Conversations@efryomson is a unique reading series designed to supplement the popular Delbrook Visiting Writers Series. All events occur in the home of the Butler MFA program, the Efroymson Center for Creative Writing. The series offers more intimate and interactive events than standard readings. We’ve had speakers from a wide range of genres and perspectives, including: screenwriting and documentary, blogging, graphic novels, book reviewing, editing, spiritual writing, poetry therapy, and more. The series also includes bimonthly poetry lunch discussions guided by Mindy Dunn. It is intended to enrich the literary “conversation” and community in the MFA program, on campus, and in the broader Indianapolis community. In addition to the poetry lunch hours, this semester’s line-up includes high energy events like yoga and creative writing, a story slam, an MFA career panel, and a writing for well-bring workshop. For more information contact Mindy Dunn.

The conversations@efryomson series kicks off the spring line up with Wordbending: the Yoga of Writing led by Emma Hudelson on Thursday, January 28th at 6:00pm. A description of the event is included below.

Yoga is mastery of the activities of the mind. Then the seer rests in its true nature. (Yoga Sutra 1.2-1.3)

Yoga isn’t really about bendy bodies in designer spandex. Yoga actually means “to yoke” or “to join,” and it is the practice of mastering the mind in order to arrive at truth. Whether we’re writing fiction, poetry, or nonfiction, we are using the mental tool of language, joining words together to create a meaningful truth, which makes writing a form of yoga. In this conversations@efro event, we will learn how to consciously use a yoga practice to enhance the writing process.

After a brief talk from MFA alum and yoga instructor Emma Hudelson, we’ll engage in a short, beginner-friendly practice of yoga breathing techniques and postures, then dive into a writing prompt. Wear comfortable workout clothing and bring a notebook or laptop. There will be a limited supply of yoga mats provided, but please bring your own if you have one.

Alumna Mel Coryell was named Indiana’s 2015-16 Milken Educator. The Milken Educator Awards honors top educators around the country with $25,000 unrestricted awards. The Milken Educator Awards targets early-to-mid career education professionals for their already impressive achievements and for the promise of what they will accomplish in the future.

Alumnus Kaveh Akbar read his poem,”Palmyra” on PBS Newshour. The poem, written in response to the beheading of Syrian archeologist Khaled Al-Asaadon, has also been featured at the Poetry Foundation and FSView. “This poem is an instance where I’m kind of cracking open the window and looking at, for as long as I can bear it, what is physically unbearable,” Akbar said.

The team from Pressgang (Butler’s small press) is celebrating the completion of FLASHED: Sudden Stories in Comics and Prose. The early buzz on this one is strong. NewPages reviewed the ARC in December and said that Flashed was “one of the most fun reading experiences” they had in 2015. To be released in February, Flashed is a unique, call-and-response collaboration between short fiction and comics. Contributors, including Junot Diaz, Lynda Barry, Aimee Bender and more, riff on each other’s work in curated triplets that begin to form an echo chamber on the creative process.

Our newest Creative Nonfiction student, Suzette Hackney wrote the powerful cover story for the Indianapolis Star’s Sunday Living section. The personal essay tells an emotional story of Hackney’s personal loss and her commitment to healthy living. Her essay has gained an outpouring of support and praise, including a tweet from John Green naming Hackney “Indianapolis’ brilliant newish columnist.”

Fiction candidate Elisabeth Giffin has had an outstandingly successful year in theater. First, she won Encore Association’s Best Major Supporting Actress in a Drama for her role in August: Osage County. Then, local theater critic, Ken Klingenmeier recognized Giffin with a “Mitty” (Most Impressive Theatre award).  She won “Most Impressive Actress in a Smaller Role” for her role in It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play. Klingenmeier wrote, “Elisabeth Giffin showed a certain verve in her roles, creating feelings of both a carefree comic nature and, when necessary, feelings of distress and wantonness. And she did it all with what seemed to be an enviable effortlessness.” Giffin also landed a spot in a Lids commercial filmed in downtown Indy. If you haven’t seen it, check it out here.