St. Davids Christian Writers' Conference

Marjorie Maddox

Marjorie Maddox, director of Creative Writing and Professor of English at Lock Haven University, has published five books of poetry, including Rules of the Game and Weeknights at the Cathedral, as well as six chapbooks.

She has also had 400 poems, stories, and essays published in such journals and anthologies as Poetry, Prairie Schooner, Crab Orchard Review, and Image: A Journal of the Arts and Religion.
   
Her fiction has appeared in many periodicals as well, including The Minnesota Review, The Sonora Review, The Great Stream Review, Cream City Review, Art Times, US Catholic, Midway Journal, and the anthology Dirt, published by The New Yinzer in Pittsburgh. Her short story collection, What She Was Saying, was one of three finalists for the 2005 Katherine Anne Porter Book Award.

 

 

 

 

 

Marjorie Maddox:

"Poetry”

Poetry in Its Places--Wednesday, 10:45 AM
This workshop will focus on writing about place—not only locations we inhabit physically but also realms where the imagination and spirit dwell: hometowns, downtowns, ball fields, cathedrals, or wherever your mind travels while you sleep.

Color Me Real, Color Me Surreal--Thursday, 10:45 AM
In one writing exercise, we’ll focus on detail and tone by describing something ordinary in a more specific and unusual way. In another, we’ll experiment with the surreal to make literal a cliché.

The Beholder's Eye--Friday, 10:45 AM
Are poems and stories in the eye of the beholder? In this session, we’ll focus on point-of-view and how the “tale” changes with the teller of the tale. We’ll also discuss and experiment with the persona poem.

 

 

“Children's Prose and Poetry”

Writing Children's Prose and Poetry that Moves--Wednesday, 9:15 AM
 Marjorie Maddox will read selections from A Crossing of Zebras: Animal Packs in Poetry, and Rules of the Game: Baseball Poems (Boyds Mills Press, 2008 and 2009) and model exercises for writers who want to tackle subjects children love, like sports, dance, animals, and other don’t-sit-still subjects.

Pop Goes the Prose, Pop Goes the Poem--Thursday, 9:15 AM
 Using such poetic techniques as sensory details, sound, and simile and metaphor, Marjorie Maddox will model some tongue-tempting writing exercises through popcorn and other unexpected venues for writing prose and poetry for children.