sunday magazine.

Jennifer McGaha will lead "A Feast of Memories," from 5-7:30 p.m. Tuesdays, June 5, 12, 19, 26, and July 10 at Blue Ridge Books, 152 S. Main St., Waynesville. Through an exploration of food memories, participants will work toward "the real story" – what the feelings surrounding the memory say about identity and values. McGaha is a native of western North Carolina and her fiction and nonfiction reflect her deep Appalachian roots. She is nonfiction editor for the Pisgah Review. Her work has appeared in many journals including Blue Mesa, North Carolina Literary Review, New Southerner, Smoky Mountain Living Magazine, and the Portland Review.

Dale Neal will lead "Writing to Grab the Reader: A Fiction Workshop for Beginning and Intermediate Writers," from 6-8:30 p.m. Thursdays, June 7, 14, 21, 28, and July 5 at Montford Books & More, 31 Montford Ave. in Asheville. This workshop will critique and encourage participants to write their own attention-getting stories with emphasis on developing character, conflict and plot. Neal is the author of the Novelo Prize-winning novel, "Cow Across America" (Novello Festival Press, 2009) and the forthcoming novel, "The Half-Life of Home." His short fiction and essays have appeared in Arts & Letters, Crescent Review, Carolina Quarterly and elsewhere. He is Sunday Ideas columnist for the Asheville Citizen-Times.

Each course qualifies for one UNC Asheville credit hour in literature and language. In-state tuition and fees for five-session courses are $117.92; cost for out-of-state residents is $578.96. A $20 non-refundable application fee for new students will also be charged.

For more information or to register visit the Great Smokies Writing Program website, email nwilliam@unca.edu or call 828.250.2353.