Mind of Winter

In January of every year, the Writers House Planning Committee embraces the post-holiday doldrums with a celebration of winter's comforts, inspired by Wallace Stevens's chilly poem, "The Snow Man." We gather here at the Writers House, stoke a big fire in the parlor, simmer several big pots of soups and stews, and share our favorite winter-themed readings with one another. Let it snow!

January 29, 2009

Jessica Lowenthal - Introduction
Al Filreis - "The Snow Man" by Wallace Stevens
Sam Sharf - from "A Christmas Memory" by Truman Capote
Kathy De Marco - from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Roald Dahl
Lance Wahlert - from The Ice Palace by Tarjei Vesaas
Blair Borish - from The Jungle
Greg Djanikian - "Year's End" by Richard Wilbur and "When I First Saw Snow" by Greg Djanikian
Allison Harris - from Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
Zach Ferris - "Death Be Not Proud" by John Donne

January 24, 2008

Jessica Lowenthal - Introduction
Kim Eisler - "January" by William Carlos Williams, "A City in Winter" by Frank O'Hara
Danny Goldstein - from "Eskimo Love" by Max Apple
Cecilia Corrigan - "Alcanac Breakup" by Cecilia Corrigan
Dick Polman - "The Only Rose" by Yves Bonnefoy
Jillian Budd - Untitled by Jillian Budd
Adrian Khactu - "Misbegotten Son" by Adrian Khactu
Jessica Lowenthal - "The Snow Man" by Wallace Stevens

January 18, 2007

Jessica Lowenthal - introduction to the event
Al Filreis - discussion of Stevens' "The Snow Man"
John Carroll - "Sudden Snow", "A Warm Day for December", and "Poem" by Frank O'Hara
Brooke Palmieri - "The March of the Ottoman Turks" by Brooke Palmieri
Mingo Reynolds - from The Brothers K by David James Duncan
Anna Levett - from The Facts of Winter by Paul Lafarge
Sam Allingham - "Something She Told Me" by Sam Allingham
Arielle Brousse - "Housed in Winter" by Marge Piercy and "February" by Margaret Atwood

January 19, 2006

Jennifer Snead - introduction to the event
Al Filreis - discussion of Stevens' "The Snow Man"
Julia Bloch - poems by Julia Bloch ("In the Cardigan of the Mind," "Night Flight," excerpts from "Letters to Kelly Clarkson," "Pilot's Bay," "Seasonal Affective Disorder")
Erin Gautsche - "Ohio" (by Erin Gautsche)
Janine Catalano - Calvin Trillin's "Speaking of Soup"
Kenny Goldsmith - the "Groundhog Day" section of Goldsmith's The Weather
Beth Kephart - Michael Ondaatje excerpt entitled "Frozen Ice"
Jim Gardner - reading from "The Dead" by James Joyce

January 26, 2005

Program (PDF)

Al Filreis - Introduction
Jamie-Lee Josselyn & Phil Sandick - Celebration of Al's 20th year of teaching at Penn
Al Filreis - "The Snow Man" by Wallace Stevens
Samantha Barrow - "LA Rte 82" by Samantha Barrow
Samuel Wilcocks - Shakespearean song
John Timpane - "Winter beforelight" by John Timpane
Alicia Oltuski - "Ice Fishing"
Miriam Mann Guerrero - Excerpt from The Snow Falcon by Stuart Harrison
Matthew Abess - "Sestina díInverno" by Anthony Hecht
Jennifer Snead - "Why Stop at Salmon?" by Jennifer Snead
Emily Missner - Excerpt from The Winter Room by Gary Paulsen
David Grazian - "Horses and Men in Rain" and "Man and Do on an Early Winter Morning" by Carl Sandburg, "Before Air Conditioning" by Donald Rumsfeld
Conni Bille - "These Winter Sundays" by Robert Hayden, "Winter" by Conni Billi, "Lines for Winter" by Mark Strand

January 22, 2004