Monthly Archives: February 2012
Black Mountain Institute Spring 2012
Is it possible to be any more excited about Black Mountain Institute’s Spring 2012 events?
Jessica Lucero
Our semester kicked off with an Emerging Writers Series Reading featuring Blake Butler on February 8th.
On February 22nd at 7 PM, BMI will present a panel on Female Novelists in the Twenty-First Century, also called “Not Your Grandmother’s ‘Sense and Sensibility.’” This event is one you definitely shouldn’t miss! Mary Gaitskill, Sarah Shun-lien Bynum, and Cheryl Strayed will join in a discussion about the evolution of the female voice in literature. This event will take place in the Student Union Ballroom.
March will surely be a wonderful month as well.
On March 13th at 7 PM, BMI-Gallagher Fellow, Kris Saknussemm, will present a mixed media performance of his latest novel, Reverend America. Kris’ longtime friend and tenor saxophonist, Eric Wyatt, will be featured in the program. The evening is sure to be memorable and fantastic! This event will take place at Greenspun Hall Auditorium at UNLV.
Then, on March 22 also at 7 PM, BMI is pleased to present a panel that addresses the question: “Is Moderation Possible in American Politics?” Juan Williams, currently of Fox News and lately of NPR, and Norm Ornstein, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute will both add interesting points to this debate. Kathleen Parker, of Spitzer/Parker fame on CNN, is also scheduled to participate. Patricia Cunningham, the “Queen of Talk” and host of the popular radio show, the Patricia Cunningham Show, will moderate this event, which will take place at the Stan Fulton Building—International Gaming Institute Ballrooom.
More information about these programs can be found here: BMI Programs
Admission is free and open to the public.
Black Mountain Institute at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas supports a series of initiatives that promote humanistic and cross-cultural dialogue, including public readings and panel discussions, degree programs in creative writing, residential and faculty fellowships, and literary publications.
For Black Mountain Institute website click here
Why You Need a Critique Group
By Sheryl Greenblatt
Sheryl Greenblatt
Whether you are a seasoned writer or just dipping your toes into the craft, you are going to need a critique group. Even if you have a Greek Muse whispering creative brilliance into your ear as you write… they probably can’t spell either. Let’s take a look at seven reasons why everyone needs a critique group.
- Procrastination is an art form that many writers have perfected. Whether it be the dreaded writer’s block or just thinking that you’ll “start that novel next week”, some writers are really good at not getting their backsides in gear. A critique group creates an air of accountability. You will be responsible for a certain number of pages each week, and if you don’t come through, you will be drawn and quartered by your fellow critiquers.
- You cannot critique your own work. Let me repeat that in case you missed it. You cannot critique your own work. You are often too close to your story to notice whether the murder occurred on a Tuesday, the dragon had red scales or blue, or whether during a sex scene, your protagonist was wearing enough layers to be an Eskimo stuck in a strip poker game. Let someone else take a look, they will notice things that you could’ve missed.
- You cannot trust the opinion of anyone who relies on you for food, shelter or sex. The only question that a man likes to answer less than “Does this make me look fat?” is “Do you like my story?” You need a group of impartial writers who will tear you to shreds (in a nice way) and then build you back up.
- Critique groups prevent you from being a lonely hermit who only converses with cats… and inanimate objects. Writing is a lonely calling. Being part of a critique group will ensure that you shower and brush your teeth at least once a week.
- The habits that keep you from being invited to parties (correcting people’s grammar, pointing out spelling mistakes) will be respected and appreciated.
- When you are starting to doubt your skills as a writer, your critique group will prevent you from throwing your computer out a window and becoming a Walmart greeter… or they will get you an application. We all have moments where we feel like the only thing we should be writing is a suicide note. Your critique buddies will be there to tell you how much you’ve improved and remind you that life is worth living.
- If you show me yours, I will show you mine. If you are writing because you just want to write, then good for you. Writing is a wonderful cathartic tool. But, if you have any hopes of being published then you will have to put on your big boy pants and show your work to other people. A critique group provides a safe environment in which to do that. They will also make sure that your writing is in the best possible shape before presenting it to an agent.
So what are you waiting for?
Las Vegas Writing Thrives
As our founding fathers were signing the Declaration of 
Independence, Benjamin Franklin was staring at a chair. On the back was carved an image of the sun; Dr. Franklin was trying to ascertain whether the sun was setting or rising and if that was a portent of doom or a beacon of hope for the fledgling nation. More than two centuries later many Americans are deploring the upheaval in world of the printed word. But are these changes a harbinger of literary decline, or the dawn of a new age?
Throughout history technological advancements have altered the literary landscape. Gutenberg’s printing press was a quantum leap for the written word and quill pen-wielding monks in monasteries were no longer the primary means of reproducing manuscripts. Without the printing press literary works such as Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales would never had been so widely read, nor would they have inspired a whole new generation of writers resulting in a marked transformation in the evolution of literature. Today the word processor and personal computer have made it even easier and a whole new pool of writers have joined in.
Many of us in the older generation have been lamenting the loss of our literary traditions. Bookstores are closing, publishers are struggling, and newspapers are seeing readership decline. While we are bemoaning the sea changes wrought by the technological revolution, a new generation has been embracing its advances. Rather than shrinking the literary marketplace, the internet has created an unprecedented need for content. Literature is not dying; books such as the Harry Potter series have enthralled legions of young readers. Interest in writing is not declining, it is thriving.
Here in Las Vegas there are many local writers groups including the Henderson Writers Group and the Las Vegas Writers Group, which has an active roster of more than three hundred members. Creative writing courses at the University of Nevada Las Vegas were so much in demand this spring that extra classes were added in both basic and advanced writing. UNLV also boasts one of the country’s most highly regarded creative writing programs at the Masters Degree level. Attendance at the Vegas Valley Book Festival seems to grow every year and many successful authors call the Las Vegas area home.
Writing and literature are not dead; they are changing just as they always have. Rather than mourn the loss of what is gone or fading into the past, embrace the wonders that are yet to come. As Benjamin Franklin said those many years ago, “now at length I have the happiness to know that it is a rising and not a setting sun.”