July 8-15, 2012
Fort Worden State Park
Port Townsend, WA
The 2012 Advanced High School Writers’ Studio is designed for both AP-level writing students, and those interested in a serious exploration of the literary arts. Begin each day with a master class led by acclaimed author Chris Crutcher for a guided practice of a variety of prose techniques and the opportunity to create new work in a supportive environment. Then fill your afternoons with a choice of seminars in the Port Townsend Writers’ Conference , including poetry, short fiction, humor writing, creative nonfiction, journalism and much more. Evenings include readings and events featuring nationally acclaimed writers from the Conference.
Since 1974, the Port Townsend Writers’ Conference has been at the heart of the Northwest’s thriving literary scene. Such writers as Alice Walker, Richard Hugo, Carolyn Forché, Raymond Carver, Ken Kesey and many others, have developed their craft in this supporting and inspiring atmosphere.
Register for the Advanced High School Writers’ Studio
Together with other high-school writers from around the state, you’ll have core classes and workshops each day. Attend readings, lectures, and afternoon workshops led by such writers as Sam Ligon, Erin Belieu, Cheryl Strayed, Benjamin Alire Sáenz, Jennine Capó Crucet, and Gary Copeland Lilley, who engage the contemporary world through written and spoken-word poetry, fiction, and essays.
Centrum high school workshops provide an in-depth opportunity to work with professional artists in the extraordinary setting of Fort Worden State Park, a 440 acre campus of forest and waterfront trails anchored by a collection of historic buildings that serve as housing for participants, and provide studio space.
CLASS DESCRIPTION
“Telling Your Own Story”
Chris Crutcher will walk you through the writing process that helped him complete and publish ten novels, two short story collections and an autobiography, along with dozens of magazine columns and other publications in this nuts and bolts approach to crafting fiction and nonfiction heavily influenced by realism and each writer’s sense of personal truth. Characterization, setting, plotting, pacing, and balance between humor and tragedy, as well as revision and dogged determination will be covered. Questions and class participation will be encouraged.
FACULTY
Chris Crutcher is the author of ten novels, two short story collections and an autobiography. A former school teacher, Crutcher was director of an Oakland alternative school for nearly a decade. That academic history, coupled with 25 years as a child and family therapist specializing in abuse and neglect, has infused his literary work with realism and emotional heft.
His signature blend of tragedy and comedy has made him a favorite with teen and adult readers. Crutcher has been awarded the NCTE’s National Intellectual Freedom Award, the ALAN Award, the ALA’s Margaret A. Edwards Lifetime Achievement Award, the CLA’s St. Katharine Drexel Award and Writer magazine’s “Writers Who Make a Difference Award.”
Chris Crutcher makes his home in Spokane, Washington.
STUDIO INFORMATION
At Centrum, renovated Fort buildings, including classrooms, dormitories, performance and studio spaces, serve as home. While here, students are supervised by faculty and staff, including experienced dorm counselors. During free time students are asked to be in groups of two-to three if they are exploring the grounds of Fort Worden. They are not accompanied by supervisors during their free time, but they are asked to let the Dorm staff know where they are going.
Tuition is $595; room and board is $545. Scholarships are available.
Centrum is located at Fort Worden State Park, Port Townsend. Perched on the Northeast tip of the Olympic Peninsula, Fort Worden offers 450 acres of sandy beaches, wooded hills, wetlands, and a historic campus, with stunning views of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Olympic and Cascade ranges.
