Writers in Florence, CWP

Writers in Florence 2013

A Tuscan retreat for emerging writers

In this Tuscan retreat for undergraduates, students work intensively to generate new writing while finding literary inspiration in the enchanting, historically rich setting of Florence and Villa La Pietra. The program features nightly readings and lectures on writing and the writer’s life. On weekends, students have the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of their literary predecessors: they might walk along the Arno River, view the sunset from Piazzale Michelangelo, or visit Tuscan gardens and vineyards. Classes and events are held at Villa La Pietra (pictured). Bequeathed to NYU in 1994 by Sir Harold Acton, the Florentine campus consists of 5 historic villas and 57 acres of gardens and olive groves.

For more information about the Writers in Florence 2013 Program, including details on academics, housing, costs, and the application process, please visit the NYU Summer Study Abroad webpage.

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2013 FACULTY

EILEEN MYLES (Poetry) is the author of numerous books including Snowflake/different streets (poetry, 2012), Inferno (a poet’s novel) (2010), Sorry, Tree (poetry, 2007), Tow w/ artist Larry C. Collins (2005), Skies (2001), on my way (2001), Cool for You (novel, 2000), School of Fish (1997), Maxfield Parrish (1995), Not Me (1991), and Chelsea Girls (stories, 1994). In 1995, with Liz Kotz, she edited The New Fuck You/adventures in lesbian reading. From 1984 through 1986 Myles was Artistic Director of St. Mark's Poetry Project. In 2004 she wrote the libretto for the opera, Hell, composed by Michael Webster and performed on both coasts and in Tijuana in 2004 and in 2006. She is a Professor Emeritus of writing & literature at UC San Diego where she taught from 2002 to 2007. She received an Andy Warhol/Creative Capital art writers' grant for “Iceland.” The Poetry Society of American awarded her the Shelley Prize in 2010. She’s a 2012 Guggenheim fellow. She lives in New York.

DOROTHEA LASKY (Director; Poetry) is the author of three full-length collections of poetry: Thunderbird (Wave Books, 2012), Black Life (Wave Books, 2010), and AWE (Wave Books, 2007). She is also the author of numerous chapbooks, including The Blue Teratorn (YesYes Books, 2012), Matter: A Picturebook (Argos Books, 2012), and Poetry is Not a Project (Ugly Duckling Presse, 2010). Her poems have appeared in The Paris Review, The New Yorker, American Poetry Review, and Boston Review, among other places. She holds a doctorate in creativity and education from the University of Pennsylvania, a master's in Arts in Education from Harvard University, and an MFA from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst's Program for Poets and Writers. View sample course syllabus

MAAZA MENGISTE (Fiction) was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and graduated with an MFA in Creative Writing from New York University, where she teaches. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Granta, The Granta Anthology of the African Short Story, and Lettre International, to name a few. She is a Fulbright Scholar who has also received fellowships from the Emily Harvey Foundation, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and Yaddo. Her debut novel, the critically acclaimed Beneath the Lion’s Gaze, has been translated into several languages and appeared on several “Best of 2010” lists, including Publishers Weekly, Christian Science Monitor and Barnes and Noble. She was a runner-up for the 2011 Dayton Literary Peace Prize, as well as a finalist for a Flaherty-Dunnan First Novel Prize, an NAACP Image Award, and an Indies Choice Book of the Year Award in Adult Debut. View course syllabus

ELISSA SCHAPPELL (Fiction) is the author of two books, most recently Blueprints for Building Better Girls, and Use Me, which was a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway award, a New York Times Notable Book and a Los Angeles Times Best Book of the Year. She is also the co-editor with Jenny Offill of two anthologies, The Friend Who Got Away and Money Changes Everything. She's currently a contributing editor at Vanity Fair where she writes the book column, a co-founder and editor-at-large of Tin House magazine, and a former senior editor of The Paris Review. Her work has appeared in many publications including The New York Time Book Review, Vogue, SPIN, BOMB, One Story and anthologies such as The Mrs. Dalloway Reader, Cooking and Stealing, Lit Riffs, The KGB Bar Reader and The Bitch in the House. She lives in Brooklyn. View course syllabus

2013 PROGRAM INFORMATION

Program Dates
June 16-July 13, 2013

Program Schedule
Tuesday-Friday
3:00-5:30pm: Daily workshops and craft classes in either fiction or poetry
Select mornings and evenings: Colloquia events including readings and talks by acclaimed guest writers, field trips to local cultural sites, and day trips.

8 Points of Undergraduate Credit

Open to eligible NYU and Non-NYU Students

CONTACT INFORMATION

For questions about the application process, costs, eligibility, and general study abroad:
NYU Summer Study Abroad
Phone: 212-998-4433

For academic questions:
NYU Creative Writing Program
Phone: 212-998-8816

Email: writers.in.florence@nyu.edu

	EILEEN MYLES (Poetry) is the author of numerous books including Snowflake/different streets (poetry, 2012), Inferno (a poet’s novel) (2010), Sorry, Tree (poetry, 2007), Tow w/ artist Larry C. Collins (2005), Skies (2001), on my way (2001), Cool for You (novel, 2000), School of Fish (1997), Maxfield Parrish (1995), Not Me (1991), and Chelsea Girls (stories, 1994). In 1995, with Liz Kotz, she edited The New Fuck You/adventures in lesbian reading. From 1984 through 1986 Myles was Artistic Director of St. Mark's Poetry Project. In 2004 she wrote the libretto for the opera, Hell, composed by Michael Webster and performed on both coasts and in Tijuana in 2004 and in 2006. She is a Professor Emeritus of writing & literature at UC San Diego where she taught from 2002 to 2007. She received an Andy Warhol/Creative Capital art writers' grant for “Iceland.” The Poetry Society of American awarded her the Shelley Prize in 2010. She’s a 2012 Guggenheim fellow. She lives in New York.
	DOROTHEA LASKY (Director; Poetry) is the author of three full-length collections of poetry: Thunderbird (Wave Books, 2012), Black Life (Wave Books, 2010), and AWE (Wave Books, 2007). She is also the author of numerous chapbooks, including The Blue Teratorn (YesYes Books, 2012), Matter: A Picturebook (Argos Books, 2012), and Poetry is Not a Project (Ugly Duckling Presse, 2010). Her poems have appeared in The Paris Review, The New Yorker, American Poetry Review, and Boston Review, among other places. She holds a doctorate in creativity and education from the University of Pennsylvania, a master's in Arts in Education from Harvard University, and an MFA from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst's Program for Poets and Writers. View sample course syllabus
	MAAZA MENGISTE (Fiction) was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and graduated with an MFA in Creative Writing from New York University, where she teaches. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Granta, The Granta Anthology of the African Short Story, and Lettre International, to name a few. She is a Fulbright Scholar who has also received fellowships from the Emily Harvey Foundation, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and Yaddo. Her debut novel, the critically acclaimed Beneath the Lion’s Gaze, has been translated into several languages and appeared on several “Best of 2010” lists, including Publishers Weekly, Christian Science Monitor and Barnes and Noble. She was a runner-up for the 2011 Dayton Literary Peace Prize, as well as a finalist for a Flaherty-Dunnan First Novel Prize, an NAACP Image Award, and an Indies Choice Book of the Year Award in Adult Debut. View course syllabus
	ELISSA SCHAPPELL (Fiction) is the author of two books, most recently Blueprints for Building Better Girls, and Use Me, which was a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway award, a New York Times Notable Book and a Los Angeles Times Best Book of the Year. She is also the co-editor with Jenny Offill of two anthologies, The Friend Who Got Away and Money Changes Everything. She's currently a contributing editor at Vanity Fair where she writes the book column, a co-founder and editor-at-large of Tin House magazine, and a former senior editor of The Paris Review. Her work has appeared in many publications including The New York Time Book Review, Vogue, SPIN, BOMB, One Story and anthologies such as The Mrs. Dalloway Reader, Cooking and Stealing, Lit Riffs, The KGB Bar Reader and The Bitch in the House. She lives in Brooklyn. View course syllabus