Minutes of Writers House meeting, 11/6

Purpose of meeting: to see how, and if, we fit within the broader outlines of the "21st Century Project" which is aimed at reforming or augmenting undergraduate education at Penn. Imagining programs, projects and ideas for this house. Deciding how big we want this to be. See the house at about 2:15.

Collegiate Planning Board (CPB), a main operating committee acting for the 21st Century Project. CPB thinking about four pilot projects. We have all along been a site without an idea (different from other pilot projects, which are residential--Civic College House, Peter Conn, credit-bearing community service projects, on a floor of existing building; CAUSE, research house, Will Harris, also on a floor of existing buildings; STWing in KC/EH will be expanded programmatically). Bob Lucid and Satya Patel are full members of the Council of Undergraduate Deans (CUD). Our project has already been approved by CUD. Has excitement of president and provost.

Need to deliver by Sept. 96! Small pot of money for renovations will be a bit bigger if we come up with some fantastic ideas, identify costs, be specific and gregarious.

Whom do we serve? Includes Staff, faculty. Wharton and Engineering students who do writing apart from their curricular activities. Students who produce weekly or monthly journals affiliated with classes or residences. Some electronic.

Non-school, non-credit bearing locus of activity--the Hub (Writers House). Have an announcement by end of year. Next meeting, early dinner or "tea," at the Writers House on Saturday, Nov. 18 at 3:30 p.m. We need full participation from the members of this group. Absolutely everything you do for this group should be sent to the listserv, hub@english. [Al: make sure listserv has an archive! {It does now.AF}] All listserv discussions should be confidential.

House has on the first floor a living room facing front with a fireplace, another living room with a bay window, a dining room that could be made into one room with the living room (both bigger than 200 HH conference room), "funny walk-through kitchen," pantry, grotty work-room with stone floor and chiseled table. Second floor--large bedrooms on either end of the building, that could hold tables each seating 15, good windows and sun. In between are three smaller rooms, "not bad-szied," lots of storage space--closets, shelves. Third floor has low ceilings, three rooms of various sizes, someone could live there, thin stairs going up part of the way. Bathrooms on all floors. Basement as well. Big stone porch in the front, shielded by big pines. Off the cafe or reading room downstairs, you get a door and a half that opens up on to a gorgeous garden with fences. Center for Study of Black Lit and Culture, and President's House are behind.

[These were brainstormed ideas, not necessarily agreed-upon and not in any priority order.]

- include nonfiction writing/journalism (DP/others editors have seminars....coaches??)
- non-English majors writing nonfiction other than DP also
- training (all disciplines)....expanding abilities seminar series
- Talk to Red and Blue and other journalistic mags for invitiation for affiliation
- We want alum saying: "I learned more about writing from writers house than I did from my other courses!"
- Internship database? Formal relationship with CPPS
- Alumni involvement: Poss. membership and guest lecturers/seminars. Library use, guest cards (fellow cards). What do they get? --> experience with teaching, in exchange for temp. residence, interaction with younger writers. Open writing community at Penn to the Philadelphia writing community.
- "Artist Community" -- talk to others, relax from work, space to concentrate on writing.
- Pull in specialists for short-term residency from other departments (af-am studies, poli. sci, history, comm, CGS, etc.). Host exterior functions, in return for promotion and advertisement of house, members.
- "Creative Writing Across the University" - place for students to find resources that are both Penn students and professionals. - Library at house
- Exhibits of writing and art
- Who lives at house? - How many people can stay overnight? - Whole in itself, yet representation of parts of University. Step on toes of other societies, programs? Accidental usurping of established programs? (Poss. solution -- not necessarily exclusive..marriage of societies of specific ideas with real world resources/location. Facilitate programs, and establish new programs...all of which utilize "the house". Finally: A House rather than a Club)
- Rethink terminology of "EXTRA-curricular"
- A stop on book tours. Writers of first novels -- affiliation with publishing houses. Like book store w/o books. celebrate new books, talk about new books. *Attract many people from community*. Support from University-affiliated bookstores ("book store", PBC, House of Our Own)
- Open microphone readings WITH GRAD. STUDENTS, staff and faculty. Calls for papers expanded to undergrads and others who would have a vested interest in hearing and discussing their work.

Who should be affiliated with the Writers House? Should this be limited in any way?

- anybody for open cafe nights
- next level: steering committee. coordinators with access to budget, contacts, planning of programs.
- *Combination* of locked-in schedules, and open hours for first come, first serve
- when is the house open? When does the house close? (3-5 could be after school spot for perhaps non-U students/local affiliates)
- can anybody come in and use facilities? Security at stake. (resident coordinator with all access has final say)

- Rooms on 2nd floor - tutorial rooms, more formal seminars? Meeting rooms for societies, magazines?
- 1st Floor double-living-room. Build slight stage? Hold 50-60 people for public readings..later turn to cafe/hang-out place.
- 2 sides: 1) casual, social, open, free. 2) structured, seminars, formal.
- Can we have credit-bearing classes meet there? Expose house to more students through classes.
- Community Involvement: use afternoon time slot for tutoring of high school students, community kids/members. Sponsor writing projects with high school students (writers house as resource)
- Literacy programs??? Is this our business? Possible opposition with electronic/internet programs. LH: yes. Need another time slot, one for adults, one for students? BP: Many programs would be oral anyway, spoken communication. Combine the two and bring in other arts (film, visual art, performance art?)

- Electronic publishing and web projects -- links to specific lit mags, journalism activities, high school programs. Access through libertynet.
- Teacher development programs for newer technical skills for publishing electronically. Internet training for anybody interested in involving others.
- Model for virtual collegiate communities -- virtual college house. (connects to affiliation issue)
- Computer resources as incentive for programs and people to come to house
- Put penn on the internet map as literary arts resources -- first cyber-cafe that's at a university
- Desktop publishing station (more than one?)
- Web publishing station (more than one?)
- Card access costs could be filtered from university. Sub-net costs could be deferred from other projects.
- Where does "hub" live? VPUL/DCCS? Funding? Wiring costs from existing projects, "greeknet".

- Marc Leader/Laura Henderson - liaisons to community partnerships. Mark: internet access in community
- Lorene Cary - 40th street library...contact and inform
- Greg Djanikian/Elliott Witney/Karina S. - Student literary groups
- Greg Djanikian - Liaison to English department. Role of specific department.
- Kim Morrisson/Lorene C./Al F./Lisa L. - Public Relations..work with inky, DP, community writers, etc.
- Dave Deifer/Alex Edelman. - Telecommunications/networking infrastructure; web pages; computing
- Dave Deifer/Alex Edelman/Shawn Walker - Cyber aspect and web page (ASAP for promo)
- Bob Lucid/Laura Henderson/Al Filreis - Facilities: general. Rennovations.
- Shawn - Overall coordinator. All "details". Work with Kim M.