Directly following the CCWWP (Canadian Creative Writers and Writing Programs Association) conference in Toronto in May 2012, we will be seeking submissions of essays for Creative Writing in the 21^st Century: Pedagogy, Research, and Practice, to be edited by Rishma Dunlop and Priscila Uppal. An initial proposal for the book was submitted to McGill-Queen’s University Press, who has expressed enthusiastic support for the project. This will be the first major Canadian academic book focused on the field of creative writing, and therefore we will be seeking essays that address the wide spectrum of creative writing theory, pedagogy, research, and practice.

Please send us an email at cwessaybook@gmail.com if you intend to submit an essay for consideration. Your email should include your name, institutional affiliation (if applicable), a brief bio (150 words or less), and a brief abstract (300 words or less) of the essay you intend to submit for consideration for the collection. (The essay can be one presented at the CCWWP conference or another essay entirely. If you would like to submit a previously published essay, please indicate whether or not you hold the rights to the work.)

Full submissions should be between 2500 and 4000 words, plus works cited (MLA format) and will be due August 1^st, 2012.

Dr. Rishma Dunlop is poet, essayist, translator and YorkUniversityprofessor. She has published five books of poetry: Lover Through Departure: New and Selected Poems (2011), White Album (2008), Metropolis (2005), Reading Like a Girl (2004), and The Body of My Garden (2002). Her other books and journals as editor include An Ecopoetics Reader: Art, Literature, and Place (2008), White Ink: Poems on Mothers and Motherhood (2007); and Red Silk: An Anthology of South-Asian Canadian Women Poets (2004). In 2009-10, she was awarded the Canada-U.S. Fulbright Research Chair in Creative Writing at Arizona State University. She was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 2011. For more information visit rishmadunlop.com

Dr. Priscila Uppal is a poet, fiction writer and YorkUniversityprofessor. Among her publications are eight collections of poetry, most recently, Ontological Necessities (2006; $50,000 Griffin Poetry Prize shorlist), Traumatology (2010), Successful Tragedies: Poems 1998-2010 (Bloodaxe Books, U.K.), and Winter Sport: Poems (2010); the novels The Divine Economy of Salvation (2002) and To Whom It May Concern (2009); and the study We Are What We Mourn: The Contemporary English-Canadian Elegy (2009). Her work has been published in numerous countries and in several languages. As editor works include The Best Canadian Poetry in English 2001, The Exile Book of Poetry in Translation: 20 Canadian Poets Take on the World (2009), The Exile Book of Canadian Sports Stories (2009), Barry Callaghan: Essays on His Works (2007), Red Silk: An Anthology of South-Asian Canadian Women Poets (2004)and Uncommon Ground: A Celebration of Matt Cohen(2002). For more information visit priscilauppal.ca

Elected May 13th, 2012. Shown here from left to right:
Rob Budde, Karen Press, Ian Kinney, Christian Bok, Joe Kertes, Lynne Van Luven, Stephen Kimber, Maureen Medved, Andrew Gray and Clem Martini.

Neil Besner has also joined the board, but was not able to make the AGM yesterday.

Congratulations to our new board! Looking forward to more wonderful things from this organization.

The University of British Columbia – Okanagan

Location: British Columbia 
Date posted: 2012-02-22

The Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies at the University of British Columbia’s Okanagan campus invites applications for a tenure-track position in the interdisciplinary field of Digital Humanities. The appointment will be at the level of Assistant Professor and will begin on July 1, 2012.

The position will include responsibility for the creation and teaching of introductory, upper-level undergraduate, and graduate courses that are interdisciplinary and intersect with the program areas represented in the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies. Areas of intersection with Digital Humanities would be one or more of the following:

Our goal is to expand the programs and increase interdisciplinary research and teaching through the expertise of a Digital Humanities scholar. Teacher-researchers whose focus is on intersectional creative and critical approaches to the arts and humanities through digital technology are especially encouraged to apply. For a full list of our programs please consult the faculty web page: http://www.ubc.ca/okanagan/creativeandcritical/welcome.html

Candidates must have a PhD or terminal degree in a program area housed in Creative and Critical Studies and clear expertise in Digital Humanities. The successful candidate will have an active scholarly profile (which includes creative, practice-based research), and evidence of teaching experience that employs Interdisciplinary Digital Humanities approaches and scholarship.

The successful candidate will be expected to conduct and disseminate research in his/her area of specialization and to engage with the interdisciplinary nature of the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies. Salary is competitive and commensurate with qualifications and experience.

The collegial learning environment of the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies focuses on effective teaching, the integration of research and teaching, and a commitment to developing a locally involved and globally aware community. The Faculty offers both discipline-based and interdisciplinary programs at the undergraduate and graduate level.

Candidates are asked to submit a letter of application, complete curriculum vitae, statement of teaching philosophy, research plan, examples of scholarly and/or artistic research to Dr. Jennifer Gustar, Head, Department of Critical Studies at the following address only: recruitment.fccs@ubc.ca. Candidates should also arrange for three letters of reference to be sent directly to Dr. Gustar at the same address.

The deadline for applications and letters of reference is April 13, 2012.

UBC hires on the basis of merit and is committed to employment equity. All qualified persons are encouraged to apply. UBC is strongly committed to diversity within its community and especially welcomes applications from visible minority group members, women, Aboriginal persons, persons with disabilities, persons of any sexual orientation or gender identity, and others who may contribute to the further diversification of ideas. Canadians and permanent residents of Canada will be given priority.

This appointment is subject to budgetary approval.

Posted here – March 30, 2012
Creative Writing – Tier One Canada Research
Chair (Associate/Full Professor)

University of Calgary

Location: Alberta 
Date posted: 2012-03-27

The Department of English at the University of Calgary invites applications for a Tier One Canada Research Chair in Creative Writing.
This appointment will be at the Associate or Full professor level.

We are seeking a senior writer-scholar of international reputation with a PhD or equivalent. The Chair-holder will bring a major creative project to the University and will, on the basis of reputation, accomplishments and ongoing research, attract top-ranked doctoral students and post-doctoral fellows to the Department. The successful candidate will take on a leadership role in creative writing in the national context, not only contributing to the intellectual life of the Department, but also to the cultural life of the Faculty, the University, the city, the province, and the country as a whole.

The Department of English at the University of Calgary is the only English-speaking university in Canada to offer a PhD with a specialization in creative writing. It is one of the most dynamic research and teaching departments in Canada, with thriving MA and PhD programs and a strong undergraduate program. The University of Calgary has set its sights on becoming a top five research-intensive university in Canada by our 50th anniversary in 2016. Recently named one of the world’s five most livable cities by The Economist, Calgary is a vibrant creative centre, which hosts an exciting community of writers. We encourage applications from all qualified women and men, including members of visible minorities, Aboriginal peoples, and persons with disabilities. For more information about the Department, see our home page: http://www.english.ucalgary.ca.

Applicants should send a letter of application, a curriculum vitae, a 1-2 page description of the creative project in progress, and contact information for three referees. Materials should be sent to:

Dr. Bart Beaty,
Head Department of English
University of Calgary
2500 University Drive NW
Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4

or by e-mail to the Department Manager, Anne Jaggard: jaggard@ucalgary.ca

Consideration of applications will begin on April 16, 2012 and will continue until the position is filled. The selected candidate will be forwarded to the Canada Research Chair Committee in Ottawa for final vetting. The position should commence on July 1, 2013.

For more information on the Canada Research Chairs program, please see http://www.chairs-chaires.gc.ca/

All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority. The University of Calgary respects, appreciates and encourages diversity.

The Walrus Foundation is a charitable, non-profit foundation with an educational mandate to promote debate on matters vital to Canadians and to support writers, artists, readers, and ideas. We are currently seeking to fill the position of Manager, Digital Initiatives.

The primary responsibility of the Walrus Foundation’s Manager of Digital Initiatives is to administer all business aspects related to the development of digital projects, programs, and initiatives. Reporting directly to the Co-publisher and Executive Director, the successful candidate will:

• Establish a work/business plan aligned with the deliverables in the Foundation’s strategic plan and annual budget.
• Ensure that the strategy for development of digital initiatives is aligned with the Foundation’s strategic objectives.
• Work very closely with the Walrus Foundation’s Digital Director/Online Editor and Designer on all projects and initiatives
• Develop digital and social media marketing strategies for digital initiatives.
• Work closely with The Walrus magazine’s Director of Circulation on including subscriptions and renewals in digital projects.
• Work with Director of Marketing on digital initiatives to market the magazine itself.
• Ensure that web properties are designed and deployed in a manner that is conducive to selling subscriptions, advertising, and event tickets and other revenue generation.
• Broaden the reach of all digital initiatives to maximize traffic, subscriptions, advertising, donations, and other revenue.
• Work with sales department on digital media kits and combination digital/print packages; upload/manage digital advertising.
• Maintain the Foundation’s online retail store.
• Work with development/circulation and other departments on annual grant applications and reporting for digital initiatives: OMDC, OAC, Canada Council, Trillium, and more.
• Create and maintain the partnerships and sponsorships crucial to each digital project and initiative.
• Recruit, manage, and assign interns accordingly.
• Manage external relationships such as developers and contractors.
• Perform sponsor/partner/relationship/revenue/audience acquisition and management for initiatives and contests including The Walrus Laughs, Walrus TV, SoapBox, Yahoo! News, Apple Newsstand, The Walrus e-books, the Carpenter, Trillium Book Awards, and more, including work plans, deadlines, reporting, outcomes, and renewal.
• Manage e-commerce for ticket sales, subscriptions, donations, and web store.
• Develop plans for sponsorship/advertiser recognition on all digital platforms.
• Manage and market The Walrus e-books partnerships.
• Be responsible for tablet app development.
• Develop brand, strategy, and marketing solutions for corporate partnerships and all digital initiatives

Qualifications:

• Four years or more working in a digital project management realm.
• Marketing/sponsorship experience.
• Excellent computing and technical skills, including: deep familiarity with WordPress, iOS (iPad and iPhone), mobile computing, web analytics, social media (including Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr), and e-readers (ex. Kindle, Kobo). Should be fluent in XHTML, CSS, and PHP.
• Ability to write proposals and contracts, and execute both.
• Excellent written and oral presentation skills in environments ranging from a bank president’s office to a digital media zone.
• High degree of literacy; knowledge of and interest in the media world: a news and current affairs junkie
• Willingness and ability to take responsibility for and deliver projects from start to finish. An ability to do a lot with a little. A sense of urgency.
• An understanding of the Walrus Foundation’s educational mandate, work, revenue models, and reality.
• Highly developed sense of responsibility and no sense of entitlement. Excellent team player but willing to carry the ball. Quick learner.
• Both an idea generator and the one who makes the idea into a reality.
• Deadline oriented. Hard working. Curious. Innovative. Creative

The salary range for this position is $54,000 to $60,000 per annum. Benefits are provided.

Interested and qualified candidates please forward your résumé and cover letter before April 13, 2012 to info@walrusmagazine.com.

We thank all applicants, however, only those selected for an interview will be notified.

Posted March 28, 2012

The Creative Writing Program at UBC:
Opportunities – Employment

Please contact us with any employment opportunities of interest to our students, alumni, faculty or staff.

Assistant Professor in Creative Writing

The Creative Writing Program at the University of British Columbia invites applications for a full-time, tenure-track Assistant Professor in fiction in the Creative Writing Program, to begin July 1, 2012.

Requirements include: graduate degree (Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing preferred, but a combination of a Masters degree in a related discipline and appropriate writing and publishing experience would be acceptable); demonstrated excellence and at least five years experience in the teaching of university-level creative writing courses at both the undergraduate and graduate level (including the supervision of graduate theses); experience in teaching in online settings; publication of at leastthree book-length works of fiction.

The ideal candidate will have an international profile. The successful candidate will have a strong commitment to high quality undergraduate and graduate education and s/he will be expected to teach five one-term courses, for a total of 15 credits per year, to participate fully in Creative Writing teaching team work and program affairs, and to maintain anexcellent record of teaching, service, and scholarly activity, which includes a distinguished record of professional publication and artistic production.

Applicants should send a letter of application, including a brief statement about pedagogical perspectives on the teaching of creative writing, an updated CV, evidence of teaching ability and effectiveness (course outlines, student evaluations, etc.) and should arrange for three confidential letters of recommendation (including letters from established writers and indicating suitability of the candidate for appointment in an academic setting) to be sent under separate cover to:

Chair, Creative Writing Program
Creative Writing Program
University of British Columbia
Buchanan E462 – 1866 Main Mall
Vancouver, B.C., Canada V6T 1Z1.

Letters of application can also be sent electronically to crwr.chair@ubc.ca. The deadline for receipt of applications is April 30, 2012. The position is subject to final budgetary approval. Salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience.

UBC hires on the basis of merit and is committed to employment equity. All qualified persons are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents of Canada will be given priority. We especially welcome applications from members of visible minority groups, women, Aboriginal persons, persons with disabilities, persons of minority sexual orientations and gender identities, and others with the skills and knowledge to engage productively with diverse communities.

derek beaulieu – a shortlisted nominee for Calgary’s poet laureate — is the author of five books of poetry (most recently the visual poem suite silence), three volumes of conceptual fiction (most recently the short fiction collection How to Write) and over 150 chapbooks. beaulieu is the youngest writer in Canada to have his papers collected in extensio by Simon Fraser University’s Contemporary Literature Collection. Publisher of the acclaimed smallpresses housepress (1997–2004) and no press (2005–present), and former editor of filling Station, dANDelion, endNote, Speechless and The Minute Review, beaulieu has spoken and written on poetics and pedagogy nationally and internationally. His first volume of criticism, Seen of the Crime, was published by Snare Books in 2011. In 2012 Bookthug is publishing his critical edition (co-edited with Gregory Betts) of bill bissett’s RUSH: what fuckan theory and in 2013 Wilfrid Laurier University Press is publishing The Selected Fiction of John Riddell (co-edited with Lori Emerson). 2013 also brings Wilfrid Laurier UP’s No more poetry, please: the selection poetry of derek beaulieu as edited by Kit Dobson.

1. What exactly can be taught in a Creative Writing workshop? Is it purely craft, or sensibility, or the creative impulse, or is it a combination of these and/or other elements?

I am most interesting in focusing on helping students challenge their expectations of themselves and of genre. I believe that the workshop is as much focused on creative thinking as it is on creative writing.

2. How do you deal with grades in a Creative Writing workshop?

Grades, it seems, are a necessary evil; I have yet to find a department who would endorse a grade-less CW class. That said, I think that discussing with students how they can push themselves to define what needs to be improve, what could be revised, is vital. I constantly ask my students “If you could do this piece again, what would you change?”, “How could this piece be strengthened?”, ‘What do you feel is the part of this which needs to most reworking?” – they tend to already know where those areas are, and lack the confidence (or perhaps the dedication) to make those changes without prompting.

3. How strictly do you adhere to a predetermined syllabus?

The syllabus is a contract with the student as to expectations and regulations of the course and the department. That said, it is also a guideline to where the class could go – a proposed map of where the discussions – which are driven by the needs and conversations of the students – could take us. I generally stick to the syllabus pretty closely for the number and weight of assignments, but allow that the readings may change through-out the semester.

4. How much attention should a Creative Writing workshop pay to the real publishing market and paying audience?

As little as possible. Neither the real publishing market nor the paying audience is, in my opinion, an indicator of challenging the direction of the art of poetry. I would prefer that students pay closer attention to the social community of poetry and small press publishing.

5. How do you balance the time/energy requirements of teaching with those of your own writing? Do you feel that your writing suffers because of your teaching? Do the two complement each other in some ways? What would be the ideal job description/division of tasks for a Creative Writing teacher in a post-secondary institution?

Teaching creative writing is actually very generative for my own writing practice. But, as a sessional instructor, the sheer number of classes and the constant insecurity and lack of larger institutional support (sabbaticals, professional development funding, reduced course loads in exchange for service, etc.) means that the available time for the development of one’s own practice can be limited. I find that the number of hours that I dedicate to my own practice hasn’t dropped, only the number of hours of sleep.
What I am most concerned about is the ongoing development and reimbursement of sessional instructors both in critical and creative courses and the appreciation of creative writing and publishing as valid contributions to the field (appraised at the same level as critical publishing).

6. Do you use a lot of exercises in your workshops? Can you mention one or two of your favourite exercises?

I generally assign exercises weekly. The assignments are designed to challenge students to question their assumptions around the material of language – what can be done with their own poetic toolbox. Many of the initial assignments are based upon other writers’ practice (so that students have an example of successful challenging work which would otherwise seem ‘impossible’). One of my favourite assignments is (in full):

***
There are many poets and writers who are fascinated by the graphic possibilities of punctuation. Canadian examples include David Aylward’s Typescapes and Sha(u)nt Basmajian’s Boundaries Limits and Space; both are relatively simple combinations of punctuation and both explore the graphic possibilities of typographic marks. Paul Dutton’s right hemisphere left ear includes his off-the-grid 6-page “mondrian boogie woogie.”

What is a bit more unusual—and to me a lot more exciting—are novelists and visual artists with the same interest in punctuation. Most of the writers I know who work with punctuation isolate the punctuation from existing texts creating new resultant texts devoid of any semantic content.

Gertrude Stein’s essay “On Punctuation” opens with the dictum that “[t]here are some punctuations that are interesting and there are some punctuations that are not” (214). With Gertrude Stein on Punctuation Kenneth Goldsmith isolates all of the punctuation in Stein’s lecture, leaving blank spaces where all the other typographic characters once occurred and proves that all punctuation are equally intriguing once flattened and removed from their intended use as semantic traffic signs. Goldsmith has an entire series of work in this vein, including all of the punctuation from William Strunk and E. B. White’s chapter on punctuation in their Elements of Style.
Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd’s Prix Nobel also uses an original source text to create a new punctuation-only result. While I know nothing about the source text that Reuterswärd uses, I was able to find a brief recording of him reading from Prix Nobel. Reuterswärd’s Prix Nobel is scrubbed clean, but he voices the novel by naming each mark: “Point. Point. Point.”

herman de vries’ argumentstellen consists entirely of 48 clean linen pages each marked with only a single period floating in compositional space. The text was written as a response to Wittgenstein’s Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus 2.0131: “der räumliche gegenstand muss im unendlichen raume liegen. (der raumpunkt ist eine argumentstelle.)” While the “full stop is the place for an argument” it is also geographically the marker of potentiality.

All of these texts are maps of potential. Each text offers the reader the opportunity to imagine the possibilities inherent in the skeletal framework of punctuation by filling the spaces between the marks with latent texts. The punctuation does not insist upon a particular form, it only asserts that in the resultant text the pauses and stops must occur at the predetermined locations.

See also:
Aylward, David. Typescapes. Toronto: Coach House Press, 1967.
Barwin, Gary. Servants of Dust. Calgary: No Press, 2010.
Basmajian, Sha(u)nt. Boundaries Limits and Space. Toronto: Underwhich, 1980.
Boglione, Riccardo. Ritmo D. Feeling the Blanks. Montevideo: gegen, 2009.
Clark, Elisabeth S. “Between Words.” Against Expression. 142–147.
de vries, herman. Argumentstellen. Rennes: châteaugiron / les éditions incertain sens, 2003.
Dipple, Alexandra. “All the Dots.” The Capilano Review. 3.7 (2008): 110–111.
Dutton, Paul. “mondrian boogie woogie.”right hemisphere left ear. Toronto: Coach House Press, 1979. np.
Goldsmith, Kenneth. Gertrude Stein on Punctuation. Online 19 May 2011.
Neilson, Heidi. “Atlas of Punctuation.” Online 25 Sept 2011.
—.“Typography of the Period.” Online 25 Sept 2011.
Reuterswärd, Carl Fredrik. Prix Nobel. Stockholm: Bonniers, 1966.

Your assignment is to construct a piece of “writing” (length to be determined by your individual need) on a subject of your choosing, using only punctuation (no letters or numbers at all)

***
7. How would you characterize the relationship between academic and scholarly teaching of literature and creative writing at your institution?

I currently work as a sessional instructor at the University of Calgary, Mount Royal University and Alberta College of Art + Design. At each institution there is an ongoing discussion between the “critical” and “creative” faculty as if there were somehow a fundamental difference between the two. I can’t see any. I think that as teachers – and we teach though instruction, through mentoring and through example – we should be aware that some students thrive by learning critical issues creatively and creative issues critically. The discourse is not an either/or it is an both/and.

Laura Lush has an Honours B.A. in English and Creative Writing from York University and an M.A. in English and Creative Writing from The University of Calgary. Her books include Hometown, which was nominated for the 1992 Governor General’s Literary Award for Poetry, Fault Line, The First Day of Winter, in which selections of this book tied for second place in the 2002 CBC Literary Contest, and a collection of short stories, Going to the Zoo. Her new book, Carapace has just been released with Palimpsest Press.

1. Can you describe your core pedagogical strategy when teaching creative writing in general? Does it differ depending on where you are teaching, or is there some kind of over-arching structure that you employ?

I use the principles and frameworks from such writers as Anne Lamott, Jack Hodgkins, John Gardner, and, in particular, Roy Peter Clark. These principles are based on teaching the various techniques and tools involved in the writers craft. All and all, I’m very craft-driven, believing that students need to know how to craft a good sentence in order to write well. Most students/people abound in creativity; they just need the tools with which to express themselves.

2. Some critics have argued that Creative Writing workshops tend to produce conventional and predictably similar work, because of the pedagogical approach and techniques taught therein. Do you see this as a real problem or danger? How do you open up the creative process in workshops to avoid churning out cookie cutter products?

I always tell students that no one will see the world quite the way they do/will, nor will anyone else have experience things as they have. The goal is to write honestly and authentically, to develop students’ voices depending on how they see the world.

3. What exactly can be taught in a Creative Writing workshop? Is it purely craft, or sensibility, or the creative impulse, or is it a combination of these and/or other elements?

I think a combination of things can definitely be taught. Students need to be exposed to good and reasonable exemplars. I stay away from “masterpieces” as the bar is too high. Instead, I chose exemplars from previous student writing, those that have shown how the particular craft plays out in the piece. These pieces are often extremely raw, relevant, and powerful. I do, however, mix in some exemplars from published authors, but I’m very careful as to not overwhelm/intimidate students.

4. How do you deal with grades in a Creative Writing workshop?

I have to give a grade, but I don’t like to do this. I tell students that this is a necessary part of the course, but to pay attention to my and the students’ comments. I often don’t reveal the grades until the end of the course, so that students won’t focus on these grades.

5. How strictly do you adhere to a predetermined syllabus?

For my sake, I try to stick to the plan. However, from time to time, I do let the syllabus go where it wants, depending on the needs of the students. For the most part, my syllabus is open enough to allow for some flexibility.

6. How much attention should a Creative Writing workshop pay to the real publishing market and paying audience?

Limited. I think there is too much focus on the publishing side, especially at the beginning stages of the writing process, and not enough time on learning the craft. Students will have a false sense of entitlement of publication if they think that by taking a creative writing course this will guarantee publication. I tell students that they are in a long apprenticeship, which will involve writing a large amount of writing BEFORE submitting to magazines.

7. How do you balance the time/energy requirements of teaching with those of your own writing? Do you feel that your writing suffers because of your teaching? Do the two complement each other in some ways? What would be the ideal job description/division of tasks for a Creative Writing teacher in a post-secondary institution?

Good question. I often don’t write when I teach, preferring to take the time to write when I have a clean slate, which is usually in the summer. If I were to teach full-time as a CW teacher in a post-secondary institution, I would hope that the program would allow for “writing sabbaticals” in which instructors could take time off to focus on their work. In terms of tasks, the CW instructor should be responsible for providing feedback, not just verbal feedback in class, but written feedback post-workshop. I feel that too many CW instructors avoid the necessary feedback stage. Skipping this stage is akin to having an editor only provide oral feedback. All writers, especially beginning writers, need lots of and varied forms of feedback.

8. Do you use a lot of exercises in your workshops? Can you mention one or two of your favourite exercises?

Yes. Depending on the particular technique I’m working at, I tailor the exercises. A simple exercise do develop their “verb” muscle would have them to write as many synonyms as they can for an action verb such as “run” or “jump.” Or I might have them write a paragraph written completely in cliches so that they can see how clichés destroy a good piece of writing. I try to make the exercises short, relevant, and fun.

9. How would you characterize the relationship between academic and scholarly teaching of literature and creative writing at your institution?

Unfortunately, there is a huge gulf/divide between the two, and I wish that there could be more integration between propositional and creative writing. I always tell my students that “rhetoric” just means a form of persuasion, which can be done in all sorts of contexts from academic to creative.

Might writing be at once the context or system that restricts and forms us but also, in some instances, the means to evade or transform this very system?

The 17th Annual conference of the AAWP will offer itself both as a site for encounters proper and as a forum for discussing their nature in our disciplines. Scholars and researchers in the field of writing and writing pedagogies will gather to discuss encounters between modalities of practice, between certain aesthetic systems, or between writing and other forms of artistic enquiry and production. In the regional setting of the city of Geelong, on Port Phillip Bay and at the gateway to the Great Ocean Road, we will engage in a conversation provoked by issues of context and place in writing, the settings of pedagogies, the philosophical understandings of ‘situation’, and writing as a kind of staging, a curation or as the trace of certain collisions – within culture, between agents, in our current historical moment.

To read more about the conference and the call for papers, please go to this link:

http://www.deakin.edu.au/arts-ed/scca/events/aawp/index.php?print_friendly=true#conference

Date: October 27, 2011

Simon Fraser University Human Resources

Invites applications for the following position (s):
COMPETITION NUMBER: 436

Administrative and Professional Staff (APSA)
Continuing Position
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, GRADE 10
CONTINUING STUDIES – WRITING AND COMMUNICATIONS PROGRAM
POSITION NUMBER: 110541
POSITION OUTLINE:
Reporting to the Director of the Writing and Communications Program, this position is responsible and accountable or the initiation, development, management, marketing, and evaluation of creative writing offerings within the Writing and Communications Program, in particular for The Writer’s Studio and the Southbank Writers’ Program. The incumbent will determine program objectives, specific course offerings, budgeted expenditures, and program priorities. Programs are planned in consultation with community writing groups and associations, local, provincial, and national writing networks, and appropriate university faculties.

In consultation with the Director, Writing and Communications Program, the incumbent will be expected to lead the conceptual development of programs; demonstrate professional judgment and skills with respect to the design, implementation, management, and evaluation of University continuing education programs; work effectively with academic colleagues, professional associations, and community groups; relate concerns and interests to the academic resources of the University; and assume responsibility for the overall management and growth of programs, instructor development, and student recruitment.

Please note: This is a part-time position working 43.2 hours bi-weekly. This position is located at Harbour Centre, 515 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, BC.

QUALIFICATIONS:
• Master’s degree in creative writing, and four years of relevant experience, which includes experience
conceptualizing, planning, designing, and initiating discipline-related curriculum, or an equivalent combination of
education, experience, and training.
• Ability to work with marketing and social media.
• Demonstrated ability to manage a team in the planning and implementation of courses and programs.
• Demonstrated ability to develop and maintain effective collegial relationships with the community, professional
and industry representatives.
• Demonstrated knowledge of the curricular area.
• Excellent leadership and educational innovation skills.
• Excellent organizational, administrative, and interpersonal skills.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Demonstrated skills in areas of marketing, financial and human resources management, relationship-building,
strategic planning, program and curriculum planning, and conflict management.

SALARY RANGE: $37,998 to $45,376.80 per annum
START DATE: ASAP

A detailed resume and cover letter quoting Competition #436 must be received in our office by 4:30 pm on November 21, 2011, addressed to the attention of Sheva Bridgmohan, Human Resources Advisor. Please follow the application instructions at: http://www.sfu.ca/hr/prospective_employees/HowToApply.html

We thank all applicants for their interest; however, only those selected for interviews will be contacted.
The University is committed to the principle of equity in employment. A more detailed job description may be obtained at www.sfu.ca/jobpostings

____________________________