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The College of Saint Benedict Allies with Graywolf Press to Launch Literary Arts Institute
Local Liberal Arts College to Offer Several Programs, Including Week-Long Publishing Workshop With Pulitzer-Prize Winning Poet Jorie Graham
The College of Saint Benedict has announced the formation of an innovative Literary Arts Institute that will feature programs for area writers, readers, actors and publishing enthusiasts. The College has allied with nationally recognized, not-for-profit publisher Graywolf Press to introduce the Institute and bring in a wide array of local and national authors, poets and publishers to the surrounding community.The Literary Arts Institute is a community collaborative that gives voice to emerging writers, poets and publishers through the exploration of contemporary writing, reading, theater and book arts.
"Since its founding, the College of Saint Benedict has expressed an abiding commitment to the written word, positioning writing at the very center of the liberal and fine arts," said Mary Lyons, president of the College of Saint Benedict. "The Literary Arts Institute is a sign of our commitment to build upon Minnesota's creative identity."
Introductory programs for the Literary Arts Institute at the College of Saint Benedict's will include:
* Inside Books, July 10-14: A unique, hands-on learning experience for students or career enthusiasts to gain expertise in the publishing world from experts in independent and large trade presses as well as alternative and electronic publishing. The program, open to anyone, is the only one of its kind in the Upper Midwest and will include special field trips, presentations from representatives of Graywolf Press, Ruminator Review, Poetry Magazine and Utne Reader among several others, and a reading from Pulitzer-prize winning poet Jorie Graham.
* Sister Mariella Gable Prize, July 10: A literary competition named after Mariella Gable, who taught English for the College of Saint Benedict and was a strong believer in the transcendent values of literature. The competition's winner receives $15,000 and has their work published by Graywolf Press.
* Writer's Writing, Fall: An opportunity for students at Saint Benedict to learn writing from the best of the best, through special readings, master classes and conferences integrated into their curricula. Previous writers who have visited campus include Robert Pinsky, Donald Hall, April Bernard and a host of Graywolf authors.
* Reader's Theater, October 23: A program, in its third year of existence, which adapts various Graywolf texts to the stage for the surrounding community to enjoy. Previous productions include a presentation of Croatian writer Josip Novakovich's short stories from Salvation and Other Disasters and an original adaptation of Lawrence Sutin's Jack & Rochelle, the editor's true story of his parents who fell in love as Jews hiding in Poland during the Holocaust.
* Book Arts Studio, Ongoing: A production studio for students at Saint Benedict to use letterpress and papermaking equipment to create hand-made books. The studio will be incorporated into Inside Books, but is primarily used for the new Editing and Publishing course offered to Saint Benedict students during the spring. Next year, the class will print a book by renowned poet Anne Carson and artist Kim Anno about an opera based on the life of a twelfth-century French mystic.
"Saint Benedict's Institute is unique in that it's making a very concentrated effort to investigate and expand the rich literary haven in the Midwest and more specifically, in Minnesota," said Fiona McCrae, director and publisher of Graywolf Press.
The College of Saint Benedict, located in Saint Joseph, Minn., has a rich history in advancing the literary arts. The school's ideals hearken back to its Benedictine tradition and the presentation and progression of both secular and sacred works.
For years, the school has recognized and advanced emerging writers of the day - from Sister Mariella Gable, a nun who defined contemporary Catholic literature in the early-to-mid 1900's, to Sister Mara Faulkner, a teacher, writer and member of the Benedictine community, who chose to carry on the voice of Gable. The school also produced Clare Rossini, winner of a Bennet Cerf Award for Poetry and an Academy of American Poets Prize, as well as Betty Wahl, acclaimed fiction writer who's first story was printed in the New Yorker two years after she graduated from the College of Saint Benedict.
"Not only does this Institute offer a creative method for teaching an invaluable component of education, but it also helps us spread literary appreciation to the community-at-large," said Mark Conway, Director of Special Programming for Saint Benedict's. "Programs like Inside Books and Reader's Theater really allow the surrounding area to participate and see very clear examples of the benefits of liberal arts education."
For more information contact Aaron Berstler; Kohnstamm Communications (ph:651/228-9141) or Greg Hoye, director of public affairs, College of Saint Benedict (ph:320/363-5399).