February 1, 2007
Third Annual Symposium on Wildness sponsored by Iowa State's Creative Writing
Program
The environment and how creative writers approach that issue in their work
takes center stage during a three-day symposium at Iowa State University later
this month.
"Home Ground: Language for an American Landscape" will be held Sunday,
Feb. 18 through Tuesday, Feb. 20. The third annual Symposium on Wildness will
feature a variety of workshops, panel discussions, concerts and readings.
The symposium is sponsored by the creative writing program within Iowa State's
Department of English.
The keynote address will be given by Bill McKibben on Sunday evening at 8 p.m.
in the Memorial Union's Great Hall. A former staff writer for the New Yorker,
McKibben is one of the nation's leading environmental writers. He is a frequent
contributor to The New York Times, Outside and Atlantic
Monthly and the author of several books. In his presentation "Deep
Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future," McKibben puts
forward a new way to think about the things we buy, the food we eat, the energy
we consume and the money that pays for it all.
A highlight of the symposium is Monday's lecture by James A. Pritchard. "Mountain
Home, Prairie Home: Learning New Languages" will be given at 8 p.m. in
the Memorial Union's Sun Room. An adjunct assistant professor in landscape architecture
and natural resource ecology and management, Pritchard left his mountainous
home in the western U.S. to come to Iowa. Although he missed the ski slopes,
hiking trails and cool pine forest air of his former home, he says he has come
to realize that "nature and wildness exist all around him in his new home
state." He is the author of several books including Preserving Yellowstone's
Natural Conditions: Science and the Perception of Nature.
Other symposium events include (a complete listing is on-line at http://engl.iastate.edu/programs/creative_writing/events/symposium.
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 18
- Barn Dance, Collegiate Methodist Church, 4 pm. The Porch Stompers will
be the featured band.
- Hog/Chicken Roast Potluck, Collegiate Methodist Church, 5:30 p.m. The 20th
anniversary of Iowa State's Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture will
be recognized.
- Patrick Hazell Piano Jazz Performance, Great Hall, Memorial Union, 7 p.m.
Iowa State alumnus and Iowa Blues Hall of Fame member, Patrick Hazell is a
one-man band that provides a full band sound accompanied by vocals with keyboard,
foot-powered percussion and harmonica.
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19
- Panel Discussion: Language for an American Landscape, Pioneer Room, Memorial
Union, 9 a.m. Panel members will include McKibben, Debra Gwartney, faculty
member at Portland State University, and Mary Swander, Distinguished Professor
of liberal arts and sciences and professor of English at Iowa State.
- The Bell Projects, Pioneer Room, Memorial Union, 10:45 a.m. Patrick Hazell's
project brings large-scale sound events to communities throughout the world
that feature the interplay of church, fire station, school and other bells
found in urban environments.
- In Print Home Ground Reading, Sun Room, Memorial Union, 1 p.m. Creative
writing master students will give a virtual home ground tour of the literary
venues in the Des Moines/Ames area.
- Panel Discussion: Folklore of Home Ground, Pioneer Room, Memorial Union,
2:45 p.m. Panelists include Michael Whiteford, dean of the College of Liberal
Arts and Sciences and professor of anthropology; James Dow, emeritus professor
of German; Nikki Bado-Fralick, assistant professor of philosophy and religious
studies; and Zora Zimmerman, associate dean in the College of Liberal Arts
and Sciences and professor of English.
- Editing Environmental Writing Workshop, Pioneer Room, Memorial Union, 4
p.m. Debra Gwartney will share examples of a scientific board's comments on
writers' original works.
- Scenes from the American Landscape, Sun Room, Memorial Union, 7:30 p.m.
A revolving slide show of the Loess Hills exhibit.
- Patrick Hazell Carillon Concert, Central Campus, 9:30 p.m.
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 20
- Panel Discussion: Bioreneweables: Helping or Hurting the Environment? Sun
Room, Memorial Union, 9 a.m. Panelists include Fred Kirschenmann, distinguished
fellow of the Leopold Center; Neila Seamn, director of the Iowa chapter of
the Sierra Club; Sipho Ndlela, operations and research manager of the Mid-States
Biodiesel, BECON Center; Bruce Babcock, director of Iowa State's Center for
Agricultural and Rural Development; Robert C. Brown, director of Iowa State's
Office of Biorenewable Programs; and Lee Honeycutt, associate professor of
English.
- Debra Marquart Reading, Sun Room, Memorial Union, 11 a.m. Iowa State creative
writing instructor Debra Marquart will read from her latest book, The
Horizontal World: Growing Up Wild in the Middle of Nowhere. The author
of two poetry collections in addition to this acclaimed memoir, Marquart is
currently at work on a novel set in Greece.
- Field Experiences, 1 p.m. Symposium participants can attend one of two
off-campus events – a two-hour bus tour of Ledges State Park guided
by Mark Edwards of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, or a tour of
the Onion Creek Farm given by its owners Joe Lynch and Lonna Nachtigal.
- Closing: Hot Cider by the Fire, Onion Creek Farm, 4 p.m. The symposium
ends with this event.
Funding for the Wildness Symposium has been provided by several Iowa State
academic units and the Iowa Arts Council.
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