Tin House Summer Workshop Lectures: Nicole J. Georges, Rebecca Makkai, Lan Samantha Chang, and Terese Marie Mailhot

9:00 am – 9:50 am, Vollum Lecture Hall
Drawing A Line, with Nicole J. Georges
Nicole will discuss her 20-year career as a self-taught artist, from zinester beginnings in suburban Kansas, to Sister Spit’s queer literary tour, the creation of award-winning graphic novels Calling Dr. Laura and Fetch.  This talk lays out the basics of empowerment through self-expression, the value of community in your practice, art as activism, forging a career & supporting yourself as a self-taught artist, discipline in cartooning, and what it takes to transform a life of experiences into a 300-page graphic memoir.

2:30 pm – 3:20 pm, Vollum Lecture Hall
You Talkin’ to Me?: The “Ear” of the Story, with Rebecca Makkai
We talk a lot about a story’s point of view—who’s telling it, why, under what circumstances. But there’s a flipside to that POV question: Who is the story’s implied listener? Are you casting your listeners as people who already know this world or people who need to be filled in? And what are the political and artistic implications of glossing a culture or setting for readers who don’t know it?

3:30 pm – 4:20 pm, Vollum Lecture Hall
Short Stories, or Novels?, with Lan Samantha Chang
This talk will address some frequently asked questions about these two very different forms, such as: How are they different? How is it possible to make a life as a short story writer? How do people move from writing short stories to novels? How are novels written, anyway? I look forward to discussing these issues and will entertain any other related questions.

3:30 pm – 4:20 pm, Reed Chapel
An Informal Talk About Form and Content, with Terese Marie Mailhot
It was important to let the content dictate the form. When I felt intimacy had to be created for the reader, I leaned into epistolary form, because what’s more intimate than a letter to someone you love? I let work be fragmented when I could not fill in the blanks and relied heavily on my family to inform how I presented our shared history with violence, neglect, and shame. All of the shame and stigma had to be dealt with before I could put words to the page, so we’ll talk about that. It’s important to never question the necessity of the work we do, and it’s important to know nobody gets tired of good stories. With this stuff in mind, I was able to cultivate something I’m proud of. I think I can help others cultivate something for themselves.

Open to the public for a fee of $10 (Cash and Cards accepted at the door).