December 2014
Monday, 12/1
LIVE at the Writers House
7:00 PM in the Arts Cafe
listen: to an audio recording of this event
LIVE at the Writers House is a long-standing collaboration between the Kelly Writers House and WXPN FM (88.5). Six times annually between September and April, Michaela Majoun hosts a one-hour broadcast of poetry, music, and other spoken-word art, along with one musical guest, all from our Arts Cafe onto the airwaves at WXPN. LIVE is made possible by generous support from BigRoc.
Tuesday, 12/2
The Body Electric
A poetry performance
6:00 PM in the Arts Cafe
watch: a video recording of this event via KWH-TV
listen to an audio recording of this event
The Body Electric, a University of Pennsylvania poetry group, invites you to its end-of-the-year show, at which its members will share their most polished pieces from a semester of collective writing, workshopping, and revision. The Body Electric embraces all poetic forms, and so the event will showcase a diverse collection spoken word, prose, and original song lyrics.
Wednesday, 12/3
Truffle Talk by Amanda Shulman
Heled Travel Grant Presentation
12:00 PM in the Arts Cafe
watch: a video recording of this event via KWH-TV
listen to an audio recording of this event
As a way of memorializing her mother, Terry B. Heled, and of honoring the students of her alma mater in gratitude for the encouragement her own research and writing received while she was at Penn, Mali Heled Kinberg (C'95) created the Heled Travel Grant program at the Kelly Writers House that, each summer, enables a student to travel for the purpose of conducting the research that will lead to a significant writing project.
This summer as the recipient of the Heled Research and Travel Grant, Amanda Shulman traveled to various locations in Italy to delve into the world of the mysterious black summer truffle. She hunted for truffles with truffle farmers and their trained hunting dogs and also learned how to incorporate them into different region's distinct cuisines. She's learned about the struggles of sabotage and trickery that occur in truffle season and has spent a lot of time researching this complex fungus that manages to up the price tag of any dish significantly. Amanda will speak about her journey in Italy, the hunting process, the history and lure of truffles and how to cook with them.
Speakeasy Open Mic Night
7:30 PM in the Arts Cafe
watch: a video recording of this event via KWH-TV
listen to an audio recording of this event
Our Speakeasy Open Mic Night welcomes all kinds of readings, spectacles, and happenings. Bring your poetry, your guitar, your award-winning essay, or your stand up comedy to share. Expect fantastic performances, occasional costumes, and, of course, community members who love writing.
Thursday, 12/4
Whenever We Feel Like It: Ryan Eckes and Chris McCreary
6:00 PM in the Arts Cafe
hosted by: Michelle Taransky
watch: a video recording of this event via KWH-TV
listen to an audio recording of this event
The Whenever We Feel Like It Reading Series is put on by Committee of Vigilance members Michelle Taransky and Emily Pettit. The Committee of Vigilance is a subdivision of Sleepy Lemur Quality Enterprises, which is the production division of The Meeteetzee Institute.
Ryan Eckes was born in Northeast Philadelphia in 1979. He is the author of Old News and Valu-Plus, both from Furniture Press. He wrote Old News from the spring of 2008 to the spring of 2009 in South Philadelphia, where he continues to reside. More of his poetry can be found in the book when i come here (Plan B Press, 2007), on his blog, ryaneckes.blogspot.com, and in various journals. Along with Stan Mir, he organizes the Chapter & Verse Reading Series. He works as an adjunct English professor at Temple University and other colleges.
Chris McCreary is the author of Undone: A Fakebook, and [ neüro / mäntic ], both from Furniture Press. He has written two other full-length collections, The Effacements (Singing Horse Press) and Dismembers (ixnay press), in addition to several chapbooks, including Sansom Agonistease (Potes & Poets Press). Along with his wife Jenn McCreary, he has co-edited ixnay press for over a decade, publishing numerous chapbooks, eight issues of ixnay magazine, and four installments of a “mini-anthology” entitled the ixnay reader. (Much of the press’s output is now available as free pdf files at ixnaypress.com.) Chris has reviewed fiction, poetry, and poetics for venues such as Rain Taxi, The Poetry Project Newsletter, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and Review of Contemporary Fiction, and he has published his own short fiction in New Review of Literature and elsewhere. He holds an MA in Creative Writing from Temple University, and he teaches at a private high school outside of Philadelphia, where he lives with Jenn and their twin sons.
Friday, 12/5
Penn Plays Fellowship Reading: Joanna Glum
1:00 PM in the Arts Café
co-sponsored by: Theatre Arts Program
The Theatre Arts Program and Kelly Writers House have sponsored a collaborative fellowship project open to current Penn students, faculty, and staff. The PENN PLAYS FELLOWSHIP features opportunities for the winning playwright to develop their script through critical feedback by Penn faculty, professional writers, and dramaturges, and will culminate in a workshop production of the winning work as part of a two-night festival to be staged in the Bruce Montgomery theatre.
Saturday, 12/6
Sunday, 12/7
Monday, 12/8
CREATING CHARACTERS IN NONFICTION WRITING
A reading by the students in Jamie-Lee Josselyn's nonfiction workshop
6:00 PM in the Arts Cafe
watch: a video recording of this event via KWH-TV
listen to an audio recording of this event
Join us as we feature the fantastic, energetic and attractive students of JAMIE-LEE JOSSELYN’S NONFICTION WORKSHOP reading original work produced this semester: from essays detailing tales from elementary and middle school to investigations of places familiar and foreign to character studies that examine the intersection of the ordinary and extraordinary. Students in this seminar have been educated and inspired by the likes of Joan Didion, Phillip Lopate, David Sedaris, Ian Frazier, Buzz Bissinger, and, of course, one another.
Tuesday, 12/9
Entrepreneurial Journalism Pitch Night
A Creative Ventures Program
6:30 PM in the Arts Cafe
Penn's Entrepreneurial Journalism students have spent the semester dreaming up new journalism platforms. Tonight they'll present their ideas to a panel of distinguished journalists, venture capitalists, and Internet pioneers. With $7,500 in seed money on the line, it's going to be an exciting evening for anyone interested in the future of journalism.
Wednesday, 12/10
GREG DJANIKIAN'S CLASS READING
5:00 PM in the Arts Cafe
watch: a video recording of this event via KWH-TV
listen to an audio recording of this event
Students in Greg Djanikian’s poetry writing course studied the rhythm and expressiveness of their language, while also exploring the things of this world, sometimes in new relationships and, perhaps, with broader vision. Come listen to reading from their final portfolios.