Write "The Great Frantic Novel" this November!

Have you ever wanted to write a novel but can never build up the nerve? Have you ever wanted to write anything but can’t get past the thought of spending months rewriting and editing?

If you’ve had these thoughts, then the NaNoWriMo is for you! NaNoWriMo is a code for National Novel Writing Month, where people from around the world come together (via the web) and write. And write. And write. The goal is have a full 175 page (or approximately 50,000 words) novel by the end of November 30^th. The catch: you can’t start until November 1^st. So you better sign up now before everyone else gets ahead of you.

Here how it works: First, you sign up. Then you start writing. Write until your fingers can’t type anymore. When you start to feel completely overwhelmed or just plain tired, chat with people on the NaNoWriMo website to get your spirits back up (also update your word count status while you’re there). Then write some more. As their website says, “it’s about quantity not quality.” Don’t be afraid of your imagination. Let it run wild. And don't dwell on the fact that what you might be writing is complete hogwash, because in reality, everyone else probably feels the same way. And if you somehow miraculously finish…no, WHEN you finish, you get not only a cool printable certificate to hang on your wall, but the knowledge that you just pumped out 50,000 words in 30 days! How cool is that?

So what are you waiting for? Sign up today!

October Newsletter

Online Literary Events Calendar!
Ever heard about a local reading a day too late? Did you miss out on David Sedaris at Auntie’s or Robert Hass at Gonzaga? Want to find something educational and FUN to take the kids to? Get Lit! Programs is here to help. In addition to information about our own events and programs, the Get Lit! website features the literary events calendar with events and programs in our region. We post book signing, poetry slams, lectures, story times, and more. Most of it is FREE. So go ahead and bookmark our calendar. We update it all the time! And if you organize events in the area and would like us to include them, email information to us at getlit@ewu.edu.

Poetry Out Loud!
Get Lit! Programs is the regional coordinator of Poetry Out Loud, a national recitation contest for high school students. Students memorize and perform classic and contemporary poems, bringing the written word to life. After classroom and school competitions, contestants can move on to the regional, state, and national competitions. With cash prizes and book stipends for schools, Poetry Out Loud is an exciting way to introduce students to poetry. Schools can register for free online until November 18th. If you have any questions, email Daniel Harrington at poetryoutloud509@gmail.com.

Calling All Book Clubs!
The 2010 Get Lit! Festival will be coming around before we know it (April 14th-21st) and we want to give book clubbers an inside peak at our author lineup. Remember, Auntie’s Bookstore will give your club a 15% discount if your club is registered with them. So send us an email at getlit@ewu.edu telling us who you are and what your focus is and we’ll let you know what authors you can expect to see in April so you can read ahead.


Watch for 2010 updates on our website: www.ewu.edu/getlit


Sneak Peak for Next Month:
• Bring Authors Tour to Your School!
• Some of the 2010 Get Lit! Festival Authors Announced!
• Are you a Lit! Lover?

Coffee Splash, Poems Crash, Prose and Music Catch on Fire

The Inland Northwest can and should be proud of its writers. Whether homegrown or imported, we have a community of writers rich with experience and energy. All the time, new zines show up on the shelves at Auntie’s, a new local writer comes out with a startling novel, a teenager discovers a voice through slam poetry. And we can be thankful that in our Internet age, this community can grow virtually, we can connect across long distances, time zones, and languages. Sometimes, however, we’ve got to show up. Sometimes we need to be present for words to blast off the page and into our ears to startle our consciousness, to remind us that literature is alive and breathing, that we are the breath. And if we’re going to show up, we need a place to do it.

One of Spokane’s most beloved venues for music, visual art, and literature is in danger. The Empyrean, 154 S. Madison, may close down before the end of the year because of a new fire code requiring sprinklers that the café can’t afford to install. This wouldn’t just be a blow to one more Spokane business in hard economic times, this would be a blow to the growth of the arts in Spokane.

Get Lit! uses The Empyrean for many events during our annual festival, but during the rest of the year, the late-night coffee spot also hosts Spokane Poetry Slam, Broken Mic Night, Voice Over, and other readings. These events showcase new and established writers alike, strengthening our community and bringing the written word to life.

Tomorrow, October 22 at 7pm, local writers are coming together to support the Empyrean and put their art on the line for our community. The show is $5, and all proceeds will go directly to the sprinkler fund. Come hear some astonishing work, drink a coffee or beer, and throw some extra bucks in the firefighter boot. Support the arts by supporting those who support the arts.

Sometimes we’ve got to show up.

Learn more about the sprinkler issue from this Inlander article.

National Book Awards Nominees Announced

The National Book Awards announced the nominees for the 2009 awards this past week and the talent displayed is excellent and vast. The awards are staying true to their mission of putting both established and emerging authors in the spotlight, while creating more awareness of the literary world, just as GetLit! is doing.

The four categories (fiction, non fiction, poetry and youth literature) each have five nominees touching on a different aspects of the world through their writing. The fiction category includes stories ranging from a man alone in the Siberian desert to a collection of short stories about growing up in rural Michigan. The nonfiction topics range from evolution to a guy who really didn’t like the Romans. The poetry category shows off an excellent array of well spoken poets. And the youth literature category places stories and events in a light that captures the minds of young people. You can find more information about the different nominees at the National Book Awards website, or check out the listing below.

Fiction: Bonnie Jo Campbell, American Salvage; Colum McCann, Let the Great World Spin; Daniyal Mueenuddin, In Other Rooms, Other Wonders; Jayne Anne Phillips, Lark and Termite; Marcel Theroux, Far North

Nonfiction: David M. Carroll, Following the Water: A Hydromancer's Notebook; Sean B. Carroll, Remarkable Creatures: Epic Adventures in the Search for the Origins of Species; Greg Grandin, Fordlandia: The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford's Forgotten Jungle City; Adrienne Mayor, The Poison King: The Life and Legend of Mithradates, Rome's Deadliest Enemy; T. J. Stiles, The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt

Poetry: Rae Armantrout, Versed; Ann Lauterbach, Or to Begin Again; Carl Phillips, Speak Low; Lyrae Van Clief-Stefanon, Open Interval; Keith Waldrop, Transcendental Studies: A Trilogy

Youth Lit: Deborah Heiligman, Charles and Emma: The Darwins’ Leap of Faith; Phillip Hoose, Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice; David Small, Stitches; Laini Taylor, Lips Touch: Three Times; Rita Williams-Garcia, Jumped

The winners of the National Book Awards will be announced at the 60th National Book Awards Benefit Dinner and Ceremony on Wednesday, November 18. It's like the Oscars...for books!

Take this opportunity to tell us who you think the winners should be in each category. Let the games begin!

"My inner life is writing. That I can hold on to."

On Thursday, Herta Mueller, novelist, poet, and essayist, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. Born in Romania in 1953 and emigrating to Germany in 1987, Ms Mueller’s experiences of persecution and censorship in her native country fuel her work with stories of dictatorship and brutality. In the Swedish Academy’s announcement of her award, they described her as a writer “who, with the concentration of poetry and frankness of prose, depicts the landscape of the dispossessed.”

Get Lit! Programs believes in literature and writing as a vehicle of freedom for all. The more we read, listen, and create works of art, the more our hearts and minds are transformed. I recall hearing a story that the wife of Russian poet, Osip Mandelstam, would memorize his poetry because there were times he was not permitted a pen. The idea of an "inner life" that Mueller speaks of is an idea I think many writers can identify with. Creativity and imagination can never be taken from us, and writing, teaching, creating, and reading are how we share this inner life with the rest of the world.

To celebrate with Herta Mueller, let’s call upon ourselves and others to create, honor, and remember the value of literature in our world, our community, and ourselves. You can even check out Get Lit!’s Literary Events Calendar to find ways to get started.

Excerpt from The Land of Green Plum by Herta Mueller, translated by Michael Hoffman,
Northwestern University Press (1998):

When we don’t speak, said Edgar, we become unbearable, and when we do, we make fools of ourselves.
We had been sitting and staring at the pictures on the floor for too long. My legs had fallen asleep from sitting.
The words in our mouths do as much damage as our feet on the grass. But so do our silences.
Edgar was silent.
To this day, I can’t really picture a grave. Only a belt, a window, a nut, and a rope. To me, each death is like a sack.
Anyone who hears that, said Edgar, is bound to think you’ve lost your mind.
And I then I have the feeling that whenever someone dies he leaves behind a sack of words. And barbers, and nail-clippers—I always think of them, too, since the dead no longer need them. And they don’t ever lose buttons either.

Calling All High School Teachers...

Poetry Out Loud is having a Professional Development Workshop for High School Teachers on the 9th of October. This nation-wide program encourages high school students to learn about great poetry through memorization and performance, and now they're offering a chance to learn how to introduce Poetry Out Loud to students. Learn more about Poetry Out Loud, how to run the program in your school, and how to help students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about their literary heritage.

Who should attend?
High School teachers of English, Language Arts, Drama, or related classes
Teachers new to Poetry Out Loud
Teachers who have participated in prior years – come and share your expertise and learn what’s new this year

What will the workshop cover?
What is Poetry Out Loud?
How do you run a successful classroom and school-wide program?
What does good poetry recitation look like?
What are strategies for teaching memorization and recitation?

Workshop Schedule
Friday, October 9th
9AM - NOON
Riverpoint Campus Student Activity Center 205 (building where the library is)

Note: persons requesting disability accommodations call Dani at: 509-368-6590

Parking info:
The south campus yellow lot now has a multi-spaced pay station (“pay and display”). Rates will match the meters. The advantage over a meter is that you can purchase parking with coin, bills, and debit/credit cards. The machine prints out a ticket that you stick to the inside of your window. There are also meters in the parking lot closest to the SAC. Meters and street parking are patrolled regularly during the week and on weekends.

Registration:

This workshop is free and 3 clock hours will be given. Show up and please bring a friend or colleague. You can email Daniel to let him know how many will be attending... to arrange snack quantities. Yes, that’s right, there will be some goodies and the 2009 Poetry Out Loud teachers kits to ensure that this year will be a success. The free kits include Teachers resource guide, 2 poetry books, Audio Cds, and a DVD of best P.O.L. performances from previous years.

We look forward to seeing you, and please let others know about this opportunity so we can make Poetry Out Loud in the East side of Washington the best it can be!!

For more information and registration contact: Daniel Harrington at poetryoutloud509@gmail.com or 509-218-8426