March 9, 2013; AWP Boston

9:00 a.m. to 10:15 a.m.

Room 202, Level 2

S115. Teaching Mutt Lit: Genre-Benders, Hybrids, and Other Weirdness in the Creative Writing Classroom. (Ruth Ellen Kocher, Jeanine Deibel, blake nemec, Vanessa Villarreal, Kelsie Hahn) This panel will explore nontraditional and hybrid literary forms as a means of developing craft, generating voice, and discovering a broader palette of reading and writing interests. Members will present approaches to teaching a variety of forms, including flash fiction, prose poetry, mixed-media, online and interactive text, and lyric essay, in addition to multi-genre work. We will also address resistance to unconventional structures and how to overcome these challenges in the classroom.

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Room 203, Level 2

S116. The Art of Losing. (Reese Okyong Kwon, Elliott Holt, Jennine Capó Crucet, Meghan O’Rourke, Alexander Chee) Leonard Michaels wrote about his wife, Sylvia, Edwidge Danticat wrote about Haiti, and Henry James wrote about his cousin, Minny. Many writers, after losing the people and places they love, have translated their grief into prose. For those of us who find that profound personal loss has informed our writing, what concerns and challenges have we encountered? What are potential pitfalls, and are there any consolations? Join us as we share our perspectives and read from our work.

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Room 206, Level 2

S118. Literary Nonfiction and Social Activism. (Helene Atwan, Marianne Leone, David Chura, Courtney Martin) This panel explores the craft of writing nonfiction that is both literary and socially relevant. Panelists include writers who, while seeking to make significant contributions to the national conversation on the issues they are writing about, are first and foremost writers of literary nonfiction. Writers and editors on the panel discuss ways to balance the political goals of the activist with the aesthetic imperatives of literary writing and the financial demands of trade publishing.

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10:30 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.

Room 201, Level 2

S139. Feminism Meets Neo-Benshi: Movietelling Talks Back. (Sarah Rosenthal, Tracie Morris, Jennifer Firestone, Paolo Javier, Anne Waldman) Neo-benshi, also called movietelling, meets contemporary feminism in this panel where poets co-opt popular film and subvert its plots and purposes for their own. The panelists have rewritten film scripts to critique and respond to current social issues. Panelists will perform these short pieces, which explore Neo-benshi’s potential for feminist dialogue and collaboration as well as its capacity to talk back, as it were, to society at large.

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12:00 noon to 1:15 p.m.

Room 111, Plaza Level

S163. Memoir Beyond the Self. (Jeffrey Shotts, Leslie Jamison, Brigid Hughes, Benjamin Nugent, Colleen Kinder) This panel will focus on narrative nonfiction that pushes the boundaries of traditional memoir by weaving personal experience into broader explorations of literature, history, and culture. What are the possibilities for a precarious first person, neither oppressively dominant nor entirely dissolved? How can memoir escape the bind of solipsism by looking outward at other people, places, and eras? How can private life become a medium through which the external world is articulated?

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Room 210, Level 2

S173. Wesleyan Poetry Series Reading. (Stephanie Elliott, Rae Armantrout, Kazim Ali, Annie Finch, Jena Osman) Readings from the newest titles in the Wesleyan Poetry series. Rae Armantrout’s Just Saying continues her standard of inventive, tightly written verse. Spells: New and Collected Poems represents Annie Finch’s technical mastery and her illuminating response to the world. Kazim Ali’s carefully crafted Icarus is an ethereal meditation on the human spirit. Jena Osman’s Public Figures employs a hybrid form of poetry, prose, and found text to explore memory and remembrance in American culture.

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1:30 p.m. to 2:45 p.m.

Room 111, Plaza Level

S190. Document-Based Sources of Inquiry. (Allison Wigen, Patricia Kirkpatrick, Sally Keith, Jody Gladding, Arlene Kim) Poets will discuss the ways in which document-based sources inform the writing process. Works of art, “texts” found in nature, brain maps, and fairy tales are among the “source documents” of interest to the panelists. Though art, nature, and narrative have inspired poets for centuries, in their recent works, these poets have utilized document-based sources in unexpected ways. This craft discussion will offer panel attendees fresh approaches to incorporating found sources into the writing process

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Room 306, Level 3

S204. How to Lose Friends and Alienate Loved Ones: Exploitation vs. Documentation in Creative Nonfiction. (B.J. Hollars, Roxane Gay, Marcia Aldrich, Ryan Van Meter, Bonnie J. Rough) Not every story is flattering, nor is every character. Nevertheless, nonfiction writers continue to document their lives and the lives of others, often at the risk of violating personal relationships. How should writers navigate between revealing the true nature of their subjects without alienating the people themselves? Join four writers as they explore the fine line between documentation and exploitation, among other ethical dilemmas inherent in writing of friends, family, and loved ones.

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8:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

Hynes Ballroom, Level 3

S264. Academy of American Poets Presents Lucie Brock-Broido and Anne Carson. (Lucie Brock-Broido, Anne Carson, Jennifer Benka) Award-winning poet Lucie Brock-Broido, author of Trouble in Mind, and acclaimed poet, essayist, and translator Anne Carson, author of Autobiography of Red, present readings from their respective work to be followed by a discussion moderated by Jennifer Benka, Executive Director of the Academy of American Poets.

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10:00 p.m. to 12:00 midnight

Sheraton Boston Hotel, Constitution Ballroom, Level 2

S266. AWP Public Reception & Dance Party, Sponsored by Columbia College Chicago Fiction Writing Department & Story Week. A dance party with music by DJ Neza. Free beer and wine from 10:00 to 11:00 p.m. Cash bar from 11:00 p.m. to midnight.