The Writers Guild at Bloomington is an association of writers committed to mutual support and the professional development of their craft. Its mission is to foster interaction among writers as well as other artists, educators, and the Monroe County public, thereby enhancing the vibrancy of the arts and the writing community in the greater Bloomington area.
Events Calendar
World Book & Copyright Day
presented by the IU School of Education Library
Location: in the IU School of Education – First Floor atrium by the library. Just east of the Jordan parking lot.
Author Events
Explore process and content of The Wonderful Thing… 10:00 am-11:00 am / read aloud: 10:45
Quinton Gerard Stroud, IU PhD student, will share his experiences publishing his picture book about diversity and self-acceptance: The Wonderful thing about Yemaya
Explore process and content of Act Your Age 11:00 am-12:00 pm / read aloud: 11:00
Breanya Hogue, IU PhD student, will share her experiences publishing her picture book that reminds us to know and understand young people as individuals: Act Your Age, Shawn Trenell!
Poetry Reading & Open Mic: 12:00 noon to 1:00 pm
Patsy Rahn, founding member and chairperson emerita of the Writers Guild at Bloomington, will read poems from her thought-provoking anthology The Grainy Wet Soul. This includes a free-flowing open mic time where you can read a poem you wrote, or read a poem by someone else. We will have poetry books available so you can find a poem to read.
DO IT YOURSELF: two great ways to use prompts to create a poem
These are on-going walk-up activities 9:30 am, to 1:30 pm
Book Spine Poetry
We’ll have books with vivid titles from the Ed Library’s collection. Grab the ones that speak to you, stack them up in a meaningful way, and document your #BookSpinePoetry on social media.
Redacted Poetry
Exercise your right to Fair Use by repurposing a copied page in a book written by a nationally recognized Education scholar. You’ll scan the page and circle meaningful words; connect them in a visually compelling way; and document your #RedactedPoetry on social media.
Bloomington Street Fair
The Writer’s Guild will have poetry on demand and spoken word performances throughout the day. Plus Exhibits.
Our spot will be near the main stage located on Kirkwood across from the Buskirk Chumley Theatre.
Come and enjoy the excitement of this city street event!
Here’s the listing from Bloom Magazine:
12:00 pm to 04:00 pm
Kirkwood Ave. between Walnut St. and Indiana Ave.
https://bloomington.in.gov/parks/events
The City of Bloomington is extending its celebration of community with a Street Fair on Kirkwood Avenue. The Street Fair is an opportunity to use Bloomington’s city streets in new ways: To meet neighbors, find out more about local businesses and organizations, and celebrate our city and its residents. Local businesses and community groups will host displays and interactive activities along Kirkwood Avenue, which will be closed for the Street Fair. Multiple stages will feature music of all kinds, and pop-up performances include poetry readings, dance, and more. Food trucks and Kirkwood Avenue restaurants have plenty of delicious food. Celebrate community and togetherness at the Bloomington Street Fair!
Poetry Night at the Book Corner Bookstore
This is a new event!
Come for an Open Mic, read your own poem, read a poem by someone else, talk about poetry!
The film Colette at the Buskirk-Chumley Theatre, plus two other films
2:00 pm PEGGY GUGGENHEIM: ART ADDICT
4:15 pm for COLETTE
7:00 pm ASK DR. RUTH
The Monroe County Public Library is partnering with the Ryder Film Series for three films on Sunday, May 5 at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater. You can purchase your $15 ticket at the library’s Friends of the Library Bookstore, and the library will receive half to support library programs. Your ticket is valid for all three of the films about women who rebelled against the status quo, followed their passions, and made a difference:
PEGGY GUGGENHEIM: ART ADDICT (2pm) To say that Peggy Guggenheim was ahead of her time is an understatement. She helped to define her time. A woman of extraordinary tastes and appetites, she was was an heiress to her family fortune who became a central figure in the modern art movement. She smuggled canvases out of Nazi-occupied Paris. As she moved through the cultural upheaval of the 20th century, she collected not only art, but artists. Her colorful personal history included such figures as Samuel Beckett, Max Ernst, Jackson Pollock, Alexander Calder, and Marcel Duchamp. This is at once a capsule history of Modernism and a vibrant portrait of a truly amazing woman. (96 min)
COLETTE (4:15) As a young woman, Colette was locked in her room by her husband and ordered to ghostwrite a novel that would be published under his name. Colette, the film, is the story of how she reclaimed the authorship of her work — and her life. Keira Knightly stars as the writer who electrified Paris in the 1920s and revolutionized literature, fashion and sexual expression.
The story of how Colette became a gay icon of artistic achievement in the world of letters as well as a symbol of freedom and power in a male-dominated world has a relevance for today’s feminist movement that is astonishing. – The Observer
ASK DR. RUTH (7pm) Don’t let her small stature fool you. Standing at under five feet tall, Dr Ruth Westheimer is a force. She survived the Holocaust and then went on to completely transform the way America talked about sex (and particularly women’s sexual pleasure). At 90 years old, she hasn’t stopped working – and still promises the best sex you’ve ever had if you listen to her. (94 min)
First Sunday Prose Reading & Open Mic
Presented by the Writers Guild at Bloomington
Bear’s Place
1316 E 3rd St
The featured readers are: Ray Zdonek and Dennis McCarty
Come early to sign up for Open Mic!
Ray Zdonek is the author of the Lee Kosak mystery series–Bad Blood, The Killing Floor, Belly of the Beast, The Last Roundup
and Diana of the Dunes. All are now available as Kindle Books from Amazon. In addition to writing mystery novels, Ray is a published poet and a jazz DJ on WFHB Radio in Bloomington, hosting the wonderful weekly All That Jazz (Weds 7-9 p.m.) He resides in Bloomington with his wife, artist Joanne Shank.
Born in Colorado, Dennis McCarty decided at age 7 he wanted to become a novelist. He did have a string of fantasy novels published by Ballantine/Del Rey in the 1980’s, but was increasingly hearing a call to liberal ministry. He graduated from Meadville Lombard Theological School in 2003 and wound
up at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Columbus, Indiana, retiring in 2015. Over the years he has written novels, songs, nonfiction books, plays, and magazine articles. Since retiring from the parish, he has been answering a slightly different call, to share words and music related to his evolving sense of spirituality. His latest book: Monuments: Reflection of Time, Culture, and Spirits in America, was published in April, 2018. Last summer he toured the 1-person version of his play, Servetus: the Radical Reformed Musical. His next book, The Complete “Thoughts from a Gentle Atheist,” will be published in may. Both his books will be available on amazon.com.
(Parking in back and also free in the Jordan Lot if there’s not a special event)
Come early to sign up for Open Mic!