Rowan Writing Arts Events Update Week of March 26, 2018

Student-Faculty Open Mic is a “Go” for Wednesday
 
With a Wednesday weather forecast of cloudy skies and temperatures in the mid-50s, it appears the Student-Faculty Open Mic event – cancelled due to snow last week – will be held as (re-)scheduled this Wednesday, March 28, at 6:30 p.m. at the Rowan Art Gallery. The event, sponsored by the Writing Arts Department and Glassworks magazine, will not have any scheduled speakers (unlike a similar event held last fall), so anyone who would like to share her or his poetry, fiction, or nonfiction work is invited to show up and sign up. Presenters are asked to keep their readings to five minutes or less in length. Glassworks editor-in-chief Katie Budris will be selling copies of the Spring 2018 issue of the literary journal ($10, cash only) and will be joined by representatives of Avant magazine. Please contact event coordinators Anthony Palma (palmaa@rowan.edu) or Tim Donaldson (donaldsont@rowan.edu) for more information.
 

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Congratulations to . . . Us! – First-Year Writing Wins Excellence Award
 
The Writing Arts Department’s First-Year Writing Program is the winner of the 2018 Rowan Values Team Award for Student Centeredness. The award, first presented in 2015, recognizes "faculty and staff for their extraordinary efforts to support the values of the University." President Ali Houshmand will present the award to the Writing Arts Department at the annual “Celebrating Excellence” ceremony on Thursday, April 12. The event starts with a reception at 4:30 p.m. in the Eynon Ballroom of the Chamberlain Student Center and continues with dinner and the formal presentation. All First-Year Writing Program faculty will receive a personal invitation to the ceremony; please try to take some time from your end-of-the-semester tasks to join your colleagues to celebrate all the excellent work we do here in Writing Arts to give students new to Rowan a strong start to their college careers.

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AWP: Look Ahead to Portland; Look Back at Tampa
 
The Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP) is accepting presentation proposals, through this coming May 1, for its 2019 conference. Proposals for the event – which will be held in Portland, OR, from March 27-30, 2019 – should focus on contemporary literature, the art of writing, the pedagogy of writing, and the business of publishing or managing a program for writers. Presentations should be no longer than 75 minutes in length. Click here for the official proposal submission guidelines. . . . Taking a look back at AWP in Tampa earlier this month, Rowan Writing Arts was represented by 11 students and faculty members who staffed the Glassworks table on the main convention floor. In the top picture, editor-in-chief Katie Budris and Writing Arts faculty member Marie Flocco show off some of the Writing Arts and CCCA promotional swag that was available for attendees. Traffic to the Glassworks table was enhanced by a pair of author signings sponsored by the journal; one for Susanna Lang and the other for Kathryn Howd Machan, both of whom had work published in recent Glassworks issues. In the second picture, Writing Arts faculty member Tim Zatzariny and Budris share a smile as they reflect on the Denis Mercier Endowed Professional Development Fund awards they won earlier this academic year to assist them with their AWP travel expenses.
 

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Gess Literary Awards Ceremony Set for Monday, April 2
 
The 2018 Denise Gess Literary Awards will be presented next Monday, April 2 at 7 p.m. at the Rowan Art Gallery. First-, second-, and third-place awards of $200, $100, and $50 respectively will be handed out in three categories: The Rowan University Award for Poetry, The Edward J. Czwartacki Award for Short Fiction, and The Pat B. Tweedie Award for Creative Nonfiction. Winners will deliver brief readings from one or two of their entries and light snacks and beverages will be provided. For more information, please contact Writing Arts professor Lisa Jahn-Clough at jahn-clough@rowan.edu.

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Iraqi Poet to Read and Speak at Owl’s Nest Event
 
Avant magazine is sponsoring a poetry reading and discussion with Iraqi poet Faheela Hassan on Sunday, April 15 at 7 p.m. at the Owl’s Nest restaurant in the Chamberlain Student Center. Hassan, a former refugee who now lives in the United States, is a poet, teacher, editor, writer, and playwright. She has written 12 books, three plays, and more than 50 short stories, and is known as “The Maya Angelou of Iraq.” She received her Master of Arts degree in Arabic literature from the University of Kufa, in Najif, Iraq, a provincial capital of 1 million residents about 100 miles south of Baghdad. Contact Laura Kincaid, Avant editor-in-chief, at kincaidl6@students.rowan.edu for more information.

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Sign up Now for Rowan Diversity and Inclusion Summit
 
The third-annual Rowan University Diversity and Inclusion Summit will be held on Tuesday, April 17 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Eynon Ballroom of the Chamberlain Student Center. Sponsored by the university’s Office of Social Justice, Inclusion, and Conflict Resolution (SJICR), the summit provides an opportunity for education, conversation, and brainstorming on the state of diversity and inclusion at Rowan. This year’s gathering will feature Dr. Damon A. Williams, a nationally recognized expert in strategic diversity leadership. Click here before the Friday, April 6 registration deadline if you’d like to attend, or contact Gardy Guiteau (guiteau@rowan.edu) in the SJICR office for more information.

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Houshmand Named to N.J. “Most Influential” List
 
President Houshmand is one of the Top 100 influential people in New Jersey, according to ROI-NJ magazine, which named him to its inaugural Power List. Houshmand is one of eight Garden State higher education leaders featured on the list, which includes the presidents of Rutgers, Princeton, and Montclair State universities. “There’s plenty to say about Houshmand’s success,” the ROI-NJeditors say before listing a number of the university’s successes and achievements. The article closes with “Simply put, Houshmand runs Rowan as if it were a business. Others could benefit from his new-age thinking.” Click here to read the full article.

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​Do you have a new publication, a reading, or any other event of interest coming up? Please let me know so I can let all our colleagues know in the weekly Rowan Writing Arts Events Update newsletter. Stop by my Victoria 521 office or email me at royek@rowan.edu to give me the 4-1-1.
 
 
Stephen A. Royek, M.A.
Instructor, Writing Arts
Rowan University
2015 Rowan Medallion Award winner
     Phone: 856-906-4755
     Victoria Hall, Room 521
     Email: royek@rowan.edu