But this too is true: stories can save us
The writer Tim O’Brien calls storytelling an essential human activity. “The harder the situation,” O’Brien says, “the more essential it is.”
This April at Pitt-Greensburg, poets, writers, and storytellers will come together for five days of that essential activity as the university celebrates the 25th year of its annual Writers Festival.
Dave Newman, Pitt-Greensburg professor, author, and co-director of this year’s festival, promises the 25th year of the festival will be especially diverse and relevant for the times.
“We’re bringing in writers from Appalachia, Pittsburgh proper, and Jim Daniels—one of the most important working-class writers in America—will be zooming in from France, where he’s currently staying,” Newman says. “We’re focusing on storytellers who illuminate working-class stories or the stories of people who are struggling. There’s never been a better time to illuminate those kinds of experiences.”
Lori Jakiela, who founded the festival in 2000 and is co-directing with Newman this year, says she hopes the festival will reach a wide audience and encourage attendees to share their own stories.
“We hope to reach out to the broader community even more this year than in the past,” Jakiela, an author who also directs the Creative & Professional Writing program at the university, says. “The world is a hard place right now, and the festival has always been designed around the deep belief that stories and poems and art can bring us together, let us catch our breaths, and help us heal.”
While the schedule for the festival continues to expand, here’s a sampling of what visitors can expect each day. All readings and events are free and open to the public, thanks to funding from The University of Pittsburgh’s Year of Discourse and Dialogue grants and the Pitt-Greensburg Academic Villages. All events will be held in McKenna Hall on the University of Pittsburgh-Greensburg campus, with the exception of a few outdoor events (see the schedule below).
For more information about the festival, please email loj@pitt.edu or dpn15@pitt.edu.
Tuesday, April 15
11 a.m.-1 p.m. Celebrate National Poetry Month with Readings in the Poetry Garden/Little Library Installation:Join Pitt-Greensburg students, faculty, and staff for open mic poetry readings, snacks, and free poetry swag from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. in the Poetry Garden (located at the front entrance to the Faculty Office Building). We’ll be unveiling a new Little Library featuring poetry books and chapbooks. Bring a book. Take a book. The library will be dedicated with a plaque memorializing Pitt-Greensburg writing instructor Lynn Kuhn, who passed away earlier this year. (Weather permitting.)
3 p.m.-5 p.m. Free Typewriter Poems on Demand! (Outside in the Poetry Garden, weather permitting. In Chambers Hall lobby in case of April showers.) Come sit a while with writer Lori Jakiela, who will write a poem for you on a purple typewriter that would make Prince proud. Any subject. Free!
6 p.m.-8 p.m. Poets Jason Baldinger and Joy Priest read from their work. Students from the Creative & Professional Writing Program will open. A reception, book signings and sales will follow the readings. 131 McKenna Hall.
Wednesday, April 16
3 p.m.-5 p.m. Writing Home: A Generative Writing Workshop
Join award-winning authors and festival organizers Dave Newman and Lori Jakiela for a writing workshop designed to help you write about the places and memories that matter to you most. Suitable for writers of all levels and abilities. Bring your preferred writing tools. 131 McKenna Hall
6 p.m.-9 p.m. No Sweeter Sound: Poets and Writers of Appalachia and The Rust Belt
Join an award-winning line-up of writers who write from and about this place we call home. Featured authors include Laura Jackson, Greg Clary, Byron Hoot, Jo Scheier, and Philip Terman. A reception, book signings, music, and sales after the readings. 131 McKenna Hall.
Thursday April 17
6-9 p.m. EVERY DAY I WRITE THE BOOK: CAPSTONE CELEBRATION AND BOOK LAUNCH
Join eight graduating Pitt-Greensburg writers as they read from and launch the books they’ve created as part of their senior Capstone projects. Award-winning poet (and Pitt-Greensburg alum) Karen Weyant will be the keynote reader. A reception, book sales and signings will follow the readings. 131 McKenna Hall
Monday, April 21
11 a.m.-1 p.m. Don’t Blink: Celebrating Dr. Who, Fantasy Writing, and The New TARDIS Little Library
Join Pitt-Greensburg students, faculty, and staff for open mic readings, snacks, and all things Dr. Who from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. in the courtyard of the Life Sciences Building We’ll be unveiling a new Little Library featuring science fiction and other otherworldly books. (Weather permitting.) Bring a book. Take a book.
6 p.m. WPA PRESS DAY!
Join the staff and editors of WPA Press–a small independent publishing house dedicated to publishing writers who write about work, class, and place—and the Pitt-Greensburg Literary Publishing class as we launch three new books: JEHOVAH JUKEBOX, by West Coast poetry legend Joan Jobe Smith; ARS POETICA CHEMISTRICA, by Jim Daniels; and HOME LEAVE, by Rebecca Jung. Readings by Rebecca Jung, Caitlin Cruser, Jed Kudrick, and via Zoom from France—Jim Daniels. Reception, book sales, and signings after the readings. 131 McKenna Hall.
Tuesday, April 22
6 p.m. STORYTELLERS SHOWCASE
Join Pitt-Greensburg digital storytellers, poets and writers for an evening celebrating the art of human stories. Featured storytellers include:
Digital stories/short films—Michelle Barton (Return to Poland); Alissa Brown (Retiring from Target); Shannon Grace (About Me); Jeanette Hutzell (WTF Can I Do? Living Responsibly Now); Joshua Palmiscno (Family Matters); Addison Patrick (Beautiful Things); Shianne Steck (Behind the Curtain).
Poets—Kate Cramer, Jed Kudrick, Skyler Currie; Madi Petrina; Alexis Osborne; Eva Webber-Smith
Fiction: Jeanette Hutzell; Joshua Palmiscno; Alexander Ray
A reception will follow the event. 131 McKenna Hall.
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