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GREAT NEWS!

The University of Alaska Press Advisory Board has approved the Alaska Literary Series, which I'll edit.

The first three titles will be released in spring 2012:

      The City Beneath the Snow, a book of short stories by Marjorie Kowalski Cole

      The Rabbits Could Sing, a book of poems by Amber Flora Thomas

      The Cormorant Hunter's Wife, a reprint of the first book of poems by Joan Kane

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THE ALASKA WRITERS DIRECTORY is now live.  Please visit our site--Alaskan Writers Directory(www.alaskanwritersdirectory.com)  If you're a writer, please post your information!

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Alaska State Writer Laureate 2010-2012

As Alaska State Writer Laureate I'll do what I can to create opportunities for writers in Alaska. I'll also work to make Alaskan writers visible in Alaska and in the rest of the world.

My projects will involve travel, teaching, readings, workshops, and community visits. I'll work on projects to publish Alaskan writers. I'll set up events that connect Alaskan writers and their audiences. I'll encourage collaborations between writers and artists working in other forms.

Since 1976, I've balanced writing and teaching. The writing is mostly solitary. The teaching's usually sociable. So that's a good mix. I love the on-going conversation that takes place when people read and write and talk about reading and writing. I envision lots of community classes, writing workshops, classroom visits, and conference or festival sessions.

Teaching has taught me to articulate what I've done instinctively, to describe what I value and why, to refine my aesthetics. It's also helped me identify where I might branch out or experiment, where I need to try a new tool or technique. Those are all gifts of considerable value to a working writer.

Writing has taught me that the world will never work the way we expect or predict. The primary way I apprehend the world is by language. So the language has to stay fresh, ready for anything.

I'm really looking forward to listening to writers and readers in towns and villages throughout Alaska.

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I was the featured writer for September at 49 Writers blogspot.  Hope you enjoy my posts each Thursday.  

49 Writers hosts a website for writers and writing in Alaska, does programming and workshops, and has put together Alaska's first writing center, Raven Place.

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I'm at work on a manuscript of poems set in Costa Rica.

Get a sneak preview in these fine magazines: Ascent, Blackbird, The Fiddlehead, The Gettysburg Review, Permafrost, and Prairie Schooner.

Teaching RAINIER WRITING WORKSHOP I teach in the amazing low-residency Rainier Writing Workshop MFA program. Each August, students and faculty gather for a ten-day residency on the campus of Pacific Lutheran University. (website) FAIRBANKS SUMMER ARTS FESTIVAL The last two weeks of July, Fairbanks hosts a truly remarkable arts festival. I coordinate the creative writing class, which is open to everyone--all genres, all levels of experience. (website) KACHEMAK BAY WRITERS' CONFERENCE I love the Kachemak Bay Writers' Conference, held in Homer, Alaska, at the tip of the spit. Think otters, eagles, writers ... Glaciers, mountains, ocean ... (website) OSHER LIFELONG LEARNING INSTITUTE My first Lifelong Learning class was such a blast that I plan to teach again in this program for participants over the age of 50. Osher Lifelong Learning     Broadsides Karla Elling, fine printer, produced a letterpress broadside of my poem "As War Goes On." She made the paper from a combination of my clothing and the uniforms of young veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. I wrote the poem after spending an afternoon with the makers of combat paper, former soldiers who are remaking their lives as artists. Visit the website A letterpress broadside, with the painting Bright Tracks by Kesler E. Woodward, features my poem "Long Before We Got Here, Long After We're Gone." Letterpress work by Heather Neal Kasvinsky.

Editing BOREAL BOOKS I am founding editor of Boreal Books, publishing literature and fine art from Alaska. (www.borealbooks.org) UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA PRESS I serve as series editor of the Alaska Literary Series. RED HEN PRESS I'm a member of the Advisory Board for Red Hen Press. (www.redhen.org) PRAIRIE SCHOONER BOOK PRIZES I serve on the National Advisory Board for the Prairie Schooner Book Prizes. (website) ALASKA QUARTERLY REVIEW I'm a contributing editor for Alaska Quarterly Review. (website) CRAB CREEK REVIEW I'm on the Advisory Board for Crab Creek Review.   Worthy Ventures 49 Writers This website and blog by, for, and about Alaskan writers has now morphed into the first center for writers in Alaska!  Thank you to Andromeda and Deb!  49 Writers UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA POETRY CENTER Joe and I support the events and programs of the UA Poetry Center and encourage poets and readers to visit their marvelous library of contemporary poetry.   (website) NORTH WORDS WRITERS SYMPOSIUM I had a great time with writers from Alaska and Canada talking shop and enjoying Skagway, Alaska. 2012 gathering will take place in Denali! North Words Writers Symposium Island Institute Want a great place to write?  The Institute brings four writers a year to gorgeous Sitka.  They provide a place to stay and a stipend in exchange for community events. Wonderful people! Welcome to The Island Institute in Sitka, Alaska

I enjoy teaching at writing conferences and festivals, and giving workshops and readings. Please contact me at peggyzoe@gmail.com.