Magic in the Winter Woods @ VCCA
I have returned to the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (VCCA), where I'm trying to be immensely productive during my two-week residency. When I get tired, or need to rev myself [...]
23
Jan, 2015
28
Aug, 2014
Goldilocks at the Hemingway House
My studio in the attic used to be a maid's room but is now furnished by Thomasville of Oakbrook, featuring their safari-style Hemingway Collection of furniture and décor. I have to say I'm [...]
25
Jul, 2014
Writer-in-Residence at the Hemingway Foundation
My big news since returning from Tel Aviv: I will be the 2014-15 writer-in-residence at the Hemingway Foundation! This entails having a studio up under the roof of Hemingway's birthplace home [...]
6
Feb, 2014
Reentry into the Real World
Anybody who's ever been on a retreat will attest to this: Reentry into the real world is a challenge. That's why the VCCA has this telling sign at its exit. [...]
5
Feb, 2014
Serenity at the VCCA
Oh, the serenity of a residency at the VCCA! I've returned to my everyday life in Chicago, and already VCCA's calm and focused atmosphere seems elusive. So I thought I'd [...]
29
Jan, 2014
Retyping and Plotting
Right now, this is the wall by my desk in my studio at the VCCA. I am still cutting paper into bits and pieces to work with text (see also my [...]
22
Jan, 2014
Walking the Woods at VCCA
I can hardly believe my good fortune to have been granted another residency at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (VCCA), and so, when I arrived and temperatures were [...]
3
Apr, 2013
@ the Kenyon Writers Workshop
Just a quick note to share that I will be a fellow at the Kenyon Writers Workshop this summer (June 15-22), which means I will get to assist the wonderful [...]
26
Nov, 2012
Guest Blog by Julia San Fratello: Accepting Myself at Ragdale
I am beyond pleased to host one of my memoir students, Julia San Fratello, as a guest blogger today. Julia just enjoyed her very first writer's residency at Ragdale this [...]
31
Jan, 2012
Guest Blog by Cliff Garstang: Artist Residencies – Virginia? Nebraska? Or France?
As part of my series on artist residencies, I am happy to welcome Cliff Garstang, editor of Prime Number Magazine and a fellow Queens MFA alum, who will share some of his [...]
16
Jan, 2012
Guest Blog by Marcia Pradzinski – A Residency at Ragdale
Tree at Ragdale - photo courtesy of Barbara Terao Poet and nonfiction writer Marcia Pradzinski has been a member of my Advanced Memoir Workshop at StoryStudio Chicago for a while, [...]
7
Dec, 2011
Guest Blog by Elizabeth Garber: Artist Residencies – Stimulation at VCCA versus Serenity at Jentel
Following up on my post “Why a writer’s residency is a good idea,” I am happy to welcome my writer friend Elizabeth Garber of Maine, whom I was fortunate to [...]
14
Nov, 2011
Why a Writers Residency is a Good Idea
The studios at VCCA are housed in the former barn complex. During my second time there, we had a terrific blizzard. This pictures shows the brilliant day after the storm [...]
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