Butler Events
3/2 – Writing Club
ECCW, 11:00 AM
Make great progress on your writing project with the MFA writing club. With fellow MFA writers to hold you accountable, you will devote a set time for working with no cheating – no phone calls, no tweeting, no surfing, and no talking. Eating, coffee, and bathroom breaks are allowed.
3/4 – Poetry Luncheon – Claudia Rankine
ECCW, 12:30 PM
Come see why the poetry luncheons are loved by people from all backgrounds and poetry experience. We’ll be discussing selections from the poetry of Claudia Rankine, winner of the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award in Poetry. Rankine’s work will undoubtedly inspire a lively conservation. As always, all levels of poetry readers are encouraged to join the discussion. Lunch will be provided with an RSVP to mdunn1@butler.edu with at least 24 hours’ notice, and a selection of poems will be emailed a few days in advance so no book purchase is necessary.
3/15 – Literary Translation Series
ECCW, 1:00PM
Did you know that only 3% of all books published in the United States are works in translation; for literary fiction and poetry, the figure is below 1%? The Literary Translation Series aspires to begin a conversation about changing these dismal statistics.
On March 15th, Dr. Karen Kovacik (IUPUI) will present “Maps, Rooms, Drawers: Metaphors for Creating an Anthology of Polish Women Poets.” The Maps portion of this talk examines the gender imbalance in English translation both generally and more specifically in the case of Polish poetry. The Rooms section offers rationales for the eight thematic chapters of the anthology: history, dreams, myths and masks, and so forth. The final portion, Drawers, first points to the metaphor of the drawer as a secret archive in Polish literature, then showcases four from the anthology which do one or more of the following: revise the myth of the Polish Mother, illuminate historical incident from a self-consciously gendered perspective, create a kind of intertextual solidarity with works by other poets in the anthology, or respond ironically to canonical works of literature.
3/18 – Poetry Luncheon – TBA
ECCW, 12:30 PM
Poetry luncheons are a great way to begin to read poetry for fun. Discussions are inclusive and all levels of poetry readers are welcome, from beginners to PhDs. As always, lunch will be provided with an RSVP to mdunn1@butler.edu with at least 24 hours’ notice, and a selection of poems will be emailed a few days in advance so no book purchase is necessary.
3/18 – Story Slam
ECCW, 7PM
The MFA program wants to give storytellers a stage. From the submissions by Butler MFAs and English students three finalists will perform their work and vie for a $100 prize in an epic story slam. Crowd participation is vital and may influence the judges.
3/15 – Literary Translation Series
ECCW, 1:00PM
Did you know that only 3% of all books published in the United States are works in translation; for literary fiction and poetry, the figure is below 1%? The Literary Translation Series aspires to begin a conversation about changing these dismal statistics.
Dr. Aron Aji presents “Making English Speak Turkish: Translation as Translingual Practice.” In international literary exchange, translations into English are often considered either as a proof of distinction or as an entryway to a broader and more diverse international reading markets. Given the volume and range of international literatures traded in/through English, a literary translator often faces a choice between making the original work read “as if it was written in English” or somehow making the English language more capacious (ambivocal) so it can better express the literature and aesthetics of another language. Aron Aji will speak about his translations from the Turkish and address how translation, at its best, can be (is) an expansive, regenerative experience for the host language.
3/29 – Marketing panel featuring WellDone Marketing
ECCW, 7 PM
MFAs are often not just creative writers, but creative thinkers. Some of our own MFAs have turned their degrees into marketing careers. Join us for a panel of these “creatives” featuring advertising directors, copywriters, marketing consultants, many of whom will call their creative writing the foundation of their business careers. The panel will feature Ken Honeywell, the president of WellDone Marketing, and many of our own beloved alumni, including Linda Brundage, Alyssa Chase, Gerry Justice, Jay Lesandrini, and Alex Mattingly. Learn how your creative skill might lead to a career in marketing.
Indy Events
Alec Cizak is a writer and filmmaker from Indianapolis whose work has been featured in more than a dozen journals and anthologies since the late 1990s. Most recently, his stories have appeared or are scheduled to appear in the Wayne Literary Review, Beat to a Pulp, and Profane. He edits the literary journal Pulp Modern, and a collection of his short fiction, Crooked Roads, was published by All Due Respect Books in 2015. Cizak also has written and directed several short and feature-length motion pictures. In 2015, he completed post-production on his latest feature film, Kato Therapy, which he financed, wrote, directed, shot, and edited.
Pressgang, the small press affiliated with Butler University, invites you to celebrate the release of Flashed: Sudden Stories in Comics and Prose, edited by Josh Neufeld & Sari Wilson. Selections of the book will be read by Butler MFA students. A conversational Q & A session will be hosted by Josh Neufeld and Pressgang’s Editor & Publisher, Robert Stapleton. The reading will include an exciting visual display of the comics > prose > comics (and vice-versa) triptychs presented in this one-of-kind collection.
3/8 – Akbar III
Broad Ripple Brewpub, 7:00 PM
As perfectly described by MFA candidate John Eckerd: Join your creative writing community on March 9th at 7:00PM for a continuation of the hotly-criticized and officially disavowed reading series. The Akbar will punch your face so hard you’ll smile while you pick up your teeth. Then the Akbar will drive your ass to the ER and let you pick the music along the way. The Akbar will never let you down. You’ll want to believe, unlikely as it is, that the Akbar is your real father.
Three readers across genres will delight the crowd for 30 minutes total. The night includes impossible trivia, a chance to win a free beer, and lots of time to consort with friends and strangers. Ben H. Winters Edgar Award Winning novelist, Freudian nightmare. Bree Jo’ann: Poet, possibly vegan. Kyler Dean Moor: MFA candidate, sexual dynamo.
Join community partners and performers in this lively celebration of International Women’s Day, this year featuring an array of Polish women poets who came of age as writers before and after the fall of communism, in English translations by Karen Kovacik. A reception with food starts at 6:30 p.m.
Indy Actor’s Playground performs at Indy Reads Books. Hosted by Lou Harry and Bill Simmons, this play reading features a rotating cast of local actors from the IRT, Phoenix Theater, Theater on the Square, and many others performing a play reading in an intimate setting. No props, no preparation, just great actors selecting and reading the plays they’ve always wanted to perform.
3/26 – Gathering of Writers
Indiana Landmarks Center, 9:30AM- 5:00PM
Join the Indiana Writers Center at the Indiana Landmarks Center when Indiana’s best established and emerging writers will meet for a full day of classes on the writing craft, featuring keynote Marianne Boruch. Sessions in poetry, fiction and creative nonfiction will be presented by nine accomplished Indiana writers, including Butler professors Bryan Furuness, Alessandra Lynch, and Lili Wright. A great discount price is offered to full time students.
Indy Author Award winner and former Butler MFA nonfiction guest professor, Greg Schwipps, will be reading from his latest work. Some of his former students are planning a caravan from Butler. If you’d like to join, email Maggie.
On his recent visit to Butler University as a Vivian S. Delbrook visiting writer, Benjamin Percy discussed genre writing, read from his new thriller (Dead Lands, a post-apocalyptic reimagining of the Lewis and Clark saga), held a student Q & A, and met with MFA fiction candidates for one-on-one workshops.
Because he is so precise in his own writing process and so willing to share advice, fiction MFA students were eager to meet with him one on one to discuss their work. Percy spent time with students’ work beforehand, covering the pages with notes and considerations. When he met with them one on one, he offered specific advice on the submission, general writing techniques, and writing career tips. Thesis candidate Dave Marsh said, “Percy was excellent 1:1. I am SO glad I made the effort to sign up for one of those workshop slots. I can’t wait to get hold of his craft book [Thrill Me: Essays on Fiction, October, 2016] that will come out later this year.”
The Butler MFA has created an initiative to bring writing for wellness into the Indianapolis community through outreach programs. In the trenches of writing and revising, MFAs often take the cathartic nature of writing for granted, but in wellness writing groups across the city, MFAs are igniting the passion for writing and sharing its therapeutic powers.
Potential writing groups include adolescents at Riley Children Hospital, health employees at Eskenazi hospital, and Seniors at long-term care residences. Additional groups are currently being pursued and will be added.
3/8 – I
Photo credit: