Writing While Aging: We’re not Done Yet
The Writer’s Room with Marita Golden and Kendra Kopelke
11:30 am – 1:00 pm
Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall
Zamoiski Room
PARKING
https://www.bsomusic.org/visit-joseph-meyerhoff-hall/
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One of the factors of silencing is how the publishing industry views and treats older writers, and how senior authors imbued with worlds of wisdom experience ageism. We openly discuss working through omission based on age, and how writers in their winter years, working seriously at their craft, doing all the things, require support. This includes writers who are slower at getting their books published- which may be the same but a different set of circumstances. Well-regarded novelist and co-founder of Hurston/Wright Foundation’s, MARITA GOLDEN and poet and co-editor/co-founder of Passager’s KENDRA KOPELKE share their experiences and sage advice in an informal, frank, and insightful conversation about writing for the long haul, and the very notion “Don’t count us out. We have so much more to say!”
Many writers become discouraged at the prospect of submitting manuscripts while aging. While some publishers/agents think you have to be in your twenties to debut as an under-35 writer to gain an audience, these authors are here to tell you differently. How many stories do you have within you if you’re riding 70? We’re pushing back on that theory, as baby boomers start to reclaim themselves after their first retirement. We want to ensure that writers Not. Give. Up. This talk dares to be inspirational, transformative, and a wake-up call to those in doubt, and those who need a reason to keep stepping into their worth. Co-founder and President Emerita of the Zora Neale Hurston/ Richard Wright Foundation, MARITA GOLDEN is a veteran teacher of writing at many universities which include Virginia Commonwealth, Johns Hopkins, and George Mason University, and the award-winning author of over twenty books. KENDRA KOPELKE is co-editor and co-founder of Passager, a Baltimore-based press for over 30-plus years, with a vision to combat ageism by demonstrating the extraordinary imagination and creativity of and empowering older writers.
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MARITA GOLDEN is an award-winning author of over twenty works of fiction and nonfiction. Her many books include the novels The Wide Circumference of Love, After, and the memoirs Migrations of the Heart, Saving Our Sons, and Don’t Play in the Sun One Woman’s Journey Through the Color Complex. Her most recent nonfiction work is The New Black Woman Loves Herself, Has Boundaries, Heals Every Day. She is the recipient of many awards including the Writers for Writers Award presented by Barnes & Noble and Poets and Writers, an award from the Authors Guild, and the Fiction Award for her novel After awarded by the Black Caucus of the American Library Association. She has lectured and read from her work internationally. Co-founder and President Emerita of the Zora Neale Hurston/ Richard Wright Foundation, Marita Golden is a veteran teacher of writing at many universities which include Virginia Commonwealth, Johns Hopkins, and George Mason University. She was a guest on the Oprah Winfrey and a question on Jeopardy! As a literary consultant, she offers writing workshops, coaching, and manuscript evaluation services.
www.maritagolden.com
Twitter: @maritagolden
KENDRA KOPELKE is co-editor and co-founder of Passager, a Baltimore-based press with a national reputation. Passager’s vision is to combat ageism by demonstrating the extraordinary imagination and creativity of and empowering older writers. Over the past 30-plus years, Passager has published over 75 literary journal issues and over 35 books of high-quality poetry, short fiction, and memoirs composed by writers 50 and older. Every other year, Passager conducts the Henry Morgenthau First Book of Poetry Contest for writers 70 and older, the country’s only contest of its kind. Kendra was also the founding director of the University of Baltimore’s MFA in Creative Writing and Publishing Arts.
passagerbooks.com
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CityLit Project and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in partnership with Chesapeake Shakespeare Company present CityLit Festival: Dismantling the Culture of Silence. This celebration of the arts showcases a bevy of leading poets and writers on April 20, 2024. We’re talking fiction, nonfiction, poetry galore, and ways to up the ante on your craft.
Download the CityLit Festival: Dismantling the Culture of Silence flyer.