Adult Workshop: DIY Editing

editcatTuesday, May 21, 7-8:30 p.m.
@ OCW, 3208 Lorain Ave., Cleveland
For adults
$10 in advance, $15 at the door

There are lots of ways to publish your work, but most do not come with editing. In this workshop we’ll discuss techniques for making your own writing more correct, concise and compelling, before anyone else sees it. We’ll also review some of the most common and egregious grammar and punctuation errors. Bring questions, observations and, if you like, short samples of your work (readable in two minutes) for discussion. This workshop is led by Frank W. Lewis, executive director of OCW, former editor and sworn enemy of the Oxford comma (you’ve been warned). Proceeds benefit OCW’s programs for kids. Please register even if you’re planning to pay at the door.

Eventbrite - Adult Workshop: DIY Editing

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Write to Assemble in June: Nothin’ But Blue Skies

TMcClellandTuesday, June 11, 7:30 p.m.
@ Happy Dog, West 58th and Detroit
Free

Michigan native and Chicago resident Ted McClelland visits to talk about his new book, Nothin’ But Blue Skies: The Heyday, Hard Times and Hopes of America’s Industrial Heartland. Here’s a portion of an excerpt published by Salon, from a chapter on Cleveland and the devastation wrought by the foreclosure crisis:

blueskiesbookAs the loans went bad, and the houses emptied, the scrappers arrived, tearing out furnaces, aluminum siding and water pipes right in broad daylight. To discourage scavengers, signs reading THIS HOUSE DOES NOT HAVE COPPER PLUMBING were posted in windows. But Classen Avenue became such a magnet for thieves they even broke into occupied houses. A kid from down the street tried to burgle [Slavic Village resident Ted] Michols, but Michols chased him off. Only a neighbor who mowed the vacant lots prevented Classen Avenue from reverting to pre-settlement prairie.

Clevelanders have a saying: “Cleveland’s pain, the nation’s gain.” It means, “A lot of shitty stuff happens here, but we hope the rest of America can learn from our misfortune and avoid the same crap.” The foreclosure crisis that would drag the American economy into its deepest slough since the Great Depression arrived first in Cleveland, and nowhere was it more severe than Slavic Village. The 44105 zip code, which covers southeast Cleveland, was the scene of more housing speculation than any place in the country. Unfortunately, the rest of America wasn’t paying attention.

Read more here.

 

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Youth Workshop: Word.: Boot Camp for Teen Writers

Wordlogo1July 15-19, 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
For students in grades 9-12
@ Ohio City Writers, 3208 Lorain Ave., Cleveland*
Tuition: $149

Word. is five days of intense but fun work with established writers who are also terrific teachers. Improve your skills in poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction and playwriting. Write something altogether different. Make new writer friends.
Give and receive meaningful feedback. Find your voice.

Each student will join a small workshop group led by two instructors, a poet and a prose writer. Each morning we’ll
take up a different genre with guided exercises and a challenging assignment due the next day. At the end of the week, each student will select his or her strongest piece to read/perform at a presentation for family and friends. A  reception for the authors will follow.

Lunch and snacks will be provided. Students must arrange their own transportation (details about parking and public transit options here).

Financial assistance is available. Email for details.

* If enrollment exceeds our capacity, we will meet at another location as close to OCW as possible.

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