The Creative Writer’s Workshop this year was my third one, and at the behest of my former poetry professor, Bill Meissner, now a dear friend and fellow colleague, I was convinced to drop in for a visit (for all four days if I wanted!) to audit the class.

I ended up going the last day, as it was Meissner’s last workshop before retirement. Check out his novel Spirits in the Grass. It’s pretty awesome sauce.

The SCSU Creative Writer’s Workshop is not only for scribbling down rough drafts, waiting for critiques and talking about how much you love writing. It’s a very interactive experience where you can listen to speakers (mainly novelists or poets, although this year there was a video artist as well) and ask questions while learning the key components of writing.

The professor and speakers do as much listening and question answering as they do speaking, so you don’t feel like it’s a lecture. On the contrary, it’s what I would call a very human experience. I used to think published authors were lofty and had no time for fans, much like a lot of the celebrities we see today, when precisely the opposite is true. This workshop lets you get up close and personal with the authors. Turns out, they’re very open to questions, and yes, they’re people just like you and me. Weird, but true.

I arrived too late for the critiques at the beginning of class, but I did get there in time for coffee and the first speaker.

Thomas Maltman was the first to speak. I’d never heard of him before the workshop, but meeting him was a treat. He’s very mild-mannered, kind, and he has a strong love for animals. He told us a story about when he saw a coyote shot from a truck he was riding in, and he was just traumatized as heck from it. I can sympathize. No matter if the animal is a nuisance to society, I still cry when an animal gets hurt or killed in a violent way. Poor coyote.

He has written two fiction novels: Night Birds and Little Wolves. The Night Birds is about the 1862 Dakota Uprising, and Little Wolves is a small town murder mystery. Maltman’s writing style has such unique metaphors and descriptions, I couldn’t help but be engrossed in the readings he gave. Excellent writer. I’d highly recommend reading his work.

 

Next up was Wayne Nelsen. He’s a video artist from Youtube, and he’s been doing video editing for about three years, so he’s newer to it than I am. That being said, he has made more progress than I have (haha). He uses Photoshop and Final Cut Pro to create video animations with audio from poems or songs. One of my favorite videos he did was to audio from Meissner’s “The Contortionist.” It’s a poem I remember him reading when I first took his class, and personally, I think it’s one of his best. It’s very sad, in a way. The contortionist is very lonely.

You can check out Wayne’s Youtube channel here.

Shannon Olson is such a hoot. She’s another novelist I’ve had the privilege of having as a professor, and her sense of humor is absolutely fabulous. I remember her deliberately putting me in a discussion group with the hot guy from my Russian language class, who just so happened to be taking her writing course with me. Shannon, you are the best wingman. Wingwoman. Whatever.

Shannon has written two novels, both of them classified as fiction, but in reality, they’re autobiographical. Written in her twenties, her first novel Welcome to My Planet: Where English Is Sometimes Spoken is somewhat of a mother/daughter story. It chronicles Shannon’s journey to becoming independent from her mother after she is forced to move back home. My favorite bit is the story about Evelyn. You’ll see why when you read the book. She also made a “sequel” to her first novel, another semi-autobiographical titled Children of God Go Bowling, where the mother/daughter conflict continues, and Shannon struggles with the concept of spirituality.

Don’t think this workshop was all intellectual and philosophical. We writers know how to have fun too. The after-party was fantastic. It was, of course, at a bar. I can proudly state that I had but one beer. Good times were had. Stories were shared. Published authors and students alike got inebriated. I’ll end this post with some photo evidence of the revelries. A big thank you to Bill Meissner (MEISSNAHHHH) for teaching the best Minnesota creative writer’s workshop you’ll ever go to. My hat is off to you, sir.

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