July 2002 Programs & Events

Wide Open Mike with Norm Davis

• Friday, July 5, 7:30 p.m.
• In the Verb Café at W&B
• Free and open to the public

W&B is proud to sponsor Rochester's longest running open mike program, "Wide Open Mike." This forum allows poets and prose writers, essayists and performance artists of all ages and backgrounds, a place to share their work with others in a friendly atmosphere. Join host Norm Davis, local poet and editor of HazMat Review. 

Senior Reading Group

• Tuesday, July 9, 2 - 4 p.m.
• In the Verb Café at W&B
• Free and open to the public

Join senior readers in the Verb Café for a pleasant afternoon of coffee, creative writing, and conversation. Read your prose and poetry in a comfortable, supportive atmosphere. Hosted by Norm Davis.

Improv for Writers: Writing Tools from an Actor's Toolbox

• Wednesday, July 10, 7 - 8:30 p.m.
•  At W&B
• Cost: $5 for members, $8 for the general public

Eliot Fintushel has published dozens of stories in literary journals and science fiction magazines. He has been a Nebula and Sturgeon Award finalist. Eliot, a former Rochesterian who now lives in California, is also a performance artist who has learned the techniques of stage improvisation for freeing creativity in ways fascinating to an audience. Many of these techniques are just as valid for writers laboring at the word mill.

In this loosely structured session, Eliot will read from some of his own improv-inspired writing and lead exercises for writers as improvisers. This unique class is for writers of all disciplines. According to Eliot, "We too can wrap ourselves around the premise, make blind offers, and ask the material where it wants to go. Plus, unlike stage folk, authors get to rewrite!"

SummerWrite Youth Reading Series

Reading Buddies and Create a Radio Show

• Friday, July 12
• For reading times/places and other details,
  contact Wendy Low, 585-473-2590, x109.
• Free and open to the public

These readings are part of W&B's SummerWrite programs, encouraging youth ages 8 - 18 to explore and develop their creativity through dozens of classes and artistic experiences, including writing, music, theatrical performance, nature walks, museum/gallery trips, and more.

See also:

• Nature Speaks and Listen Up! - Friday, July 19
• Pages & Stages and  Dramatic Characters - Friday, August 2
• Book Arts and Beyond - Friday, August 16
• Word Up! - Friday, August 30

The Gell Center of the Finger Lakes Poetry & Music Festival

• Saturday, July 13, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.
• At the Gell Center of the Finger Lakes
• Free and open to the public, although a $5 donation toward the Gell Center of the Finger Lakes would be appreciated.

Spend an idyllic summer day in the scenic Bristol Hills area listening to your favorite W&B poets and other local authors read from their work. Golden Link Folk Singing Society, Inc. will share their music in the afternoon. Bring a picnic lunch. Wander the grounds. Take in the fresh air. Light refreshments will be served.

Writing for Healing

• Instructor: Patricia Schwartz [ bio ]
• Thursday, July 18, 5:30-8:30
• $43 General Public/$34 W&B Members
• Limit: 12

Recent research has indicated that intensive journal writing focusing on releasing the pain and distress of past events has contributed to the actual healing of physical ailments. Significant emotional healing also often happens this way.

In this workshop, learn how to free-write as part of a journalizing process, participate in several exercises using this technique, and try guided imagery/visualization, designed to serve as part of any personal healing process that is currently part of your life.

This workshop is not intended as a substitute for therapy.

SummerWrite Youth Reading Series

Nature Speaks and Listen Up!

• Friday, July 19
• For reading times/places and other details,
  contact Wendy Low, 585-473-2590, x109.
• Free and open to the public

These readings are part of W&B's SummerWrite programs, encouraging youth ages 8 - 18 to explore and develop their creativity through dozens of classes and artistic experiences, including writing, music, theatrical performance, nature walks, museum/gallery trips, and more.

See also:

• Reading Buddies and Create a Radio Show - Friday, July 12
• Pages & Stages and Dramatic Characters - Friday, August 2
• Book Arts and Beyond - Friday, August 16
• Word Up! - Friday, August 30

F'LOOM

• Saturday, July 20 and Friday, August 23, 8:00 p.m.
• In the Verb Café at W&B
• Admission $5 for members, $8 for the general public

Robert Kulik, Elizabeth Philips, and Rick Scott, one of Rochester's favorite performance ensembles, brings their "a cappella, polyrhythmic sound-text" to the Verb Café in July and August. Don't miss your opportunity to hear a truly unique and talented musical/poetry trio, and see what everyone has been talking about.

Letterpress Printing Workshop

• Saturday & Sunday, July 20 & 21, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
• At the Gell Center of the Finger Lakes
• Cost: $170 for members, $195 for the general public
• Lab Fee: Additional $20/student
• Limit: 6
• To register, call Kathy Potetti, 585-473-2590, x103.

Gutenberg's craft of printing from lead type is not dead!

In the Letterpress Printing Workshop, an introduction to the "black art," instructor Harold Kyle (founder of Boxcar Press in Syracuse) will guide participants in setting and printing their own text. Students will enjoy the newly refurbished letterpress shop in the basement of the Gell Center's Gleason Lodge.

Although commercially obsolete, letterpress printing is a rewarding and constructive way for an author to publish small works of poetry and  prose. By the end of the weekend, all participants will become printer-publishers. Bring work clothes and a small piece of your writing (up to ten lines).

HazMat Review Publication Party

• Thursday, July 25, 7 p.m.
• At W&B
• Free and open to the public

HazMat Literary Review, one of Rochester's finest literary magazines, is celebrating its 5th Anniversary Issue. The magazine is dedicated completely and uncompromisingly to literary freedom and artistic expression. The poetry and prose they publish is influenced by no corporate, political, religious, educational, or philosophical belief system. The editors of HazMat believe that there must be a pure forum available for writers to create pure art. Come help them celebrate their anniversary, meet the editors, enjoy light refreshments, buy a new copy of HazMat's Anniversary Issue, and listen to some great readings.

SummerWrite Academy Showcase Reading

• Friday, July 26, 7 p.m.
• At W&B
• Free and open to the public

Teens in our three-week SummerWrite Academy for gifted high school writers will get a chance to read from their work in poetry (instructor Kathleen Wakefield), fiction (instructor Thom Metzger), and non-fiction (instructor Gail Hosking Gilberg). This program culminates with a special showcase reading and a celebration of an anthology of student work.

See also:

• SummerWrite Showcase Reading - Saturday, August 24

Rochester Fantasy Fans Book Talk

Stainless Steel Rat by Harry Harrison

• Saturday, July 27, 5 - 7 p.m.
• In the Verb Café at W&B
• Free and open to the public

Rochester's very own science fiction and fantasy club will meet at W&B. This meeting in the Verb Café is for RFF members, people who might be interested in joining the club, and those who would simply like to sit in on the book discussion.

Bryan Bowers In Concert

• Monday, July 29, 7 p.m.
• In the Verb Café at W&B
• Admission: $10 for Golden Link and W&B members, $15 for the general public

Bryan Bowers is an autoharp virtuoso who has developed a distinctive five-finger playing style. He manages to get something out of each finger, which leads to the production of an unusually rich, dense sound.

He is also a singer and songwriter. One of his songs, "Berklee Woman," was recorded by John Denver. He got his big break into the folk music scene when Mike Seeger arranged for him to perform at the Chicago Folk Festival. Bryan's wife, Kate, will join him on some of the tunes.

This program is brought to you in collaboration with the Golden Link Folk Singing Society, Inc.

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