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Commerce Week on Writing

October 16th-23rd, 2009

The planning meeting held September 16th, 2009 was well attended, including
representatives from across the campus and in the community--Gee Library,
Greenville Herald-Banner and Commerce Journal, Dallas Morning News, the
Department of Literature and Languages and, via online conversations, the
Department of Art. The Commerce Week on Writing may even spread into the
metroplex, with at least one teacher from Garland ISD generating interest from the
many involved with our Metroplex Center and other Texas A&M-Commerce
campuses.

Multiple events are planned (and in planning stages) for the Commerce Week on
Writing. At the planning meeting, representatives from the Converging Literacies
Center (CLiC) shared resources to support those interested in setting up an event,
all of which can be found at the above url.

Carter asks everyone—from the campus to the community—to set up an event and
spread the word. The Commerce Week on Writing isn’t about any single department
or even Texas A&M-Commerce. It is about all of us, on campus and in the
community. For this reason, CLiC isn’t organizing these events. But we do promise
to do what we can to spread the word and keep the conversation going.

What’s happening?

Numerous events are already planned for the entire third week of October. The
schedule of events will continue to grow as we near the Commerce Week on Writing,
and CLiC promises to keep publishing updates every week until the actual the
events begin.

Scheduled thus far:

Monday, October 19, 2009, from 4:30-7:00 [location TBA]

Creative writing students will read from their own, original work

Organizers: Drs. Robin Reid and Kathryn Jacobs (Department of Literature and
Languages)

Tuesday, October 20, 2009, from 12:30-1:45 [location: Gee Library, First Floor]

Panel discussion with local historians

Organizers: Dr. Jim Conrad (Gee Library, Special Collections)

Tuesday, October 20, 2009, from 2:30-4:15 [location: Gee Library, First Floor]

“NCoW Theater” (details at http://www.scribd.com/doc/20025631/NCoW-

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theater2)

A festival of films about writing and writers, highlighting relevant

documentaries contained in the National Conversation on Writing (NCoW);
Texas A&M-Commerce is the institutional home for this archive of oral
histories and other artifacts about writing and writers. More on NCoW at
www.ncow.org/site.

Organizer: Dr. Shannon Carter (Literature and Languages)

Tuesday, October 20, 2009, from 5:00-7:00 [location: Hall of Languages, First
Floor]

Writing Center Open House

Texas A & M – Commerce Writing Center will hold an open house night with a
special memoir writing workshop included. This event is scheduled for
October 20th from 5p.m.-7p.m. in the Hall of Languages room 106. Dr. Fred
Tarpley and the writing group “Silver Leo’s” have graciously accepted the
invitation to teach the memoir writing workshop. EGAD will also be in
attendance. They will discuss information concerning professional
development during this same time slot.

Organizer: Dr. Tabetha Adkins (Literature and Languages)

Wednesday, October 21, 2009, from 12:30-1:45 [location: TBA, tentatively

scheduled]

The Norris Community Project

Panel discussion, with community members, archivists, researchers and other

experts

Organizer: Dr. Lavelle Hendricks (Department of Counseling), with Carter and

Dunbar-Odom

Wednesday, October 21, 2009, from 2:30-4:15 [location: TBA, tentatively

scheduled]

Don’t Be Silent! (documentary), followed by conversation with one of the

filmmakers. Italian, with English subtitles

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 aqueduct where the poorest immigrants
from Southern Italy find home and community but no running water or
electricity). An uplifting film about the power of writing in and for community,
as the residents use research and creative writing to document their situation
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and force the city leaders to respond.

Organizer: , with Carter (Department of Literature and Languages)

Thursday, October 22, 2009, from 7:00-9:00 pm [location: Cowhill Express, on

the Square in Commerce]

Open Mic (Mayo Review)

Organizer: , Editor, Mayo Review (Literature and Languages)

Friday, October 23, 2009 [location: Brew Spot, on the Square in Commerce; time
TBA]

Story Slam!

Our new Texas A & M – Commerce Writing Center director, Dr. Tabetha Adkins,
is organizing “Story Slam!” at The Brew Spot. This event consists of the
audience being given a topic to finish. Each entrant will put their name into a
hat. Those names selected will create a story on the spot @ The Spot.

Other activities in progress:

Dr. Jim Conrad Gee Library Special Collections) and Jane Holcomb (Literature and
Languages) are working with area retirement homes and locals to include a “Tell
Your Story” component to this week of activities. Holcomb and Conrad hope to
record and upload to the special collections stories concerning World War II, adding
to Gee Library’s growing digital collection on the subject. There will also be
volunteers on hand to record interviews concerning writing during this same time.

JP Sloop (Literature and Languages) will extend his “Found Project” across the
campus with a number of collection points across the campus, in buildings
representing eight different disciplines. Sloop’s “Found Project” was inspired by Pete
Vandenberg and Darsie Bowden’s documentary “Who is a Writer?: What Writers Tell
Us” (view at NCoW Theater or www.ncow.org) and FoundMagizine.com. The project
is based on the premise that we are all writers and that one of the inhibitors for
people seeing themselves as writers is the lack of a space in which to present their
writing. The “Found” project works to provide a space for writers to share their
personal writing as well as writing that may be found in the community. The “Found”
project began in the spring of 2009 by utilizing space on the information boards of
Texas A&M-Commerce’s Hall of Languages. During the fall semester, the project will
be expanded to include multiple buildings and disciplines. The ultimate goal of the
“Found” project is to find and display the writing that surrounds us every day. Sloop
will unveil the resulting artifacts during the Commerce Week on Writing. Stay tuned!

From the Art Department: Josie Durkin (sculptor), Michael Miller (painter), and
Vaughn Wascovich (photographer) have a number of events planned for this
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Commerce Week on Writing. Durkin will discuss student work that incorporates
writing and text, especially their resulting artist video. She will also discuss her own
work (briefly) so that participants can better understand how versatile video can be
as a medium. Participants will hear from students, viewing student-created projects
that use text. Durkin “wants both art and non-art majors to feel more comfortable
with our department and the possibility of taking some art classes.” For this reason,
these activities will also include a tour of the Mac lab and other relevant facilities.
Miller will discuss his latest series of paintings, all of which incorporate text
(including graffiti). Wascovich will share something from his work, as well.

Much is planned! Much more to come!

Keep watching the planning website for updates and additions to planned events.
And as you plan an event, share that information with us:
http://convergingliteraciescenter.wordpress.com/