I got the scholarship!!!!!! I'm going to Prague!!!!!!
I never wrote about this opportunity (superstition coming to the forefront?) but now I can happy announce that I am a John Woods scholarship recipient to Western Michigan University's Prague Summer Creative Writing program. The 2010 theme is called
Scribbling on the Ether: The Changing Nature of Writing and Publication
The full theme description can be found here, but this is a quote from the conclusion:
"Are we moving toward a “paperless” textuality? Are books, as such, becoming anachronisms? Will it mean the same thing to “publish,” to be a “writer,” when all or most texts will be virtual? May the process by which texts are brought to prominence, through wise and scrupulous editorial discretion, maintain its integrity in the virtual dimension? When anyone can “publish” at anytime, what is the value of publication?"
I am so excited! I will be taking a poetry workshop and a class on Czech literature, as well as attending the program lectures (the mandatory ones for all attendees) and some reading lectures by the professors and other authors. Sounds like a full schedule, but I can't wait! I will be spending a whole month there, and will be living in a dorm with a random roommate. I won't have a meal plan, so that will be interesting-- grocery shopping in the Czech Republic. I hope there won't be too many culinary misadventures waiting for me.... Dishearteningly, some are inevitable.
Hopefully I will get to travel a little bit as well. Several friends are abroad at the same time, and we may try to meet up. I would also like to venture into new places, and perhaps even revisit Romania, since it would be summer and a good chance to visit Transylvania. But most of the bordering countries I haven't visited, so maybe I should stick with those first! Ah, possibilities...
Anyways, I am so excited that I have accomplished a scholarship on my writing merit! It feels good to be recognized in that sense- to have someone else say "You're worthy." It's somehow other than the praise of peers or even the feeling from publication. It's seems more artistic, less commercial in a sense to be recognized this way. I can't really explain it, but in any case, I'm thrilled to be part of this program. I can't wait for July!
Right now:
What I'm listening to: Can't. In the library
What I want most: this paper to be researched and written for me. Any takers?
It's the 200th post!!!!
Thank you to all the readers of Agonies, you totally make this blog what it is! Thanks for being a great community, and I hope to have your help in taking us to 300 and beyond.
It's such a great feeling to know that Agonies has made it this far. When I started this blog over a year ago, I had no plan in mind and no clue what kind of lasting impact I would create for myself. I can't imagine what the face of Agonies is going to look like in a year, and the idea that we might be around for five or ten years is simply... astounding. I can't picture what that scenario would look like, yet I know it's totally possible with readers like you. So thank you. I'm so deeply humbled.
With much love,
Shelly
Right Now:
Where I am located: an apartment in Burlad, Romania
What I'm listening to: P!nk "I Don't Believe You"
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