Posted on May 15, 2012 - by nshaw

Poe Short Story Writing Activity

by Tina Beaver, Community College of Allegheny County

(Tina wrote this piece as part of the response activity after the “Poe Poetry” session at the Baltimore conference.)

It was late in the evening at a bar on 5th Street, or was it on Central Street? She was wearing high heels…I think. I definitely remember her dress, it was blue. It complimented the color of her eyes.

We drank way too much wine.
I barely knew her, but I knew fate and this was meant to be This should have been a one night stand. Why were we so careless? Does she hate me? Do I hate me? We will find a way to get through this.
She’s pregnant!
I had a horrible day at work. I needed to unwind and let off some steam. I sat down for a drink and my mind started to wander. Then I was jarred from my thoughts when some clumsy waitress spilled a drink on me. I looked up to voice my opinion, but before I could open my mouth I saw her big blue eyes.
This night, this bar, that bad day at work, that clumsy girl. Now it’s that mistake, that wine, that baby, wait, our baby.
The next time we saw each other there was an uncomfortable silence and an awkward grin as I walked into that doctor’s office.

Posted on April 25, 2012 - by nshaw

Regional Conference Creative Workshop Response

During the NRHC Regional Conference in Baltimore, Maryland (April 12-15), attendees were introduced to the latest conference agenda addition: Faculty-Led Creative Workshops that took place following on Friday afternoon following the City as Text adventures.

Students could choose among four choices:

1. A tour of the American Visionary Arts Museum

2. A guitar music jam

3. “Walking on Sidewalk Gratings,” a workshop devoted to breaking habits and overcoming obstacles

4. “Poe Poetry,” a visit to Edgar Allan Poe’s gravesite and discussion of his poetry and literature

John Parkes of the Community College of Allegheny County attended “Poe Poetry” and wrote a response on his experience. Parkes writes, “The cemetery itself was rather small, but it was a beautiful day (unless you are of the morbid, Poe-esque sort such as myself), and even my cell phone managed to capture some wonderfully sharp images thanks to the natural lighting. The groups wandered, divided, and merged into each other, an amorphous mass of awestruck and curious faces flowing across the tiny landscape. Further back were the graves of Poe’s family, as well as his original grave, complete with an impressive stone (which rivalled the monument at the entrance) that may well have been even more recent than the ‘new grave’s’ marker, as evidenced by the erosion of nearby ‘contemporary’ stones. ‘And what would be Poe without mystery,’ said the cemetery to the observant…”  (Click “More” to read the essay in full.) (more…)

College of New Rochelle Student Keeps Classmates Up-to-Date on Conference Happenings

by nshaw on April 18, 2012

City as Text in Baltimore

by nshaw on April 8, 2012