MFA Residency Public Lecture and Reading Schedule for Monday, January 7th

Monday, January 7th     

Readings and lectures are held in the Region Room of Blue Ridge Center at Blue Ridge Assembly. 84 Blue Ridge Circle; Black Mountain, NC 

Faculty Lectures        

11:00 AM                   

C.J. HRIBAL ~ You Want It Darker: Grappling with the Dark in Poetry and Fiction

Writers are “supposed” to write likeable characters with narrative arcs that bend towards, if not justice, at least redemption. But what if things instead bend sinister, descend into the dark, and possibly stay there? How does one write poetry or fiction that engages with the calamitous, the violent, the pessimistic, the tragic, while avoiding the gratuitous? Apocalyptic work seems fitting for these perilous political times. But there is darkness in the everyday as well: dark and violent acts are committed by or visited upon people, particularly the marginalized, and mayhem seems like a plausible response to the outrage. How can writers explore this darkness responsibly? A meditation on grappling with the dark in poetry and fiction. No required reading, handouts provided.

Faculty Readings 8:15 PM

Dean Bakopoulos

Gabrielle Calvocoressi

Maurice Manning

A tribute to Tony Hoagland

Kevin McIlvoy, Antonya Nelson, Connie Voisine

The public is welcome to attend the morning lectures and evening readings in fiction and poetry offered during the Master of Fine Arts Program winter residency.  Events last approximately one hour. Admission is free. The schedule is subject to change. PLEASE NOTE: The winter residency is being held at Blue Ridge Assemblyin Black Mountain, NC, not on the Warren Wilson College campus.

For more information, call the MFA Office: (828) 771-371