Lit Fest report: The Beacon Award

It’s straight out of Gatsby, except there are no dead people involved. A beautiful home abutting the Botanical Gardens, 120 happy people, sipping wine and sampling tasty vittles. Agents and editors being stalked by well-meaning writers with a manuscript in their back pocket. I’ll leave further reports on the actual party to Laurel, our capable intern reporter, and focus instead on one part of the program.

Alexandre O. Philippe receives the second annual Beacon Award, sponsored by Lighthouse members and awarded to an outstanding Lighthouse instructor each year.

For the second year in a row, Lighthouse faculty were up for a member-sponsored teaching award of $1,000, plus the handsomest darned statue you ever did see.  The first award went to William Haywood Henderson, maestro to the novelists (and humanists) of the world since 2001, who has inspired everyone from published authors to would-be first timers to do their work, to be good, and to trust that if they sweat and cry and toil enough, it’ll get there. 

This year, the award went to Alexandre O. Philippe, who joined the Lighthouse faculty in 2000, and quickly became one of the most popular, cult-like figures to ever cross our threshold. His first feature-length film, Chick Flick: The Miracle Mike Story, was created with the help of many of the students in those early classes–some of whom continue to work with him today. 

His current project, The People vs. George Lucas, has captured the imagination, passion, and even indignation of people all over the world. It will be completed and released next year, and you can see the trailer here. Alexandre continues, despite all of his personal and commercial projects, to teach a diligent group of screenwriters in our Master Screenwriting workshop, as well as teaching dozens of popular one-day workshops. He’s also on the faculty at the Grand Lake Retreat (pdf) this year, so if you want to get in on some Philippeness, we know just the place to do it. (Plus, and this can’t be overstated, there’s game night.)

Thanks to all who made it to the party, and to Alexandre for his acceptance speech that made at least one person an emotional wreck (she shall go unnamed), and to Jay and Emily, who put on the party (about which more will be posted later), and to Charles & Carleen, who led the Beacon Award committee, and to all of you, who made this year’s Lit Fest the grandest, most devilishly fun, and most successful yet.

 

I love me some poets

…or actually any writer who can make me identify with both the protagonist and antagonist of a story or poem, as in this — I am both the person who would like to jerry-rig a jackass horn, but also the jerk who deserves to be honked at with it.  Check it out and see if you feel the same way.  This originally appeared in the lit mag Poetry. See LH instructor John Brehm this Friday, 7PM at 910 Arts (910 Santa Fe) at our Buzz event: Split Personalities, an evening of poetry, music, and revelry.

GETTING WHERE WE’RE GOING

Surfeit of distance and the wracked mind waiting,
nipping at itself, snarling inwardly at strangers.
If I had a car in this town I’d
rig it up with a rear bumper horn,
something to blast back at the jackasses
who honk the second the light turns green.
If you could gather up all the hornhonks
of just one day in New York City,
tie them together in a big brassy knot
high above the city and honk
them all at once it would shiver
the skyscrapers to nothingness, as if
they were made of sand, and usher
in the Second Coming. Christ would descend
from the sky wincing with his fingers
in his ears and judge us all
insane. Who’d want people like us
up there yelling at each other, trashing
the cloudy, angelic streets with our
candywrappers and newspapers and coffeecups?
Besides, we’d still be waiting for
the next thing to happen in Heaven,
the next violin concerto or cotton candy
festival or breathtaking vista to open
beneath our feet, and thinking this place
isn’t quite what it’s cracked up to be,
and why in hell does everybody
want to get here? We’d still be
waiting for someone else to come
and make us happy, staring
through whatever’s in front of us,
cursing the light that never seems to change.

–John Brehm

 

Another reason to come to the Lighthouse Buzz with David Wroblewski

Stephen King says so:

I flat-out loved The Story of Edgar Sawtelle. Dog-lovers in particular will be riveted by this story, because the canine world has never been explored with such imagination or emotional resonance. Yet in the end, this isn’t a novel about dogs or heartland America — although it is a deeply American work of literature. It’s a novel about the human heart, and the mysteries that live there, understood but impossible to articulate. Yet in the person of Edgar Sawtelle, a mute boy who takes three of his dogs on a brave and dangerous odyssey, Wroblewski does articulate them, and splendidly. I closed the book with that regret readers feel only after experiencing the best stories: It’s over, you think, and I won’t read another one this good for a long, long time.
      In truth, there has never been a book quite like The Story of Edgar Sawtelle. I thought of Hamletwhen I was reading it (of course… and in this version, Ophelia turns out to be a dog named Almondine), and Watership Down, and The Night of the Hunter, and The Life of Pi — but halfway through, I put all comparisons aside and let it just be itself.
      I’m pretty sure this book is going to be a bestseller, but unlike some, it deserves to be. It’s also going to be the subject of a great many reading groups, and when the members take up Edgar, I think they will be apt to stick to the book and forget the neighborhood gossip.
      Wonderful, mysterious, long and satisfying: readers who pick up this novel are going to enter a richer world. I envy them the trip. I don’t reread many books, because life is too short. I will be rereading this one.”

I don’t know about you guys, but I wouldn’t want to disappoint Stephen King. Come to the Lighthouse Writer’s Buzz, Saturday, 11/22, 4:30 PM, @ The Lab at Belmar (ten quick minutes from downtown Denver, in the newish Belmar area in Lakewood). The event is free and open to the public. There will be wine/beer/food (wine/beer is $3/each, food is complimentary), books for sale, and time to get your personal inscriptions from Wroblewski to everyone on your holiday gift list.

 

The Henry-Frey October Buzz Buzzed!

About 100 Lighthouse folk and their pals shoehorned themselves into Forest Room 5 for the kickoff celebrating Lighthouse co-founder Michael J. Henry and member J. Diego Frey’s poetry collections. Well over 100 books were sold, and handcramps visited both authors after a funny, entertaining 50 minutes of great poems, repartee, and bad jokes. Some good jokes, too. Fair to say all of us had soar faces after a heavy dose of laughter.  Here’s some visual evidence.  Check out the books, folks!  Mike Henry reads at the Tattered Cover LoDo on 12.12.08 at 7:30 PM, so if you missed this or want more, come see him.

  J. Diego and David W. in the background…

Up next: David Wroblewski on Nov. 22, 4:30, at the Lab at Belmar, where we swear there’s more room and more light!

Thanks, all who made it. What a fun night!

Michael J. Henry

 

Capsule review for those who missed

episode one of the Third-Annual Lit Fest. The kickoff party?  Rocked.  Thanks to a combination of the funky stylings of The Alltunators, the donated backyard furniture from Jay Kenney, and the Red Rock Ale compliments of Rock Bottom Brewery. Here’s a pic from the Alltunator’s first set. (Just as a flash-forward, lighting not being our forte, everyone who came out to enjoy the music was plunged into darkness by the end of the second set, which could have been dangerous and even awkward, but maybe we all played it off okay. And we do have insurance.)

Was there food? you might wonder. Yes, Virginia, there was food from the delicious and nutritious Parisi’s deli, some of which still resides in the Lighthouse refrigerator (note to selves: we might donate that to the Lighthouse dog).  Much as I tried, I could not get the coveted “bald guys by the beer keg” photo — the aesthetics weren’t right. But rest assured, there was a congregation of guys (who shave their heads for purely stylistic reasons) by the keg.  It was like college in that sense.  Here was my attempt at getting a candid shot of people by the keg.  Act natural! I said.

Smarty pantses.  Anyway, Episode One only worked out thanks to goddess Jennie Dorris (pictured above, middle) our illustrious volunteers Patricia Harris, Rosemary L’Esprit, Jillian Polasky, Scotty and Joy Sawyer, and Meghan Wilson, who I implicitly thanked already by helping her to a generous dose of wine down the front of her shirt. Here she is, left, the Voice of Lighthouse (see our podcasts), before the offending elbow sent the offending wine down the very nice and snazzy shirt.

Is it too late to get caught up in the wreckless literary theatrics of the Lit Fest season?  Indeed it is not. Monday night, June 9, 8 PM, we get Shari Caudron, William Haywood Henderson, and Karen Palmer sharing their “Writing Voodoo” secrets. (Tix are $10 for members.) Come to Forest Room 5, stake out your territory, order some food and wine, and sit back and enjoy the show. See you all there! See a full list of free and cheap events here.

 

Economist’s Tip Sheet

Maybe, because you squandered your stimulus check on a mountain bike or, say, fuel for your voraciously hungry car, you thought you’d sit out the Lit Fest this year, sliding through the next couple of weeks without really dressing, brushing your hair, or joining in the shenanigans. Sorry. No can do! There are free-to-near-free ways to get involved with Lit Fest–all the community goodness at half (or none of) the price. 

 

We consulted a Lighthouse team of economists and various consumer agencies, and they prepared the following tip sheet. These events and happenings are free or $10*. We just want to see your happy mug at Lighthouse! Can you really afford not to show it?

 

The Kickoff Party: Fri, 6/6, 6 to 9 PM (Ferril)……………………..$10
What if we threw a Lit Fest and everyone gathered to toast it? Personally, we think it would be really stunning. Music by the Alltunators, food by Parisi’s, wine by Above the Rim Fine Wine, water compliments of Mother Nature, and beer from Rock Bottom Brewery. You’re not going to find a more economical way to enjoy yourself, or better people to do it with.  Tix here.

 

Faculty Reading: Sat, 6/7, 7 PM (Mercury Cafe)…………………..$0
Opera tickets are $28.  Live theatre is at least $20. And you just spent $9.75 to see Indiana Jones without any popcorn. The Lit Fest offers a night of literary entertainment for absolutely nothing. And our faculty ain’t no scrubs.  Between them, they’ve published twenty-three books, and their work has graced the pages of everything from the Threepenny Review to the New Yorker. We won’t even start tallying the awards. Plus, they’re a hoot to hang out with. It’s like that dream you had where the guy who won the Colorado Book Award was reading you a bedtime story, only it’s not bedtime, and he really is.  (Featuring Robert Root, Nick Arvin, Rebecca Berg, Mike Henry, and Jessica Roeder).

 

Salon: Writing Voodoo. Mon, 6/9, 8 PM (FR5)…………………………$10
Some things are invaluable. Love. Health. Wisdom. And the answers to certain questions, such as: How do you write a book?  What’s the deal with this nightmarish first draft? How do you revise it? How do you know when to, gulp, abandon it? How do you navigate relationships with editors and agents? These questions and many more will be addressed by multi-book veterans William Haywood Henderson, Shari Caudron and Karen Palmer.  We also look forward to your thoughts on the matter. (Note the location: Forest Room 2532 15th St. Come early, order drinks, enjoy an appetizer.) Tix here.

 

Faculty Reading Deux: Tue, 6/10, 8 PM (Mercury Cafe)………….$0
Another fun reading from writers on our faculty–one of whom is currently topping the local bestseller list, and others who have been there or might be soon.  (Featuring Janis Hallowell, Matt Kailey, William Henderson, David Rothman, Harrison Candelaria Fletcher, and Jake Adam York).

 

Salon: Mixed Up Arts. Thur, 6/12, 8 PM (FR5)………………………….$10
During lean economic times, we’re often encouraged to scrimp and save. Pinch and moderate. So it’s nice to go hog wild once in a while. In this salon, we’ll celebrate, ponder, and maybe even worry over what we have in abundance: Talent. Musical and visual artists Mario Acevedo, Jennie Dorris, and Rebecca Berg (who also happen to be writers) will discuss and demonstrate the intersection between their many creative modes. Think of it as a mini concert/art show where writers make movies. And argue. And have a heck of a good time. (Note the location: Forest Room 2532 15th St. Come early, order drinks, enjoy an appetizer.) Tix here.

 

Salon: DNC Special: Writing & Politics. Mon, 6/16, 8 PM (FR5)….$10
They always say the pen is mightier than the sword. But does that mean you should write an Ode to Exxon Mobil? Or a story about a superdelegate who falls in love with a regular delegate to the dismay of all involved?  We don’t know.  But after this salon, we might. The esteemed Janis Hallowell (She Was), Nick Arvin (Articles of War), Valerie Ann Leff (Better Homes and Husbands) and David J. Rothman (The Elephant’s Chiropractor) will join you in tackling the sticky subject of politics in writing: can you do it? Should you do it? How? Note: due to possible adverse reactions to partisan clichés, we have banned the following verbal constructions: throwing anything or anyone “under the bus,” “the math,” and “reading from [insert odious name or entity's] playbook.”  Tix here. 

 

Lit Fest Participant Reading: Tue, 6/17, 8 PM (Mercury Cafe)……..$0
Often touted as “the most inspiring night of the entire Festival,” the participant reading features writers who are taking workshops and enjoying the two-week binge that is Lit Fest. This year we feature two writers who signed book deals at (or, more accurately, quickly after) previous Lit Fests, including the PEN/Hemingway award honorable mention Gary Schanbacher (Migration Patterns) and author of the soon-to-be-released Umbrellas or Else, J. Diego Frey. There are 10 slots open for other Lit Festers to read short, 3-minute pieces. Will you be one of them? This opportunity’s pure gold: contact sara@lighthousewriters.org to get on the list, and show up at the Merc to listen and enjoy. (Oh, and arrive early to order food/drink!)

 

Closing Reception: A Gourmand’s Tale: Fri, 6/20, 6-9 PM………..$40
Oh, food. How we love it. We love it just about as much as we love wine and beautiful gardens. So we’ve decided to bring all of these things together in the final Lit Fest shindig, where we’ll toast our visiting agents (including local agents Kate Schafer and Sandra Bond, as well as New Yorker Betsy Lerner of  Dunow, Carlson, and Lerner) and editors (from Fulcrum and Ghost Road), and each other! We’ll hang out with old friends, make new friends, and listen to an appetizing salon talk on writing and food from Denver Poet Laureate Chris Ransick and Lighthouse members Carleen Brice and Tiffany Tyson. If all of this sounds pretty swanky, it is. If it sounds like something you can’t afford, it isn’t. Directions to this private garden party near 9th & Gaylord will be e-mailed to registrants. Please order tix by 6/12 at the latest. (Caterers need the stats!)

 

*Except for one event that’s a farewell kind of fundraiser that we’ve buried at the bottom of the tip sheet (an old trick). It’s still an economical choice!

 

Count up to Lit Fest: 11 Days (Also, an Invite to Meet Your Brood)

Over a decade ago, leaving the cozy, inspiring, crazy-making, inbred culture of our graduate MFA program, Mike Henry and I ventured west to see what we could see. Were there eight writers to every ten strangers you met, as there were in Boston? Would they be interested in finding each other? Really, we all know that writing, per se, cannot be taught—though learning the craft can be accelerated, the learning curve shortened—so why start a nonprofit, independent writing center?  As our brilliant volunteer copywriter J. Chris Rock so eloquently put it: “Sometimes, what a writer needs most is other writers.”

We’re a strange and diverse enough crowd, everyone from apprentices to full-timers working on their fourth novels, ages 10 to 85, all walks of life, probably all political persuasions. So what do we have in common?  A tendency to see things in terms of the story, the poetic line, the image, the scene. We try to be, as someone famous said, people upon whom nothing is lost. That might not go over so well with some of our family and friends. In that way, Lit Fest becomes a time to let it all hang out there—every writerly impulse, every bad draft, every I-love-it-but-I-hate-it attitude toward our strange, shared compulsion. People here will understand… even without your “treatise on why I do this” that you send out every year to your e-mail list.  

So begins the count up to the Third Annual Lighthouse Lit Fest.  Over the last two years, we’ve seen writers immerse themselves in weekend-intensive writing courses like Writing Through Character, Navigating Your Book, Environmental Writing, and Emotion On & Off the Page (not to mention the already waitlisted Novel Bootcamp). Some have gone on to their own wonderful writing careers outside of Colorado, like our friend Sarah Ockler, whose Twenty Boy Summer catapulted her to a 2-book deal with Little, Brown, freedom from a day job, and a return to the city she loves, New York. Others, like Gary Schanbacher (author of Migration Patterns, winner of an honorable mention for the 2008 PEN/Hemingway Award for first fiction) and J. Diego Frey (author of the forthcoming Umbrellas or Else, from Ghost Road), continue to take part in Lighthouse events and will make a featured appearance at the Lit Fest participant reading on Tuesday, June 17.  Both Schanbacher and Frey received book deals after meetings at our first- and second-annual Lit Fests. Hear them read (for free, of course) on June 17, 8PM, Forest Room 5, [OOPS! Edited: it's at the Mercury Cafe] along with other scribblers who sign up for the Participant Reading. If you’re participating in Lit Fest and you’d like a 3-to-5 minute slot to read, contact moi: andrea@lighthousewriters.org.

See ya’ll there!

 

Spring, Fully Loaded

Okay, that’s a bad pun (Potential Energy? I need some of that!)

I got a D in Physics 101. Which is my disclaimer for this post.

But seriously, there’s a lotta energy going on these next coupla months. Such as:

The March Writer’s Buzz, where we’ll all chat about slush piles (what’s the coefficient of friction for three poem stuck into a #10 envelope?), the state of lit journals, and such. March 22, 2008, 10 to noon PM at Tattered Cover, LoDo. Free for Lighthousers. The rest need to pony up $10. Or, heck, get a membership.

And a second Buzz: Your Writing Career: Publishing, Marketing, and Honing the Craft in 2008, on Saturday, March 8, 10 AM to 11:15 AM, at the Mayor’s Expo on Building Creative Businesses. Should be fun!

Then, a fantastic performance with lighthouse and Telling Stories—called “Voiceovers”—at the Mercury Café, April 4.Yours truly (Mike Henry), Shari Caudron, Jennie Dorris, and Janine Fritz will be performing original works with musical accompaniment. Starts at 7:00 PM. Patchouli, that person who speaks to you inside your head (classic Freudian voiceover to be sure), tin flutes and/or tubas suggested, but not mandatory.

Crud. That means I have to write a new essay about that.

Last, and hoppy-good not least, our Denver Poet Laureate Chris Ransick is hosting a special night of poetry and brews called Liquid Poetry at the Wynkoop Brewery, Friday, April 11, at 7 p.m. It will feature live music, door prizes, a beer-themed poetry contest, and readings from featured poets Mike Henry, JD Frey, and Joy Sawyer.

Crud. That means I have to write a new poem about beer. Hiccup.

–MJH

 

Somehow this happened, so come to the party!

 

To the Lighthouse on Saturday

Come one, come all, to the Ferril House on Saturday to bid farewell to November, hear some poetry, usher in December, sip some wine, and check out our Serviette Project (there’s really no such thing as a new idea), a collection of original authors’ doodles which go up for auction Dec. 6-13 as part of our year-end appeal. 

http://search.ebay.com:80/_W0QQsassZlighthousewriters

A preview. Sometimes less is more:

(Tobias Wolff’s Serviette: “She gave. He took. She forgot.”)

And sometimes more is more:

(Alexandre Philippe’s Serviette, which cannot be summarized except to say you must witness the dizzying mind of this Swiss-French filmmaker. It’s right thar on the napkin.)

Saturday, December 1, 4-6 PM, Ferril House.  See you there!  Feel free to bring a bottle of something…