Weekly Public and Craft & Practice Events at the School of Letters
WEEK 1
Welcome Cookout, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m., McClurg Porch. Please come to meet faculty and fellow students.
First day of classes: Monday, June 3.
Monday, June 3, 5:30 p.m., Book signing and conversation with Ryan Chapman and Justin Taylor, University Bookstore. [C&P]
Wednesday, June 5, 1:30 p.m., Library Orientation, duPont Library, Meet in lobby.
Wednesday, June 5, 4:30 p.m., Faculty Reading with Meera Subramanian and Adam O’Fallon Price at Naylor Auditorium in Gailor Hall, Reception Following at Gailor Atrium. [C&P]
Friday, June 7, 4–6 p.m., Publishing Talk and Social Hour with Sewanee Review, Saints' Rest. [C&P]
Saturday, June 8, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Mindfulness Writing Workshop with Elizabeth Watkins Price, Social Lodge. [C&P]
WEEK 2
Tuesday, June 11, 12:30 p.m., award-winning author David B. Coe lecture on Worldbuilding, Naylor Auditorium in Gailor Hall, Pizza provided at 12:15 p.m. [C&P]
Wednesday, June 12, 4:30 p.m., Reading with author Tracy O'Neill, 2024 Grammer Fellow, at Naylor Auditorium, Reception following, Gailor Atrium. SPONSORED BY THE BLAKE & BAILEY FAMILY FUND. [C&P]
WEEK 3
Monday, June 17, 1:00 p.m., Craft Lecture with Director Justin Taylor, Naylor Auditorium in Gailor Hall. [C&P]
Wednesday, June 19, 4:30 p.m., Faculty and Alumni reading with poet Nickole Brown and author Lindsey Harding, L'11, at Naylor Auditorium, Reception following, Gailor Atrium. [C&P]
Thursday, June 20, 5:30 p.m., Reading and Conversation with author Jill McCorkle at the Sewanee Inn (Sponsored by Tower Community Bank). Book signing and reception to follow. [C&P]
WEEK 4
Tuesday, June 25, 12:30 p.m. Grab lunch in McClurg and head upstairs for The Public Writer, a panel discussion with SSL faculty and director Justin Taylor on the ins and outs of social media, newsletters, blogs, readings, book tours, reviews, everything except the writing.
Wednesday, June 26, 3:30 p.m., Thesis Meeting at Naylor Auditorium. Mandatory for all students moving into thesis work, optional for faculty.
Wednesday, June 26, 4:30 p.m., Faculty reading with Ryan Chapman, Tiana Clark and Jamie Quatro at Naylor Auditorium, Reception, Gailor Atrium. [C&P]
Saturday, June 29, 12:00-1:30 p.m, Running A Small Press Publishing talk with Ross White and Emily Adrian at the Craighill House, 97 Roark's Cove Rd. RSVP for lunch. [C&P]
WEEK 5
July 4 classes are rescheduled for July 3. Your instructor will provide details.
Wednesday, July 3, 4:30 p.m., Faculty reading with Justin Taylor and Emily Adrian at Naylor Auditorium, Reception, Gailor Atrium. [C&P]
Friday, July 5 at 7 p.m., Sewanee Sweet Talk, a student-only reading event hosted by Robyn Leigh Lear and Marie Kressin, McGriff Alumni House, Georgia Avenue. [C&P]
WEEK 6
Monday, July 8, 5:15 p.m. Mandatory reader meeting for all students participating in the MFA reading, with Justin Taylor, Gailor 114.
Wednesday, July 10, 7:00 p.m., MFA Candidate Reading at Naylor Auditorium. Farewell Party immediately following. [C&P]
Last day of classes: Friday, July 12.
COMMENCEMENT
Saturday, July 13, 2:30 p.m., Commencement Celebration, All Saints' Chapel. Reception at McGriff Alumni House immediately following. All are invited.
[C&P] indicates that the event is part of the Craft & Practice credit. Students may opt into the 2024 School of Letters event calendar here with their Sewanee email/calendar account.
Craft & Practice is an additional credit-earning course available during our summer sessions. A one-credit colloquium exploring practical aspects of the writing life as well as the publishing industry, students will attend readings of creative work as well as craft lectures by current faculty and talks with publishing professionals such as agents, editors, and working writers. The School of Letters will offer a variety of events during the summer session, including but not limited to the Wednesday Reading Series.
Craft & Practice intends to meet the two most common requests from SSL students: More professional development opportunities and faster progress toward degree completion. To receive credit for Craft and Practice, students must attend at least seven events and write up brief summaries of each to be turned into the Director at the end of the summer session. These assignments will be made available at the start of the semester and will focus on how students will apply what they learned in their own writing practice.
Over three summers, C&P earns each student the credit-equivalent of a literature seminar, which means that as long as a student takes one online course or independent study at any point during your time at SSL, they will finish your coursework by the end of their third summer and be ready to embark on your thesis. Of course, there is always the option of adding more online/IS work to further hasten progress, or the option of enrolling for only one class per summer for those students who want to slow down. If a student has already completed 18 credits and intends to finish their coursework in Summer 2024, or if they plan to enroll in only one summer class, then C&P is optional. Otherwise, it is required for all students.
