JANUARY

Winter Open House & Potluck Dinner

Had an interest in being part of a literary community, but really didn't know where to go? Then join OURS for a special "Open House" preview party! Bring a dish and hear about our Winter/Spring line-up from some of our instructors, visiting speakers, and others. You'll also get a preview of our new on-line programs to better serve learning communities near and far. Members who sign up for classes or buy tickets at our Open House get a special 10% discount! Like so many of our community events, it's FREE, but we love donations!!

Sunday, January 24, 2010, 1 PM - 3 PM

Upstairs at Paperbacks Plus, 6115 La Vista Dr., Dallas 75214

Jack Myers Memorial Celebration

Saturday, January 30, 2010, 3 PM, with a reception to follow at 4:30 PM.

Hughes-Trigg Theater and Ballroom West Central, Southern Methodist University, 3140 Dyer Street, Dallas 75275

Call 214-828-1715 for further information

"I Know Jack: Writing For, Writing To, Writing About a Great Influence", Special Topics Course with Brian Clements

Sunday, January 31, 2010, 1 PM - 4 PM

Upstairs at Paperbacks Plus, 6115 La Vista Dr., Dallas 75214

$55 Members / 75 Others

FEBRUARY

"Vort Ting" Poetry & Prose Discussion Group

(16 weeks: four separate sections, with four weeks per section)

Mondays, Feb. 1 - May 24, 7 PM - 9:30 PM

Feb 1 - Feb. 22: "The Persistence of Myth," led by Paul Sampson

March 1 - March 29: "Pound on Eliot, or Eliot by the Pound...,"led by GREG THOMPSON

April 5 - April 26: "Witness Poets of Africa," led by Joan Canby

May 3 - May 24: "Yehuda Amichai: Exploring Israel’s Best Known Generation I Poet," led by Valerie Taylor

Upstairs at Paperbacks Plus, 6115 La Vista Dr., Dallas 75214

$15 per visit with advance RSVP

Member Discount: $50 each section or $185 for the full series

Introduction to Creative Writing with Holly Korbey, Jules Sears, and Lauren Ayres

10 weeks / Wednesdays, Feb. 10 - April 21 (no class March 17), 7 PM - 9 PM

Upstairs at Paperbacks Plus, 6115 La Vista Dr., Dallas 75214

$135 Members / $175 Others

Members save $10 if registered by the Early Bird Deadline of Jan. 27

NOTE: This course is a pre-requisite for many of our other offerings.

The Art of Nonfiction Storytelling with Melissa Shultz

6 weeks / Thursdays, Feb. 11 - March 25 (no class March 18), 7 PM - 9 PM

Upstairs at Paperbacks Plus, 6115 La Vista Dr., Dallas 75214

$135 Members / $165 Others

Introduction to Literary Blogging with Brad Eubanks

Tuesdays, Feb. 16 - March 16, 7 PM - 9 PM

This is an online course with the first meeting at The Writer's Garret (upstairs at Paperbacks Plus, 6115 La Vista Dr., Dallas 75214) to discuss objectives and activate blog clients

$125 Members / $150 Others

Members save $15 if registered by Early Bird deadline of Jan. 27

Writers' Block presents Western Legends: Yesterday and Today featuring Elizabeth Lawless

Sunday, Feb. 28, 1 PM - 3 PM

Upstairs at Paperbacks Plus, 6115 La Vista Dr., Dallas 75214

FREE, but we love donations

MARCH

Fiction Writing I with Lisa Lenard-Cook

8 weeks / Alternating Mondays, March 1 - June 7, 7 PM - 9 PM

Online

$50 Members / $75 Others per session; $360 Members / $480 Others for the entire series

Members save $40 off full series if registered by the Early Bird Deadline of Feb. 19

Reading with Chris Cleave

Friday, March 26, 7:30 PM

The Dallas Institute for Humanities, 2719 Routh St., Dallas 75201

CHRIS CLEAVE's Little Bee has already appeared internationally on many top ten book lists for 2009. His debut novel, Incendiary, won a 2006 Somerset Maugham Award, was shortlisted for the 2006 Commonwealth Writers Prize, won the United States Book-of-the-Month Club's First Fiction award 2005 and won the Prix Special du Jury at the French Prix des Lectures in 2007.

"The Power of Voice" (Workshop) with Chris Cleave

Saturday, March 27, 10 AM - 12:30 PM

Upstairs at Paperbacks Plus, 6115 La Vista Dr., Dallas 75214

Workshop is limited to 20 students

APRIL

Intermediate - Advanced Creative Writing with Joe Milazzo, Claudia Meyer and Trey Smith

10 weeks / Thursdays, April 1 - June 3, 7 PM - 9 PM

Upstairs at Paperbacks Plus, 6115 La Vista Dr., Dallas 75214

$165 Members / $195 Others, plus $20 course fee to cover administrative costs associated with student chapbook

Mayborn Prep Course with Dan Burns and guest lecturer George Getschow

TBA

Upstairs at Paperbacks Plus, 6115 La Vista Dr., Dallas 75214

$85 Members / $125 Others

MAY

Reading with John Phillip Santos

Friday, May 21, 7:30 PM

McKinney Avenue Contemporary, 3120 McKinney Ave., Dallas 75204

JOHN PHILLIP SANTOS is a widely published author and media producer who has created documentaries in sixteen countries for CBS and PBS. Mr. Santos was a Rhodes Scholar and holds degrees in English Literature and Language from Oxford University, and Philosophy and Literature from the University of Notre Dame. Santos's memoir, Places Left Unfinished at the Time of Creation (Viking/Penguin) was a finalist for the National Book Award in 1999, and the inaugural selection of the 1 Book 1 San Antonio project in 2006. In 2006, he launched the San Antonio-based Liceo Mestizo, and international interdisciplinary roundtable exploring mestizo identity and consciousness through seminars, symposia, exhibitions and performance. His first book of poems, Songs Older than Any Known Singer was published in 2007 by Wings Press, and the sequel to his memoir, The Farthest Home is in an Empire of Fire is forthcoming from Viking/Penguin in April of 2010.

Finding the Mestizo Voice with John Phillip Santos

Saturday, May 22, 12 PM - 4:30 PM

Upstairs at Paperbacks Plus, 6115 La Vista Dr., Dallas 75214

$75 Members / $95 Others