Gemini Ink Summer Literary Festival 2012: Courting Bliss

summer literary festivalcourting blissjuly 6-22, 2012

readers and writerstoday and tomorrow

gemini ink 20122summer catalogue

W o r d s o f W e l c o m eNever write with pencil,m’ija.It is for thosewho woulderase.Make your mark proudand open,brave,beauty folded intoits imperfection,Like a piece of turquoisemarked.

Carmen Tafolla

We’re “Courting Bliss” at Gemini Ink this summer. Having assembled a plentiful festival of literary offerings, our hope is that you’ll find bliss in leaving your own indelible mark on a page—a mark in “Ink” that will invigorate your creativity. Reveling in our unique voices, braving the creative process, and asserting our art as we do our individuality will undoubtedly rejuvenate. You’ll have the opportunity to work through the structure of a Young Adult novel with Brian Yansky, and get a “thrill” in Roger Boylan’s fiction class. Poetry editor Thom Ward will navigate the “truth” in poetry, and hold one-on-one consultations. Blogger Tunette Powell brings a fresh perspective and honesty to her writing, and will guide parents in sharing their own unique parenting experiences. Our beloved Young Writers Camp returns, led by equally treasured Donna Peacock and Derek Delgado. Help your kids discover their inner hero by joining author and illustrator Xavier Garza on his fantastic “Lucha Libre” day. Evoke your senses for fuller access to your memory in Kelly Grey Carlisle’s memoir class, and find authentic ways to write about music with award-winning music journalist John Swenson. Discover the art of chapbook making with Wings Press’ Bryce Milligan, or unroll your Yoga mat to connect with your body and poetic self in Celeste Guzman Mendoza’s class. We’ll also have an exciting Spelling Bee with Bryce Milligan, and a night of “blackout” poetry.

No matter how you choose to “court bliss” this summer, just know how welcome you are to do so at Gemini Ink!

Erika Nadeau MorganUniversity Without Walls Director

Gemini Ink, a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization, is extremely grateful for contributions from avid readers and writers, as well as grants from the George W. Brackenridge Foundation, Brown Foundation, City of San Antonio Office of Cultural Affairs, Elizabeth Huth Coates Charitable Foundation, Edouard Foundation, Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund, Frost National Bank, theFund, Guerra • DeBerry • Coody Marketing and Communications, Howard and Betty Halff Fund of the San Antonio Area Foundation, H-E-B, King William Association, Albert and Bessie Mae Kronkosky Charitable Foundation, Ruth Lang Charitable Fund and Beulah M. and Felix J. Katz Memorial Trust of the San Antonio Area Foundation, Lifshutz Foundation, Genevieve and Ward Orsinger Foundation, Myra Stafford Pryor Charitable Trust, National Endowment for the Arts, Rackspace Foundation, Alice Kleberg Reynolds Foundation, Russell Hill Rogers Fund for the Arts, San Antonio Express-News, Shield-Ayres Foundation, Smothers Foundation, Texas Commission on the Arts, USAA Foundation, Valero Energy Foundation, Esther and Harold Vexler Advised Fund of the San Antonio Area Foundation, and Wayne Wright Lawyers.

a b o u t G e m i n i I n kGemini Ink nurtures writers and readers and builds community through literature and the related arts. At Gemini Ink we believe human story in all its diverse and complicated forms and genres — from poetry and fiction to memoir and oral tradition — is essential to developing compassion and richness in both individual and community life. We encourage focused reading, writing, and exchange at every level, from elementary school student to incarcerated youth and from polished professional to the elder who has always wanted to record her family stories.

Cover Artist: April Campos, 16 years old, SAY SíTitle: InspirationMixed Media

3gemini ink 2012 summer catalogue

s u m m e r 2 0 1 2 s c h e d u l eDates Classes & Events Page

Tuesday, June 12 Summer Registration Begins 22

Friday, July 6 Festival Reading 15

Saturday, July 7 Fiction / Yansky 4

Sunday, July 8 Fiction / Garza 5 Lifelong Learning / Powell 7 Monday, July 9 Young Writers Camp* (8-12) 9 Delgado & Peacock

Wednesday, July 11 Spelling Bee 11

Friday, July 13 Festival Reading 15

Saturday, July 14 Fiction / Boylan 4 Poetry & Multi-Genre / Ward 6, 8

Sunday, July 15 Lifelong Learning / Milligan 6

Monday, July 16 Young Writers Camp* (13-18) 9 Delgado & Peacock

Wednesday, July 18 Blackout Night 10 Friday, July 20 Festival Reading 15

Saturday, July 21 Memoir / Carlisle 7 Multi-Genre / Swenson 8

Sunday, July 22 Poetry / Mendoza 5 Young Writers Camp Reading 9 Summer Festival Ends

Friday, August 3 Open Mic Night 15

Note: Classes are shown here by genre and instructor(s). See page listings for detailed class descriptions and registration deadlines. *Multi-session courses are shown with an asterisk.


About Our Classes Are you interested in music, photography, theater, science, or philosophy? Are you a teacher searching for ideas to use in the classroom? Are you a business professional wanting to polish your communication skills? Do you enjoy books and good conversation? Maybe you’ve always wanted to be a writer, but you’re not sure how to get started. Or you’re a writer whose work needs more attention. The University Without Walls program offers a wide range of classes and workshops for anyone with an inquisitive mind. Whether you’re curious about ideas or deeply committed to the craft of writing, you’ll find the literary camaraderie you’re looking for at Gemini Ink. Our faculty members have extensive credentials and are committed to teaching. And, at the heart of our classes are creative, intelligent, and talented students like you. Join our community and make Gemini Ink part of your life.

Course LevelsBeginner: Writers or readers who are new to the course subject and/or design.Intermediate: Writers and readers who have background knowledge of the course subject, will complete required readings, and will actively participate in class discussion. These writers have had working practice with this aspect of craft and have participated in at least one writing workshop (either with Gemini Ink or elsewhere); they are comfortable with in-class writing exercises.I n t e r m e d i a t e / A d v a n c e d : Intermediate level requirements, plus a knowledge of all technical and formal aspects pertinent to this class. Participants are experienced in critical analysis. Writers have a history of practical experience in this area, have participated in several writing workshops, and are probably researching the publication process (and have a realistic understanding of its demands). A d v a n c e d : I n t e r m e d i a t e /Advanced requirements, plus extensive knowledge of this course subject. Each participant is something of an expert in this field. Each writer has attained a professional level, that is, writing has become an integral part of her/his routine and her/his work is of publication quality.

Course levels are self-selected.

classesFICTION

#1 Young Adult NovelsLevel: AllInstructor: Brian YanskyHow do you bring order to a Young Adult novel, or for that matter, any novel? In this course, we’ll tackle this very difficult question of structure, focusing particularly on Young Adult novels where a strong story is absolutely essential. We’ll cover strategies for prewriting, first drafts, and revision. There will be in-class writing exercises (bring pen and paper) as well as discussion, lecture, and YouTube videos. Date: Saturday, July 7, 9am-12pmLimit: 15 ParticipantsRegistration Deadline: Thursday, July 5CPE Credits: 3 Language ArtsFee: $75 Discounted Fee: $65

#2 Discussion Point: A Thriller of My OwnLevel: AllInstructor: Roger BoylanIn this seminar, you will learn practical, focused ways to write a thriller: how to analyze your thriller’s structure, what to leave in, and what to take out. Participants should bring a synopsis draft of a proposed thriller, which will be discussed (but not critiqued). Featured will be excerpts from the films The Thirty-Nine Steps (1935) and The Bourne Identity (2004), archetypal thrillers from their respective eras. Students will comment on what changed in the genre between 1935 and 2004, and what stayed the same. What stayed the same is what a good thriller must have. Excerpts from the novels will be read and discussed in conjunction with the film excerpts.Date: Saturday, July 14, 10am-3pm (1-hour lunch break) Limit: 15 ParticipantsRegistration Deadline: Wednesday, July 11CPE Credits: 4 Language ArtsFee: $90 Discounted Fee: $80


How to Register A registration form appears on page 22. Please mail the completed form to Gemini Ink at 513 S. Presa, San Antonio, TX 78205, along with your class tuition and registration fee. You may also register by visiting our website at www.geminiink.org, calling us at 210.734.9673 (877.734.9673, toll-free), or visiting our office at the above address.

Registration FeeBe sure to include the $10 registration fee in your total. The fee is required each time you enroll for classes and helps cover expenses like registration staffing, classroom maintenance, handouts, flyers, mailings, and supplies. If you are taking several classes, register for them all at once to avoid paying multiple registration fees!

Credit Card Payments Gemini Ink accepts Discover, VISA, and MasterCard payments for class tuition or contributions. For more information, please call the office at 210.734.9673.

Registration and Payment Policies Registration and payment should be made as soon as possible. Class size is limited and filled on a first-come, first-served basis. After the published deadline, we accept registrations on a space-available basis. We will charge a $10 processing fee for any returned check.

Class Cancellations Gemini Ink reserves the right to cancel or reschedule courses to adjust for enrollment. If it is necessary to cancel a course, all registered participants will be informed immediately and will be extended the opportunity to transfer to another course. If participants enrolled in a canceled class do not wish to transfer, a full refund will be made.

Discounts on Class Tuition! The class fee reflects a $10 discount. An additional 5% deduction is offered to educators, seniors (65+), and students. Refer five friends to any University Without Walls class or combination of classes, and we’ll waive your tuition for one class or workshop. Some restrictions apply. Call the office at 210.734.9673 for details.

#3 Lucha Libre Day Level: AllInstructor: Xavier GarzaJoin author, illustrator, and storyteller Xavier Garza as he brings the world of “lucha libre” and its masked heroes and villains to life for both children (ages 6-12) and parents alike. Discover your inner hero, and dive into the process of bringing your character to life. Xavier Garza will share stories from his books, Lucha Libre — The Man in the Silver Mask and Maximilian & the Mystery of the Guardian Angel. Afterwards, in an activity that is sure to be great family fun, children and their parents will work together to design and create their own lucha libre masks. Please note: each registration includes one parent and one child. Price includes both parent and child. Date: Sunday, July 8, 9am-1pm (half-hour lunch break. Please bring a sack lunch.)Limit: 10Registration Deadline: Thursday, July 5CPE Credits: 3.5 Language ArtsFee: $105 Discounted Fee: $95

POETRY

#4 Body BlissLevel: AllInstructor: Celeste Guzman MendozaDelighting in the human body is the purpose of this generative workshop. We will discuss and read works by Sandra Cisneros, Maya Angelou, Gloria Anzaldúa, Pablo Neruda and others who celebrate and praise the human form. Then we will write poems and/or dramatic monologues in response to these works. Please dress comfortably and bring a mat; during the class we will do movement work and some basic yoga to ground awareness into our bodies. Date: Sunday, July 22, 10am-1pm Limit: 15 ParticipantsRegistration Deadline: Wednesday, July 18CPE Credits: 3 Language ArtsFee: $60 Discounted Fee: $50


Withdrawals A student may withdraw from a Gemini Ink workshop at any time. The student must notify the office at least 5 business days prior to the first date of the workshop to be eligible for full tuition refunds, less a $25 withdrawal fee. Alternately, tuition transfers to another class are available within the same semester.

Withdrawal notifications not made within 5 business days of the workshop are not eligible for tuition refunds, but students may transfer tuition to another class within the same semester, less a $25 late withdrawal fee and/or faculty cost.

Withdrawal notifications made the day of the workshop or after the workshop has begun are not eligible for refunds or transfers of any kind.

Transfer of tuition across semesters is not possible. Failure to attend sessions or verbal notification to instructor will not be regarded as official notice of withdrawal.

Refunds will be processed within 14 business days. Refund checks must be cashed within 90 days of the check date. Otherwise, we will have to charge for any stop-payment costs we incur.

Special Info Occasionally classes will be photographed or videotaped. Please notify the instructor if you wish to be excluded. Adult classes are open to high school students by permission of the instructor only. On occasion, classes may deviate from the published course descriptions.

Volunteering Do the Write Thing. Work toward a free class! We have lots of opportunities and a variety of jobs to do. To learn more please call 210.734.9673 and pitch in!

Be good to the earth...

Please recycle! Paper-free people may receive all catalogue information online at

our website www.geminiink.org

#5 Lie to Tell the TruthLevel: AllInstuctor: Thom WardIn this poetry workshop and readshop we will ex-plore aesthetic strategies, based on “lies,” that might enable us to discover what we didn’t know when we started writing our poems/stories. Simply put, we’ll pursue aesthetic truths as opposed to “reality” by taking a closer look at, and discuss-ing several contemporary poems. Two writing ex-ercises will free our imaginations. Students will be encouraged to share their poem/stories in the democratic spirit of art.Date: Saturday, July 14, 10am-12pmLimit: 15 ParticipantsRegistration Deadline: Wednesday, July 11CPE Credits: 4 Language ArtsFee: $55 Discounted Fee: $45

LIFELONG LEARNING

#6 Chapbook SeminarLevel: AllInstuctor: Bryce MilliganBryce Milligan, publisher and editor of Wings Press, will show and discuss examples from his own collection of chapbooks, both traditional and contemporary. We will cover the history of the chapbook, but the focus will be on relating content to design. Students will learn binding techniques: saddle-stich, basic stab-stich, Coptic and Japanese stitches. We will also discuss the making of miniature books. Come appreciate the artistry in chapbook-making.Date: Sunday, July 15, 1pm-5pmLimit: 15 ParticipantsRegistration Deadline: Wednesday, July 11CPE Credits: 4 Language ArtsFee: $80 Discounted Fee: $70


Credit for Teachers Gemini Ink is registered with the State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) as a provider of Continuing Professional Education (CPE) activities for standard certificate renewal for teachers. CPE credits are listed by each course description. Credit should be requested at the time of registration. Certificates will be mailed within 7 days of course completion.

Business and Professional Managers If you are looking for an exciting continuing education experience for your valued employees, a Gemini Ink class is ideal. University Without Walls class offerings begin on page 4. For writing instruction in the workplace, contact the Director of the Writers in Communities program at our office. Whether held at our site or yours, our classes will enrich your employees’ lives on and off the job.

Course Texts Most course texts and faculty books may be purchased at the Gemini Ink office during business hours (call for availability), or at The Twig Book Shop, 200 E. Grayson Ste. 124, 1.800.SAYTWIG. The Twig donates 20% of our in-office book sales to Gemini Ink.www.thetwig.indiebound.com

Manuscript SubmissionsFor courses requiring advance manuscripts, please send manuscript attached to an email to [email protected]. Manuscripts must have at least one-inch margins, be in an easily legible font, adhere to the instructor’s specified length limitations, and, if fiction, be double-spaced. Please note that Gemini Ink is unable to reformat manuscripts that don’t meet these guidelines. Include your instructor’s name, along with your name and contact information. The email should indicate “manuscript” and class number in the subject line. Manuscripts will be circulated electronically for advance critique. Please bring one hard copy to class. Manuscripts submitted after the published deadline will be distributed in class and discussed only at the instructor’s discretion.

#7 Adventures in Motherhood and BloggingLevel: AllInstructor: Tunette PowellFrom celebrating your baby’s first steps, to giving advice to new parents, sharing stories is how parents learn. This four-hour course takes parents from changing diapers to changing minds, as it dives into the art of storytelling via blogging. Through in-class exercises, lecture, and discussion, this class will demonstrate how to use blogging and short story structure to share memorable parenting experiences. This interactive, hands-on course is ideal for new bloggers or seasoned vets looking to rejuvenate their site. Date: Sunday July 8, 10am-2pmLimit: 15 ParticipantsRegistration Deadline: Thursday, July 5CPE Credits: 4 Language ArtsFee: $60 Discounted Fee: $50

MEMOIR

#8 The Sensory StoryLevel: AllInstructor: Kelly Grey CarlisleRemember the cold sea rushing around your ankles, the way you dug your toes into the wet sand? Do you remember the gull’s cry, the roar of the breakers, how salt lingered on your lips hours later? Specific, sensory details help a reader ex-perience a story viscerally—and providing those details helps you, the memoirist, fully access memory. Join us as we use our bodies to remem-ber and write. This class will combine generative exercises, in-class writing, and sharing. Students may submit up to 10 pages for instructor critique. Please submit work no later than Friday, July 13.Date: Saturday, July 21, 10am-3pm(1-hour lunch break) Limit: 15 participantsRegistration Deadline: Wednesday, July 11CPE Credits: 4 Language ArtsFee: $80 Discounted Fee: $70


Thank You We are grateful to our many Gemini Ink donors and funders who make it possible to keep your tuition affordable.

Interested in Teaching?Proposals for classes are invited! Generally, we require that our faculty have significant publishing and teaching experience. Please send a sample course outline, résumé/curriculum vitae, and (if possible) a copy of a recent book. Direct your materials to [email protected], or, to teach in community settings, send to [email protected].

Plans in the MakingParents! If your children are interested in classes/workshops for young writers, please call our office at 210.734.9673 to get on our planning list. When we have ten potential students, we’ll put a workshop together, considering instructor availability and compatible ages in the group.

Where to Find Us Unless otherwise noted, events take place in our bright green building at 513 S. Presa in Southtown/King William. If you are coming from 35&10, exit César E. Chávez Boulevard Blvd. East. Drive to S. Presa and turn right. We are on your right. From 37/281, exit César E. Chávez Boulevard West. Drive to the stoplight at S. Alamo and turn left; take the next right on S. Presa. We are on your left almost at the end of the block.

Parking Parking for classes and events at our facility is available in front of the building, along the street, and across the street in the lot marked “Gemini Ink.” In the interest of being good neighbors, we ask that you not park in the El Mirador restaurant lot next door.

Accessibility Gemini Ink provides parking for the physically challenged in front of the building, which is wheelchair accessible. Office Hours Monday through Friday, 9am-4pm; closed on all major holidays.

MULTI-GENRE

#9 Private Consultations with EditorLevel: IntermediateInstructor: Thom WardSubmit up to five pages of your poems-in-progress (unpublished work, please). The editor will meet with you for 30 minutes to discuss your poetry and provide feedback on your work.Please submit your poems no later than June 28.Date: Saturday, July 14, 1pm-6pm Limit: 8 ParticipantsRegistration Deadline: Wednesday, June 27CPE Credits: .5 Language ArtsFee: $100 Discounted Fee: $90

#10 Music JournalismLevel: AllInstructor: John SwensonHow does one write about musicians without resorting to simply offering critical opinion or practicing celebrity journalism? This class will demonstrate the rich tradition of music journalism as a way to understand the relationship of artists to the communities they represent. The class will also provide an opportunity to accurately document important events in music history. The writers will be actively engaged in imaginative interactions with musicians, while examining their own work. The class will include writing exercises, review of manuscripts, discussion, and a demonstration of the best and worst techniques to interview musicians. Date: Saturday, July 21, 10am-3pm (1-hour lunch break)Limit: 15 ParticipantsRegistration Deadline: Wednesday, July 18CPE Credits: 4 Language ArtsFee: $80 Discounted Fee: $70


Gift Shop Our inventory includes books by current and previous Gemini Ink faculty; signed, limited edition prints, handmade chapbooks of the works of Gemini award winners, and gift certificates for University Without Walls classes and workshops. We also stock the literary journal, Rain Taxi, which is free for the taking.

Lending Library Gemini Ink has an eclectic array of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and how-to-write books, as well as literary journals that are available to borrow. Please stop by and check out our titles.

Facilities Rental The Gemini Ink conference room is available for $20/hour, while the large meeting room is available for $30/hour rental fee. Our facility belongs to you. Please take this opportunity to call the office for details.

StaffErika Nadeau Morgan Director, University Without WallsAnisa Onofre Director, Writers in Communities Evelyn Reyes Managing DirectorAnna Sánchez* Registrar | Office ManagerLucinda Vela-Wick Director, Communications

*part-time

VolunteersDario Beniquez Facilitator, Open Writing WorkshopJim Dawes Facilitator, Open Writing WorkshopRoland Huff Facilitator, Open Writing Workshop

ConsultantsGloria Pins Arecchi CPABett Butler & Pamela Dean Kenny Dramatic Readers Theater

InternsDiana GarciaPaul HoegMary Kate HullAngela PantojaSarah Serrato

YOUNG WRITERS CAMP

FINDING FERDINANDInstructors: Derek Delgado & Donna Peacock

While all the other little bulls jump and butt heads, Ferdinand prefers to sit in the pasture and smell the flowers. “He is very happy.” (Munro Leaf, “The Story of Ferdinand”) Whether it’s blindly leaping into a cold pond, blowing the threads of a dandelion into the wind, or having an idea so powerful that it gives you goose bumps, this simple act of embracing the beauty around you can be extraordinary — the feeling of transforming the everyday into a truly blissful experience. It’s at the heart of much music, art, and literature, and, in this workshop, students will explore all that inspires bliss in their own lives and ways to celebrate their discoveries in words. The playful environment will nurture and honor each student’s perspective and voice, encouraging sharing within a supportive writing community. Finally, on Sunday, July 22, all participants are invited to share their work at a public reading at Gemini Ink.

#11 Session I (ages 8 - 12)Dates: Monday – Friday, July 9 – July 13, 10:30am-1:30pmLimit: 20 ParticipantsRegistration Deadline: July 5Required Materials: Bring your favorite writing tools and a sack lunch each dayFee: $155 Discounted Fee: $145

#12 Session II (ages 13 - 18)Date: Monday – Friday, July 16 – July 20, 10:30am-1:30pmLimit: 20 ParticipantsRegistration Deadline: July 11Required Materials: Bring your favorite writing tools and a sack lunch each dayFee: $155 Discounted Fee: $145

Young Writers Camp Reading: Sunday, July 22, 2pmfor Sessions I and II


Gemini Ink Board of Directors

Mallory Belt Ahl Public Finance, Frost BankMarian Aitches Senior Lecturer in History, University of Texas at San AntonioEusebio Díaz Program Director, Baptist Health Foundation of San AntonioWilliam A. Dupont, AIA San Antonio Conservation Society Endowed Professor of Architecture, University of Texas at San AntonioJohn Frederick Provost, University of Texas at San AntonioJames Heidelberg Attorney, Escamilla & Poneck, Inc.María Luisa Holmgreen AttorneyLee Robinson Attorney WriterJan Jarboe Russell Freelance writer, AuthorJosie Seeligson Freelance writer, Photographer and Tree FarmerMichael Soto Professor, Trinity UniversityAïssatou Sidimé Communications Specialist, Business Financial Group

National Advisory Board

Dorothy AllisonSan FranciscoRobert Boswell HoustonSandra Cisneros San AntonioKaty Flato San AntonioRobert Flynn San AntonioErnest J. Gaines LouisianaEdward Hirsch New YorkTony Hoagland HoustonPhillip Lopate New YorkTerry McMillan CaliforniaW.S. Merwin HawaiiAntonya Nelson HoustonNaomi Shihab Nye San AntonioGregory Orr CharlottesvilleCarolyn Osborn AustinMartha Rhodes New YorkRichard Russo MaineJohn Phillip Santos San AntonioEllen Bryant Voigt VermontChuck Wachtel New York Marion Winik Pennsylvania

BLACKOUTNIGHT

@ Gemini Ink

We’re stealing a page from Austin Kleon’s Newspaper Blackout, and asking you to join us for an evening of creativity. We’ll have mounds of newspapers and bunches of black markers. All you’ll have to do is pick an old clipping, and create a new poem.

Writer Lyle Rosdahl will be here to guide and inspire us through the process.

Wednesday, July 18at Gemini Ink

Free and open to the public


G E M i N ii n K

spelling beeWednesday, July 11, 7pm

513 S. Presa u Free and open to the public

Join us, along with the publisher and editor of Wings Press, Bryce Milligan, for an evening

of friendly competition and poetry. Words will be pulled from

San Antonio poet laureate Carmen Tafolla’s Curandera and Sonnets and Salsa.

The winning speller will receive a special prize.Please call 734.9673 to reserve a spot.

Children are welcome to attend, but only adults can participate in this spelling bee.


s u m m e r 2 0 1 2 f a c u l t y

Kelly Grey Carlisle teaches creative nonfiction writing at Trinity University. Her personal essays have appeared or are forthcoming in Ploughshares, River Teeth, Sub-tropics, Tampa Review, and The Touchstone Anthology of Contemporary Creative Nonfiction. She has been cit-ed twice in Best American Essays and was a winner in The Atlantic’s annual student writing contest. Her book-length memoir, My Secret Life in Film, is currently under representation.

Roger Boylan is an American writer with family roots in Ireland and the New York area. Raised in Europe, he at-tended the University of Ulster and the University of Edin-burgh. He lived in New York City for many years, working as a teacher, translator, bartender, and freelance editor. His novel Killoyle, which Publishers Weekly called “a vir-tuoso performance,” is published by Dalkey Archive Press, and is currently in its fourth printing. A second novel, The Great Pint-Pulling Olympiad, is published by Grove Press, New York. The third volume in the Killoyle trilogy, The

Maladjusted Terrorist, was published in Germany as Killoyle Wein und Käse in 2006. Boylan’s novel The Adorations will soon be published, initially as an e-book. Boylan is a regular contributor to Boston Review, and his work has appeared in many journals and reviews, including The Economist, The New York Times Book Review, The Literary Review, The Scotsman, and The Texas Observer. He cur-rently lives in Texas.

An El Paso native, Derek Delgado is a writer of short stories and sudden fiction. He graduated from St. Mary’s University and has taught with Gemini Ink’s Writers in Communities program, in addition to courses at Our Lady of the Lake University where he earned his M.A. Among his short stories are “Sweat Pea” and “Friends and Neighbors,” both of which appeared in The Thing Itself Literary Journal. He is currently pursuing his M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Lesley University in Cambridge, MA.


Xavier Garza has authored and illustrated the books Creepy Creatures and other Cucuys, Lucha Libre: The Man in the Silver Mask, Juan and the Chupacabras, Charro Claus and the Tejas Kid, Zulema and the Witch Owl, Kid Cyclone Fights the Devil and other Stories and Maximilian and the Mystery of the Guardian Angel, which was chosen by the American Library Association as a 2012 Pura Belpré Author Honor Book. Born and raised in the Rio Grande Valley, Xavier Gar-za has made San Antonio his home since August of 2000.

Celeste Guzman Mendoza is a Macondista, Hedgebrook resident, and co-founder of CantoMundo, a master writer’s workshop for Latina/o poets. Her poetry and essays have appeared in various anthologies published by Penguin, Calaca Press, Eakin Press and Wings Press. Her first, full-length poetry manuscript, Beneath the Halo, is due out in September 2012 by Wings Press. Her chapbook, Cande te estoy llamando, won the Poesia Tejana Prize in 1999. A performer and playwright, Mendoza’s plays have been pro-duced in Austin and San Antonio. She is at work on a sec-ond poetry manuscript, and lives in Austin with her husband and three cats.

Bryce Milligan is the publisher and editor of Wings Press. Every two years the press publishes a new title in the Whitebird Chapbook Series, and has published chapbooks by several notable authors, including Don-ald Hall, Lorna Dee Cervantes, Ana Castillo, Angel Gon-zalez, Robert Flynn, Michael Ventura, Carmen Tafolla, Naomi Shihab Nye, Vassar Miller, and others. In the last few years, Wings Press has been featured in Poets & Writers, Bloomsbury Review, and the Huffington Post. Milligan has served as a judge for the Hertzog Prize for Excellence in Book Design.

I n M e m o r i a mTheodoros Angelopoulos, 1935Doris Betts, 1932Marie Colvin, 1956Shelagh Delaney, 1938Carlos Fuentes, 1928Christopher Hitchens, 1949Ricardo Legorreta, 1931Christopher Logue, 1926Adrienne Rich, 1929Bobbie Jo Martin, 1949

Tomás Segovia, 1927Maurice Sendak, 1928Anthony Shadid 1968Josef Skvorecky, 1924Wislawa Szymborska, 1923Eleanor Ross Taylor, 1920Piri Thomas, 1928Mike Wallace, 1918Christa Wolf, 1929


John Swenson has worked as an editor at Crawdaddy, Rolling Stone, Circus, Saturday Review and OffBeat and was a syndicated music columnist for more than 20 years at United Press International and Reuters. Swenson has writ-ten 14 published books including New Atlantis: Musicians Battle for the Survival of New Orleans (Oxford University Press, 2011), winner of the Jazz Times critics poll for 2011; biographies of Bill Haley, The Who and Stevie Wonder; and co-edited the original Rolling Stone Record Guide with Dave Marsh. He is also the editor of The Rolling Stone Jazz and Blues Album Guide. Swenson’s articles in OffBeat maga-zine won first place awards from the Press Club of New Orleans in 2007, 2008 and 2010.

Tunette Powell is a motivational speaker and speech con-sultant who has racked up a host of public speaking awards. Most recently Powell won the Interstate Oratory competi-tion, the nation’s oldest persuasive speaking tournament that features the top two speakers from each state. Powell is also author of the unorthodox mom blog, “Tunette’s Baby Steps,” which has been consistently ranked in the top 25 most read blogs by the San Antonio Express-News’ web-site (www.mysanantonio.com). Powell worked at the San Antonio Express-News as an editorial assistant and staff writer for five years. As a staff writer, she chronicled ev-erything from a homeless community’s fight to save their makeshift homes to an aspiring rapper in San Antonio. Powell now resides in Nebraska with her husband, Jason, and two children — Jason Jr. and Joah.

Donna Peacock is the author of two published non-fiction works, as well as both original and adapted material for children’s theatre productions. She was the first Director of Creative Writing at the North East School of the Arts, where she designed and implemented what was then the nation’s only high school four-year creative writing program. Cited for excellence and outstanding innovation in teaching of Humanities by the Texas Committee for the Hu-manities, she is also a memoirist, writing workshop presenter, and creative writing curriculum designer.

“LIKE” Gemini Ink on Facebook for updates, photos and videos from recent

events, a chance to win a prize, interesting links, and inspiration!


Readings & more!

Reading, July 6, 7pm Garza, Powell, and Yansky

Reading, July 13, 7pm Boylan, Milligan, and Ward

Spelling Bee, July 11, 7pm*

Blackout Night, July 18, 7pm

Reading, July 20, 7pm Carlisle, Mendoza, and Swenson

Reading, July 22, 2pm Young Writers Camp Reading

Reading, August 3, 7pm* Open Mic Night

*Spaces are limited! Please call to sign up. 734.9673Free and Open to the Public at Gemini Ink (513 S. Presa)

Brian Yansky is the award-winning author of My Road Trip to the Pretty Girl Capital of the World (Texas Institute of Letters Best Young Adult Novel of the Year), Wonders of the World (Texas Institute of Letters Finalist), and his latest novel, Alien Invasion & Other Inconveniences. A sequel to that novel, Fighting Alien Nation, will come out next year. He teaches writing at Austin Community Col-lege and has an MFA in Writing from Vermont College.

Thom Ward is sole proprietor of Thom Ward’s Po-etry Editing Services. He is the author of six po-etry collections, most recently Etcetera’s Mistress, published in 2011 by Accents Publishing. Ward teaches creative writing workshops at high schools and colleges around the country, tutors individual poetry students, and edits poetry manuscripts. He is a faculty and advisory board member at Wilkes University’s Graduate Creative Writing program in Wilkes-Barre Pennsylvania. Thom Ward lives in western New York with his girlfriend Jennifer and their cat Phantom.

Open Writing WorkshopJoin this peer-driven workshop facilitated by longtime Gemini Ink volunteers Dario Beniquez, Jim Dawes and Roland Huff. Share your writing and get feedback on works-in-progress in a relaxed and supportive atmosphere. The workshop is held from 6:30 - 8:30 pm, on the last Monday of every month at Gemini Ink, 513 S. Presa. This summer’s Open Writing Workshops will be held on June 25, July 30, and August 27. Bring 6 - 10 copies of your work to share!

Free and open to all writers!


w r i t e r s i n c o m m u n i t i e shelping people tell their stories

Writers in Communities (WIC) provides workshops – always free to participants – highlighting oral traditions, reading, and creative writing. Our professional teaching writers work alongside students of all ages, needs, interests and abilities in diverse community settings – from schools to justice facilities. WIC has served well over 7,000 individuals and published more than 60 chapbooks and broadsides of writing by students of all ages since 2002, and we continue to seek innovative partnerships throughout the community. Our work builds the critical thinking, reading, writing, and verbal skills essential to a healthy and economically thriving populace. Writers in the CommunityWIC partnered with Guadalupe Home of Catholic Charities, a transitional liv-ing facility for homeless pregnant women and homeless women with infants —for the workshop Mother Tongue. Writer Nelly Rosario worked with eight women touching on everything from fairy tales and haikus to memoir and po-etry. A chapbook of their collected work is coming this summer. This project was funded by the Alice Kleberg Reynolds Foundation.

Writers in SchoolsTen students at Krueger Middle School in North East ISD took part in an after-school poetry workshop with poet Trey Moore. This was part two of a collaboration that began last fall with a Storybook Project in which students produced children’s stories to share with neighborhood youth. Two publications have resulted from this project! See our list of anthologies on the next page. This project was funded by Rackspace Foundation.

Writers in Juvenile Justice SettingsThis spring, WIC returned to the Cyndi Taylor Krier Juvenile Correctional Treatment Center for Poetry in Life, a six-week intensive workshop with Ben Olguín. Youth explored themes of self-identification, manhood, gender rela-tions, and cultural pride.

WIC partnered with BCFS’s Children’s Aftercare Reentry Experience (C.A.R.E.) program to work with a group of eight teens for an Introduction to Poetry workshop with Trey Moore. The group met at Gemini Ink once a week for ten weeks as part of C.A.R.E.’s mentoring component.

Trey Moore at Frank Tejeda Academy in Harlandale ISD


SpringWIC Anthologies

Writing on the Walls—An anthology of some 100 poems, haikus, and short stories by students in Harlandale ISD. The workshops took place in two el-ementary schools, two middle schools, and two high schools.

The Moon Towards Me—A chap-book of poetry by students at Krueger Middle School in North East ISD, with cover art by Trey Moore.

The Fairies’ Travels and Other Sto-ries for Children—A beautiful collec-tion of fairy tales written by Krueger Middle School students in North East ISD, with illustrations by Carolina Flores.

As Long As I Have My Memory—A chapbook of writing from students at Brackenridge High School in San An-tonio ISD. The book includes images of a mural the students produced with artist Fadela Castro and host teacher (and local artist and illustrator!) Teresa Ybañez.

Ésta es mi palabra—A collection of poetry and illustrations by Latin Ameri-can immigrant youth in a local emer-gency shelter. The book features cover artwork donated by local artist Vincent Valdez.

Writers in Communities Funders and Partners

Alice Kleberg Reynolds FoundationBaptist Children & Family Services (BCFS)

Bexar County Juvenile Probation Dept.Cyndi Taylor Krier Juvenile Correctional Treat-

ment CenterGenevieve and Ward Orsinger Foundation

George W. Brackenridge FoundationGuadalupe Home

Harlandale Independent School DistrictKing William AssociationKrueger Middle School

North East Independent School DistrictCity of San Antonio Office of Cultural Affairs

Rackspace FoundationSan Antonio Independent School District

Texas Commission on the Arts

Opportunity for Professional WritersIf you have a published book (or the equivalent), have experience teaching creative writing, and want to help bring creative writing, reading, storytelling, and thinking to diverse communities, we want to meet you. E-mail your resume or CV and three pages of writing samples to [email protected].

The Real Seven Wonders of the World

Close your mouths before a fly flies in Feet glued down as your heads tilt up

Look at you standing in awe, talking about the beauty

Of a wall people died while building Or a mountain people died while climbing

Or a coliseum that rooted pride into people’s souls

No three of these is as marvelous as The way a child reads before he learns to read

The wisp of air that appears without notice When you peel an orange peel

The way clouds tell stories in their shapes The way birds have built-in engines

Which don’t require fancy college-level math to build

The captivation words can instill in our bodies if arranged right

The way sound travels in waves That aren’t blue, or salty, or visible

But still powerful and definitely nowhere close

To the way our hearts long for another being Without science’s permission

From the anthology Writing on the Walls by Ariana Hernandez

Harlandale High School, San Antonio

WIC Summer ProjectsThis summer, Bárbara Renaud González facilitates Life Stories: Crafting Memoir from Memory in two five-week bilingual writing workshops with elders at the Elvira Cisneros Senior Community Center. WIC received funding from the Genevieve and Ward Orsinger Foun-dation for this important project. Writer Alan Stewart Carl will work with middle and high school students at Har-landale ISD annual Summer Writing Camp. In the past, HISD summer stu-dents have studied and written flash fiction, the gothic story, column writing, and poetry—all resulting in publications. We’re anxious to see what this summer’s workshop brings!


f a c u l t y e x c e r p t s

“Max, get off of there!” I hear, just as the crowd pushes my father right into me. He reaches out, but he can’t keep me from flipping head first over the guardrail on to the runway. Suddenly the world is spinning all around me. I look up and witness a sight I know I will carry with me until the day I die: the Guardian Angel stands before me clad in his silver wrestling boots and tights, a long orange cape with gold sequins draped over his massive shoulders. My hero’s chest is exposed, reveal-ing— like medals of honor— the scars of his historic battles with such men as Tarzan Lopez, Gory Guerrero, Black Gordman and the Gladi-ator. The Silver mask with the embroidered orange flames shimmers every time the arena spotlights dance around him. He is taller, more imposing than I could ever have imagined. And then?— the Guardian Angel bends down and picks me up off the floor and delivers me into my father’s arms.

Xavier GarzaExcerpt from Maximilian and the Mystery of the Guardian Angel

Cinco Puntos Press

Miming the petulant moue of, say, a Roman sensualist of the post-Antonine era, or a Regency brat under the Younger Pitt, Michael T. “Mick” McCreek’s face, that interesting preface to the rather ordinary rest of him, buried itself pillow-deep in a vain attempt to avoid the probing rays of the rising Irish sun, a weak sun at best but a game one, bedad, and not a sun to be shut out of the bedroom window of Flat 16A, Padre Pio Houses, by a mere flimsy curtain or so. Indeed, by shining persistently and directly onto your man’s Romano-Regency face, it illumined in an unwelcome, glaring red glow the intricate Mississippi Delta network of his inner-eyelid veins.1 He grumbled. Slowly, sleep ebbed as sufficient time dragged itself along, with the lame de-termination of a hunchback2 in heat, to accommodate the twin phenomena, one tactile, the other aural, of: (1) warmer sunshine splashing onto Mick’s gob and (2) a car outside starting up with hiccupping roars exacerbated by much boot-to-the-floor pedal-pumping followed by the gear-grinding di-minuendo of exceedingly slow departure.There goes that Indian dickhead (shouted the uninvited thought-announcer in Mick’s brain) at the wheel of his effing old Escort that he should have sent to the junkyard long since, the stingy wee bastard, turning his lights off in the middle of the night and spewing clouds of burnt oil left right and centre and no bloody notion in the world of how to shift into first...!

Roger BoylanThe Great Pint-Pulling Olympiad; A Mostly Irish FarceGrove/Atlantic Inc.


Goldfinch, Cockroach

Once in a while my soul exits this body,goes shopping for another house of flesh.Giant sheets of ice north and south of us ripfrom their moorings, crash into the sea.Those with the most superfluous gadgetscast the longest silhouettes, but not enoughto thwart ultraviolet rays. For a dollar the drunkoutside the corner bar will share fantastic talesfrom the captain of the ship in the bottle. Yes,that’s correct. Goldfinches no longer visitour garden, and the cockroaches have a new king.My soul is a fickle shopper, rummaging throughclearance sale bins. What you didn’t do, what I did;at the end all we can hope for are the right regrets.

Thom WardETCETERA’S MISTRESSAccents Publishing

Pool

50 cents for kidsa dollar for adults

The four of us stoodin the cement showersframing the entranceto the fenced-in pool.

Father. Mother. Brother. Me.

They’d step into the shallowend. I’d dive into the deep,

touch the bottom surfacewith my palm, then shoot intothe air. I was a fish back then.Held my breath for a minute

under water; my lungs heldup against the pressure

like my tears heldthe tension in our house:just enough money at the endof the pay period for a dip

in the public pool; we floated.

Me, up to my ears. Them, comfortable;the water lapping up between their legs.

Celeste Guzman MendozaBeneath the HaloWings Press, Fall 2012


They say you can’t go home again, but that isn’t true, so long as youhave memory. On warm nights when Ben and I sleep with the windowsopen, I can hear trains sounding their horns in the distance, mournfulcalls that echo through the dark around Lincoln, Nebraska. If I closemy eyes and forget the miles of land that surround me, I can pretendthey are the horns of ships anchored in the outer harbor, the fog hornat Angel’s Gate.Sometimes I let my mind follow one of those trains heading west. Iglide along the rails through fields and farms to the shaggy grassnear the Colorado border, then wend my way up the steep, windsweptslope into the Rockies. I travel through white rock canyons thenplunge into the long darkness of the Moffat tunnel and pass beneaththe Continental Divide. I switch rails and head southwest, through therainbow canyons of Utah down to Nevada, through the desert toCalifornia, then into Los Angeles. I creep through the teeming city,its thousands of rail crossings and back yards, factories, warehouses,malls, until I reach the LA Harbor. Then I follow the rails past theport’s oil refineries and chemical plants, its scrap metal yards,mountains of sulfur and coal, boatyards, dry docks, and, finally, turnon to the switch of track that leads to the West Basin of the harborto Berth 117. Here I leave the rails for a dusty road that once leddown to the sea. And with my first footfall, I step into the past.I go back some twenty years, to when the shore of the West Basin wasstill mud, and the breeze smelled of muck and salt, of diesel andeucalyptus trees. In my dream, Donahue’s Marina is still there, itsrundown boats bobbing on the green water, the boat where we livedthere at its end tie, and the girl I once was sitting on its bow. Andin the way such things are possible in dreams, I become that girl oncemore. I dangle my feet over the fuel-sheened water, feel the warmth ofthe sun on my back. I listen to the sound of sheets banging againstmasts, the creak of lines pulling against dock, the rub of ropeagainst hull. And from my perch on the bow, I watch the shore as atrain rumbled by on its tracks, headed for points east—to places I’dthen only ever dreamed of going—Utah, Colorado, Nebraska.My grandfather is still alive. Marilyn is doing laundry and the smellof dryer sheets and steam drifts across the air to me. My friend Peteis somewhere tinkering in the engine room. My dog Charlie is barkingat his own shadow. The cats are sitting on the cap rail, sniffing theair. I’m home again.

Kelly Grey CarlisleMy Secret Life in Film

f a c u l t y e x c e r p t s c o n t i n u e d


Author, Democracy Activist & Social Entrepreneur

Founder, Socrates Café & Constitution Café

Dialogue Groups

Public Reading with Q&A Thursday, Oct. 25

Location TBAFree and open to the public

Colloquium LuncheonQ&A and book signing follows

Friday, Oct. 26, 11:30amPearl Stable

307 Pearl Parkway

bringing conceptual innovators and their books to San Antonio

A foremost specialist in the Socratic Method, Phillips reminds us that we ought to ask questions — “not about any chance ques-tion,” as Socrates put it in Plato’s Republic, “but about the way one should live.”Dedicated to the Jeffersonian idea of freedom: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, his goal is to inspire curiosity and wonder, to nurture self-discovery and democracy.Join us in dialogue as he leads us in a space of human interaction and shares aspects of his new book, Constitution Café (W.W. Nor-ton, 2011), in which he describes his launch of an initiative aimed at generating a new, nationwide Constitutional Convention.

CALL GEMINI INK FOR RESERVATIONS AND MORE INFORMATION: 210.734.9673

Save the Dates: Oct. 25 & 26, 2012Dr. Christopher Phillips


r e g i s t r a t i o n f o r mFirst day to register for summer 2012: Tuesday, June 12You can also register online at www.geminiink.org

Please review our registration and payment policies on page 5 as well as our updated

class withdrawal policy on page 6.

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In response to the economic downturn, Gemini Ink is extending a $10 discount to everyone who registers. This discount is already reflected in the catalogue listing. An additional 5% discount is offered to students, educators, and seniors. (No additional discounts for Young Writers Camp).

Do you qualify for an additional 5% discount?

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Use additional page if necessary. To audit a class, write “A” next to the title and deduct 10% from the fee. Because not all classes can be audited, please contact the Gemini Ink office before registering for a class as an auditor.

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Mail to: Gemini Ink, 513 S. Presa, San Antonio, TX 78205.Credit Card registrations may also be faxed (210.737.0688), phoned in (210.734.9673), or paid online (www.geminiink.org).


YES, I SUPPORT READING AND WRITING FOR ALL!

This is your chance to stake a claim for reading and writing and to enrich your community’s quality of life. We appreciate all donations, big and small. Contribute to our fund drive, and be an activist for language!

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All gifts to Gemini Ink are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law. Gemini Ink is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that does not discriminate on the basis of race,

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513 South Presa | San Antonio, Texas 78205210.734.WORD (9673) | Fax: 210.737.0688 | [email protected]

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INKstravaganza2012

Thursday, September 27

Save the Date!Honoring Barbara Ras

Gemini Ink Summer Literary Festival 2012: Courting Bliss

Documents

Transcript of Gemini Ink Summer Literary Festival 2012: Courting Bliss