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DTSTART:20240407T080000
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DTSTART:20241027T070000
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Mexico_City:20241207T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/Mexico_City:20241207T143000
DTSTAMP:20260403T151401
CREATED:20240815T172521Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241207T192735Z
UID:10601-1733565600-1733581800@geminiink.org
SUMMARY:Get Inside Your Character’s Head: Effective Storytelling Across Genres with Daniel Peña
DESCRIPTION:Dec 7 & 8\, via Zoom\nSat: 10am-2:30pm CST\, (incl 30-minute lunch); Sun: 10am-1pm CST\nInstructor: Daniel Peña\nNonmember: $155; Member: $135; Student/Educator/Mil $75 \n  \n  \nAs the great Henry James once shared\, a story should never be just a story\, meaning it should rarely be just an anecdote. Rather\, it should show some true essence of the story’s character and explore fundamental shifts in that character’s psyche from the beginning of the story to the end.   \nIn this 2-day multi-genre generative workshop\, we will explore how to uncover a character’s fundamental truth and use it to shape a strong protagonist who creates persona-driven fiction\, poetry\, and non-fiction. We will also look at how to create shifts in character that make for exciting epiphanies and conclusions that land like lightning bolts on the page. Participants will also practice blending genres to create singular forms that best fit the story they are trying to tell. \nThis is a great crash course for those just getting their sea legs in storytelling concepts and the fundamentals of poetry alike. This course is open to beginning writers of all skill levels\, 18+.  \nIn this workshop\, students will: \n\nDraft new written works\nStrategies for creating character-driven writing\nExperiment with blending genres to create a more powerful story\n\n\nDaniel Peña is a Pushcart Prize-winning writer and Associate Professor at the University of North Texas\, where he teaches in the PhD Program in Creative Writing.  Peña worked as a Fulbright-Garcia Robles Scholar. A graduate of Cornell University and a former Picador Guest Professor in Leipzig\, Germany\, his writing has appeared in Ploughshares\, The Rumpus\, The Kenyon Review\, Texas Monthly\, NBC News\, and The New York Times Magazines. He’s currently a regular contributor to The Guardian and The Ploughshare blog. His novel\, Bang\, is out now from Arte Publico Press. He lives in the beautiful Dallas-Fort Worth area.
URL:https://geminiink.org/events/get-inside-your-characters-head/
LOCATION:Online via Zoom
CATEGORIES:Online Workshop
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://geminiink.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/FA24-Daniel-Pena-e1733428635701.png
ORGANIZER;CN="Mandy Lynn Lara":MAILTO:mllara@geminiink.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Mexico_City:20241203T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/Mexico_City:20241203T200000
DTSTAMP:20260403T151401
CREATED:20241115T181950Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241126T213444Z
UID:11039-1733248800-1733256000@geminiink.org
SUMMARY:Explorations of Home: A Panel on the Latinx Diaspora in Poetry
DESCRIPTION:Tuesday\, December 3rd 6-8pm\, in-person\nSan Antonio Public Library\nLatino Collection & Resource Center\n600 Soledad St.\, San Antonio\, TX\nFree and open to the public \nThis event\, in partnership with the Library of America\, will feature a panel of diverse poets who represent the breadth of the Latinx diaspora. The panel will discuss the facets and multiplicities of home\, from ancestry and linguistics to shifting borders and generational wounds. \nFeatured authors are Jasminne Mendez\, ire’ne lara silva\, and Rod Carlos Rodriguez. They will read from their personal works and engage in a rich discussion with moderator Dr. Carmen Tafolla. Light refreshments will be served. \nPanelist Bios\nJasminne Mendez is a Dominican-American poet\, translator\, playwright\, audiobook narrator\, and award-winning author of several books\, including the Pura Belpre Honor Award-winning middle-grade novel in verse\, Aniana del Mar Jumps In (Dial). Her other books have received prizes from the Texas Institute of Letters\, the Writer’s League of Texas and the International Latino Book Awards. She is an MFA graduate of the creative writing program at the Rainier Writing Workshop at Pacific Lutheran University and a University of Houston alumni. She is the Program Director for the literary arts non-profit Tintero Projects and she lives and works in Houston\, TX. \nRod Carlos Rodriguez has an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from the UT–El Paso and is a Lecturer at UTSA’s Writing Program. He is an award-winning poet who has been writing for over 40 years. He has five books of poetry published including Cantos\, Incandescent (Finishing Line Press\, 2024)\, and A History of Echoes: Poems (Gival Press\, 2024). He is the founder/chair of the Sun Poet’s Society\, South Texas’s longest-running weekly open-mic poetry reading (1995-2022). He was nominated for the San Antonio Poet Laureate in April 2012\, 2014\, 2016\, and 2018. He was the poetry editor for Ocotillo Review\, a literary journal/periodical\, and he was the editor of the Texas Poetry Calendar 2023 (Kallisto Gaia Press). \nire’ne lara silva\, 2023 Texas State Poet Laureate\, is the author of five poetry collections: furia\, Blood Sugar Canto\, CUICACALLI/House of Song\, FirstPoems\, and the eaters of flowers; two chapbooks\, Enduring Azucares and Hibiscus Tacos; a comic book\,VENDAVAL; and a short story collection\, flesh to bone\, which won the Premio Aztlán. ire’ne is the recipient of a 2021 Tasajillo Writers Grant\, a 2017 NALAC Fund for the Arts Grant\, the final Alfredo Cisneros del Moral Award\, and was the Fiction Finalist for AROHO’s 2013 Gift of Freedom Award. Ire’ne received the 2021 Texas Institute of Letters Shrake Award for Best Short Nonfiction. Her second collection\, the light of your body\, will be published by Arte Publico Press in Fall 2025. \nModerator\nDr. Carmen Tafolla is the author of over 40 books and the 2015 State Poet Laureate of Texas. Her award-winning books include The Holy Tortilla and a Pot of Beans\, Rebozos\, Curandera\, and Sonnets to Human Beings. Her writing has been recognized by the National Association of Chicana & Chicano Studies for work that “gives voice to the peoples and cultures of this land\,” and her new novel-in-verse Warrior Girl was published by Penguin in 2023. \nThis program is presented as part of Latino Poetry: Places We Call Home\, a major public humanities initiative taking place across the nation in 2024 and 2025\, directed by Library of America and funded with generous support from the National Endowment for the Humanities and Emerson Collective.
URL:https://geminiink.org/events/explorations-of-home-a-panel-on-the-latinx-diaspora-in-poetry/
LOCATION:San Antonio Public Library\, 600 Soledad\, San Antonio\, Texas\, 78205
CATEGORIES:Event
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://geminiink.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/latinx-poetry-24.png
ORGANIZER;CN="Mandy Lynn Lara":MAILTO:mllara@geminiink.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Mexico_City:20241125T183000
DTEND;TZID=America/Mexico_City:20241125T203000
DTSTAMP:20260403T151401
CREATED:20191105T141203Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250212T145422Z
UID:9502-1732559400-1732566600@geminiink.org
SUMMARY:Open Writer's Labs
DESCRIPTION:These peer-driven workshops\, held the last Monday of each month\, are free and open to writers of all levels and focus on poetry\, flash fiction\, and short creative non-fiction.\n \n  \n\n\nOnline Via Zoom\nFor the online workshop\, sign up the day before the class to ensure you receive the Zoom link. \nThis workshop is facilitated by Kevin Ramos. Originally from the northeast\, Kevin studied theater arts at Rutgers University and The University of Washington. He’s lived all over the country before making his home in San Antonio\, Texas. Kevin has written several novels and short stories. Most recently\, publishing a short memoir called Enough about addiction\, mothers\, and missing graves. And a novel\, Hayley’s Sense of Fire (DLG Publishing Partners)\, a modern re-telling of the classic fairy tale\, The Little Matchgirl. \n\nIn-Person at Gemini Ink\n \nJoin our in-person Open Writer’s Lab with Robert Allen at Gemini Ink’s office\, 1111 Navarro St.\, San Antonio\, TX 78205. \nRobert Allen has worked as a librarian and an electrical contractor for most of his life. Many moons ago\, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature from the University of Texas at Austin\, where he studied poetry under David Wevill. Allen has been active in local writer’s groups and open mics\, including the Sun Poets Society. He’s been published in The Ocotillo Review\, the Texas Poetry Calendar\, Voices de la Luna\, di-verse-city\, the San Antonio Express-News\, and Poetry on the Move. In 2006\, he started attending Gemini Ink’s free Monday night writing classes and has attended regularly ever since. With more than a decade of attending writers’ groups\, classes\, and open mics\, he now co-facilitates Gemini Ink’s Open Writer’s Lab. \nParking at Gemini Ink\nGemini Ink offers free parking along the back wall of our downtown offices. Please access this parking lot from Augusta St and first park in any of the 12 spots along the back wall. Only when these 12 spots are full do we ask that you park elsewhere in our lot. We now rent our offices from UTSA and are collaborating with them to create a secure and accessible parking lot for our community of writers and readers.
URL:https://geminiink.org/events/open-writers-lab-2-2020-08-31-2020-09-28-2021-06-28-2022-05-30-2022-06-27-2022-07-25-2023-03-27-2023-12-25/2024-11-25/
LOCATION:Online via Zoom
CATEGORIES:Workshop
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://geminiink.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Open-Writers-Labs-1250-x-600-px-1.png
ORGANIZER;CN="Mandy Lynn Lara":MAILTO:mllara@geminiink.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Mexico_City:20241120T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/Mexico_City:20241120T203000
DTSTAMP:20260403T151401
CREATED:20240815T153831Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241120T222137Z
UID:10585-1732129200-1732134600@geminiink.org
SUMMARY:The Big Texas Author Talk featuring Anel Flores
DESCRIPTION:Join us on Wednesday\, Nov 20th\, 2024\, via Zoom for a conversation with Anel Flores\, author of Cortinas de lluvia/Curtains of Rain. Moderated by Dr. Jackie Cuevas.\n\n\n\n\n\n(Zoom Readings Monthly @ 7pm CST)  \nRSVP for Zoom invite\n\n\nCurtains of Rain/Cortinas de Lluvia\, follows the story of Solitaria\, who escapes her small border town\, to arrive at the door of her gay tíos on a quest to queer traditions\, turn trauma into triumph\, and find home. Release date is May 2025 with Jaded Ibis Press.\n\n\nSolitaria Gaviota-Alaniz is a girl on the margins\, growing up in a border town while navigating the complexities of familial relationships\, environmental racism\, and a queer secret that threatens to cleave her from those she cherishes most. Eventually\, towing the line becomes untenable\, and after a traumatic exorcism\, Sol is forced to flee from everything she has ever known. \nFifteen years later\, Solitaria returns to confront the ghosts of homophobia haunting her past. Supported by a found familia of gay tios\, her nonbinary best friend Toni\, and a diverse community of panederas and drag queens in San Antonio\, Sol embarks on a search and rescue mission for her lost self. Soaked in vibrant landscapes of identity and resilience\, Curtains of Rain details one woman’s coming-of-age between cities\, between cultures\, and between budding loves. \n\nAnel I. Flores is a trans-Latina/x writer\, artist\, and activist whose work explores LGBTQIA+ experiences\, Latina/x literature\, and social issues. Anel’s literary contributions have been featured in numerous publications\, including Switchgrass Review and Sinister Wisdom. Their plays have been produced on stage\, and their visual art has been exhibited in galleries worldwide. Anel’s upcoming novel. \n\nDr. Jackie Cuevas is the author of Post-Borderlandia: Chicana Literature and Gender Variant Critique (Rutgers University Press\, 2018) and the poetry chapbook Otherhood\, USA (Tanto Tinto Press\, 2000). Cuevas teaches at UT Austin and is a member of the Macondo Writers Workshop\,
URL:https://geminiink.org/events/the-big-texas-author-talk-featuring-anel-flores/
LOCATION:Online via Zoom
CATEGORIES:Event
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://geminiink.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/unnamed-1.png
ORGANIZER;CN="Mandy Lynn Lara":MAILTO:mllara@geminiink.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Mexico_City:20241120T183000
DTEND;TZID=America/Mexico_City:20241120T203000
DTSTAMP:20260403T151401
CREATED:20191105T075945Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251006T163803Z
UID:9489-1732127400-1732134600@geminiink.org
SUMMARY:Veterans Writing Collective with Sarah Colby
DESCRIPTION:The Veteran’s Writing Collective (VWC) encourages the art of writing in a workshop environment where participants are offered honest\, positive\, and constructive peer-to-peer and mentor feedback. The workshop is open to all active-duty military\, veterans\, retirees\, and their immediate family members. Writers of all levels working in all genres are welcome. \nThe VWC meets monthly online via Zoom.\nIf you would like an invitation to this class\, send an email to veteranscollective@geminiink.org\n\nSarah Colby was born in northern New Mexico and raised in the Rocky Mountains. She is married to a retired Army Chaplain and is mother to a son in the Navy. Sarah has an MFA in Creative Writing from Sierra Nevada College and an exuberant interest in making the ordinary luminous. Her war-time experiences have motivated her to be a voice for the mostly untold stories of families and loved ones during these years of protracted conflict. She is currently working on a manuscript of poems about her experiences as a military family member.\n \n 
URL:https://geminiink.org/events/veterans-writing-collective-2020-07-15-2021-11-17-2023-08-16-2023-12-20/2024-11-20/
LOCATION:Online via Zoom
CATEGORIES:Event,Online Workshop,Workshop
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://geminiink.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/homepage-footer-1250-x-600-1.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="Sarah Colby":MAILTO:veteranscollective@geminiink.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Mexico_City:20241114T183000
DTEND;TZID=America/Mexico_City:20241114T203000
DTSTAMP:20260403T151401
CREATED:20240815T165536Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241023T184227Z
UID:10596-1731609000-1731616200@geminiink.org
SUMMARY:What Happens Inside: A Body Horror Workshop with Leticia Urieta
DESCRIPTION:Thursdays\, November 14 & 21\, 2024\, 6:30-8:30pm CST\, via Zoom\nInstructor: Leticia Urieta\nNonmember: $150; Member: $130; Student/Educator/Mil $75 \n*EARN CPE’S\nTWO SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE\n \n  \nWhen it comes to our bodies\, there is little we fear more than the inevitability that our bodies will change\, can fall ill\, and will die. Body horror helps us to write about the absurdity\, beauty\, and horror of being corporeal.  \nThis two-session virtual workshop will focus on reading and discussing stories of body horror that affect us and engage with stories of illness\, trauma\, loss\, power\, monstrousness\, and reclamation. We will also discuss how these stories can inspire our own. In this generative workshop\, we will engage with multiple activities inviting us to write and share our own body horror stories. \nThis class is open to writers of all skill levels 16+. \nBy the end of the class\, students will have:  \n\nDraft 1-2 new pieces based on sample readings and class discussion\nGain new insights into various genres\, from horror to speculative imaginings\, to apply to their future writing.\nCome away with an expanded knowledge of contemporary genres.\n\n\nLeticia Urieta is a Tejana writer from Austin\, TX. Leticia is a graduate of Agnes Scott College with a BA in English/Creative Writing and holds an MFA in Fiction writing from Texas State University. \nShe works as a teaching artist in the Austin community. She is also the Program Director for Austin Bat Cave and the Director of Barrio Writers in Austin and Pflugerville\, a free college-level youth writers workshop founded by author and activist Sarah Rafael Garcia in Santa Ana\, CA. \nHer creative work appears in PANK\, Chicon Street Poets\, Lumina\, and many others. Her fiction explores the intersections of Latinx identity with folklore\, traditional stories\, and the supernatural or speculative. Her mixed-genre collection of poetry and prose\, Las Criaturas\, was published with FlowerSong Press in November 2021 and was a finalist for the Sergio Troncoso Award for Best First Book of Fiction 2022 from the Texas Institute of Letters and a finalist for the 2024 Next Generation Indie Book Awards for Short Story Collections. \nLeticia loves living in Austin with her husband and aging chihuahua\, who are terrible work distractions. Despite all this\, she is fueled by sushi and breaks to watch pug videos on Instagram. \n 
URL:https://geminiink.org/events/what-happens-inside/
LOCATION:Online via Zoom
CATEGORIES:Online Workshop,Workshop
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://geminiink.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/464338226_1450123239274741_649075157090561775_n.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="Mandy Lynn Lara":MAILTO:mllara@geminiink.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Mexico_City:20241113T183000
DTEND;TZID=America/Mexico_City:20241113T200000
DTSTAMP:20260403T151401
CREATED:20240815T190332Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241004T185633Z
UID:10621-1731522600-1731528000@geminiink.org
SUMMARY:LitMinds: A Book Club at Gemini Ink
DESCRIPTION:Join us for the Lit Minds Book Club. We’re reading Half of a Yellow Sun\, a novel by Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.\nRegister\nNATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FINALIST • From the award-winning\, bestselling author of Americanah and We Should All Be Feminists—a haunting story of love and war. • Recipient of the Women’s Prize for Fiction “Winner of Winners” award. \nWith effortless grace\, celebrated author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie illuminates a seminal moment in modern African history: Biafra’s impassioned struggle to establish an independent republic in southeastern Nigeria during the late 1960s. We experience this tumultuous decade alongside five unforgettable characters: Ugwu\, a thirteen-year-old houseboy who works for Odenigbo\, a university professor full of revolutionary zeal; Olanna\, the professor’s beautiful young mistress who has abandoned her life in Lagos for a dusty town and her lover’s charm; and Richard\, a shy young Englishman infatuated with Olanna’s willful twin sister Kainene. \nHalf of a Yellow Sun is a tremendously evocative novel of the promise\, hope\, and disappointment of the Biafran war. \n\n \nChimamanda Ngozi Adichie (born September 15\, 1977\, Enugu\, Nigeria) is a Nigerian writer whose second novel\, Half of a Yellow Sun (2006)\, gained international acclaim for its depiction of the devastation caused by the Nigerian Civil War. Her novels\, short stories\, and nonfiction explore the intersections of identity. Learn more at www.chimamanda.com. \n 
URL:https://geminiink.org/events/litminds-a-book-club-2/
LOCATION:Gemini Ink\, 1111 Navarro St\, San Antonio\, TX\, 78205\, United States
CATEGORIES:Event
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://geminiink.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/half-yellow-sun-e1728068259239.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="Mandy Lynn Lara":MAILTO:mllara@geminiink.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Mexico_City:20241109T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/Mexico_City:20241109T130000
DTSTAMP:20260403T151401
CREATED:20240815T181923Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241107T172842Z
UID:10613-1731146400-1731157200@geminiink.org
SUMMARY:To Praise the Ruined World with Sheila Black 
DESCRIPTION:Saturday\, November 9\, 2024\, 10am-1pm CST\, online via Zoom\nInstructor: Sheila Black\nNonmember: $140; Member: $120; Student/Educator/Mil $75 \n*EARN CPE’S\n \n  \nWe are living through hard times – and on a global scale. From political unrest to wars to climate change\, it is hard not to see the sorrow and suffering around us. Yet in difficult times\, the human impulse toward praise and celebration can provide unexpected ways of understanding\, empathizing\, and finding a way forward.   \nIn this one-day workshop\, we will read poems by Naomi Shihab Nye\, Adam Zagajewski\, Frank O’Hara\, Roger Reeves\, January Gil O’Neil\, and others that demonstrate how praise can be a tool for understanding and transcending even the hardest truths.  We will explore how these poets craft praise songs that acknowledge life’s sorrows and losses. We will then write our poems of recovery and resilience.  \nThis course is open to writers of all skill levels\, 18+.  \nIn this workshop\, students will: \n\nDraft several new written works\nUncover the power of praise as a fundamental writing tool\nBroaden their awareness of how contemporary poets address difficult topics\n\nRead Sheila’s Writer’s Desk Q&A!\n\nSheila Black is the author of five poetry collections\, most recently Radium Dream from Salmon Poetry\, Ireland. Poems and essays have appeared in Poetry\, Ploughshares\, The Nation\, The New York Times\, and elsewhere. She is a co-editor of Beauty is a Verb: The New Poetry of Disability. Honors include a 2012 Witter Bynner Fellowship from the Library of Congress for which she was selected by Philip Levine. She lives in San Antonio\, TX and Tempe\, AZ where she is assistant director of the Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing at Arizona State University (ASU).
URL:https://geminiink.org/events/to-praise-the-ruined-world/
LOCATION:Online via Zoom
CATEGORIES:Online Workshop,Workshop
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://geminiink.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/sheila.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="Mandy Lynn Lara":MAILTO:mllara@geminiink.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Mexico_City:20241108T183000
DTEND;TZID=America/Mexico_City:20241108T213000
DTSTAMP:20260403T151401
CREATED:20240815T191650Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241108T132344Z
UID:10625-1731090600-1731101400@geminiink.org
SUMMARY:Razzmatazz & All That Jazz: An Evening in Celebration of Andrea “Vocab” Sanderson
DESCRIPTION:Purchase Tickets and Sponsor Levels\n\n\n\nCelebrating Andrea “Vocab” Sanderson at the McNay Art Museum Moroccan Courtyard and Leeper Auditorium\, Friday\, November 8th\, 6:30-9:30 pm\n\n\n\n\n2024 Award for Literary Excellence\nAndrea Vocab Sanderson \nHonorary Co-Chair\nDr. Eric Castillo\nAssociate Vice Chancellor of Arts\, Culture\, and Community Impact for the Alamo Colleges District \nModerator\nGlo Miles \nEmcee\nMolly Cox \n2024 Inkstravaganza Committee\nCary Clack\, Aminah Dece\, Barbara Felix\, Winifred Hodge\, Zach Jewell\, Andrea Lopez\, Gloria Miles\, Chibbi Orduña\, Aaronetta Pierce\, Gerard Robledo\, Andrea Rodriguez\, Zsaire Shaheid (Shai)\, Aissatou Sidime-Blanton\, Kirsten Thompson\, Maria Williams\, Bria Woods\, Alexandra van de Kamp \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nJoin Gemini Ink\, San Antonio’s Writing Arts Center\, at the beautiful McNay Art Museum on Friday\, November 8th\, for an unforgettable\, festive evening celebrating the extraordinary achievements of Andrea “Vocab” Sanderson\, our 2024 Recipient of The Award for Literary Excellence. Enjoy our star-packed lineup (details coming soon!) and mingle with friends and fellow literary fans as we honor this brilliant poet\, multifaceted artist\, performer\, and community leader who is at the heart of the writing arts in our city. \nAndrea “Vocab” Sanderson is a multifaceted artist in the worlds of music\, poetry\, spoken word performance\, and community artistic collaborations\, and to say she is a powerhouse poet and creative performer only scratches the surface of her talent! We couldn’t be more honored to spotlight her as the featured writer of our annual gala in support of the power of the writing arts in our city. Vocab is San Antonio Poet Laureate Emeritus 2020-2023. She facilitates workshops throughout the U.S. and is the author of She Tastes Like Music (Flower Song Press\, 2020). She is an Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellow and was voted Best Local Poet in 2023 and 2021 by The SA Current. Vocab has had the distinct honor of opening up for Dr. Cornell West\, Phylicia Rashad\, and Nikki Giovanni. Her albums and collaborative works can be streamed on all major music platforms. Learn more about her at her website andreavocabsanderson.com.
URL:https://geminiink.org/events/razzmatazz-all-that-jazz/
LOCATION:McNay Art Museum\, 6000 N. New Braunfels Ave.\, San Antonio\, TX\, United States
CATEGORIES:Event
ORGANIZER;CN="Alexandra van de Kamp":MAILTO:avandekamp@geminiink.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Mexico_City:20241102T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/Mexico_City:20241102T143000
DTSTAMP:20260403T151401
CREATED:20240815T180408Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241028T202330Z
UID:10610-1730541600-1730557800@geminiink.org
SUMMARY:The Mythology of Me: Applying Poetry and Narrative Therapy to Personal Stories with Aaron Deutsch and Dr. Heather Pitamber
DESCRIPTION:Saturday\, November 2\, 2024\, 10am-2:30pm CST (includes a 30-minute lunch)\, in-person at Gemini Ink\nInstructors: Aaron Deutsch and Dr. Heather Pitamber\nNonmember: $145; Member: $125; Student/Educator/Mil $75 \n*EARN CPE’S\nTWO SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE\n \n  \nFrom ancient myths to family gossip\, humanity’s richness comes from its overflowing well of stories. Both personal narratives and imagined stories teach us about the world around us and influence how we live in it. What can we learn from rewriting our own personal stories into a life we have only imagined?  \nIn this 1-day generative workshop\, co-led by poet Aaron Deutsch and Licensed Professional Counselor Heather Joy Pitamber\, participants will explore the practice of Narrative Therapy\, a counseling technique that empowers participants to “rewrite” their story for a future that reflects who they really are\, what they are capable of\, and what their purpose is. Then\, we will practice applying this therapeutic tool to our own writing to generate compelling stories that carve out new possibilities.  \nThis class is open to writers of all skill levels 18+. \nBy the end of the class students will have:  \n\nA foundational overview of Narrative Therapy \nClose readings and discussions of delicious poems and narratives designed to provide both grounding and inspiration for new works\nNew\, raw written materials to cultivate later\n\n\nHeather Joy Pitamber is a licensed professional counselor passionate about service\, learning\, and growth.  With degrees in Philosophy\, Psychology\, French Literature\, and Clinical Mental Health Counseling\, Heather has dedicated her eclectic career in Europe and the United States to education and human services.  She is passionate about helping her clients and students find the awareness\, insight\, and empowerment they desire to create lives of meaning and purpose.  As an educator with a heart for wellness\, Heather has cherished serving students and their families in public and private school settings\, from elementary school to the university level\, and as an independent academic consultant.  She is thrilled to continue serving her community’s diverse clientele through her private counseling practice in San Antonio\, TX.  \nAaron Deutsch received his MFA in poetry with distinction from Texas State University\, intending to acquire a lexicon to answer the wild\, mystical questions the world around him seemed to be asking. Somehow\, that journey led him to become a senior program manager with the United States Department of Defense\, where he works to build regional security across South America and the Middle East alongside international partners. Efforting to establish and maintain effective communication\, he still looks to poetics and linguistics to build shared goals across cultures\, finding more similarities than differences in people worldwide. In his free time\, he loves teaching creative writing classes\, working on that ever-elusive first book\, and spoiling his Boston Terrier Hamlet. 
URL:https://geminiink.org/events/the-mythology-of-me/
LOCATION:Gemini Ink\, 1111 Navarro St\, San Antonio\, TX\, 78205\, United States
CATEGORIES:Workshop
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://geminiink.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Mythology-of-Me5.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Mexico_City:20241028T183000
DTEND;TZID=America/Mexico_City:20241028T203000
DTSTAMP:20260403T151401
CREATED:20191105T141203Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250212T145416Z
UID:9501-1730140200-1730147400@geminiink.org
SUMMARY:Open Writer's Labs
DESCRIPTION:These peer-driven workshops\, held the last Monday of each month\, are free and open to writers of all levels and focus on poetry\, flash fiction\, and short creative non-fiction.\n \n  \n\n\nOnline Via Zoom\nFor the online workshop\, sign up the day before the class to ensure you receive the Zoom link. \nThis workshop is facilitated by Kevin Ramos. Originally from the northeast\, Kevin studied theater arts at Rutgers University and The University of Washington. He’s lived all over the country before making his home in San Antonio\, Texas. Kevin has written several novels and short stories. Most recently\, publishing a short memoir called Enough about addiction\, mothers\, and missing graves. And a novel\, Hayley’s Sense of Fire (DLG Publishing Partners)\, a modern re-telling of the classic fairy tale\, The Little Matchgirl. \n\nIn-Person at Gemini Ink\n \nJoin our in-person Open Writer’s Lab with Robert Allen at Gemini Ink’s office\, 1111 Navarro St.\, San Antonio\, TX 78205. \nRobert Allen has worked as a librarian and an electrical contractor for most of his life. Many moons ago\, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature from the University of Texas at Austin\, where he studied poetry under David Wevill. Allen has been active in local writer’s groups and open mics\, including the Sun Poets Society. He’s been published in The Ocotillo Review\, the Texas Poetry Calendar\, Voices de la Luna\, di-verse-city\, the San Antonio Express-News\, and Poetry on the Move. In 2006\, he started attending Gemini Ink’s free Monday night writing classes and has attended regularly ever since. With more than a decade of attending writers’ groups\, classes\, and open mics\, he now co-facilitates Gemini Ink’s Open Writer’s Lab. \nParking at Gemini Ink\nGemini Ink offers free parking along the back wall of our downtown offices. Please access this parking lot from Augusta St and first park in any of the 12 spots along the back wall. Only when these 12 spots are full do we ask that you park elsewhere in our lot. We now rent our offices from UTSA and are collaborating with them to create a secure and accessible parking lot for our community of writers and readers.
URL:https://geminiink.org/events/open-writers-lab-2-2020-08-31-2020-09-28-2021-06-28-2022-05-30-2022-06-27-2022-07-25-2023-03-27-2023-12-25/2024-10-28/
LOCATION:Online via Zoom
CATEGORIES:Workshop
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://geminiink.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Open-Writers-Labs-1250-x-600-px-1.png
ORGANIZER;CN="Mandy Lynn Lara":MAILTO:mllara@geminiink.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Mexico_City:20241019T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/Mexico_City:20241019T130000
DTSTAMP:20260403T151401
CREATED:20240815T145937Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241010T170606Z
UID:10580-1729332000-1729342800@geminiink.org
SUMMARY:Be the Writer You Are: Set Yourself Free with New Approaches to Creative Writing with C.L. “Rooster” Martinez
DESCRIPTION:Saturday\, October 19\, 2024\, 10am-1pm CST\, in-person at Gemini Ink\nInstructor: C.L. “Rooster” Martinez\nNonmember: $135; Member: $115; Student/Educator/Military $75 \n*EARN CPE’S\n \n  \nAre you a writer who struggles to find joy in your current writing practice? Is self-doubt or lack of direction keeping you from being the powerful\, truthful\, creative writer you want to be? It’s time to set yourself free from the things that hold your writing practice back! \nBe the Writer You Are is a one-day\, four-hour generative workshop centered on throwing out everything we have learned about creative writing and\, instead\, tapping into our intrinsic desire to write and be heard. Students will explore the role of creative writing in society. We’ll question our personal influences and writing processes to define what motivates us\, what inspires us\, and what our writing goals are. Then\, we will generate new work aimed at amplifying our unique perspectives and setting our voices free.  \nThis course is open to writers of all skill levels\, 18+. While the workshop will be somewhat poetry-centric\, it is for writers of various writing experiences and disciplines. \nStudents will leave this workshop with: \n\nDrafts of new written work\nEditing and feedback suggestions\nHolistic approach to a creative lifestyle\n\nC.L. “Rooster” Martinez is an educator and spoken word poet from San Antonio\, Texas. He earned a MA/MFA in Creative Writing\, Literature & Social Justice at Our Lady of the Lake University. He is the author of three poetry books: A Saint for Lost Things (Alabrava Press\, 2020); As it is in Heaven (Kissing Dynamite Poetry Press\, 2020); and Mexican Dinosaur (WAN\, 2023). For twelve years\, Rooster competed and won slams across the country and co-founded the literary nonprofit Write Art Out Inc.  \n\nParking at Gemini Ink\nGemini Ink offers free parking along the back wall of our downtown offices. Please access this parking lot from Augusta St and first park in any of the 12 spots along the back wall. Only when these 12 spots are full do we ask that you park elsewhere in our lot. We now rent our offices from UTSA and are collaborating with them to create a secure and accessible parking lot for our community of writers and readers.
URL:https://geminiink.org/events/be-the-writer-you-are/
LOCATION:Gemini Ink\, 1111 Navarro St\, San Antonio\, TX\, 78205\, United States
CATEGORIES:Workshop
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://geminiink.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/461706828_1433495080937557_5344993179989091390_n.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="Mandy Lynn Lara":MAILTO:mllara@geminiink.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Mexico_City:20241016T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/Mexico_City:20241016T203000
DTSTAMP:20260403T151401
CREATED:20240930T184518Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241008T180004Z
UID:10934-1729105200-1729110600@geminiink.org
SUMMARY:The Big Texas Author Talk featuring Joshua Robbins
DESCRIPTION:Join us for the Big Texas Author Talk on Wednesday\, Oct 16th\, 2024 via Zoom @ 7PM CST\nUp Next: Joshua Robbins\, author of Eschatology in Crayon Wax\, moderated by George David Clark.\nRSVP\nJoshua Robbins’s highly anticipated and thought-provoking second book\, Eschatology in Crayon Wax\, evokes a sense of being torn between a fragile longing for transformation and a whirlwind of flawed divinity. Robbins firmly asserts\, “Paradise doesn’t care how you get there. Only that you try\,” and is met with divine contempt and a commandment to “shape ashes into ashes” because “besides\, I can’t tell you what on earth I’m doing.” In the world of these poems\, all one can do is survive the contradictions and cruel mysteries embedded in a contemporary life of empty homes\, RFID\, mall shooting bullet casings\, drone targets\, miscarriages\, divorce\, and suicide. These poems engage deeply with the theodicies of the Book of Job\, evangelicalism\, class theory\, and even the manic crises of Berryman’s “Dream Songs.” At times elegiac\, always fearlessly confessional\, and even tragicomic\, Robbins does not resist hope. With intelligence and style to spare\, Robbins displays a fierce concern for this world of things\, caught as we are between what is and what should be. \n\nJoshua Robbins was born in Berkeley\, California\, and grew up in the East Bay. After earning an MFA in Poetry at the University of Oregon and a PhD in English from the University of Tennessee\, he joined the English Department at the University of the Incarnate Word\, where he is an Associate Professor of Creative Writing. His primary teaching areas are poetry writing\, trauma writing\, and creative nonfiction. His first book\, Praise Nothing\, was published by the University of Arkansas Press in 2013 as part of the prestigious Miller Williams Series in Poetry. Eschatology in Crayon Wax was published in 2024 by Texas Review Press. His recognitions include\, the James Wright Poetry Award\, the New South Prize\, Best New Poets\, and a Walter E. Dakin Fellowship in poetry from the Sewanee Writers’ Conference\, among others. He currently lives in San Antonio. Visit Joshua at http://www.joshuarobbins.net/ \n\nAbout the Moderator \nGeorge David Clark is the author of Reveille (Arkansas)\, winner of the Miller Williams Prize\, and Newly Not Eternal (LSU\, 2024). His work has received honors from the Association of Literary Scholars\, Critics\, and Writers (the Meringoff Prize in Poetry)\, Colgate University (the Olive B. O’Connor Fellowship)\, Narrative Magazine (the 30 Below Prize)\, the Sewanee Writers’ Conference (the Walter E. Dakin Fellowship)\, and Valparaiso University (the Lily Postdoctoral Fellowship)\, among others. David’s recent poems can be found in Agni\, The Believer\, The Georgia Review\, The Gettysburg Review\, The Southern Review\, Virginia Quarterly Review\, and elsewhere. Since 2011\, he has edited the journal\, 32 Poems. He teaches creative writing at Washington & Jefferson College and lives in Canonsburg\, PA.
URL:https://geminiink.org/events/the-big-texas-author-talk-featuring-joshua-robbins/
LOCATION:Online via Zoom
CATEGORIES:Event
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://geminiink.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/web-24-joshua-robbins-tbtat3.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Mexico_City:20241016T183000
DTEND;TZID=America/Mexico_City:20241016T203000
DTSTAMP:20260403T151401
CREATED:20191105T075945Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251006T163755Z
UID:9488-1729103400-1729110600@geminiink.org
SUMMARY:Veterans Writing Collective with Sarah Colby
DESCRIPTION:The Veteran’s Writing Collective (VWC) encourages the art of writing in a workshop environment where participants are offered honest\, positive\, and constructive peer-to-peer and mentor feedback. The workshop is open to all active-duty military\, veterans\, retirees\, and their immediate family members. Writers of all levels working in all genres are welcome. \nThe VWC meets monthly online via Zoom.\nIf you would like an invitation to this class\, send an email to veteranscollective@geminiink.org\n\nSarah Colby was born in northern New Mexico and raised in the Rocky Mountains. She is married to a retired Army Chaplain and is mother to a son in the Navy. Sarah has an MFA in Creative Writing from Sierra Nevada College and an exuberant interest in making the ordinary luminous. Her war-time experiences have motivated her to be a voice for the mostly untold stories of families and loved ones during these years of protracted conflict. She is currently working on a manuscript of poems about her experiences as a military family member.\n \n 
URL:https://geminiink.org/events/veterans-writing-collective-2020-07-15-2021-11-17-2023-08-16-2023-12-20/2024-10-16/
LOCATION:Online via Zoom
CATEGORIES:Event,Online Workshop,Workshop
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://geminiink.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/homepage-footer-1250-x-600-1.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="Sarah Colby":MAILTO:veteranscollective@geminiink.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Mexico_City:20241003T183000
DTEND;TZID=America/Mexico_City:20241003T203000
DTSTAMP:20260403T151401
CREATED:20240815T175233Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240815T175409Z
UID:10606-1727980200-1727987400@geminiink.org
SUMMARY:Unearthing Your Inner Voice: A Creative Nonfiction Workshop   with Award-Winning Columnist Cary Clack
DESCRIPTION:Thursdays\, October 3\, 10 & 17\, 2024\, 6:30-8:30pm CST\, Hybrid (in-person at Gemini Ink and online via Zoom)\nInstructor: Cary Clack\nNonmember: $155; Member: $130; Student/Educator/Mil $75 \n*EARN CPE’S\nTWO SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE\n \nEach of us has a writing voice that is distinctly our own. Creative nonfiction is a great tool for discovering and unearthing that inner voice. As we tap into memories and the elements that make us who we are\, we allow our refined stories to surface in a way that is uniquely our own. \nIn this 3-session workshop\, students will use texts and writing exercises to dig and discover who they are\, what they think\, and how to capture their voice on the page. This course is open to writers of all skill levels\, 18+.  \nStudents will leave this workshop with: \n\nDrafts of new work\nTools to find and develop their voice\nIdeas on how to use old notebooks and journals to mine for stories \n\n\nCary Clack was born and raised in San Antonio and graduated from St. Mary’s University with a B.A. in Political Science. In 1995\, he became the first Black metro columnist in San Antonio Express-News history and the paper’s first Black Editorial Board member. A collection of his columns\, Clowns and Rats Scare Me was published in 2009 by Trinity University Press. He was inducted into the Texas Institute of Letters in 2017. A collection of his best short and long columns since his return to San Antonio Express News in 2019\, More Finish Lines to Cross\, was published by Trinity University Press in 2024. He’s won various journalism awards and is completing the first anthology of Black Texas Writers forthcoming from Texas A&M University Press as part of the Wittliff Collection. \n\nParking at Gemini Ink\nGemini Ink offers free parking along the back wall of our downtown offices. Please access this parking lot from Augusta St and first park in any of the 12 spots along the back wall. Only when these 12 spots are full do we ask that you park elsewhere in our lot. We now rent our offices from UTSA and are collaborating with them to create a secure and accessible parking lot for our community of writers and readers.
URL:https://geminiink.org/events/unearthing-your-inner-voice/
LOCATION:Gemini Ink
CATEGORIES:Online Workshop,Workshop
ORGANIZER;CN="Mandy Lynn Lara":MAILTO:mllara@geminiink.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Mexico_City:20241002T183000
DTEND;TZID=America/Mexico_City:20241002T210000
DTSTAMP:20260403T151401
CREATED:20240812T202904Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240815T202525Z
UID:10572-1727893800-1727902800@geminiink.org
SUMMARY:Delving into the Celtic Isles: Inspiration from International Poets with Veronica Golos
DESCRIPTION:Wednesdays\, Oct 2\, 9\, 16 & 23\, 6:30-9pm CST\, via Zoom\nInstructor: Veronica Golos\nNonmember: $155; Member: $130; Student/Educator/Military $75 \n*EARN CPE’S\nTWO SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE\n \n  \nIn a time of worldwide strife and disconnection\, poetry reacquaints us with humanity in a way that transcends borders\, time zones\, and languages. Join master poetry teacher Veronica Golos on an international poetry tour. Next stop: Celtic Isles!  \nIn this four-week generative poetry workshop we will explore rhythm\, rhyme\, humor\, and the rich history of celtic ancestry with four Irish poets: Nuala Ni Dhomhnaill\, Medbh McGuckian\, Eavan Boland\, and Seamus Heaney. We will read deeply each week\, explore each poet’s craft tools\, and apply these techniques to our work. Participants will receive a packet with poems and suggestions for developing their writing.  \nThis class is open to writers of all skill levels 18+. \nBy the end of the class\, students will have the following:  \n\nStudy and analyze the work of 4 contemporary poets\nWrite poems that follow the selected poet’s structure and theme\nReceive on-the-spot feedback for written work \n\n\nVeronica Golos is the author of four poetry books: GIRL\, awarded the Naji Naaman Honor Prize in 2019; Rootwork\, winner of the 2016 Southwest Book Design Award in Poetry; Vocabulary of Silence\, a 2011 New Mexico Book Award winner that was translated into Arabic\, Spanish and Persian; and A Bell Buried Deep\, a Nicholas Roerich Poetry Prize winner. She teaches poetry for Hugo House\, Gemini Ink\, and SOMOS. She reviews poetry books for Tupelo Press and works as a manuscript editor. She lives in Taos\, New Mexico\, with her husband\, David Pérez.
URL:https://geminiink.org/events/delving-into-the-celtic-isles/
LOCATION:Online via Zoom
CATEGORIES:Online Workshop,Workshop
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Mexico_City:20241001T183000
DTEND;TZID=America/Mexico_City:20241001T203000
DTSTAMP:20260403T151401
CREATED:20240812T201532Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240930T174013Z
UID:10567-1727807400-1727814600@geminiink.org
SUMMARY:Funny Bones: Craft a Calavera Poem with San Antonio Legend Anthony Flores
DESCRIPTION:Tuesdays\, October 1 & 8\, 2024\, 6:30-8:30pm CST\, in-person at Gemini Ink\nInstructor: Anthony Flores\nNonmember: $110; Member: $95; Student/Educator/Mil $75 \nExplore the comedic and poetic mischief of creating a calavera poem in honor of Día De Los Muertos. A calavera is a traditional form of poetry from Mexico that uses satire to create humorous and lighthearted rhyming poems about the living.  \nThis form explores the living through the lens of death (Calavera is Spanish for “skull”)\, which can provide catharsis and deep reflection on impermanence. Calaveras can be written to address rich people in business\, famous people\, family\, friends\, and even government officials. \nIn this two-session workshop led by Anthony “The Poet” Flores\, we will learn the history of the traditional Mexican calavera poem; compose our own Day Of The Dead creations; and apply literary devices\, such as irony\, rhyme\, and repetition\, to take our piece to the next level. We will leave the workshop with a list of places to read our new poems around town during the holiday celebration. \nThis course is open to writers of all skill levels\, 18+.  \nStudents will leave this workshop with the following: \n\nThe first draft of a calavera poem\nExposure to literary devices and structures\nInsight into a historical and culturally significant poetic form \nA list of places to read and share your poetry\n\n\nAnthony “The Poet” Flores is a three-time San Antonio Grand Slam Poetry Champion who has represented the city six times at the National Poetry Slam. His performances include HBO’s Def Poetry Jam and Lincoln Center. He currently judges the San Antonio Public Library’s Young Pegasus Poetry Contest. Anthony is the founder of The University of Spoken Word and authored CINCUENTA: 50 Poems Celebrating Half A Century Of Life.  \n\nParking at Gemini Ink\nGemini Ink offers free parking along the back wall of our downtown offices. Please access this parking lot from Augusta St and first park in any of the 12 spots along the back wall. Only when these 12 spots are full do we ask that you park elsewhere in our lot. We now rent our offices from UTSA and are collaborating with them to create a secure and accessible parking lot for our community of writers and readers.
URL:https://geminiink.org/events/funny-bones-craft-a-calavera-poem/
LOCATION:Gemini Ink\, 1111 Navarro St\, San Antonio\, TX\, 78205\, United States
CATEGORIES:Workshop
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://geminiink.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/anthony-flores.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="Mandy Lynn Lara":MAILTO:mllara@geminiink.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Mexico_City:20240930T183000
DTEND;TZID=America/Mexico_City:20240930T203000
DTSTAMP:20260403T151401
CREATED:20191105T141203Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250212T145415Z
UID:9500-1727721000-1727728200@geminiink.org
SUMMARY:Open Writer's Labs
DESCRIPTION:These peer-driven workshops\, held the last Monday of each month\, are free and open to writers of all levels and focus on poetry\, flash fiction\, and short creative non-fiction.\n \n  \n\n\nOnline Via Zoom\nFor the online workshop\, sign up the day before the class to ensure you receive the Zoom link. \nThis workshop is facilitated by Kevin Ramos. Originally from the northeast\, Kevin studied theater arts at Rutgers University and The University of Washington. He’s lived all over the country before making his home in San Antonio\, Texas. Kevin has written several novels and short stories. Most recently\, publishing a short memoir called Enough about addiction\, mothers\, and missing graves. And a novel\, Hayley’s Sense of Fire (DLG Publishing Partners)\, a modern re-telling of the classic fairy tale\, The Little Matchgirl. \n\nIn-Person at Gemini Ink\n \nJoin our in-person Open Writer’s Lab with Robert Allen at Gemini Ink’s office\, 1111 Navarro St.\, San Antonio\, TX 78205. \nRobert Allen has worked as a librarian and an electrical contractor for most of his life. Many moons ago\, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature from the University of Texas at Austin\, where he studied poetry under David Wevill. Allen has been active in local writer’s groups and open mics\, including the Sun Poets Society. He’s been published in The Ocotillo Review\, the Texas Poetry Calendar\, Voices de la Luna\, di-verse-city\, the San Antonio Express-News\, and Poetry on the Move. In 2006\, he started attending Gemini Ink’s free Monday night writing classes and has attended regularly ever since. With more than a decade of attending writers’ groups\, classes\, and open mics\, he now co-facilitates Gemini Ink’s Open Writer’s Lab. \nParking at Gemini Ink\nGemini Ink offers free parking along the back wall of our downtown offices. Please access this parking lot from Augusta St and first park in any of the 12 spots along the back wall. Only when these 12 spots are full do we ask that you park elsewhere in our lot. We now rent our offices from UTSA and are collaborating with them to create a secure and accessible parking lot for our community of writers and readers.
URL:https://geminiink.org/events/open-writers-lab-2-2020-08-31-2020-09-28-2021-06-28-2022-05-30-2022-06-27-2022-07-25-2023-03-27-2023-12-25/2024-09-30/
LOCATION:Online via Zoom
CATEGORIES:Workshop
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://geminiink.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Open-Writers-Labs-1250-x-600-px-1.png
ORGANIZER;CN="Mandy Lynn Lara":MAILTO:mllara@geminiink.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Mexico_City:20240928T170000
DTEND;TZID=America/Mexico_City:20240928T210000
DTSTAMP:20260403T151401
CREATED:20240923T181115Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240923T181115Z
UID:10869-1727542800-1727557200@geminiink.org
SUMMARY:Our Word is Our Vote: A Poetry Pachanga
DESCRIPTION:Don’t Miss Our Word is Our Vote:\nA Poetry Pachanga this Saturday\, Sep 28!\nJoin the dynamic San Antonio poetry community for this special election year event\, encouraging voter registration and using our voice to create the change we want to see:\nSaturday\, Sep 28\, 5-9pm\nUTSA Main Campus\n1 UTSA Circle\, San Antonio\, TX 78249\nRichard Liu Auditorium\, Business Bldg\, 2.01.02 \nRegister to Vote! Free Event! Free Food!\nLive Music from Kitten Mitten\, Mexstep\, and Patsy Torres!\nAnd all the poets—Andi Garcia-Linn\, Alexandra Vandekamp\, Alex Z. Salinas\, Amalia Ortiz\, Anthony the Poet\, Carmen Calatayud\, Carmen Tafolla\, Chibbi Orduña\, Chris Carmona\, E.D. Watson\, Eddie Vega\, Eduardo C. Garza\, Edward Vidaurre\, Fernando E. Flores\, Frances Santos\, Gerard Robledo\, Gume Laurel III\, Jen Yanez-Alaniz\, Jim LaVilla-Havelin\, John Olivares Espinoza\, John Phillip Santos\, Jonathan Fletcher\, Joshua Robbins\, KB Brookins\, Lace Garcia\, Mandy Lynn Lara\, Matthew Tavares\, Myra Dumapais\, Natalia Treviño\, Nazli Siddiqui\, Octavio Quintanilla\, Rooster Martinez\, Sajhar Roshan\, Saúl Hernández\, Tony Diaz\, Violeta Garza\, Zach Sokoloski!
URL:https://geminiink.org/events/our-word-is-our-vote/
LOCATION:UTSA\, 1 UTSA Circle\, San Antonio\, Texas\, 78249
CATEGORIES:Event
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://geminiink.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/word-is-our-vote.png
ORGANIZER;CN="Alexandra van de Kamp":MAILTO:avandekamp@geminiink.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Mexico_City:20240926T183000
DTEND;TZID=America/Mexico_City:20240926T200000
DTSTAMP:20260403T151401
CREATED:20240812T205032Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240912T200422Z
UID:10576-1727375400-1727380800@geminiink.org
SUMMARY:Eddie Vega & Friends & Community Open Mic
DESCRIPTION:Join Gemini Ink on Thursday\, September 26th\, for a night of poetry and performance as we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month 2024 and honor our new San Antonio Poet Laureate Eddie Vega!  \nEddie is a poet\, educator\, open mic host\, and voice for the people\, who’s poetry focuses on the routine struggles and small beauties of life in South Texas. He will be accompanied by award- winning poet Violeta Garza and veteran educator and poet Jacinto Jesús Cardona. \nFollowing the featured reading\, we will host a community open mic. Bring your poems\, stories\, and thoughts to share (there will be a 3-minute limit for each reader). Open mic sign-up in person\, starting at 6pm. \n\nVioleta Garza is a non-binary Latinx poet and member of the Macondo Writers Workshop. Her work has been published in Acentos Review\, Boundless\, and riverSedge\, among others. \nJacinto Jesús Cardona is a San Antonio poet whose two poetry books\, PAN DULCE and AMAPOLASONG celebrate his growing up Tex Mex in Alice\, the Hub of South Texas. In 2016 New York Symphony Space selected his poem “Bato Con Khakis” to be performed as part of their literacy program. Among Cardona’s awards are a Gemini Ink Voz de San Antonio Poetry Award and his poetry is documented in Voices From Texas by San Antonio filmmaker Ray Santiesteban. Cardona teaches English at Incarnate Word High School. \nEddie Vega (the Taco-Poet of Texas) is a poet\, storyteller\, and educator. The author of Chicharra Chorus (FlowerSong Press\, 2019) and Somos Nopales (FlowerSong Press\, 2024)\, his poetry also appears along the San Pedro Creek Cultural Park. He is the editor of Asina is How We Talk\, a collection of Tejano poetry. A Macondo Workshop Fellow\, Vega directs the Mouth Dakota Poetry Project\, a biweekly open mic. He currently serves as the 7th Poet Laureate of San Antonio.
URL:https://geminiink.org/events/reading-and-open-mic/
LOCATION:Poetic Republic Coffee Co.\, 2330 S. Presa St\, San Antonio\, Texas\, United States
CATEGORIES:Event
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://geminiink.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/horizontal-eddie-vega-friends.png
ORGANIZER;CN="Mandy Lynn Lara":MAILTO:mllara@geminiink.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Mexico_City:20240921T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/Mexico_City:20240921T143000
DTSTAMP:20260403T151401
CREATED:20240812T200634Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240920T192526Z
UID:10562-1726912800-1726929000@geminiink.org
SUMMARY:Making AI Your Friend: Three Ways Writers Can Use Tech to Enhance Their Craft and Achieve Their Goals with Javier Ortega-Araiza
DESCRIPTION:Saturday\, September 21\, 2024\, 10am-2:30pm CST (including a 30-minute lunch)\, online via Zoom\nInstructor: Javier Ortega-Araiza\nNonmember: $110; Member: $95; Student/Educator/Mil $75 \n*EARN CPE’S\nTWO SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE\n \n  \nAre you interested in learning how to use AI (Artificial Intelligence) to support your writing without losing your humanity? Given the hype around this new technology\, this workshop will offer participants a chance to sift through fears and find the real tools AI provides. \nIn this one-day workshop\, author Javier Ortega-Araiza will help participants adapt to AI’s impact on the writing industry and learn to collaborate with technology. Students will explore AI tools\, such as ChatGPT\, and become familiar with how writers can use them to bolster their creative practice. \nThis class is open to writers of all skill levels 18+. \nIn this workshop\, students will learn how to use AI to: \n\nGenerate ideas and defeat the blank page\nFireproof their pieces to ensure they are well-crafted and understood by their target audience\nRepurpose content to adapt to various social media platforms and increase their exposure.\n\nLearn more about Javier at his Writer’s Desk!\n\nJavier Ortega-Araiza is the author of Three Years Later: Poems of Loss\, Love\, and Renewal (2024) and a co-author of Stories from Montréal (2019)\, an anthology featuring over 20 Hispanic-Canadian writers. He is passionate about storytelling’s power to heal and unite us. He believes technology can be a fantastic ally in helping writers enhance their careers and have a bigger impact. Javier is a lifelong traveler\, entrepreneur\, and storyteller whose thoughts on the impact of AI in the writing profession can be found here. \nOrtega-Araiza’s writings\, spanning various genres\, have been featured by leading outlets such as Business Insider\, Forbes\, the New York Post\, FOX\, the Toronto Star\, and the Winnipeg Free Press. Through Mindset Consulting\, a strategic communications firm\, he has also worked with several tech startups and venture funds\, gaining first-hand exposure to the impact of AI in several industries. He has also worked with leading brands such as MGM and Caesars. 
URL:https://geminiink.org/events/making-ai-your-friend/
LOCATION:Online via Zoom
CATEGORIES:Online Workshop,Workshop
ORGANIZER;CN="Mandy Lynn Lara":MAILTO:mllara@geminiink.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Mexico_City:20240918T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/Mexico_City:20240918T203000
DTSTAMP:20260403T151401
CREATED:20240911T175012Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240916T190916Z
UID:10826-1726686000-1726691400@geminiink.org
SUMMARY:The Big Texas Author Talk featuring Ayokunle Falomo
DESCRIPTION:RSVP\n\n\nWednesday\, Sep 18th\, 2024 via Zoom @ 7PM CST\nUp Next: AYOKUNLE FALOMO\, author of Autobiomythography of .\nAutobiomythography of sifts through Nigerian stories and mythologies\, both inherited and invented\, to explore the self\, family\, and nationhood. \nAYOKUNLE FALOMO is Nigerian\, American\, and the author of Autobiomythography of (Alice James Books\, 2024)\, AFRICANAMERICAN’T (FlowerSong Press\, 2022—finalist for Texas Institute of Letters’ Helen C. Smith Memorial Award for Best Book of Poetry)\, two self-published collections and African\, American (New Delta Review\, 2019; selected by Selah Saterstrom as the winner of New Delta Review’s 8th annual chapbook contest). A recipient of fellowships from Vermont Studio Center\, MacDowell\, and the University of Michigan’s Helen Zell Writers’ Program\, where he obtained his MFA in Creative Writing—Poetry\, his work has been anthologized and widely published. \nAutobiomythography of \n“Mythmaking serves to create a bridge between what the human mind can understand and what we yet have language for. Yet here in this visually lush and lyrically dexterous collection of poems\, Falomo offers his readers work that bends and reimagines the limits of language\, blends the Divine with the digital present\, contemporary music with the voices of the past while the speaker traverses the friction between their American & Nigerian heritage.”\n—I.S. Jones\, author of Spells of My Name \nSeptember 2024 \nISBN: 9781949944655
URL:https://geminiink.org/events/the-big-texas-author-talk-featuring-ayokunle-falomo/
LOCATION:Online via Zoom
CATEGORIES:Event
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://geminiink.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Ayokunle-Falomo.png
ORGANIZER;CN="Mandy Lynn Lara":MAILTO:mllara@geminiink.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Mexico_City:20240918T183000
DTEND;TZID=America/Mexico_City:20240918T203000
DTSTAMP:20260403T151401
CREATED:20191105T075945Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251006T163755Z
UID:9487-1726684200-1726691400@geminiink.org
SUMMARY:Veterans Writing Collective with Sarah Colby
DESCRIPTION:The Veteran’s Writing Collective (VWC) encourages the art of writing in a workshop environment where participants are offered honest\, positive\, and constructive peer-to-peer and mentor feedback. The workshop is open to all active-duty military\, veterans\, retirees\, and their immediate family members. Writers of all levels working in all genres are welcome. \nThe VWC meets monthly online via Zoom.\nIf you would like an invitation to this class\, send an email to veteranscollective@geminiink.org\n\nSarah Colby was born in northern New Mexico and raised in the Rocky Mountains. She is married to a retired Army Chaplain and is mother to a son in the Navy. Sarah has an MFA in Creative Writing from Sierra Nevada College and an exuberant interest in making the ordinary luminous. Her war-time experiences have motivated her to be a voice for the mostly untold stories of families and loved ones during these years of protracted conflict. She is currently working on a manuscript of poems about her experiences as a military family member.\n \n 
URL:https://geminiink.org/events/veterans-writing-collective-2020-07-15-2021-11-17-2023-08-16-2023-12-20/2024-09-18/
LOCATION:Online via Zoom
CATEGORIES:Event,Online Workshop,Workshop
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://geminiink.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/homepage-footer-1250-x-600-1.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="Sarah Colby":MAILTO:veteranscollective@geminiink.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Mexico_City:20240914T090000
DTEND;TZID=America/Mexico_City:20240914T153000
DTSTAMP:20260403T151401
CREATED:20240812T195823Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240829T164538Z
UID:10557-1726304400-1726327800@geminiink.org
SUMMARY:Telling Stories from the Teaching Trenches with Amie Charney
DESCRIPTION:Dates: Saturday\, September 14\, 2024\, 9am-3:30pm CST (with a 30 minute boxed lunch)\, in-person at Gemini Ink\nInstructor: Amie Charney\nNonmember: $140; Member: $120; Student/Educator/Mil $75 \nClass Cancelled\nHilarious\, cringe\, nightmarish\, heartwarming\, inspiring–these are just some words teachers might use to describe their experiences in the classroom. Every educator has an interesting story to tell about teaching\, and we want to help you tell it!   \nIn this one-day storytelling workshop for educators of all backgrounds and experience\, we will follow The Moth model of storytelling to script and tell our own creative nonfiction stories. We will then use podcasting technology to record our tales from the teaching trenches.  \nWe will share practical ways to pair storytelling and podcasting as a fun and effective learning tool in the classroom and across the curriculum. This course is open to educators of all kinds and skill levels\, 18+.  \nStudents will leave this workshop with: \n\nA draft of creative nonfiction work\nHands on experience using podcasting equipment\nIdeas for how to incorporate storytelling and podcasting into the classroom environment\n\n\nAmie Charney is a screenwriter who lives in San Antonio\, Texas. She has a BA in Literature from California State University and an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of California Riverside Palm Desert. She is the current Director of Creative Writing for the Northeast School of the Arts. Her work can be found in literary journals such as Southern Missouri Press Journal Proud to Be\, As You Were\, Oh! Cat!\, High Country Magazine\, and others. Amie is the inaugural recipient of the Harlequin Creator Fund for Television Writing and is currently developing a new television show with eOne and Harlequin. She’s the wife of a pilot\, mother of two fantastic young adults (both Aggies)\, and a proud Marine Corps wife! She was recently featured in Script Magazine and the Harlequin Creator Space\, as well as San Antonio Magazine.
URL:https://geminiink.org/events/telling-stories-from-the-teaching-trenches/
LOCATION:Online via Zoom
CATEGORIES:Online Workshop,Workshop
ORGANIZER;CN="Mandy Lynn Lara":MAILTO:mllara@geminiink.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Mexico_City:20240911T183000
DTEND;TZID=America/Mexico_City:20240911T200000
DTSTAMP:20260403T151401
CREATED:20240724T205850Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250116T200635Z
UID:10484-1726079400-1726084800@geminiink.org
SUMMARY:LitMinds Book Club
DESCRIPTION:Join us for the Lit Minds Book Club at Gemini Ink. We’re reading Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451.\nRegister\nNearly seventy years after its original publication\, Ray Bradbury’s internationally acclaimed novel Fahrenheit 451 stands as a classic of world literature set in a bleak\, dystopian future. Today its message has grown more relevant than ever before. \nGuy Montag is a fireman. His job is to destroy the most illegal of commodities\, the printed book\, along with the houses in which they are hidden. Montag never questions the destruction and ruin his actions produce\, returning each day to his bland life and wife\, Mildred\, who spends all day with her television “family.” But when he meets an eccentric young neighbor\, Clarisse\, who introduces him to a past where people didn’t live in fear and to a present where one sees the world through the ideas in books instead of the mindless chatter of television\, Montag begins to question everything he has ever known \n\n \nRay Bradbury was an American fantasy and horror author who rejected being categorized as a science fiction author\, claiming that his work was based on the fantastical and unreal. His best known novel is Fahrenheit 451\, a dystopian study of future American society in which critical thought is outlawed. He is also remembered for several other popular works\, including The Martian Chronicles and Something Wicked This Way Comes. Bradbury won the Pulitzer in 2007\, and is one of the most celebrated authors of the 21st century. — Biography.com
URL:https://geminiink.org/events/litminds-a-book-club/
LOCATION:Gemini Ink\, 1111 Navarro St\, San Antonio\, TX\, 78205\, United States
CATEGORIES:Event
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://geminiink.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/bradbury1.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="Mandy Lynn Lara":MAILTO:mllara@geminiink.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Mexico_City:20240909T183000
DTEND;TZID=America/Mexico_City:20240909T203000
DTSTAMP:20260403T151401
CREATED:20240812T194955Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240903T185535Z
UID:10551-1725906600-1725913800@geminiink.org
SUMMARY:Writing for Change: How to Craft Effective Social Justice Articles with Sara Ramey
DESCRIPTION:Mondays\, September 9\, 16\, 23 & 30\, 2024\, from 6:30-8:30pm CST via Zoom\nInstructor: Sara Ramey\nNonmember: $160; Member: $140; Student/Educator/Mil $75 \n*EARN CPE’S\nTWO SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE\n \n  \nIs there a social justice issue you’d like to draw more attention to? Do you wish the media would provide a fresh perspective on a matter close to your heart? Do you have a new approach to a social problem? Join this intensive workshop to turn those ideas into publishable articles! \nIn this four-week course\, experienced social justice advocate Sara Ramey will combine lecture and group discussion to help participants gain an overview of writing effective social justice articles. Participants will learn how to understand key content and structure considerations\, achieve the right tone and pacing\, select the best format based on the topic\, consider their audiences to maximize impact\, and use one’s goal to derive the highest impact from an article.  \nWe will also explore a range of interviewing techniques\, including preparing effective questions\, tips for eliciting vivid details and descriptions\, capturing authenticity in voice\, making an interviewee comfortable\, ethical considerations\, and navigating challenges that arise. Participants will write and submit a 600-900-word article during the workshop. We’ll conclude with a discussion on how to pitch social justice articles.  \nThis class is open to writers of all skill levels interested in developing their written advocacy abilities\, 18+.  \nBy the end of the class students will have:  \n\nA workshopped 600-900 word article on a social justice topic of their choice\nA toolbox of skills for persuasive factual and opinion writing\nAn understanding of the market and the crafting process for short-form social justice journalism\nInsight into effective pitching to begin contacting publishers\n\n\nAn experienced interviewer\, Sara Ramey has worked for over twelve years on the U.S.-Mexico border\, meeting with asylum seekers to learn their stories and help them craft compelling narratives for U.S. immigration judges. She has also interviewed immigrants on various issues of public policy for community education initiatives and has written op-eds and journal articles in major publications\, including The Dallas Morning News\, The San Antonio Express News\, The Austin-American Statesman\, The Hill\, The International Lawyer\, Peace Review\, and The Oxford Monitor of Forced Migration. As a lawyer and advocate\, Sara has extensive experience condensing complex topics down to powerful stories that resonate with diverse audiences. She has written public comments to the federal government on proposed regulations\, has hosted a legal podcast on migration issues\, and has interviewed with the press\, including MSNBC\, Fox News\, ABC\, the Associated Press\, VICE\, CNN\, Telemundo\, and more. She most recently worked as an attorney mentor at Immigration Equality. In her free time\, Sara writes urban and YA fantasy.
URL:https://geminiink.org/events/writing-for-change/
LOCATION:Online via Zoom
CATEGORIES:Online Workshop,Workshop
ORGANIZER;CN="Mandy Lynn Lara":MAILTO:mllara@geminiink.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Mexico_City:20240826T183000
DTEND;TZID=America/Mexico_City:20240826T203000
DTSTAMP:20260403T151401
CREATED:20191105T141203Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250212T145414Z
UID:9499-1724697000-1724704200@geminiink.org
SUMMARY:Open Writer's Labs
DESCRIPTION:These peer-driven workshops\, held the last Monday of each month\, are free and open to writers of all levels and focus on poetry\, flash fiction\, and short creative non-fiction.\n \n  \n\n\nOnline Via Zoom\nFor the online workshop\, sign up the day before the class to ensure you receive the Zoom link. \nThis workshop is facilitated by Kevin Ramos. Originally from the northeast\, Kevin studied theater arts at Rutgers University and The University of Washington. He’s lived all over the country before making his home in San Antonio\, Texas. Kevin has written several novels and short stories. Most recently\, publishing a short memoir called Enough about addiction\, mothers\, and missing graves. And a novel\, Hayley’s Sense of Fire (DLG Publishing Partners)\, a modern re-telling of the classic fairy tale\, The Little Matchgirl. \n\nIn-Person at Gemini Ink\n \nJoin our in-person Open Writer’s Lab with Robert Allen at Gemini Ink’s office\, 1111 Navarro St.\, San Antonio\, TX 78205. \nRobert Allen has worked as a librarian and an electrical contractor for most of his life. Many moons ago\, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature from the University of Texas at Austin\, where he studied poetry under David Wevill. Allen has been active in local writer’s groups and open mics\, including the Sun Poets Society. He’s been published in The Ocotillo Review\, the Texas Poetry Calendar\, Voices de la Luna\, di-verse-city\, the San Antonio Express-News\, and Poetry on the Move. In 2006\, he started attending Gemini Ink’s free Monday night writing classes and has attended regularly ever since. With more than a decade of attending writers’ groups\, classes\, and open mics\, he now co-facilitates Gemini Ink’s Open Writer’s Lab. \nParking at Gemini Ink\nGemini Ink offers free parking along the back wall of our downtown offices. Please access this parking lot from Augusta St and first park in any of the 12 spots along the back wall. Only when these 12 spots are full do we ask that you park elsewhere in our lot. We now rent our offices from UTSA and are collaborating with them to create a secure and accessible parking lot for our community of writers and readers.
URL:https://geminiink.org/events/open-writers-lab-2-2020-08-31-2020-09-28-2021-06-28-2022-05-30-2022-06-27-2022-07-25-2023-03-27-2023-12-25/2024-08-26/
LOCATION:Online via Zoom
CATEGORIES:Workshop
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://geminiink.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Open-Writers-Labs-1250-x-600-px-1.png
ORGANIZER;CN="Mandy Lynn Lara":MAILTO:mllara@geminiink.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Mexico_City:20240821T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/Mexico_City:20240821T203000
DTSTAMP:20260403T151401
CREATED:20240806T171835Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240819T183456Z
UID:10533-1724266800-1724272200@geminiink.org
SUMMARY:The Big Texas Author Talk featuring Sasha West
DESCRIPTION:Join us on Wednesday\, Aug 21st\, 2024 via Zoom for a conversation with poet Sasha West\, author of How to Abandon Ship\, Winner of the 2023 Sergio Troncoso Award for Best First Book of Fiction\, Texas Institute of Letters. Moderated by Jill Meyers.\nRSVP\nAbout How to Abandon Ship\n\nIn How to Abandon Ship\, Sasha West emerges like a modern Cassandra\, one who doesn’t simply tell us of what is to come\, but one who teaches us\, “To bite. To keen. To howl.” West is an oracle whose words pop\, hiss\, and blaze. This terrific book has left me changed.  –Tomás Q. Morín \nThe poems in Sasha West’s How to Abandon Ship describe the anguish and disorientation of existing on a planet put in jeopardy by our very existence. Here we encounter a poet who has “spent a life sharpening the blade of [her]/imagination” slicing through the layered voices of greed\, complicity\, and blind faith that have left us with a world in peril and the painful task of telling our children the truth about it. Embodying the voice of a modern-day Cassandra\, West reveals a fundamental truth of our time: how a warning can be a blessing\, but only if we’re willing to receive it.—Carrie Fountain \nHow to Abandon Ship is equal parts prophetic and apocalyptic\, and Sasha West doesn’t shy away from the exigencies of the world: its floods and fires and earthquakes\, its wars and disease and mass graves\, its politics and tragedies and technology where “software reminded us / to have memories.” “I love: my country: it can break me\,” writes West\, and these powerful poems limn the urgency of our present moment\, as well as the tenderness and terror of new motherhood when the speaker becomes “permeable to the world.” How to Abandon Ship is a haunting book of grief and warning\, but also one of caregiving and survival. West’s poems ultimately offer a blueprint for meeting disaster head-on—with fierce love\, acts of service\, and the power of imagination. – Erika Meitner \n\nABOUT SASHA WEST\n \n\nSasha West was born and raised in Santa Fe\, New Mexico. Her first book\, Failure and I Bury the Body\, won the National Poetry Series and the Texas Institute of Letters First Book of Poetry Award. It was also selected as one of ten debut books by Victoria Chang for Poets & Writers. Her second book\, How to Abandon Ship\, was published by Four Way Books in March 2024. \nShe collaborates on multi-media\, eco-arts exhibitions with visual artist Hollis Hammonds as the collaborative Hammonds + West. Their collaborations have been featured at Texas A&M University’s Wright Gallery\, the Austin Public Library Central Gallery space\, the San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts\, the College of the Mainland\, ArtPrize2023 in Michigan\, and the Columbus College of Art and Design. Upcoming shows include Houston’s Art League and The Grace Museum in Abilene\, TX. \nHer work has been collected in the anthologies The Long Devotion: Poets Writing Motherhood\,Out of Time: Poetry from the Climate Emergency\, Still Life with Poem: 100 Natures Mortes in Verse\, Penned: Zoo Poems\, and others. Individual poems have appeared in The American Poetry Review\, Kenyon Review Online\, Ecotone\, The Georgia Review\, Agni\, American Poet\, Ninth Letter\, and elsewhere. \nHer awards include a Fellowship to the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference\, a Houston Arts Alliance grant\, Pushcart nominations\, and Inprint’s Verlaine Prize. She has served as lead editor for and\, later\, board president of Gulf Coast: A Journal of Literature and Fine Arts. \nShe is an Associate Professor of Creative Writing at St. Edward’s University\, where she received the Distinguished Teaching Award and the Hudspeth Innovative Teaching Award. She lives in Austin\, TX\, with her husband and kid. \n\nABOUT JILL MEYERS \nJill Meyers is the editorial director of A Strange Object\, the Austin-based imprint of independent publisher Deep Vellum. Her acclaimed writers have received numerous awards and honors\, including the Whiting Award\, The Believer Book Award\, and the Discovery Award from the Writers’ League of Texas. Titles from A Strange Object have appeared on NPR’s Best Books of the Year list and have been selected as best debuts from Poets and Writers. Formerly\, Jill served as editor for the celebrated literary magazine American Short Fiction and worked on staff at Texas Monthly. Jill is the cofounder of Lit Crawl Austin\, a freewheeling literary showcase\, and she serves on the advisory board for the Texas Book Festival.
URL:https://geminiink.org/events/the-big-texas-author-talk-sasha-west/
LOCATION:Zoom
CATEGORIES:Event
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://geminiink.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/TBTAT-Sasha-West.png
ORGANIZER;CN="Mandy Lynn Lara":MAILTO:mllara@geminiink.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Mexico_City:20240821T183000
DTEND;TZID=America/Mexico_City:20240821T203000
DTSTAMP:20260403T151401
CREATED:20191105T075945Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260109T181538Z
UID:9486-1724265000-1724272200@geminiink.org
SUMMARY:Veterans Writing Collective with Sarah Colby
DESCRIPTION:The Veteran’s Writing Collective (VWC) encourages the art of writing in a workshop environment where participants are offered honest\, positive\, and constructive peer-to-peer and mentor feedback. The workshop is open to all active-duty military\, veterans\, retirees\, and their immediate family members. Writers of all levels working in all genres are welcome. \nThe VWC meets monthly online via Zoom.\nIf you would like an invitation to this class\, send an email to veteranscollective@geminiink.org\n\nSarah Colby was born in northern New Mexico and raised in the Rocky Mountains. She is married to a retired Army Chaplain and is mother to a son in the Navy. Sarah has an MFA in Creative Writing from Sierra Nevada College and an exuberant interest in making the ordinary luminous. Her war-time experiences have motivated her to be a voice for the mostly untold stories of families and loved ones during these years of protracted conflict. She is currently working on a manuscript of poems about her experiences as a military family member.\n \n 
URL:https://geminiink.org/events/veterans-writing-collective-2020-07-15-2021-11-17-2023-08-16-2023-12-20/2024-08-21/
LOCATION:Online via Zoom
CATEGORIES:Event,Online Workshop,Workshop
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://geminiink.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/homepage-footer-1250-x-600-1.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="Sarah Colby":MAILTO:veteranscollective@geminiink.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Mexico_City:20240815T183000
DTEND;TZID=America/Mexico_City:20240815T200000
DTSTAMP:20260403T151401
CREATED:20240708T193246Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240814T213427Z
UID:10356-1723746600-1723752000@geminiink.org
SUMMARY:Gemini Ink Teaching Artists &  Community Open Mic
DESCRIPTION:Don’t miss our FREE Teaching Artists Reading & Community Open Mic on Thursday! Want to share your work or just listen to some amazing performances? Join Gemini Ink on Thursday\, August 15th\, for a night of poetry\, prose\, and performance as we celebrate the talent of our Gemini Ink Partner Class teaching artists. An open mic follows. Come early to sign up! ???? \nEnjoy a beverage and connect with fellow writers! Wine\, coffee\, and other refreshments will be available for purchase from Poetic Republic Cafe. We look forward to seeing you! \n 
URL:https://geminiink.org/events/teaching-artists-reading-open-mic/
LOCATION:Poetic Republic Coffee Co.\, 2330 S. Presa St\, San Antonio\, Texas\, United States
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://geminiink.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Gemini-Ink-Teaching-Artist-Reading.png
ORGANIZER;CN="Mandy Lynn Lara":MAILTO:mllara@geminiink.org
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR