Just because Devil's Kitchen's over...

doesn't mean that the literary doings stop in Carbondale!
Here's a summary of upcoming literary events. All are free and open
to the public.

Oct 31: Grassroots, the undergraduate literary journal of SIUC, hosts a
Halloween Literary Open Mic that will take place this Wednesday
(Halloween) from 7:30-10:00pm in the Big Muddy Room
(basement of the SIUC Student Center). Come dressed in costume
(or not, if you wish) to share and/or listen to original
poetry or prose with the undergraduate creative writing community.
Yummy treats will be provided.

Nov 1: MFA Program Graduate Student Reading
Kaskaskia/Missouri Room, 5 pm, SIUC Student Center

Laura Gross, first-year MFA student, poetry
Justin Benton, first-year MFA student, fiction
Kerry James Evans, second-year MFA, poetry

Nov 6: Native American poet Sherwin Bitsui
7 p.m. – Sherwin Bitsui (Diné) with contemporary Native American Poetry
including readings from his book "Shapeshift" and more recent works.
He'll also discuss the importance of poetry in Native American education and identity.
Originally from the White Cone, Ariz. Navajo Reservation,
A Diné of the Tocich'ii'nii (Bitter Water Clan)
and borne of the Tl'zilani (Many Goats Clan),
he currently resides in Tucson, Ariz. Event to be held in the
Ohio Room on the second floor of the Student Center.

Nov 7: Reading and Drinking, Open Mike at Melange, 7pm
607 S. Illinois Avenue, Carbondale.

Nov 12: Laura Benedict reads from her literary thriller, Isabella Moon,
for Sigma Tau Delta (English Honors Society).
6-7 pm, Mackinaw Room, Student Center.
For more about the book and Laura, visit www.laurabenedict.com.
She will read from her newly published novel and answer questions about her work.

Pinckney's a Great Man...and Judge!

from my esteemed colleague Pinckney Benedict:

"For the blog, whenever it’s convenient: For what it’s worth, just wanted to tell you that I served as judge, along with Amy Hempel and Lynn Freed, for the Chicago Tribune’s Nelson Algren Awards this year. This was a particular pleasure because I won the Algren way back in 1986.

The description of the awards is as follows:

“The Nelson Algren awards are for short fiction. Submissions must be written by an American and must be unpublished. One $5,000 prize and three runner-up prizes of $1,500 are awarded. The award is given in memory of Chicago author Nelson Algren.”

It looks as though they’ll begin accepting submissions for next year’s awards beginning November 1. Everybody in the program who has a story should enter."

To find the guidelines, visit the Chicago Tribune's web site at http://www.chicagotribune.com/
and put "Algren Awards" in the search box.

Paul Guest (MFA '99) Named a Whiting Fellow

The official announcement!

Whiting Foundation

Article in Atlanta Journal Constitution:

AJC

And Now a Word from Mark Vannier

Melanie Dusseau (MFA '03) sent me this about fellow MFA grad Mark Vannier:

I think Mark is too shy to send you his "clippings,"
as he calls them. Here he is on Chicago Public Radio
reading a sketch with other comedy writers:

WBEZ

Scoll down to "Hello Beautiful." It is segment two,
you can click on the "listen" tab and his story starts
at about minute three. Cool stuff! I thought the MFA
blog would like to hear from him.

Thanks, Mel D!

Be on the lookout for...

new poems by Matt Guenette (MFA '99):

"Have 4 poems forthcoming: 2 in Diagram, 2 in Poetry Midwest."

Thanks for the update, Matt. Let us know when the poems are published!

Paul Guest (MFA '99) Slide Show

Go to

AJC

for a slide show about MFA poetry grad Paul Guest, with a lovely surprise at the end.
Congratulations, Paul! A well-deserved honor!

Ben Percy (MFA '04) Featured in Poets and Writers!

A wonderful feature article on SIU MFA alum Ben Percy can be found in the November/December issue of Poets and Writers.
An excerpt from the article can be found at

Poets and Writers

You have to get the magazine to read the entire article, but it's worth it, if only for the story of how Ben met (and wooed) his wife Lisa.

Congratulations to Andrew Lewellen!

Big news from third-year MFA fiction writer Andrew Lewellen:

"After being 8 days late and putting Aishwarya through 24 hours of labor, Josephine Nukala Lewellen was born by Caesarean section on Tuesday, October 16 at 2:12 pm.
We were expecting a boy due to the baby's size and activity. But we both wanted a girl and were delighted when one appeared. Josephine weighed 8.9 lbs at birth and came into the world
looking suspiciously at everything she saw (particularly me!). So far she has demonstrated the same acrobatic feats she did while in the womb and appears to have her father's incessant and insatiable appetite for food.

Both baby and mother are doing well, and we are scheduled to be dismissed from the hospital on Friday.

Hope everyone is doing well. I'm delighted to share this news with you."

Congratulations, Andrew, on your new daughter!

Press Release on Devil's Kitchen

Here's the University's press release on Devil's Kitchen. Check it out
at
University Communications

Congrats to Amie Whittemore!

Lovely news this morning from first-year poetry MFA student Amie Whittemore:

"I am delighted to let you know that my poem "The Sting" has been accepted for
publication by the Packingtown Review, University of Illinois-Chicago's literary
magazine. It'll be in their inaugural issue, November 2008."

Congrats, Amie!

For information on Packingtown Review, visit their site at
Packingtown Review