Events and other activities taking place during the Commerce Week on Writing represent a wide range of activities, subjects, programs, and goals. CWoW isn’t about any single department, or even Texas A&M-Commerce. It is about ALL of us, on campus and in the community. It is about writing and writers. Writing worth celebrating!
Event details (printable)
Schedule “At a Glance” (printable)
Promotional materials (printable)
@ Texas A&M-Commerce campus
What: Halls of Poetry
When: Oct. 19 , 2009, 4:30-7:10
Where:Hall of Languages, Room 203
How: Just drop by and listen!
Organizer: Dr. Robin Anne Reid, Professor of English (Robin_Reid@tamu-commerce.edu)
Writers taking Dr. Kathryn Jacobs’ poetry writing course and Dr. Robin Anne Reid’s narrative prose course will be sharing their work on Monday, October 19, 4:30-7:10, Hall of Languages, Room 203.
What: Writing Local History: Panel of Experts
When: Oct. 20, 2009, 1:00 pm-2:00 pm
Where: Gee Library, First Floor
How: Just drop by!
Visit “Promotional” tab (above) for event flyer.
Organizer: Dr. Jim Conrad, Director of Special Collections (James_Conrad@tamu-commerce.edu)
Dr. Jim Conrad (Gee Library, Special Collections) has organized a panel of local history experts to share information and research on this complex topic.
Panelists include Dr. John Hanners (Professor, Department of Mass Media, Communications, and Theatre), Dr. Ortho Spencer (Professor of Journalism), and Texas novelist Jim H. Ainsworth (http://www.jimainsworth.com/). and author and “Silver Leo” Bobbie Purdy.
Dr. Hanners has published several articles on local history in the Commerce Journal and conducted extensive research on the famous trail of Commerce resident Velma Patterson, who was convicted of the murder of her daughter during the mid 1930s.
Dr. Ortho Spencer is a retired photography and journalism professor from Texas A&M‐Commerce. He has also published articles on local history in the Commerce Journal and is author and editor of multiple resources for researchers interested in local history—including the Handbook of Commerce, Texas, 1872-1985,which he co‐edited with Billie Spencer (1985).
Texas novelist Jim H. Ainsworth writes about what he knows, and he knows a lot. He writes about cowboy life, the value of family stories, and “the power of stories in our lives.” Learn more about Mr. Ainsworth at http://www.jimainsworth.com/. Better yet, come hear him speak!
Bobbie Purdy, from the group Silver Leos, will read from his or her memoirs. The Silver Leos is a writing group led by Dr. Fred Tarpley (retired Professor of English from the Department of Literature of Languages), focusing on memoirs and consisting mainly of retired faculty from this university.
Dr. Conrad will serve as moderator during this meeting. Dr. Conrad (Gee Library, Special Collections) currently publishes the weekly “Blackland” column in the Greenville Herald Banner and is co‐author of the award winning book Freedom Colonies: Independent Black Texans in the Age of Jim Crow (2005).
Presentations will last approximately ten minutes each. The audience will then have the opportunity to ask questions and discuss local history. (more at http://kimberlya33.blogspot.com/)
What: NCoW Theater: A Festival of Films about Writing and Writers
When: Oct. 20, 2009, 2:30 pm-3:30 pm
Where: Gee Library, First Floor
How: Just drop by! We’ll share films from our collection, and you’ll get a chance to view the NCoW site and learn about how you might contribute.
Organizer: Shannon Carter, Associate Professor of English (Shannon_Carter@tamu-commerce.edu)
See “promotional” tab above for the flier and a list of films, or visit the NCoW Theater website
Films about writing and writers, mostly documentary and all included in the National Conversation on Writing (www.ncow.org). Texas A&M-Commerce is thrilled to serve as institutional home for this national archive of stories and artifacts about writing and writers.
See “promotional” tab for list of films.
More information at http://seanfdubb.wordpress.com/2009/10/11/commerce-week-on-writing-ncow-theatre/
What: Writing Center Open House
When: Oct. 20, 2009, 4:30 pm-7:30 pm
Where: Hall of Languages, Room 106 (Writing Center)
How: Celebrate with us! Refreshments provided.
Organizer: Tabetha Adkins, Assistant Professor of English and Director of the Writing Center (Tabetha_Adkins@tamu-commerce.edu)
Details at http://onesweetworld777.blogspot.com/2009/10/writing-center-open-house-and-memoir.html
Printable flyer for event at “promotional” tab above.
What: Memoir Workshop led my Dr. Fred Tarpley (with Silver Leos)
When: Oct. 20, 2009, 5:00 pm-7:00 pm
Where: Hall of Languages, Room 146
How: Workshop for those interested in writing memoir. Just drop by!
Organizer: Tabetha Adkins, Assistant Professor of English and Director of the Writing Center (Tabetha_Adkins@tamu-commerce.edu)
Details at http://onesweetworld777.blogspot.com/2009/10/writing-center-open-house-and-memoir.html
Printable flyer for event at “promotional” tab above.
What: Coming Together: A Conversation with Norris Community Members and Other Experts
When: Oct. 21, 2009, 1:00-2:00 pm
Where: Gee Library, First Floor
How: Just drop by! Panel presentation (conversation) is free and open to the public!
See flier at “promotional” tab above.
Organizer: Opal Pannell, Director of the Norris Community Center and long-time resident, with Shannon Carter (shannon_carter@tamu-commerce.edu) and LaVelle Hendricks
“Coming Together” is a panel of leaders and long-time residents from the Norris Community in Commerce, Texas. conversation with community members of the Norris Community, a section of Commerce that before integration was the site of the all-black Norris School and, much more recently, the a superfund site left by a factory that processed cotton (contaminated soil).
Representatives at this panel include Harry Turner (Mt. Moriah Temple Baptist Church), Madell Pannell (Pentecostal Church of the Lord Jesus Christ), and Opal Pannell (Director of the Norris Community Center and lont-time member of Mt. Moriah). Ms. Pannell is also the panel organizer, with me and Dr. LaVelle Hendricks (Texas A&M-Commerce). African-American churches throughout the Norris Community play a major role in community life, serving as advocates, leaders, and educators for this important area of Commerce, Texas.
Panel members selected by Ms. Opal Pannell and Dr. LaVelle Hendricks.
Join us for this exciting panel Ms. Pannell calls “Coming Together.” Updates at http://laurita-tx.blogspot.com/2009/10/norris-community.html
What: “The President’s Table” (Channel 3)
When: Oct. 21, 2009, 2:30 pm
Where: KETV studios (closed)
How: President Dan Jones will interview Shannon Carter and Fred Tarpley about the importance of writing and the Commerce Week on Writing. Program recorded at 2:30 on Wednesday, 10/21, will air on Monday, 10/27, and Tuesday, 10/28, at 6:30 pm.
Organizer: Texas A&M University-Commerce president Dr. Dan Jones, with Dr. John Mark Dempsey, Associate Professor of Mass Communications
What: Don’t Be Silent! (documentary)
When: Oct. 21, 2009, 2:30 pm
Where: Gee Library, First Floor
How: Come by, view this documentary (Italian, with English subtitles), and meet one of the filmmakers, PhD student Luca Morazzano (Department of Literature and Languages)
Documentary film about don Roberto Sardelli, a priest and activist who, in 1968, founded School 725 in Rome amongst the “Shack People” of the Acquedotto Felice (a XVI century acqueduct where the poorest immigrants from Southern Italy find home and community but no running water or electrnicty). An uplifting film about the power of writing in and for community, as the residents use research and creative writing to document their situtation and force the cityleaders to respond.
Organizer: Luca Morazzano (luca.morazzano@gmail.com)
What: “Literacy in the Lives of Three PhD Students at Texas A&M-Commerce”
When: Oct. 22, 2009, 12:30-1:45 pm
Where: Hall of Languages, Room 203 (Auditorium)
How: Drop by!
Organizer: Donna Dunbar-Odom, Professor of English
Panelists: JP Sloop, Wade Thompson, and Anna-Marie Lopez
What: “On Being an Artist: Daily Affirmations and Gang Violence” (artist lecture)
When: Oct. 22, 2009, 1:00-2:30pm
Where: Art 111
How: Drop by!
Organizer: Michael Miller, Professor of Art (Michael_Miller@tamu-commerce.edu)
What: “The Use of Video for Art Making, Documentation, and Writing Purposes” (artist lecture)
When: Oct. 22, 2009, 3:15 pm
Where: Art 111
How: Drop by!
Josephine Durkin will talk about how she uses video as both an art medium and a teaching tool. Video plays an important role in the
contemporary art world and can work in a variety of installation formats while also allowing for appropriate documentation of kinetic and performance art. Additionally, video can function as a writing tool when students are challenged to create and edit video essays in a way that parallels the method of writing and editing papers.
Josephine, along with several of her students, will share how video has contributed to their learning experience. Josephine is an artist and Assistant Professor of Art at Texas A&M University –Commerce. She teaches Sculpture, 3-D Design, Contemporary Issues in Art, Video in Art and Visual Stroke / Verbal Expression.
Information will be provided about her various course offerings that utilize and focus on video. Students studying in all disciplines are encouraged to take these beginning and advanced courses that introduce and further develop video and audio editing skills as they apply to essay writing, documentary, animation, and art making.
Josephine has a B.F.A. in Sculpture from Virginia Commonwealth University and an M.F.A. in Sculpture from Yale University. She has exhibited locally, nationally and internationally. Recent exhibitions have included solo and group shows at the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria, Virginia, the Ulrich Museum of Art in
Wichita, Kansas, Lohin Geduld Gallery in New York, Kunstraum Innsbruck in Austria, the University of California, Berkeley, State of Flux Gallery in Kingston, Ontario and and an upcoming show at Metro Space in Richmond, Virginia. She was a guest artist and speaker at Texelectronica, an International Symposium on Art, Music, Technology, Society and Culture held at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. Her work can be seen at www.josephinedurkin.com.
Organizer: Josephine Durkin, Assistant Professor of Art (Josephine_Durkin@tamu-commerce.edu)
What: “No Experience Necessary: 24 Hour Short Play Competition and Festival”
When/where: begins with an optional workshop in the Performing Arts Building Thursday afternoon (4:30), followed by an announcement of the prompt and guidelines. Plays due for judging the next day (10/23) at 10:00 am, judged immediately after that, then rehersals begin for the winning play at 3:00. Doors open for festival at 5:00 Friday night.
More information and fun details at http://professorfuzzybottoms.blogspot.com/2009/10/best-laid-schemes-o-mice-men-gang-aft.html
View flyer and additional details at “promotional” tab above.
in the Community
What: Open Mic (Mayo Review)
When: Oct. 22, 2009, 7:30 pm
Where: Cowhill Express (downtown Commerce)
How: Drop by! Details at http://onesweetworld777.blogspot.com/2009/10/open-mic-night.html
See flyer at “promotional” tab above.
Organizer: Brandon Barnes (bdbarnes.english@gmail.com)
What: Commerce Public Library presents, an “Open Mic for Kids!
When: Oct. 22, 2009, 4:30-6:00pm
Where: Commerce Public Library, off the Commerce Square
How: Just drop by! Participants will consit of local middle and high school students reciting original or selected poems. Are you a writer? Are your students writers? Are your children writers? Share your work and join the fun!
Organizer: Gayle Gordon, Director of the Commerce Public Library (commerce@koyote.com and 903-226-6858), with Mary K. Croft
See “promotional” for flyer and details. Kid friendly!
What: Story Slam!
When: Oct. 23, 2009, 7:00-9:00 pm
Where: Brew Spot
How: The new Writing Center director at Texas A&M-Commerce, Dr. Tabetha Adkins, is organizing “Story Slam!” at the Spot, which will serve as the culminating event for the Commerce Week on Writing. For this event, participants are given a topic ahead of time. They write a story in response to the prompt, which they then share at the Story Slam!
Participants place their names in a hat. Those drawn share. The rest of us just sit back and enjoy–hilarious stories, sad stories, embarrassing stories, dramatic stories, poignant stories, silly stories, . . . you name it, we’ll hear it.
Prompt: “I shouldn’t have written it down.”
How might that story go? Create your own story and share it, or just come listen and enjoy !
See additional information about week’s events (including complete lineup for Thursday and Friday!) at
Converging Literacies Center (CLiC) 