Known from now on as the C FAC, for "Covenant Fine Arts Center," the new home of the English department opens this week after a long exile for English faculty and all our majors and minors.
A formal, public dedication ceremony for the entire CFAC will take place at 4:30 on Wednesday, October 20. But the English Department will hold its own celebratory lecture and reading the next day, Thursday, October 21, at 3:30, in the brand new recital hall.
Please join us, enjoy the moment, and imagine how many wonderful events we will host in this gorgeous new venue.
To inaugurate the recital hall, several Calvin writers will read from their work. Celebrating the work of Calvin writers past and present will be Prof. Lew Klatt, current student Andrew Steiner, 2010 graduate Laura Bardolph, and professor emeritus Tom Harper.
Then we'll hear from our featured speaker, Walter Wangerin, Jr., National Book Award winner and prolific writer of fiction, nonfiction, children's books, and more. Wangerin is a Lutheran pastor, professor, and former Festival of Faith and Writing speaker as well.
Following the event, we'll get to be among the first to spill cookie crumbs in the new lobby. In fact, people who come to the reception might be able to consume enough cookies to keep them going right into the next event, the opening of the new art gallery at 7 p.m.
Come celebrate the new home of current and future Calvin writers!
(By the way, the English Department is not actually moving into their new offices for several weeks yet. We'll have to celebrate that when the time comes...)
Friday, October 15, 2010
English 245 Students Write Up 2011 Interims
Prof. Hettinga's English 245 Basic Journalism class has created a resource meant to be useful to the Calvin community. Their "Interim News" blog offers expanded descriptions of interim offerings for 2011. After all, those little course descriptions don't tell us everything.
Check out the blog for short articles on both on-campus and off-campus offerings about evolution, revolution, adventure, and more.
Check out the blog for short articles on both on-campus and off-campus offerings about evolution, revolution, adventure, and more.
Friday, October 1, 2010
Dialogue Accepting Submissions
Dialogue, our campus literary journal, is now accepting submissions for the next issue. Anyone in the Calvin community--students, faculty, staff--is welcome to submit material.
Dialogue usually has plenty of poetry and visual art to choose from, so how about turning in an essay, review, or commentary?
The current submissions window is open through October 6. Send submissions to dialogue.submissions@gmail.com. Visual art that has not been scanned can be dropped off at the Dialogue office or SC 102.
Dialogue usually has plenty of poetry and visual art to choose from, so how about turning in an essay, review, or commentary?
The current submissions window is open through October 6. Send submissions to dialogue.submissions@gmail.com. Visual art that has not been scanned can be dropped off at the Dialogue office or SC 102.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
ArtPrize Artist Sheila Wyne on Campus
Get involved with ArtPrize! We are lucky to have artist Sheila Wyne visiting our campus next week for several events. Sheila is a visual artist based in Anchorage, Alaska. Her studio work has been widely shown, and since 1990 she has designed and installed over 20 public commissions. She is also a successful set designer. Wyne has won a Rasmuson Artist Fellowship, a Boochever Fellowship, the Alex Combs Artist Award, and grants from Alaska State Council on the Arts, the Andy Warhol and Rockefeller Foundations. In 2009, Wyne received the Governor’s Award for Individual Artist.
Here are the events. For writers, the third one is especially promising.
At Second Sight: An Artist’s Look at the World
Wednesday, Sept 22
3:30 p.m.
Meeter Center Lecture Hall
This talk—on the opening day of ArtPrize—focuses on how art, especially when conceived of as visual metaphor, can be a valuable tool for critical thinking. How can we combat visual clichés that reduce or dumb down our discourse and instead argue for a robust “visual linguistics”? And how can we use the discipline of observation to develop a visual empathy that might increase our ability to think and respond? Whether you’re an art expert or novice, this talk should help you more fully engage in--as well as enjoy--ArtPrize this year.
A Long Walk Off a Short Pier: Challenges of Art, Urban Planning, and the Environment
Tuesday, Sept 28
3:30 p.m.
Rm 078 North Hall
Wyne has successfully completed twenty public commissions, and as such, she has a unique perspective on the ways art intersects with issues of both urban planning and environmental issues.
Living Well on a Shoestring: Surviving—and Thriving—as an Artist
Wednesday, Sept 29
3:30 p.m.
Meeter Center Lecture Hall
This highly interactive session focuses on the “nuts and bolts” of being an artist after graduation: setting deadlines, building community, applying for grants, balancing art and a day job, etc. Great for all creative people interested in making their art a career.
Here are the events. For writers, the third one is especially promising.
At Second Sight: An Artist’s Look at the World
Wednesday, Sept 22
3:30 p.m.
Meeter Center Lecture Hall
This talk—on the opening day of ArtPrize—focuses on how art, especially when conceived of as visual metaphor, can be a valuable tool for critical thinking. How can we combat visual clichés that reduce or dumb down our discourse and instead argue for a robust “visual linguistics”? And how can we use the discipline of observation to develop a visual empathy that might increase our ability to think and respond? Whether you’re an art expert or novice, this talk should help you more fully engage in--as well as enjoy--ArtPrize this year.
A Long Walk Off a Short Pier: Challenges of Art, Urban Planning, and the Environment
Tuesday, Sept 28
3:30 p.m.
Rm 078 North Hall
Wyne has successfully completed twenty public commissions, and as such, she has a unique perspective on the ways art intersects with issues of both urban planning and environmental issues.
Living Well on a Shoestring: Surviving—and Thriving—as an Artist
Wednesday, Sept 29
3:30 p.m.
Meeter Center Lecture Hall
This highly interactive session focuses on the “nuts and bolts” of being an artist after graduation: setting deadlines, building community, applying for grants, balancing art and a day job, etc. Great for all creative people interested in making their art a career.
Monday, September 6, 2010
We Knew She Had an Evil Plan
May 2010 graduate Alexis Royce has been scheming since her senior year in high school, writing and drawing the story of the evil Dr. Kinesis. And now, at last, Lexi’s plan for world conquest is succeeding!
Or at least her plan for publication. Lexi, an art major/English minor at Calvin, and her cousin/collaborator, Megan Johnston, just announced the print publication of Evil Plan, Volume 1, through the online publisher Comixpress.
From the publisher’s catalog copy: “Evil Plan is a manga styled comic that takes the superhero world and flips it, viewing things from the supervillain's perspective. The story follows Dr. Kinesis's journey on the road to world conquest. Filled with humor, romance, and perhaps the slightest slice of angst, Evil Plan is a comic for all those people who want to see the bad guy win. If he doesn't blow himself up first.”
Lexi says she and Megan are “intensely proud” of this milestone for their work. “It's been a headache and a joy working on it,” Lexi writes, “but right now, all I can feel is the joy, and I assure you that's a copious amount of joy.”
Evil Plan continues to be available in its entirety for free viewing online at the webcomic hosting site smackjeeves.com. However, Comixpress now offers a print version with a number of extra features, including an extra story, bonus art, and author bio features. “You’d be surprised how many people will pick up a print version even if a comic is available online,” says Lexi. “Print is a different way to experience it.”
Smack Jeeves is an online comics community featuring about 20,000 comics written and drawn by people at a range of levels, from just starting out to professional. Site members discuss and promote their favorites, so writers can build an audience as they work.
The site just held its first awards, based on reader voting. Evil Plan was nominated for two: Best Sci-fi and Best Characters. It took the Best Sci-fi award, further boosting Lexi and Megan’s fan base.
Are more volumes on their way?
“We have the whole story planned out,” Lexi says. “There are definitely more volumes coming.”
Friday, September 3, 2010
Not So Many Cheers for Volunteers
"When selling raffle tickets in exchange for a ticket to Disney can be called 'helping others,' it's no wonder ninety-eight percent of society does it," writes Jen Erickson. Jen's essay, "Loving My Neighbor: What's in it For Me?", was just published in the Burnside Writers Collective online magazine.
Jen, a senior Secondary Ed/Spanish major with English minor, wrote the essay for her Creative Nonfiction class last semester. The essay was her response to the "social critique" assignment, and it examines the desire, in herself and others, to get credit for volunteering but to keep our lives untouched by the people we help and the tough situations we encounter in volunteering contexts.
Jen submitted the essay for publication as part of the class's final assignment. Just a month later, she got a reply.
"The editor was really nice," says Jen. "She sent me an email back detailing the things she liked about the essay and her suggestions for things I should change if I wanted to resubmit it. I was so impressed with how much feedback I got!"
Burnside Writers Collective is "an online magazine for Christians looking for a connection with the world outside of franchise Christianity."
Jen, a senior Secondary Ed/Spanish major with English minor, wrote the essay for her Creative Nonfiction class last semester. The essay was her response to the "social critique" assignment, and it examines the desire, in herself and others, to get credit for volunteering but to keep our lives untouched by the people we help and the tough situations we encounter in volunteering contexts.
Jen submitted the essay for publication as part of the class's final assignment. Just a month later, she got a reply.
"The editor was really nice," says Jen. "She sent me an email back detailing the things she liked about the essay and her suggestions for things I should change if I wanted to resubmit it. I was so impressed with how much feedback I got!"
Burnside Writers Collective is "an online magazine for Christians looking for a connection with the world outside of franchise Christianity."
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
CWR Website Updated
Our very own website, specifically designed to help Calvin student writers publish their creative work, has just been updated with even more publication venue ideas. Calvin Writers Recommend was designed in 2009 by a student Alissa Goudswaard in order to help Calvin student writers. Thanks to Prof. Rienstra's spring 2010 Creative Nonfiction class for researching 17 new publication venues, and thanks to Jake Schepers for doing the keystroking to get the site updated.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)