N125
“We Will Always Be Here”
Writers: Dawn Burns, Martha Lundin, Kristen Whitson, Jenny Kalvaitis
Moderator: Lisa Hager
While there has been a lot of change for LGBTQ+ writers throughout history, there is one thing that always remains the same: “We will always be here.” These writers discuss their own experiences in their own histories. The University of Wisconsin Press traveling exhibit, “We Will Always Be Here.” is open for viewing all day between sessions in N125.
Dawn Burns is a writer of fiction and creative nonfiction, and founder and co-organizer of the SwampFire Retreat. She was the recipient of an Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award in Fiction and has twice received the Paul Somers Prize for Creative Prose from the Society for the Study of Midwestern Literature. Dawn’s book Evangelina Everyday tells the story of Evangelina McQuarry, an Indiana housewife who may appear simple and uncomplicated, but whose rich inner life is revealed as she prays for Downton Abbey characters, watches cockroaches, thinks about teeth, and ponders the worth of her unhappy life in hopes that it might one day change. Her writing has appeared in such publications as Women Under Scrutiny: An Anthology of Truths, Essays, Poems, Stories and Art, Gemini Magazine, The Offbeat, and MidAmerica. Dawn, an assistant professor in Michigan State University, teaches in the First-Year Writing Program. She is currently compiling five years of writing and sunrise photographs over Indiana’s Lake Wawasee into her, Dawn at Dawn: Sunrise Reflections. To find out more, visit dawnburns42.com.
Jenny Kalvaitis has a master’s degree in Public History from Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis, and she has worked in informal education and museum education for over ten years.
Martha Lundin is an educator and writer in Minnesota. They received their MFA from the University of North Carolina, Wilmington. Martha’s first book is The In-Between State: Essays.
Kristen Whitson has a master’s degree in Library and Information Science from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and she has worked in digital preservation, community and indigenous archives, and LGBTQ+ archives.
N127
Growing up as a Refugee in the Midwest: Stories of Struggle and Hope
Writers: Elly Fishman, Pao Lor
Moderator: Mike O’Brien
Growing up is often fraught with some pretty tough experiences. But now imagine what it must be like for those who find themselves in a new country. These authors write of this experience, in a place many will find familiar: the Midwest.
Elly Fishman worked as a senior editor and writer at Chicago magazine. Her features have won numerous awards including a City Regional Magazine Award for her article “Welcome to Refugee High,” her first report on the students and faculty at Chicago’s Roger C. Sullivan High School. Refugee High: Coming of Age in America (The New Press) is based on the article, and won the prestigious Studs and Ida Terkel Prize for a first book in the public interest. A Chicago native and graduate of The University of Chicago, Fishman currently lives in Milwaukee with her husband and their daughter.
Pao Lor, author of Modern Jungles, is professor of education at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. In Modern Jungles, Pao shares his unassuming and transformative childhood journey from his isolated, tribal village in central Laos to the heartland of America, an inspirational coming of age story capturing the essence of the enduring human spirit and the Hmong American experience. Pao’s story is a homage to individuals, communities, organizations, and countries that welcome and give persecuted individuals and families the opportunities for a new life. Prior to joining UW-Green Bay in 2005, Pao was a middle and high school administrator and teacher, high school and college soccer head coach, and university academic advisor. He resides in Kimberly, Wisconsin and enjoys time with his family and friends, traveling, biking, motorcycling, and playing soccer.
N129
First Books: Life-Changers
Writers: Jill Stukenberg, Thomas Cannon
Moderator: Ross Hightower
Getting that first acceptance letter is definitely a moment to remember. But once the excitement settles, how does having your first book published change your life? The writers here and the moderator all have had first books published in the last year. They will share their experiences.
Thomas Cannon was selected as the inaugural Poet Laureate of Oshkosh, WI in August 2021. He is the author of the books The Tao of Apathy and Shattered. His poems and short stories have been published in various journals such as Midwestern Gothic and Corvus Review. He and his wife have three children and two grandkids. Please connect with him at thomascannonauthor.com.
Jill Stukenberg’s novel News of the Air won the Big Moose prize from Black Lawrence Press. Her short stories have appeared in Midwestern Gothic, The Collagist (now The Rupture), The Florida Review, and other literary magazines. She grew up in Sturgeon Bay, graduated from Marquette University and New Mexico State University (MFA), and is now an Associate Professor of English at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point at Wausau, where she advises an undergraduate literary magazine and helps organize the Central Wisconsin Book Festival. https://jillstukenberg.com/
N130
Addressing The Human Struggle
Writers: Ellen Bravo, Larry Miller
Moderator: Ellyn Lem
Whether struggles with identity, job fairness, financial inequality, or human rights, we’ve all experienced struggle at some point in our lives. Co-writers Ellen Bravo and Larry Miller discuss this their newest book, Standing Up; Tales of Struggle.
Ellen Bravo is a long-time activist and author who worked with 9to5, the National Association of Working Women, for over 20 years, and co-founded the Family Values @ Work network which helped win paid leave and paid sick days policies around the country. She is the author of three non-fiction books, including Taking On the Big Boys: Or Why Feminism is Good for Families, Business, and the Nation. Her first novel, Again and Again, about date rape and politics, was published in 2015. Ellen is a recipient of the Ford Foundation Visionary Award.
Larry Miller is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin and National Louis University. His undergraduate degree is in education, history, and political science; his masters’ degree is in education leadership. Larry taught high school in MPS for 17 years. Larry was an adjunct for 12 years for the Marquette College of Education, teaching Schooling in a Diverse Society. As a high school teacher he taught U.S. history, citizenship, world geography, world history, economics, political science, photography, video production, and physical science. He spent a number of his summers doing historical research to be able to enhance his teaching. This included spending the Summer of 1998 with the National Endowment for the Humanities, at the National Archives in Washington D.C., studying the Civil War and Reconstruction as part of a cohort reviewing primary documents. Before becoming a teacher Larry Miller was a community and union organizer. Larry Miller is the President of the Milwaukee Public Schools Board of School Directors. He is also an editor of Rethinking Schools. Both his children, Nathaniel and Craig Miller, are MPS graduates. His wife of 47 years is Ellen Bravo.
N140
AllWriters’ Workshop
But Will My Family Still Love Me? Telling The Truth In Memoir
Writers: Dale Ann Morgan, Anthony Perkins
Moderator: Kathie Giorgio
Often, what drives writers to write memoir is an experience of trauma or difficult times. But what will those around them think of the tale? Morgan and Perkins talk about deciding to tell the truth in their memoirs, and how their families dealt with it.
Dale A. Morgan is a lifelong writer living in Waukesha who grew up in the Texas Panhandle. She spent her professional life as an educator, teaching English, History and Creative Writing. She holds a B.A. from Carroll University and an M.E.P.D from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Her memoir, String Too Short to Tie, published by Austin-Macauley, tells the mostly-true story of her return to Texas to settle her parents’ estate including a five-generation farm and ranch. She enjoys life with friends, family, her dog Charlie, and two sassy cats.
Tony Perkins earned a master’s degree in English/Creative Writing at Mount Mary University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. While there, he wrote articles for the school’s magazine, Arches. He won a gold medal, “For Best Editorial or Commentary” from The Milwaukee Press Club, and two awards from The Wisconsin Newspaper Association. Perkins is related to Ray Bradbury through their common ancestor Mary Perkins Bradbury, a convicted Salem witch. His mother named him after Anthony Perkins, of the Psycho movie fame. Writing is the avenue he uses to ease the effects of her thoughtlessness.
