Friday's Three Items: Reminder, Recommendation, & Writing Prompt

Happy Friday! To those who are mothers, we salute you. To those who are graduating, congratulations. To the rest of you, we hope you had a prolific week with words! We are closing the week with the following:

Reminder: Our last visiting writer of the season, Lynn Levin, will appear this evening, May 7th, at 7 p.m. at the DWC, 340 Montgomery Street, downtown Syracuse. Lynn will share her poetry and take questions about the work so please join us for this season closer. For more information about Lynn's work, Fair Creatures of an Hour (Loonfeather Press, 2009) was recently reviewed on the Comstock Review web site: http://www.comstockreview.org/review/l.html.

Recommendation: If you are an HBO subscriber with digital cable, treat yourself to a series called Master Class, available on HBO On Demand. The episode that particularly speaks to our DWC community is that of the Edward Albee mentorship of four young writers. Fascinating discussion on the elements of writing, craft, and the writer's identity! Make a cup of tea and take a half hour for yourself to sit with this literary master.

Writing Prompt: Two weeks ago, DéLana R.A. Dameron read at the DWC with Jane Springer. We asked DéLana to share a favorite writing exercise with our community and this was her response:

Choose a jazz song without lyrics. Spend as many times as you need listening to it. In the solo part you most resonate with, write the lyrics. If you need, use the title of the song as a guide. Here are some of my favorite jazz songs to get you started.

Robert Glasper: Maiden Voyage/Everything in its right place
Esperanza Spalding: Junjo
Miles Davis: New York Girl

Have fun!

One last thought: watch your email inboxes for announcements regarding the schedule for the DWC PRO Student Readings as our first class of PRO students prepare to graduate. These readings are celebrations of a 2-year course of study by these accomplished writers. We invite you to attend and support these remarkable achievements! If you are not on the DWC mailing/email list, please call Phil Memmer at 315.474.6851, extension 328.