Aspen Words

Community Poetry Slam
2017-04-13 18:00 - 20:00 (America/Denver) | CO, United States
Aspen Words will host a Community Poetry Slam at Steve’s Guitars, welcoming poets of all ages and backgrounds to participate in this celebration of our community’s voices! Poets should arrive at 5:15pm to sign up for a spot in the evening’s line up. Slam begins at 6pm. Tickets will be sold at the door. $5 for kids 18 and under, $10 for adults. Cash only. MC’d by professional performance poet Hakeem Furious.
Hakeem Furious (also known as Andre Marteen) is a Rocky Mountain native who currently lives in Florida. He has attended the international poetry competition Brave New Voices, has performed at New York City’s infamous Apollo Theater twice, and in 2014 released his debut project “Leaky Nostrils, Monogamous Swans”: a blend of hip hop and poetry. In 2015, Hakeem was a member of the 4th place national Denver Mercury Cafe Slam team representing them on finals stage in Oakland. He was the venue champion of the 2016 Denver Mercury Team selection, 2016 Denver Mercury IWPS Representative and a competing member of the 2016 SlamNUBA team. He now acts as the co-executive director of SlamNUBA. Hakeem travels the country performing poetry for a living and works on progressive music with his lyricist collective Cap 6. He plans to release his first book “Dinner with The Ego” in 2017.

WINTER WORDS - Stephanie Danler + Anna Noyes + Molly Prentiss
2017-04-04 18:00 - 19:00
Presenting bestselling and award-winning debut authors and alumni of the Aspen Summer Words conference.

Stephanie Danler is the author of the New York Times-bestselling novel Sweetbitter. After receiving her MFA in Fiction from The New School in 2014, she attended the Novel Editing Workshop at Aspen Summer Words, where she revised an early draft of her novel. A coming-of-age tale, Sweetbitter follows a small-town girl as she begins her adult life in the underworld of an upscale Manhattan restaurant. Danler’s work has also appeared in Vogue, Travel + Leisure, Lit Hub and The Paris Review Daily. She lives in Los Angeles.
Anna Noyes is a recent graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Her fiction has appeared in VICE, A Public Space, and Guernica, amongst others. She has received the Aspen Words Emerging Writer Fellowship, the James Merrill House Fellowship, and the Lighthouse Works Fellowship, and has served as writer-in-residence at the Polli Talu Arts Center in Estonia. She was awarded the 2016 Lotos Foundation Prize, and Goodnight, Beautiful Women received the 2013 Henfield Prize for Fiction. She was raised in Downeast Maine and now lives in Brooklyn.
Molly Prentiss grew up in Santa Cruz, California. She has been a Writer in Residence at The Blue Mountain Center, Vermont Studio Center, and at the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, and received the Emerging Writer Fellowship from Aspen Words in 2014. Her first novel, Tuesday Nights in 1980, was published in 2016 and was long listed for the Center for Fiction’s First Novel Prize. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the California College of the Arts, and currently lives in Brooklyn, New York.
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WINTER WORDS - Adam Gopnik
2017-03-21 18:00 - 19:00
Adam Gopnik has been writing for the New Yorker since 1986. During his tenure at the magazine, he has contributed fiction, humor, book reviews, profiles, and reporting from abroad. He was the magazine’s Art Critic from 1987-1995, and the Paris Correspondent from 1995-2000. From 2000-2005, he wrote a journal about New York life, and since then has been working as a miscellaneous essayist. His books, ranging from essay collections about Paris and food to children’s novels, include Paris to the Moon, The King in the Window, Through the Children’s Gate: A Home in New York, Angels and Ages: A Short Book About Darwin, Lincoln, and Modern Life, The Table Comes First: Family, France, and the Meaning of Food, and Winter: Five Windows on the Season. Gopnik has won the National Magazine Award for Essays and for Criticism three times, and the George Polk Award for Magazine Reporting. In 2013, he was awarded the medal of Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters. Gopnik lives in New York.

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WINTER WORDS - Yaa Gyasi in conversation with Farah Griffin
2017-02-28 18:00 - 19:00
Yaa Gyasi was born in Ghana and raised in Huntsville, Alabama. Her debut novel, Homegoing, was published in 2016 and was called “an inspiration” by Ta-Nehisi Coates. It was nominated for the Andrew Carnegie Medal and is a finalist for The Center for Fiction’s First Novel Prize. Gyasi was recently named one of the National Book Foundation’s “5 Under 35,” which recognizes debut fiction writers whose work promises to leave a lasting impression on the literary landscape. She holds a BA in English from Stanford University and an MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, where she held a Dean’s Graduate Research Fellowship. She lives in Berkeley, California.
Gyasi will be interviewed by Farah Griffin, an author and professor of English, Comparative Literature, and African American Studies at Columbia University. Their discussion will focus on Homegoing, its significance in today’s cultural and political landscape, as well as the story behind the debut novelist’s breakout success.
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WINTER READERS RETREAT
2017-02-22 09:00 - 2017-02-24 12:00
Immerse yourself in translated literature for a 3-day Aspen retreat led by Alane Salierno Mason, vice president and senior editor at W.W. Norton and president/founder of Words Without Borders.
Readers will discuss selections from Iran, Iraq, and Syria as originally presented in the Literature from the ‘Axis of Evil’ issues of Words without Borders, the award-winning online magazine for literature in translation. Conversation will range to broach issues of literary production and publication in other countries, differences between journalism and literature in exploring other parts of the world, and issues around literary translation generally. Click here for the complete syllabus.
Includes reading materials, 3 mornings of moderated discussion, and 3 lunches.Location: Catto Room at the Aspen Meadows’ Doerr Hosier Building
REGISTER
Alane Salierno Mason is a vice president and senior editor at W.W. Norton & Company, where she has edited prize-winning and bestselling works both of fiction and nonfiction. She has worked with authors including Diane Ackerman, Andre Dubus III, Stephen Greenblatt, and Brad Watson, among many others. She has published reviews and essays in Vanity Fair, The Boston Review, and other publications, and translated Elio Vittorini’s Conversations in Sicily (a New Directions Classic). She is the president and founder of Words Without Borders, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the translation, publication, and promotion of international literature. In 2016, Words without Borders received the London Book Fair International Excellence Award for an initiative in literary translation.
ACCOMODATIONSDiscounted $279/night rate available for luxury accommodations at the Aspen Meadows Resort, nestled on 40 beautiful acres overlooking the Rocky Mountains. To book a room, call (800) 452-4240 and ask for the “Aspen Words Readers Retreat rooms.”

YOUTH POETRY SLAM
2017-02-17 18:30 - 20:30
Aspen Words’ 4th Annual Youth Poetry Slam will feature high school poets from Glenwood Springs, Carbondale, Basalt, and Aspen! Hosted by Denver’s inaugural Youth Poet Laureate Toluwanimi Obiwole and returning artists Myrlin Hepworth, Mercedez Holtry, and Logan Phillips.
This event is FREE and audience members of all ages are welcome.

WINTER WORDS - Kevin Fedarko + Pete McBride
2017-02-07 18:00 - 19:00
This event is now sold out. Limited tickets may be available at the door on a first-come, first-served basis.
This conversation will focus on the role that storytelling can play in protecting the Grand Canyon, the crown jewel of America’s national parks system.
Kevin Fedarko has written for Esquire, National Geographic, the New York Times, and other publications. He studied at Columbia University and Oxford before joining the staff at Time, where he served on the foreign affairs desk, then later worked as a senior editor at Outside. His first book, The Emerald Mile, which was a New York Times bestseller, won the National Outdoor Book Award and the Reading the West Award, and was a finalist for both the PEN Literary Sports Writing Award and the Banff Mountain Book Award. Fedarko lives and works in Flagstaff.
Native Coloradan Pete McBride is a self-taught, award-winning photographer, writer, and filmmaker. He has traveled on assignment to over 75 countries for the National Geographic Society, Smithsonian, The Nature Conservancy, Microsoft, Outside, Esquire, and many others. After a decade working abroad and completing a Knight Fellowship for journalism at Stanford University, McBride began documenting the Colorado River, culminating in a book and three award-winning short documentaries. His work as a photographer, writer, and filmmaker has garnered awards from the Banff Mountain Film Festival and the North American Society of Journalists, and he was named a “Freshwater Hero” by the National Geographic Society. For his latest project, he hiked over 700 miles along the Grand Canyon’s interior rim, documenting the development challenges threatening the National Park. The story will be published on various platforms through National Geographic and PBS in 2016/17.
WW INFO
A membership reception will follow this event. All Aspen Words members will receive an invitation by email. If you would like to RSVP, or did not receive your invitation, please contact aspenwords@aspeninstitute.org or call 970-925-3122.

WINTER WORDS - Azar Nafisi
2017-01-17 18:00 - 19:00
Azar Nafisi is the author of the national bestseller Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books, a harrowing portrait of the Islamic revolution in Iran and how it affected one university professor and her students. The book was a finalist for the PEN/Martha Albrand Award for Memoir and was named one of the “100 Best Books of the Decade” by The Times (London). It has spent over 117 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and has been translated in 32 languages. Nafisi’s most recent book, The Republic of Imagination: America in Three Books, discusses the vital role of fiction in the United States today. Azar Nafisi is currently a Fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute of Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington, DC, where she was a professor of aesthetics, culture, and literature, and taught courses on the relation between culture and politics, as well as was Director of The Dialogue Project & Cultural Conversations. She has lectured and written extensively in English and Persian on the political implications of literature and culture, as well as the human rights of Iranian women and girls.
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ALL AGES POETRY SLAM
2016-12-07 18:00 - 20:00
Aspen Words, in collaboration with the First Word poetry team and Carbondale Arts, will host a poetry slam at Steve’s Guitars. All poets, and all types of poems are welcome. Slam slots will be first-come, first-served. Sign-ups will open at 5:30pm. Come support, perform, and witness Aspen Words poetry programs in action. Contact Aspen Words with any questions.

Writers in Residence: Lesley Nneka Arimah
2016-10-18 17:30 - 18:30
DOORS OPEN AT 5PM — Arrive early to purchase drinks or food so as not to disrupt the author talk. Free and open to the public.
Lesley Nneka Arimah is a Nigerian writer living in Minneapolis. Her stories have appeared in The New Yorker, Harper’s, GRANTA, and other publications. She is a recipient of a Commonwealth Short Story Prize and her work has received support from the Elizabeth George Foundation and other organizations. What It Means When a Man Falls From the Sky, a short story collection, is forthcoming from Riverhead Books in 2017.
*Private reception for National Council and Aspen Writers’ Network members to follow. Contact Nicole Stanton with questions or to RSVP.

Indian Cooking Class in Support of Aspen Words
2016-10-12 18:00 - 21:00
Inspired Cooking with Indian Accents: A Demo Class with Dipika RaiSpace is limited (max 25)
Indian-born Dipika Rai is passionate about food and travel. In this demo class, Dipika promises a fun evening of learning about Indian cuisine and how spices have shaped our world. She will take you on a gastronomic journey through India by incorporating diverse ingredients, ranging from mangoes to tamarind. The menu is fresh and exciting, and the knowledge and breadth of vision that Dipika brings to classes is inspiring. In this class you will learn to use spices in inspiring ways and become an intuitive cook, enabling you to adapt your recipes to suit your dietary needs, be they vegetarian, gluten free, or vegan. All proceeds from this event support Aspen Words.At capacity. Email Aspen Words to be added to the wait-list.
HUGE THANK YOU TO AWN MEMBER DIPIKA RAI AND THE COOKING SCHOOL OF ASPEN

Craft Workshop with Lev Grossman
2016-10-08 09:00 - 12:00
AT CAPACITY – Email Nicole Stanton to be added to the waitlist.
HOW TO MAKE WORLDS WITH WORDS
Any time you write fiction, whether it’s about elves or elephants or eligible bachelors, you’re creating an imaginary world and asking the reader to believe in it. But what makes a world believable? Lev Grossman, author of the #1 New York Times bestselling Magicians trilogy, will teach you how to make your fictional worlds feel vivid, compelling and real.
Craft talk, accompanying hand-outs, and in-class writing exercises.Evening reception to follow at the Limelight Hotel Lounge in Aspen, 6-8pm.
*Special $25 rate available for Aspen Writers’ Network (AWN) members.
SPECIAL THANKS TO MARK TOMPKINS

EVENT CANCELLED - Writer in Residence Jenny Price
2016-09-27 17:30 - 18:30
Read Jenny’s essay titled “Thirteen Ways of Seeing Nature in L.A.,” on rethinking the stories we tell about the natural world.
JENNY PRICE received her Ph.D. in History from Yale University in 1998 with a focus on the environment, the American West, and writing history. She is a freelance writer and gives tours of the Los Angeles River on her own and as part of the Los Angeles Urban Rangers, an art-performance educational group. She has published a book called Flight Maps: Adventures with Nature in Modern America (1999) and has also written several book chapters including “Looking for Nature at the Mall: A Field Guide to the Nature Company” in Uncommon Ground: Toward Reinventing Nature (1995) and “A Natural History of the Plastic Pink Flamingo” in The Nature of Nature: New Essays from America’s Finest Writers on Nature (1994). She is also a contributing writer to LA Observed, Sunset, the Los Angeles Times, GOOD, the Huffington Post, and the New York Times, among many other publications. She recently began writing a satirical environmental advice column called “Green Me Up, J.J.” for LA Observed.

FALL READERS RETREAT
2016-09-17 09:00 - 2016-09-19 12:00
SOLD OUT – Please contact Nicole Stanton to be added to the wait-list. Click here for info on the February 2017 Readers’ Retreat.
September Theme: WHAT MATTERSSusan Lehman will lead three mornings of moderated discussion on some of the great non-fiction writing of our time. Participants will read and discuss essays by Joan Didion, David Foster Wallace, Nora Ephron, Ta-Nehisi Coates, and others, with an eye towards what matters to each of these writers, and how each brings his or her view about love and death and violence and culture and human experience to life. Complete syllabus.

Includes reading materials, 3 mornings of moderated discussion, and 3 lunches.
Discounted $179/night rate available for luxury accommodations at the Aspen Meadows Resort, nestled on 40 beautiful acres overlooking the Rocky Mountains. To book a room, call (800) 452-4240 and ask for the “Aspen Words Readers Retreat rooms.”

Susan Lehman edits Times Insider and hosts that section’s Inside The Times Podcast Series. She was the deputy editor of the New York Times Sunday Review section from 2011 to 2013. She has worked as a book, magazine and Web editor and has written for a range of publications, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The New York Observer, The Atlantic Monthly, Vogue, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, New York, GQ and Spy.
She was the co-author, with Edward Hayes, of Mouthpiece: My Life in — and Sometimes Just Outside — the Law, with an introduction by Tom Wolfe, and has contributed to several essay collections. A former criminal defense lawyer, she was communications director for the Brennan Center for Justice, a producer at Court TV and Lifetime Television, and a consulting producer for CNBC’s “Topic A With Tina Brown.”
Susan graduated from Amherst College and has a master’s degree in English from the University of California, Berkeley, and a law degree from Georgetown.

Additional 3-day retreat will be held in February 2017 and will be led by Alane Salierno Mason, vice president and senior editor at W.W. Norton and president/founder of Words Without Borders.

Local Writers Read featuring FirstWord Youth Poets
2016-09-15 18:00 - 19:00
Youth poets from Aspen Words’ after-school poetry team, FirstWord, will read their work at Explore Booksellers as part of the indie bookstore’s monthly Local Writers Read Series (a collaboration between Explore, Aspen Poets’ Society, and Aspen Writers’ Network).
FirstWord meets weekly in Carbondale to share new poems, and have been performing their work at public events throughout the Roaring Fork Valley.
Learn more about AW’s Youth Poetry Program.

Writers in Residence: Helen Schulman
2016-08-16 17:30 - 18:30
DOORS OPEN AT 5PM — Arrive early to purchase drinks or food so as not to disrupt the author talk.
HELEN SCHULMAN is the author of the novels This Beautiful Life (an International Bestseller), A Day At The Beach, P.S., The Revisionist and Out Of Time, and the short story collection Not A Free Show. She co-edited, along with Jill Bialosky, the anthology Wanting A Child. Her fiction and non-fiction have appeared in such places as Vanity Fair, Time, Vogue, GQ, the New York Times Book Review and the Paris Review. She is presently the Fiction Coordinator at The Writing Program at The New School where she is a tenured Professor of Writing. FREE copies of THIS BEAUTIFUL LIFE are available through our Catch & Release program. Books are available for pick-up at the Aspen Words office in the Red Brick Building in Aspen and the Woody Creek Community Center.
