NEW CLASS - DON'T MISS IT!

Crafting Stories from Real Life: Creative Nonfiction

LOYOLA UNIVERSITY - DOWNTOWN

Create stories that read like fiction but are based on real life. Write a gripping opening sentence, use dialogue to bring characters to life, and incorporate research to add depth to your writing. We will read examples of this genre and workshop students' works.

INSTRUCTOR:               Beatriz Badikian-Gartler   

                   

START DATE:                          04-11-2013

END DATE:                               05-30-2013

No class May 2.

MEETING TIME:            Thursday, 06:30 PM - 08:30 PM

MEETING PLACE:          Water Tower Campus, Lewis Towers - Room 605

TUITION:                                  $ 275.00

Alumni discount:                             15%

Faculty/Staff discount:                    15%

                        

For more information, write to bgartler@yahoo.com.

SNOW DAY

     Outside my attic loft glass door blowing snow makes virtually impossible to glimpse the bare trees or the rooftops, chimneys, not to mention the skyscrapers farther away.  Even the "L" tracks  are barely visible nor can I hear the rumbling trains as they rush by across the street.  It's like looking at the world through gauze.  Flakes fly around, dance up and down, fall on each other.  The sidewalks must be impassable by now.  It's almost two in the afternoon and it has been snowing for a long time.  I am trapped indoors.

     I suppose if I had something important to do, I would risk the wind and cold and treacherous streets, but, since I don't, I stay home.  Count yourself lucky  I tell myself.  You have a warm house, food, and all kinds of toys to entertain yourself.  What are you complaining about?  I have no answers.  I tend to complain, to whine, to feel sorry, to get bored.  Lately I've added feeling at a loss to my repertoire of useless activities.  And nothing makes me feel more at a loss than being stuck inside, alone.  

     I'm supposed to take a walk every day.  Walking is good for the body and the spirit.  Walk and observe my surroundings, the landscape.  Listen to the sounds of streets and nature.  Smell and touch.  Walk and create.  But - the mountains of snow make it next to impossible.  At best, they make it very, very arduous.  I am not the type of person who does "arduous."  I don't hike.  Much less climb or ski.  I stroll, ramble, then I sit at a cafe and write and read.  

     Every winter I promise myself not to be here the next winter.  Go to Buenos Aires.  Or Mexico. Or Florida.  Anywhere where it is warm and sunny I tell myself.  And my husband.  Yet, here I am again, one more year, one more winter.  The lead grey sky hangs above my head like my very own cloud of melancholy.  Where is the sun?  Where are the flowers?   Then I look outside the window where the bare tree displays some kind of blooms.  What is that?  my husband asks.  It's as if the tree were mocking us, I reply.

COME READ ABOUT THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE

THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO GRAHAM SCHOOL OF CONTINUING, LIBERAL, AND PROFESSIONAL STUDIES

The Harlem Renaissance

SPRING 2013

The Harlem Renaissance was an intellectual flowering that fostered a new black cultural identity in the 1920s and 1930s. Black media, jazz, art, and literature flourished. Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, and Zora Neale Hurston are some of the best-known writers of the movement, but visual artists were also crucial in creating depictions of the “New Negro.” The white establishment became fascinated with the Harlem Renaissance, but for the artists themselves, acceptance by the white world was less important than, as Hughes put it, the “expression of our individual dark-skinned selves.” This class will explore all aspects of the Harlem Renaissance.

Section Number: 13S1

Duration: 4/6/2013 - 5/11/2013

Time: Saturday 10:00 AM - 12:30 PM

Tuition: $315.00

Early Registration Rate:$285.00 before 3/14/2013

Location: Downtown Gleacher

Instructor(s): Beatriz Badikian-Gartler

Ms. Badikian-Gartler holds a PhD in English/women’s studies from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She has taught at the Newberry Library, Loyola University, and Roosevelt University, and has published widely. Her most recent book is Old Gloves: A 20th Century Saga.

GOOD BYE SAN MIGUEL

The room in the hotel Nena reminds me of a board game like Clue or some other mystery.  The main room is large and dark; then there is a kitchen and if you walk down a hallway another room and another where the closets are.  I have to take a bus to get my pants.  This morning we discover the rooftop where the pool is and a magnificent view of the town, chaise longues, drinks, relaxation.

Last night supper with Sandra and friends proved joyful and restorative.  Good tortilla soup and chiles en nogada.  Lively conversation.

In the afternoon we played Qwirkle in library's patio where everyone goes to meet each other, borrow books, listen to concerts, lectures, and learn Spanish with locals.  Then we shopped for presents, and yes, got the shoes.

Tomorrow we leave.  Next year I'll like to rent a house if I come back.  Hotel living gets old fast.

CONFERENCE IS OVER - LIFE GOES ON

Sunday night.  Tomorrow we move from our "casita" to a hotel for the rest of our time in San Miguel.  All in all, it was a good experience: plenty of writers to talk to and learn from in lectures and talks.  A great class and a few contacts for the future.  An individual consultation with a Swedish woman who is writing an article about South Africa and wanted my advice.  Beautiful surroundings at the hotel and fun "fiestas" in the evenings.  Most importantly, some good ideas for writing.  Ideas I'm very excited about.

On the minus side - no book sales and some minor inconveniences.  Plus David spilled tequila on my laptop, so now I find myself writing this on the iPad.  Not easy.  

This morning, while in a workshop, the cell phone rings.  It's mom.  The woman in front of me shushes me, I am flustered, I say "cannot talk now" and hung up.  Later I try to call her back but I can't connect, spend a couple of hours attempting to call Greece from my cell phone with no luck.  I am frustrated.  I am anxious and angry.  Finally I connect with my cousin and relay a message for mom.  She has a knack for calling at the most inopportune times.  

This year was very different for me.  Very different: few friends at the conference, fewer classes, altitude issues.  Tomorrow I'd like to go to the library and to shop for shoes.  Anyone interested in a pair?

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY FROM THE HEART OF MEXICO

Speaking loudly in a tent outdoors to over 50 people is not easy but I managed to do a pretty good job if I say so myself this morning at the workshop.  I enjoyed it tremendously.  Always get a burst of energy when I teach to a responsive group.  And when I find what I do useful to others.  After the workshop I sat in the sun and closed my eyes for a long while in the gardens of the hotel.  It was lovely. 

This year the conference hub is behind the hotel, in the gardens, with lots of tables and chairs scattered among the trees and cacti, near the pond with jumping waters, and even a whole bunch of blankets and pillows on the grass for people to relax and nap or just enjoy the warm sun.  David and I had lunch and then came back to our "casita" for a nap. 

In the afternoon David discovered a cafe nearby and we headed there for coffee and cake, invited Mike and Sharon to join us.  They were going in search of a mall to buy shorts and a slip.  Go figure...

This evening's lecture was by Luis Urrea, a good writer from Chicago who teaches at the University of Illinois.  I've known Luis since the 80s and see him ocassionally.  His lecture was packed and received a standing ovation.  He's a very good storyteller and entertaining speaker.  Told stories of his childhood and his parents, aunts, godparents, and others who appear in his books.  David found it a bit tedious after a while and I kind of agreed with him.  But I'm used to that type of writing.  Chicanos are good storytellers.

We had dinner at Hecho en Mexico, a well-known restaurant with a piano player and a patio open to the stars above.  It was crowded but we waited.  Food is good there.  And many people were celebrating Valentine's Day.  We walked back to our casita a little while ago and found a vase with white roses left by our hosts.  They are so nice. 

Walking in San Miguel is risky.  Sprained ankles are a daily hazard.  No, I'm kidding, but I find walking on the cobblestones difficult and irritating.  It takes me forever to get places.  To top it off, the sidewalks are narrow and you must dodge people, light poles, dogs.  And cars.  Lots of cars. 

Everyone says "San Miguel is magical."  So much so, that it has almost become a joke.  It must be for the thousands of gringos who live here.  I must confess I find them somewhat annoying.  Most of them cannot speak a lick of Spanish.  And that bugs me.  After five or ten years in a place you would think they learn the language.  Or am I asking too much? 

IN THE HEART OF MEXICO

A ruby-throated hummingbird drinks nectar from the feeder hanging near me.  The breeze shakes leaves, makes them fly around, some fall over me.  The pink-red bougainvillea sways and the pines make circles against the blue skies.  We've arrived in San Miguel de Allende and are staying in a charming casita next door to Bruce and Mary Carruth's beautiful house.  We are sitting in the loggia listening to the water fall in the small pond next to us.  Today was the welcome lunch for faculty where we were thanked for our participation.  Sun shines warmly.

The last four days were spent in Guanajuato, an hour away from San Miguel.  Lovely historic town with winding streets and narrow alleys, colonial buildings, friendly people.  In the evenings the students come out dressed like medieval troubadors and sing songs while a group of people follows them singing.  We visited the university and the Cafe del Atrio, we had drinks at the rooftop bar of Hotel Boutique 1850, took a cab to Plaza San Fernando.  One night we climbed many steps to dine at El Gallo Pitagorico where, unfortunately, the food made me sick. The view however was magnificent. The next day was spent mostly resting and eating nothing.  Today I am fine however and glad to be well since tomorrow morning I have to teach a workshop at 9 o'clock - bright and early.

Tonight we'll hear a lecture by Cheryl Strayed and then visit our friends - Mike and Sharon - for her birthday.  Many Americans here, some are even friends of ours.  Go figure...More later.