Ames Writers Collective

Part 1—Words Meet Art & Harriet Bart: Material Alchemy
2023-04-01 10:00 - 12:30 UTC | Christian Petersen Art Museum, 603 Morrill Road, Ames, IA, 50011, United States
Part 1: Words Meet Art, an outreach program of the Ames Writers Collective, is a literary arts event demonstrating through words how art, used as a writing prompt, can invoke feelings, trigger memories, and inspire conversations across divides and demographics. For inspiration, writers will interact with the Harriet Bart exhibition at the Christian Petersen Art Museum to compose and publicly read poems, flash fiction or creative nonfiction, and/or perform monologues or music.
For this first session (two time and date options) of Words Meet Art, participants will receive a guided tour of Harriet Bart: Material Alchemy to educate and inspire creativity led by Sydney Marshall, Curator, University Museums, Iowa State University. An introduction to “writing to writing prompts” will follow, with writing sessions to connect writers to the exhibition. This session will be led by Ana McCracken, founder of the Ames Writers Collective, and/or an Iowa State University MFA in Creative Writing and Environment Program candidate.
Participants may bring their own drink and snacks for breaks. Refreshments are not provided. These events are free, but registration is required. To register, click here.

Part II—Public Reading | Words Meet Art & Harriet Bart: Material Alchemy
2023-04-02 14:00 - 16:00 | Christian Petersen Art Museum, 603 Morrill Road, Ames, IA, 50011, United States
Writers who participated in Words Meet Art Part 1 will present their flash fiction, poems, creative nonfiction, a monologue, and/or perform music in response to the exhibition Harriet Bart: Material Alchemy in the Christian Petersen Art Museum.
Registration is not required to attend the reading. Writers participating in the reading will sign up during Part 1.
Words meet Art is an outreach of the Ames Writers Collective.

Writing Through Cancer with the John Stoddard Cancer Center
2023-04-04 17:30 - 19:30 | IA
Writing Circle Tuesdays are open to cancer patients and cancer survivors who have completed treatments.
Each evening we create a safe space, and then write together for timed intervals to writing prompts. Writing prompts inspire stories from our lives.
After each timed-writing session, participants will have the opportunity to read their stories to the group, which is healing on many levels.

Ames Writers Collective Founder @ Poetry Palooza!
2023-04-06 19:00 - 2023-04-08 13:30 | Mainframe Studios, 900 Keosauqua Way, Des Moines, 50309, United States
April is National Poetry Month. For the first time in nearly 20 years, Poetry& of Greater Des Moines is hosting Poetry Palooza! – an epic celebration of poetry and poets April 6-8, 2023. All events are FREE.
Poetry Palooza! launches Thursday evening at Franklin Jr High Event Center auditorium (4801 Franklin Avenue, Des Moines, IA) with the IPA Poetry Slam Final Stage. Top poets from earlier qualifying rounds will compete for the title of State Champion and the opportunity to represent Iowa at a national slam event in June. Akwi Nji will serve as the slam’s featured poet.
Friday and Saturday are filled with workshops and open mics at Mainframe Studios, and Poetry Palooza! concludes with a panel discussion at NOON on Saturday featuring moderator, Debra Marquart and panelists that include Ana McCracken, founder of the Ames Writers Collective. Click here for more information and to RSVP for the FREE events.

Open Write Tuesdays
2023-04-11 08:00 - 17:00, 2023-04-25 08:00 - 17:00 | On Zoom
What are Open Writes?
Join Ana McCracken, founder of the Ames Writers Collective, on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of the month on Zoom. We will sign on at 3 PM CT, have a brief check in, and then write together in community uninterrupted for 90 minutes. At the end of our session, we will regroup and share our writing success.
What to write during an Open Write? Start writing a new story. Edit a draft manuscript. Suggest a writing prompt to the group. Write a query letter. The writing possibilities are endless. Writing in community creates synergy, and open writes provide structure for deadlines.
Open Writes are free and sponsored by the Ames Writers Collective. To receive the Zoom link, email ana@ameswriterscollective.org.
