May 2013

Wednesday, 5/1

Thursday, 5/2

Friday, 5/3

Saturday, 5/4

Sunday, 5/5

Monday, 5/6

Tuesday, 5/7

Wednesday, 5/8

Thursday, 5/9

Friday, 5/10

Saturday, 5/11

Open House

2:00 PM - 4:00 PM in the Arts Cafe

Renew your acquaintance or get to know this lively and innovative home for writers of all ages and genres by joining members of the Writers House community for informal conversation, coffee, and light refreshments. We'll be delighted to welcome you home! RSVP to whalumniweekend@writing.upenn.edu or 215-746-POEM.

A Conversation with Nick Spitzer

"Who Listens to Radio?" — The Roots of American Routes

4:00 PM in the Arts Cafe

watch: a video recording of this event via KWH-TV
listen: to an audio recording of this event

Join us at Writers House for a conversation with Penn alumnus Nick Spitzer, the producer and host of the radio show American Routes (which is distributed by PRX and reaches nearly a million listeners each week on over 268 stations and via its website). Spitzer will speak about his time WXPN, recent work in Philadelphia for American Routes, and his overall entertaining and edifying approach to radio programming.

Nick Spitzer, the producer and host of American Routes, is a folklorist and a professor of anthropology and American studies at Tulane University. Nick specializes in American music and the cultures of the Gulf South, and received a Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Texas in 1986 with his dissertation on zydeco music and Afro-French Louisiana culture and identities.

American Routes, which is distributed by PRX, reaches nearly a million listeners each week on over 268 stations and via its website.

Nick has been a cultural commentator and producer for NPR’s All Things Considered and Fresh Air, CBS’ Sunday Morning, and ABC’s Nightline. He directed the film Zydeco: Creole Music and Culture in Rural Louisiana (1986), and has produced or annotated two dozen documentary sound recordings. In 2002 he co-curated ‘Raised to the Trade’: Creole Building Arts of New Orleans at the New Orleans Museum of Art. He is an essayist and co-editor for the book Public Folklore (1992, 2007) and co-author of Blues for New Orleans: Mardi Gras and America's Creole Soul (2006).

Nick’s radio experience goes back to the 1970s, when he served first as program director of WXPN-FM, the college radio station at Penn in Philadelphia, where he majored in anthropology. After graduation, he was afternoon drive host on the popular “underground” rock station WMMR-FM in Philadelphia, and later worked as a deejay on the legendary progressive country station KOKE-FM during the early boom days of the Austin music scene.

His interests include ethnography of the Gulf Coast, cultural creolization, American vernacular music/culture, and public cultural policy. Nick received a Guggenheim fellowship for work on traditional creativity in Louisiana Creole communities.

Sunday, 5/12

Senior Capstone

10:00 AM in the Arts Cafe

Each year, we celebrate graduating seniors who have been closely affiliated with the Writers House community. The names of the celebrated seniors below are links to downloadable MP3 recordings of the seniors' comments, reading or performance, preceded by an introduction given by the Faculty Director, Director, or another key member of the Writers House staff. Attending our "capstone" program are the families and friends of the seniors — a joyous occasion for the community, truly.

  • Leah Apple, introduced by Al Filreis
  • Maddie Hunt, introduced by Jamie-Lee Josselyn
  • Julia Nelson, introduced by Al Filreis
  • Zach Carduner, introduced by Jessica Lowenthal
  • Anna Strong, introduced by Al Filreis
  • Allyson Even, introduced by Jamie-Lee Josselyn
  • Ali Kriegsman, introduced by Jessica Lowenthal
  • Emily Harnett, introduced by Al Filreis
  • Alexa Bryn, introduced by Jessica Lowenthal
  • Ali Castleman, introduced by Al Filreis
  • Josh Herren, introduced by Lily Applebaum
  • Kelly Diamond, introduced by Al Filreis
  • Callie Ward, introduced by Jamie-Lee Josselyn
  • Henry Steinberg, introduced by Al Filreis

Monday, 5/13

Tuesday, 5/14

Wednesday, 5/15

Thursday, 5/16

Friday, 5/17

Saturday, 5/18

Sunday, 5/19

Monday, 5/20

Tuesday, 5/21

Wednesday, 5/22

Thursday, 5/23

Friday, 5/24

Saturday, 5/25

Sunday, 5/26

Monday, 5/27

Tuesday, 5/28

Wednesday, 5/29

Thursday, 5/30

Friday, 5/31