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Back in the halcyon pre-pandemic days of February 2020 only a year ago, but also a million years ago Arapahoe Community College made the difficult decision to cancel its upcoming Writers Studio Literary Festival. Like most of the world, it pulled in the welcome mat, hunkered down, probably watched a lot of Netflix, learned how to order groceries, and finally tackled that stack of books it always meant to read. But in 2021, it s back, baby. Arguably better and more accessible than ever. Since the early 2000s, the Writers Studio Literary Festival has been a single-day affair, hosting workshops and readings and all things good and bookish. In COVID times, the fest has not just gone online; it s also being stretched out over five days, March 9 to March 13, so that participants can effectively experience all the offerings available to them instead of having to choose one over the other. ....
Denver s premier independent creative-writing institution, Lighthouse Writers Workshop, announced its new location this week, a brand-new building at 39th and York streets, just off the new greenway bordering the Clayton and Cole neighborhoods. Lighthouse had previously done business and offered important literary contributions to the city and state at various historic sites. Early on, the group founded in 1997 operated out of the Thomas Hornsby Ferril House, named for Colorado’s first poet laureate. Most recently, the nonprofit has been based in the equally historic Milheim House, which was moved from 1355 Pennsylvania Street (across from the Molly Brown House) to1515 Race Street in 1989. ....
. Can you talk a little bit about taking part in that collection? Steve Rasnic Tem: I was beginning this process during the first few months of the pandemic, and the idea of “starvation” took on a particular significance. Many people are now starved for human contact, unable to engage in the social activities which in many cases kept them balanced. Some people have hoarded food and other supplies, afraid they might not have enough. Another effect of the times is a growing distrust of other people. Some folks have started viewing their neighbors as a threat. All these threads went into the creation of my Wendigo tale. Its title is “An Gorta Mór,” a reference to the historic Irish famine. ....
A few things about author Mairead Case: She’s a Denver writer shaped by Chicago. Her first name rhymes with parade. She teaches English in Denver Public Schools and at the Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics, the Colorado School of Mines and the Denver Women s Jail. She’s also a legal observer, a yoga instructor and an associate editor of the magazine Maggot Brain. Yeah, she’s busy, working the multiple jobs required of most in the creative community in 2021. So busy that the only way to really cover all the things she’s doing is to flat-out list them one after the other. ....