UNCA's Great Smokies Writing Program Offers Summer Classes

The Great Smokies Writing Program, a consortium of the Western North Carolina writers’ community and UNC Asheville, will offer summer courses in fiction, prose, and poetry. The classes are open to all interested writers.

David Hopes will teach "Committing Poetry" from 6-8:30 p.m. for five consecutive Tuesdays beginning May 28. This poetry workshop is for all levels and will feature workshop critique and trailblazing to the sources of inspiration. Hopes, professor of literature and language at UNCA, is founder and director of the Black Swan Theatre Company. He is author of "Blood Rose," "A Sense of the Morning," the Juniper Prize and Saxifrage Prize winning book "The Glacier’s Daughter, Blood Rose" the Pulitzer Prize-nominated "A Childhood in the Milky Way." Hopes’ work have appeared in "The New Yorker, "Audubon" and "The Sun."

Lori Horvitz will teach "Flash Fiction/Microfiction Workshop" from 6-8:30 p.m. for five consecutive Thursdays beginning May 30. Using fictional strategies, this class will work on stories constructed of a minimal amount of words. Often flash fiction has the imagery, density, quickness and freshness of language that are associated with poetry. Sessions will include structured critiques, in-class writing and discussions of published texts. Horvitz’s poetry, short stories and essays have appeared in many literary journals and anthologies, including "Quarter After Eight," "13th Moon" and "The Brooklyn." She’s been the recipient of writer-in-residency fellowships from Yaddo, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts and Blue Mountain Center. Horvitz is an assistant professor of literature and language at UNCA.

Dale Neal will teach "Short Fiction: The Art of the Glimpse," from 6-8:30 p.m. for five consecutive Tuesdays beginning May 28. This class will include reading and discussion of short stories by Carver, Cheever, O’Brien, Walker and others and how they make characters come to life on the page. Students’ stories will be critiqued in a workshop setting. Neal’s short fiction has appeared in the "Carolina Quarterly," "Marlboro Review," "Crescent Review" and many other literary magazines. He holds an masters of fine arts in creative writing from Warren Wilson College. He has been awarded fellowships at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. A veteran newspaperman, he reviews books and covers religion for the Asheville Citizen-Times, where his work has won numerous prizes.

Lawrence D. Chilnick will teach "The Art of Writing a Children’s Book" from 6-8:30 p.m. for five consecutive Wednesdays beginning June 5. Participants will develop a story line, graphic image concepts and a manuscript for a children’s story. This course is for teachers, writers, writer/illustrators or anyone who wants to bring a children’s story to life. Chilnick is an adjunct professor at The New York Center for Publishing. Since 1997, he has been a consultant to literary agents such as Carlisle & Co. where he was responsible for the development of the non-fiction category and children’s client list. Most recently, Chilnick worked with The A.G. Bell Foundation to publish "Herbie Hears the Horn," a book that is now widely used in elementary schools.

Each class is worth one UNCA credit hour. Application fee is $20 and tuition is $44.01.

For more information or to request an application, call UNCA’s Special Academic Programs Office at 828/251-6558.

Media Contacts:

• Tommy Hays, Great Smokies Writing Program director, 828/254-1389
• Jill Yarnall, UNCA Public Information Assistant Director, 828/251-6526