Explore. Focus. Create.
Centrum is proud to introduce new advanced level courses for high school students, allowing you to make great strides in your creative work.
The 2012 Advance High School Writers’ Studio is the first time that high school writers will have the opportunity to participate in the prestigious Port Townsend Writers’ Conference, one of the longest consecutive running gatherings of writers in the nation. Explore a variety of writing topics and subject matter while learning to focus your skills to create new work.
For more information about the Writers’ Studio, contact program manager Jordan Hartt at 360.385.3102, ext. 131.
July 8-15, 2012 July 8-15, 2012
Advanced High School Writers’ Studio
at the Port Townsend Writers’ Conference.
Grades 9-12
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.
Class Description: TELLING YOUR OWN STORY
Faculty: Chris Crutcher
Acclaimed novelist 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. The workshop will focus on a “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 thirteen books–ten novels, two short story collections and an autobiography. Prior to his work as an author, he taught school in Washington and California and acted as 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 have 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.