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WILLIAM PATERSON TO HOST WRITERS CONFERENCE Exploring the theme "Regional Writing and Literature," the conference will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Atrium on the university's campus in Wayne. In addition to the keynote speech, the event will include a talk by Dr. Ira Shor, the University's 2000-2001 distinguished scholar, as well as morning and afternoon writing workshops on the topics of creative non-fiction, style, reading and writing, poetry, fiction, publishing, children's literature and memoir writing, conducted by faculty of William Paterson's English Department. The conference fee is $35 ($25 for students) and includes breakfast, lunch and an afternoon snack. Registered William Paterson students, faculty and staff may attend all readings and workshops on a space-available basis free of charge. Cofer, a native of Puerto Rico, is a poet, novelist and essayist. Her book "The Latin Deli" received the Anisfield Wolf Award. "An Island Like You: Stories of the Barrio" won the first Pura Belpre Award co-sponsored by REFORMA and the Association for Library Services to Children and also was named Best Book of the Year 1995-96 by the American Library Association. Cofer is also the author of "The Line of the Sun," a novel; a collection of personal essays and poems, "Silent Dancing," awarded a PEN/Martha Albrand Special Citation in non-fiction; and two poetry collections titled "Terms of Survival" and "Reaching for the Mainland." Her newest titles are "The Year of Our Revolution: New and Selected Poetry and Prose" and "Sleeping with One Eye Open," edited with Marilyn Kallet. Cofer has been anthologized in "The Best American Essays," "The Norton Book of Women's Lives," "The Pushcart Prize" and the "O. Henry Prize Stories," among others. Her work has appeared in Glamour, Georgia Review, Prairie Schooner, Kenyon Review and other literary journals. William Paterson's distinguished faculty will lead the morning and afternoon writing workshops. Participants include: Alice Deakins, a specialist in pedagogical grammar and gender and language; Joan Lesikin, who directs the academic ESL (English as a Second Language) program at William Paterson; Timothy Liu, the author of three books of poems including "Vox Angelica" (1992 Norma Farber First Book Award); John Parras, who has published stories and poems in several literary journals, including Xconnect and Dominion Review; June E. Roberts, an expert on Caribbean literature; Amy Holman, director of the Literary Horizons professional development programs for writers at Poets & Writers, Inc., in New York City; Lisa Makman, who has published essays on children's writers; Arlene Holpp Scala, writer and chair of the Women's Studies Department at William Paterson; and Ousseynou Traore, associate professor of African, African-American and Caribbean Studies at William Paterson. For additional information or to register,
call Dr. John Parras, English Department, William Paterson University,
973-720-3067, or email parrasj@wpunj.edu.
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