Author: tjbeitelman

ASFA-CW Sprints to the Fall-Semester Finish Line!

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Who says nothing happens in school after the Thanksgiving Break?! Clearly whoever says/thinks that has never seen the goings-on around here — where, if anything, we’ve picked up the pace as November (and the fall semester) comes to a close. To wit:

Just between Tuesday and Thursday of this past week…

  • We fired up the short bus to go visit our writing compatriots in the 5th Grade at Princeton Elementary, where we talked about the importance of sensory detail and we wrote about our favorite foods;
  • We took part in an enlightening, invigorating, and highly interactive ASFA-Theatre workshop based on the work of August Wilson and presented by visiting teaching-artist (and former ASFA student) Nikki Toombs of Kenny Leon’s True Colors Theatre Company in Atlanta;
  • And poet and editor Dale Wisely, co-founder of One Sentence Poems (among other cool literary magazines), visited our CW Practicum classes to talk about how he balances work, life, writing, and literary citizenship. (Oh, and PS, he also announced that the editors of One Sentence Poems have nominated ASFA-CW senior Anna Butcher for a Puschcart Prize, her second such nomination this month!)

That’s in addition to a flurry of critiques and subsequent revisions as our students prepare to submit their final portfolios in December. Again, we ask: who says it’s all coasting after Turkey Day?!

ASFA-CW Out + About in #Birmingham to Hear Poet Matt Miller Read in the UAB Writers’ Series at the Alys Stephens Center

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MattMiller

ASFA-CW students get to avail themselves of the rich cultural scene in the Birmingham city center — museums, parks, historic landmarks, coffee shops. This year, that’s even more true as we have been traveling to Southside to take in the UAB Writers’ Series — most recently to hear Matt Miller read from his excellent latest collection of poems, The Wounded for the Water. Many thanks to Kerry Madden-Lunsford, the Director of UAB’s Creative Writing program (and an ASFA-CW parent-alum!) and all the CW faculty at UAB for the great opportunity!

ASFA-CW: Open House! Sat Oct 20! | Nine-2-Noon! @asfaschool Lecture Hall!

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whiteboard (1)

We’re always excited to share what we do and why we do it, so Open House is always fun times for us. Here are a few links to check out if you’re interested in ASFA-CW:

Our Philosophy

Nuts + Bolts (Poetry + Fiction)

Selected Resources for Young Writers

 

ASFA-CW/BAJ/BTW “My Favorite Poem” 2018: The Set List! | #Birmingham #Poetry

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For posterity (and/or if you weren’t lucky enough to be in attendance for last week’s “My Favorite Poem” event at ASFA), here’s a list of our readers and the poems/poets they favored — with links! Thanks so much to all the participants…

Anna Butcher (Hoover) | ASFA-CW Senior

  • “Forest Fires” by Sarah Kay (see above)

Ben Allen (Vestavia) | Pharmacist

Beverly Radford (Cook Springs) | Retired Educator

Andrew Brown (Vestavia) | Actor/Comedian

Lauren-Elizabeth Dewberry (Pell City) | ASFA-CW Senior

Judy Jones (Highland Park) | Retired Banker

Brielle Morrow (Montgomery) | BTW-CW Senior

Linda Williams (Fairfield) | Banker

Murray Vella (Homewood) | Nanny

J.D. Peppers (Crestwood) | Stylist

Lee Gaines (Montgomery) | BTW-CW Sophomore

  • “What You Should Eat Before Reading the Poem” by Richard Hague

Lisa Oestreich (Downtown Birmingham) | Physician

Jack Royer (Mountain Brook) | News Anchor (CBS 42)

ASFA-CW’s “My Favorite Poem” Event Was #BTWstrong This Past Friday!

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BTW-CW Chair Foster Dickson

We’re pleased to report that our annual My Favorite Poem event was a smash success. Many thanks to the folks at Reed Books, Birmingham Arts Journal, as well as our ASFA-CW parent group, all of whom worked hard to make it happen. Thanks, too, to our friends and fellow creative laborers from the Booker T Washington Magnet High School in Montgomery, who joined us as well. Thanks to the generosity of the large crowd on hand on Friday night, we’ll be able to send a check for over $650 to the BTW Fame Board, which will be earmarked to help the BTW-CW department recover from the recent fire that decimated the school’s campus.

Young Creatives Unite: ASFA Seniors in CW, Visual Arts, and Dance Combine, Collaborate, and Experiment to CREATE!

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We’re working with our colleagues in the Visual Arts and Dance departments again this year to create interdisciplinary performance pieces that combine visual, linguistic, and kinesthetic modes of creativity. It’s always a great learning experience, and the work is always just as great. This year’s theme is “Wearable Art.” Can’t wait to see what these talented folks come up with!