Selected Previous Lectures
& Panel Discussions

Telling True Stories: The Art and the Craft
A Discussion and Workshop
University of Pittsburgh
Cathedral of Learning, Room 501
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Thursday, September 29, 2011
4:00 pm
At this interactive session, I offered a series of writing exercises inspired by some of my favorite lessons of Telling True Stories, the craft anthology I co-edited with Mark Kramer. Many thanks to the University of Pittsburgh's Writing Program for offering this workshop, and thanks to several dozen undergraduate and graduate students, several faculty, and even writer John Temple, who traveled 90 miles from West Virginia University!

The Story of No Word for Welcome
"Peer Innovations in Publishing" Series
Empire State College
State University of New York (SUNY)
Distance Learning Campus
113 West Avenue
Saratoga Springs, New York
Monday, September 26, 2011
12:30 to 1:30 pm
Reception to follow from 1:30 to 2:00 pm
In addition to the usual book reading and slideshow, I shared the long road that No Word for Welcome traveled from collection of articles (in 2002) to book proposal (in 2003) to full manuscript (in 2008) to book (in 2011).

"Global Perspectives, Local Stories"
with Midge Raymond
School of Communication
640 Commonwealth Avenue, Room 317
Boston University
Boston, Massachusetts
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
noon to 2:00 pm
Midge Raymond and I will return to the school were we first studied writing (me, for a single -- but seminal -- seminar with Mark Kramer, and Midge, for her master's degree) to offer a free, two-hour discussion and workshop on using a journalist's toolbox for better creative writing.

Artist Talk: Telling True Stories about Places Near and Far
The Studios of Key West
600 White Street
Key West, FL 33040
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
10:30 am to noon
I will begin my two-week stint as Artist in Residence at TSKW with a one-hour talk/discussion about the three years I lived and worked in southern Mexico to write No Word for Welcome. We'll talk about writing about places you know well, along with writing about places where you are a stranger.

"The Art of Rejection: Giving and Receiving"
Panel discussion with Philip F. Deaver, Geeta Kothari,
Molly Peacock, and Kevin Morgan Watson; moderated by Diana Raab
AWP Conference (February 2 to 5, 2011)
Hampton Ballroom, Omni Shoreham Hotel
Washington DC
Friday, February 4, 2011
10:30 to 11:45 am
Rejection is part of the literary life. Rejection of your manuscript is not a rejection of you as a person or a writer, but of one piece of writing. It says nothing about your potential. It’s equally difficult being an editor turning down work, as being a writer receiving the rejection. These panelists of writers, editors, and publishers will discuss how to establish boundaries between yourself and your work, what we learn from rejections, and how feedback makes us better writers and editors.

"Translating Mexican Women"
A Panel Discussion
Friday, November 13, 2009
8:45 to 10:00 am
I was so pleased that we had healthy attendance for this early-morning panel, at which I discussed ttranslating southern Mexican poets. It was an honor to be on a panel with two translators I greatly admire: Clare Sullivan and Jen Hofer.
Hilton Pasadena Hotel
168 South Los Robles Avenue
Pasadena, CA 91101
This panel discussion was part of the 2009 Annual Conference of the American Literary Translators Association -- an excellent organization..

"What Can Artists' Communities Do to Support Social Change?"
A Panel Discussion
Thursday, November 13, 2008
5:30 to 7:00 pm
A panel discussion with Amy Wheeler, Executive Director of Hedgebrook, Theaster Gates of Chicago’s South Side 4 Flat residency, Valerie Curtis-Newton, of ACT - A Contemporary Theater, and Rick Ingrasci, author of Chop Wood, Carry Water.
Richard Hugo House
1634 11th Avenue
Seattle, Washington 98122
This panel discussion was part of the 2008 Annual Conference of the Alliance for Artists Communities. Read an essay I wrote expanding on my presentation in this newsletter, beginning on page 15.

"Stories in Collision: Globalized Narratives about the Isthmus of Tehuantepec"
Thursday, July 3, 2008
4:00 pm to 5:30 pm
I presented a paper at the "Storytelling, Memories and Identity Constructions " Conference of the International Society for Cultural History and Cultural Studies. Read the abstract here.
Comisión Nacional de los Derechos Humanos (CNDH) Calle República de Cuba # 60,
Centro Histórico, Ciudad de México
Mexico

"Fishermen, Housewives, Teachers and Transvestites: Social Movements in Oaxaca, Mexico"
World Issues Forum
Fairhaven College of Interdisciplinary Studies
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
12:00 to 1:30 pm
In 2006, a burgeoning social movement in Mexico’s southern state of Oaxaca jumped into international headlines. Involving everyone from university professors to rural farmers, teenaged gay-rights activists to middle-aged housewives, this movement built upon thirty years of activism by Oaxaca’s indigenous communities. Their grassroots organizing continues, in spite of severe repression by the state and federal governments. In this slideshow and talk, I'll discuss the development of Oaxaca’s current social movement, and how it inspired the Zapatistas in Chiapas and other groups throughout the world.
Western Washington University
516 High Street
Bellingham, WA 98225

"How Do We Render Other People's Stories?
Tales from Mexico"
Field's End Writers' Roundtable
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
7:00 to 8:30 pm
Bainbridge Public Library
1270 Madison N.
Bainbridge Island, Washington 98110
Bainbridge island writer and editor Tamara Sellman wrote an excellent summary of my presentation.

"What Can the Right Editor Do for You?"
A Roundtable Discussion with Waverly Fitzgerald and
Karalynn Ott & Michelle Whitehead of Verve Editorial
Thursday, April 17, 2008
4:00 to 6:00 pm
Book Publishers Northwest
Good Shepherd Center, Room 221
4649 Sunnyside North
Seattle, Washington

"Why They Come al Norte :
Economic Pressures Facing Rural Mexico"
part of a panel discussion with
Pramila Jayapal of Hate Free Zone and
Joel Millman of the Wall Street Journal
Institute for Current World Affairs Trustees Meeting
Saturday, December 8, 2007
morning session
Cosmos Club, Dupont Circle
Washington, DC
See a (rather homespun) video of my presentation here.