EMILY D as COMEDIENNE? WHO KNEW?

Martha Nell Smith Nelly Lewis Lambert

Whether hilarity or merely Mona Lisa smiles, Martha Nell Smith and Nelly Lewis Lambert, towering national presences in Emily Dickinson authorship, will reveal little-known comedic aspects of the American poet’s work. Smith is a University of Maryland English professor, and a founding board member of the Emily Dickinson International Society. Lambert, who has published on Dickinson’s baking skills as well as her humor, is secretary of the Emily Dickinson Society. Dickinson (1830-1886) was born in Massachusetts.

The panel program on Emily Dickinson’s humor will be noon-1 p.m. Wed Nov 6, in the McLendon Room of the National Press Club, 529 14th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20045.

        Emily Dickinson’s poems often shroud their humorous core, according to Martha Nell Smith and Nelly Lewis Lambert, both towering national figures in scholarship of the iconic, reclusive poet whose subject matter often included death, and love lost.
        Popular NPR humorist Garrison Keillor shares their startling interpretation. “Had Dickinson turned her mind to it... she could have written prose comedy”, Lambert quotes Keillor.
        Who knew?
        But are we talking loud guffaws, Saturday-Night-Live hilarity, giggling, or TV sitcom laugh track belly laughs?
        Perhaps not. But at least a Mona Lisa smile or snickering.
        Lambert quotes Keillor joking of Dickinson’s famous reclusiveness “A person can hardly be called shy who is withdrawing into a room in order to create thousands of poems and write thousands of letters. When you do that, You’re busy! You’re busy!”
        “Just when we are sure that one of her poems is solemn in tone, Dickinson slips in some cartoonish image (like bumping one’s head on a tree) or some incongruous claim,” Lambert writes.
        Dickinson (1830-1886) born in Massachusetts, spent most of her life as a recluse in her Amherst home, now a museum. Her known literary work includes about 1800 poems.
        “It is difficult to reconcile the popular image of morbidity with the hilarity of her letters and the wit of her poetry,” Lambert explains.
        Smith is the author of “Comic Power in Emily Dickinson”, which includes an essay “The Poet as Cartoonist” discussing Dickinson’s comic satire. Her oeuvre includes award- winning books on Dickinson, as well as numerous articles and essays.
        A founding board member of the Emily Dickinson International Society, Smith is a University of Maryland English professor, where she serves as Chair of the University’s Senate. Smith’s honors pack a single- spaced page, including a Rutgers University Distinguished Alumni Award in 2009, the highest honor Rutgers bestows on its former students. She is the recipient of numerous awards from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the American Council of Learned Societies, and the Mellon Foundation.
        Lambert grew up in Paris, Haiti and Washington D.C. A “newer” Dickinson scholar, she just obtained her doctorate from Catholic University of America and has already made a big splash in Dickinson scholarship circles, serving as secretary of the Emily Dickinson Society. Lambert also holds a BA (2002) from the University of Chicago, and MA in English Literature and Film from Georgetown University, and is completing a degree in philosophy and great books at Saint John’s College.
        Her interest area and writing also include “the literature of Washington, D.C.” Lambert presently teaches at Trinity Washington University.
        *50-state Project honors women writers in Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania & Rhode Island.

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Words & Music by Note-able Women

Ellen Frankel Janet Peachy Frances McKay

Librettist Ellen Frankel will discuss the writing craft with women who also navigate aspects of the musical world. Frankel, whose work includes opera, is a Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Michigan, who holds a doctorate from Princeton. Panelist Janet Peachy composes opera, ballet, chamber and vocal music, and is a Fulbright grantee who holds music degrees from Catholic University of America. Panelist Frances McKay composes musical works about water which include sound files recorded at Rock Creek. She is chair of Composition and Theory at Levine School of Music.

The Words & Music by Note-able Women panel will be noon- 1 p.m., Thursday October 10, in the McLendon Room of the National Press Club, 529 14th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20045.

        These words from musical child prodigy Schuman speak to the multitalented, musically multifaceted women who grace AWWNM’s Thursday October 10 panel of women who “write songs”, a writer category AWWNM honors.
        The dictionary defines librettist as “A writer of the words and stage directions for a dramatic musical work such as an opera or a musical—synonymous with lyricist and songwriter”.
        “Slaying the Dragon” a new opera for which panelist Ellen Frankel composed the libretto, premiered last summer at Philadelphia’s Center City Opera Theater. In 2014 The Esther Diaries for solo voice and small ensemble, on which Frankel worked, will have a world premier in Montreal. Frankel, who retired after 18 years as Editor of the Jewish Publication Society, continues collaboration with several composers on three new operas and a cantata.
        Frankel was commissioned by the Sacred Women’s Music Project to create “Hagar” as new movement for Women of Valor, a cantata performed in 2006 by the Mendelssohn Club and the Philadelphia Chamber Orchestra. She is also the author of 10 published books including The Classic Tales, The Five books of Miriam, and the JPS Illustrated Children’s Bible.
        Frankel holds a B.A. in Comparative Literature from the University of Michigan, where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa. She holds a Ph.D. in comparative Literature from Princeton University. She describes herself as “a lecturer and scholar-in-residence on various Jewish topics.”
        Janet Peachy, who teaches music theory and composition at D.C’s Duke Ellington School of the Arts, is a composer and librettist of opera, ballet, orchestral, chamber, piano and vocal music. Her work has been performed in America and Europe.
        She was a two year Fulbright grantee in Vienna, Austria. She has received grants from National Endowment for the Arts, the D.C. Commission on the Arts and other granting organizations.
        Peachy recently completed libretto and music for “Wheel Ordeal” a comic opera about purchasing a car!
        She earned degrees in composition from Catholic University of America and is a member of the American Women Composers organization.
        Panelist Frances McKay composes musical works about water which include sound files recorded at Rock Creek. She is chair of Composition and Theory at Levine School of Music.
        McKay holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts degree from Peabody Conservatory of Music.
        *(AWWNM is grateful to librettist Lori Laitman who was instrumental in helping arrange this panel, although Laitman could not participate as a panelist. Laitman and poet Dana Gioa, (a March 2013 AWWNM speaker) are collaborating on a children’s opera—a work schedule which obviated her attendance October 10).
        *50-state Project honors women writers in New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, and Ohio.

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THE BUSINESS OF ROMANCE

Email AWWNM1@gmail.com to reserve Nora Roberts
autographed books for purchase at event!

Janeen Solberg Rebecca York/Ruth Glick Cassandra Corcoran/Avery Flynn Joyce Lamb

Janeen Solberg, award-winning manager of mega-selling author Nora Roberts' bookstore in Boonsboro, Maryland, will headline a noon Thursday September 19 panel at the National Press Club, discussing "The Business of Romance". Roberts has sold more than 400 million books worldwide. Joining Solberg will be heralded USA Today Money section copy editor and romance genre blogger Joyce Lamb, Cassandra Corcoran (who writes as Avery Flynn), Ruth Glick (who writes as Rebecca York ), founder of Light Street Press and author of more than 125 romance novels.

The Business of Romance panel will be at noon- 1 p.m., Thursday September 19, in the McLendon Room of the National Press Club, 529 14th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20045.

        It is said that perhaps 50% of books sold in America are romance themed. And women purchase 70% of books sold in America. Women and romance garner an attention getting portion of publishing industry business and profit.
        Janeen Solberg, manager of Turn the Page Bookstore, owned and operated by Bruce Wilder, husband of mega -selling, wildly popular romance novelist Nora Roberts in Boonsboro, Maryland ;will discuss the business aspects of romance writing and marketing at noon Thursday, September 19, 2013 at the National Press Club McLendon Room.
        In a long career, Roberts has sold 400 million books worldwide., perhaps one of the world's best-selling authors of all time. At her seven -times -a -year signings in Boonsboro, and at rare public appearances outside Boonsboro, fans line up for blocks to meet Roberts or have Roberts sign their purchase.
        Joining Solberg will be Joyce Lamb, a copy editor in the Money section of USA Today, who also writes the popular Happy Ever After romance novel blog in USA Today. Lamb is the award-winning author of eight romantic suspense novels, and a three-time RITA Award finalist.
        Instead of discussing content, how to write romance novels or get an agent, the panel will focus exclusively on how to market, sell, and profit from romance writing. The discussion will focus on Strictly Business, so to speak.
        Solberg, a former high school English teacher, with an M.A. in literature, won the Steffie Walker Bookseller of the Year Award in 2012, sponsored by the Romance Writers of America. "We value the industry and the bricks and mortar stores that are putting books into the hands of readers and providing a scene of community in our neighborhood", Solberg told an interviewer.
        "Turn the Page" bookstore has a charm and a uniqueness that can't be achieved with a download", Solberg said.
        Joyce Lamb began a journalism career while still a student at Northern Illinois University, working her way up to News Editor at the Rockford Register Star. In 1998 Joyce moved to USA Today where she works as a copy editor in the Money section. She has published seven novels, and been a three-time finalist for the prestigious RITA Award.
        When Lamb approached USA Today management with her idea of a blog about romance novels, they agreed. Authors featured in the blog have included Roberts, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Jill Shalvis, Kristan Higgins, Jayne Ann Krentz, Kresley Cole, Sylvia Day, and many others. Lamb lives in the D.C. tri-area.
        In 2013, Washington Romance Writers honored Lamb with the Nancy Richards-Akers Mentoring Award for her work supporting romance authors on the USA Today blog.
        Rebecca York/Ruth Glick is the author of more than 125 romance novels published in 22 languages, with worldwide sales of 13 million. Her work includes the Decorah Security series centering around a detective agency where the investigators have paranormal powers. She has a B.A. in American Thought and Studies from The George Washington University, and an M.A. from University of Maryland, College Park.
        Cassandra Corcoran/Avery Flynn writes the Layton Family Series. Jax & the Beanstalk Zombies is her latest novella. High-heeled wonder, the first in her new three-part series will debut in December. She describes her writing as about “Alpha heroes and the women who tame them”.
        Eight years ago she founded her own communications business: Cassandra Corcoran Communications. She holds a B.A. in communications for Truman State University. THE BUSINESS OF ROMANCE
        *50-state Project honors women writers in Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey and New Mexico.

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DRAMATIC WOMEN WHO PLAY WRIGHT

Mary Hall Surface Jennifer L. Nelson Renee Calarco

Extraordinary women playwrights will discuss their craft of interweaving writing with staging. Mary Hall Surface's plays have included 15 productions with the Kennedy Center's Theatre for Young Audiences. Jennifer L. Nelson is director of Special Programs at Ford's Theatre. Renee Calarco teaches playwriting at GWU, and authored a play which received the MacArthur Award in 2007.

The Dramatic Women Who Play Wright panel will be at noon, Wed June 5, in the McLendon Room of the National Press Club, 529 14th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20045.

        Mary Hall Surface is an internationally recognized playwright and director specializing in theater for family audiences. Nominated for nine Helen Hayes Awards, she received the award in 2002 for Outstanding Director of a Musical. Surface's plays have been produced in major American venues including the National Gallery of Art, The Folger Theatre, and 15 productions with the Kennedy Center's Theater for Young Audiences and National Symphony Orchestra.
        She believes in "the power of the playwriting pen".
        Surface has published two books of monologues for middle school students, 12 plays, and three award-winning original cast albums of her plays. She is the recipient of the Charlotte Chorpenning Prize from the American Alliance for Theatre and Education for the body of her playwright work, and has been honored by the DC Mayor Arts Awards. She lives in D.C.
        "Write what's in your heart" advises playwright Jennifer L. Nelson, Director of Special Programming at Ford's Theatre. Describing herself as "Texas-born", she came to Washington, D.C. in 1972 to work with the Living Stage Theatre Company, a community outreach program of Arena Stage. She said in a 2012 interview that she "used to be" a poet.
        A graduate of the University of California-Davis, Nelson has served as an adjunct professor in theatre at Georgetown University. Her play "Torn From the Headlines" is the 1997 winner of the Most Outstanding New Play Award from the Helen Hayes Theatre Awards. She also lives in D.C. Her sister Marilyn, is Poet Laureate of Connecticut.
        Playwright Renee Calarco teaches playwriting at GWU and improvisational comedy at the Theatre Lab, and is a member of The Dramatists Guild of America and the DC Area Playwrights.
        Her play Short Order Stories received the 2007 Charles MacArthur Award, and her play The Religion Thing was a 2013 nominee for the same award. Some of her other plays include: Keepers of the Western Door, The Mating of Angela Weiss, and If You Give a Cat a Cupcake. She is an artistic associate with First Draft. She lives in D.C.
        Curtains Up! The play's the thing!
        
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SWEET HOME ALABAMA

Dr. Trudier Harris Dana Williams

As part of AWWNM's 50 state Project to showcase women writers from each state, the Alabama Center for the Book will cosponsor a Wed May 15, 2013 presentation by Alabama writer Dr. Trudier Harris, Professor of English at the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa.

"Bama Bones: A Black Southerner Talks Place & Creativity" will be noon-1 p.m. May 15 in the McLendon Room of the National Press Club, 529 14th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20045.

Dana A. Williams, Chair and professor of African American Literature in the Department of English at Howard University, will introduce Dr. Harris.

        Although writer-professor Dr.Trudier Harris spent 40 years away from her Sweet Home Alabama traveling and teaching, she always retained 'Bama bones, the topic of her May 15 presentation; part of AWWN's 50-state project to showcase women writers from all 50 states.
        "Alabama has dominated everything I've done and written. Greene and Tuscaloosa County farmers influenced my poetry. My mother's work as a domestic led to my first scholarly book. Alabama's weather, landscape, family tradition and crop cultivation served as reference point, including in my memoir Summer Snow", Dr.Harris said.
        She credits that invisible tether with inspiring her "even more" since she came back to 'Bama in 2009, to serve as an English professor at the University of Alabama. Her specialty is African American literature and folklore on which she has written or edited 24 volumes, as well as numerous scholarly articles. She has received several teaching awards. In 2002 she received the Eugee Current-Garcia Award as Alabama's Distinguished Literary Scholar.
        Her May 15, 2013 presentation is titled: 'Bama Bones: A Black Southerner Talks Place & Creativity.
        Dr. Harris was born in 1948 on a farm near Tuscaloosa, the sixth of nine children of Terrell and Unareed Harris. She holds B.A., MA.and Ph.D. degrees.
        Dr. Harris will be introduced by Dana A. Williams, chair and professor of African American Literature in the Department of English at Howard University.
        "I met Dr. Harris when I was a graduate student at Howard. She has been a wonderful mentor and teacher for so many of us. My grandparents are from Jackson, Alabama," Dr. Williams said.
        Dr. Williams holds a B.A., M.A. and PhD degrees in English from Grambling State University, and Howard University, respectively. She is currently working on a book about author Toni Morrison.
        
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FOIA WOMEN: THRU the LOOKING GLASS

Lucy Dalglish

Angela Greiling Keane

Angela Canterbury

How much information can federal agencies be forced to surrender? Wed April 17, women who know their FOIA will explain how to best use FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) to extract information. Nationally heralded FOIA expert, attorney Lucy Dalglish, Dean of Merrill College of Journalism, University of Maryland;
Angela Greiling Keane, President of the National Press Club and transportation reporter for Bloomberg News; Angela Canterbury, public policy director at the Project on Government Oversight, will headline.

The FOIA panel will be noon-1 p.m. Wed April 17 in the McLendon Room of the National Press Club, 529 14th St. N.W. 20045.

        At noon Wednesday April 17 women who really "know their FOIA stuff" will provide guidance navigating the Alice in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass world of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). FOIA, signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson on July 4, 1966, applies only to Executive Branch agencies of the U.S. government.
        Although FOIA's stated purpose is open disclosure, nine exceptions/exemptions to disclosure oftimes bedevil researchers, making the looking glass a bit dim and cloudy.
        The American Women Writers National Museum (AWWNM) panelists include nationally-revered FOIA legend: attorney- journalist Lucy Dalglish, Dean of Merrill College of Journalism, University of Maryland.
        Dalglish was among the 1996 charter class inducted into the National Freedom of Information Act Hall of Fame in D.C. In 1995 Dalglish was awarded the Wells Memorial Key, the highest honor bestowed by the Society of Professional Journalists.
         She is a 1980 graduate of University of North Dakota where she began her journalism career as a reporter editor on the Grand Forks Herald. Dalglish segued to the St. Paul Minnesota Pioneer Press, working general assignment, education and the courts, moving up to Night City Editor, and national foreign editor.
         Much sought after, Dalglish speaks frequently across America about First Amendment and media issues. She holds a Juris Doctorate from Vanderbilt, and a Master in Law from Yale.
         Angela Greiling Keane, newly elected 106th president of the National Press Club, has a special interest in FOIA. She said in her remarks at her NPC inauguration event that she intends to feature FOIA during her year as president.
         Keane, transportation reporter for Bloomberg News, holds the B.A. degree in journalism from University of Missouri. She worked four years for Traffic World magazine, and has been at Bloomberg for six years.
         Panelist Angela Canterbury is a veteran of testifying before Congress on whistleblower protections, FOIA, government accountability and related issues. Canturbury, director of public policy for Project on Government Oversight (POGO), has worked with the League of Women Voters, Public Citizens Congress and democracy and civil society programs in Ukraine. She is an honors graduate of the University of North Carolina with a B.A in economics.

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Poetry in an Age of Images

Dana Gioia

Dana Gioia, chair of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) from 2003-2009--now a USC professor-- will speak Wed March 27 noon-1 p.m. in the McLendon room of the National Press Club, 529 14th St. NW, 13th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20045, sponsored by AWWNM. www.danagioia.net

Gioia, a poet, opera librettist, and jazz enthusiast, will speak of his new poetry book, his fifth: "Pity the Beautiful", which has garnered national acclaim. His book will be available for sale and signing.

        "Mara was brilliant, beautiful..." begins a stanza of Haunted, a poetic short story with an an O. Henry ending, nestled among the startling variety of poetic form in Dana Gioia's "Pity the Beautiful", his new poetry book which he will discuss Wednesday March 27, 2013 from 12 p.m.-1 p.m.
        He will also read from his recent work which will be available for sale and signing.
        His remarks will include mention of some of America's top-tier women poets.
        Sponsored by American Women Writers National Museum, Gioia's free and open to the public lecture--Poetry in an Age of Images- will be in the McLendon room of the National Press Club, 529 14th St. NW, 13th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20045.
        "AWWNM is thrilled to have a poet as renowned as Gioia as our guest," said Janice Law, AWWNM founder.
        Gioia, currently a USC professor, chaired National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) from 2003-2009. In 1992, Gioia, a poet, librettist, translator, and jazz enthusiast, left his marketing executive job at General Foods promoting Jell-O snacks; to write full-time.
        "Gioia exemplifies...commitment to fundamentals of the arts in society, helping millions of Americans experience the positive and transformative power of literature..." wrote one admirer. www.danagioia.net
        In his poignant poem: "Finding a Box of Family Letters" Gioia includes photos. "I wonder what song the band was playing, just out of frame, as the photographer arranged your smiles. A waltz? A foxtrot? Get out there on the floor and dance! You don't have forever."
        Poems of sad/happy romance abound, including translations of the work of Italian writers. Gioia, of Sicilian and Mexican heritage, is also a master translator. Belying the title, his "The Seven Deadly Sins" poem is hilarious.
        Gioia holds a B.A. and M.B.A. degree from Stanford University, an M.A. degree from Harvard, and is the recipient of 10 honorary degrees and numerous literary awards.

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ONE OF OURS: WILLA CATHER
PIONEER & PULITZER WINNER

Lora Black
Dr. Martha (Max) Despain
Dr. Joseph R. Urgo	Leslie Levy

Three national experts on American woman Pulitzer winner Willa Cather (1873-1947) will speak Tuesday, March 26, 2013 noon-1 p.m. in the McLendon Room of the National Press Club, 529 14th Street NW, 13th Floor, Washington, D.C., sponsored by American Women Writers National Museum (AWWNM).

AWWNM Panelists include popular, long-time Nebraska Public Radio announcer--and Cather fan-- Lora Black, (traveling from Nebraska), Dr. Martha (Max) Despain of Silver Spring, board member of the Willa Cather Foundation; and Dr. Joseph R. Urgo, President of St. Mary's College of Maryland, the editor of widely-used teaching texts on Cather.

Moderator will be Leslie Levy, executive Director of the Willa Cather Foundation.

        Nebraskan Willa Cather, the dazzlingly-talented writer (1873-1947) whose compelling, Pulitzer- winner prose preserved forever America's Great Plains culture, romance, adversity and triumph, will be discussed by three nationally-heralded Cather experts on Tuesday, March 26, sponsored by the American Women Writers National Museum (AWWNM).
        ONE OF OURS Cather panel, free and open to the public, is noon-1 p.m. in the McLendon Room of the National Press Club, 529 14th Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20045. No reservations are necessary. A buffet lunch is available for purchase.
        Lora Black, popular (NET) Nebraska Public Radio personality, who is traveling from Nebraska for the March 26 AWWNM event, grew up on a farm in southeastern Nebraska. When she is not working as an extra in national feature films or local theatre, Black hosts a long-time classical music program, which has received Associated Press awards.
        As part of the March 26 program, Black will reference her "Nebraska authors reading/radio project" where, over a period of years, she has voiced over and recorded literature of Nebraska women authors!
        Lt. Col (USAF) Dr. Martha (Max) Despain of Silver Springs is a board member of the Willa Cather Foundation and on the Western Literature Association Executive Committee.
        Despain, who recently moved from teaching English at the Air Force Academy to Media Operations at the Pentagon, wrote her University of Delaware doctorial thesis on: "Time, Memory & Identity in the Literature of ...Willa Cather". Despain focuses on "the influence of landscape and vanished communities" in Cather's work.
        Dr. Joseph Urgo's future wife Lesley, would not agree to marry Urgo until he read Cather's book "My Mortal Enemy" about a marriage! He did. Lesley then said Yes.
        "That was 30 years ago, which is how long both love affairs have been running: the marriage and the fascination with Willa Cather's work", explained Urgo, who is President of St. Mary's College of Maryland. Urgo is the author of "Willa Cather and the Myth of American Migration", and has edited a teaching edition of Cather's novel "My Antonia."
        Moderator will be Leslie Levy, executive Director of the Willa Cather Foundation.

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BOFFO! FIRST LADIES' FIRST LADIES
CELEBRATE with a VALENTINE to
AWWNM's FIRST LADIES FIRST ANNIVERSARY!

Kathleen Graddy

Maurine Beasley

To celebrate AWWNM's Boffo! First Anniversary year, a distinguished panel of national First Lady experts will speak at noon Valentine's Day, Thursday, February 14, 2013 in the McLendon Room of the National Press Club, 13th Floor, 529 14th Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20045.

Nationally known "First Ladies" themselves--- panelists include: Lisa Kathleen Graddy, curator of the internationally famous First Ladies Exhibit at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, where she also serves as Deputy Chair of the Divison of Political History; Patricia Krider, executive director of First Ladies Library in Canton, Ohio; and Maurine Beasley, Eleanor Roosevelt biographer; author or co-author of four books, and professor emerita of journalism at the University of Maryland.

        "Celebrating AWWNM's spectacular First Anniversary year, featuring a panel of expert women scholars of America's "real" First Ladies; seems perfect to parallel AWWNM's mission of honoring the eloquent voices of America's dazzling "First Lady": poets, screenwriters, historians, journalists, playwrights, and authors", said Janice Law, AWWNM founder.
        The Valentine Day, February 14, 2013 program will be from noon-1 p.m. in the McLendon Room on the 13th floor of the National Press Club, 529 14th Street NW. www.americanwomenwritersnationalmuseum.org
        First Ladies panelists will discuss how spouses of American presidents are portrayed in written works and in exhibitions, as well as First Ladies who were writers and chroniclers of their historical eras.
        "I am honored to help AWWNM celebrate its first anniversary!” exclaimed panelist Lisa Kathleen Graddy, curator of the beloved, ever-popular First Ladies exhibit at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. Graddy, also Deputy Chair of the museum's Division of Political History curates the museum's women's history collection as well.
        Graddy, co-author of First Ladies: Political Role and Public Image, holds a B.A. degree in history from University of Maryland, and an M.A. degree from Texas Tech University..
        Panelist Patricia Krider is executive director of the First Ladies Library and Education Center in Canton, Ohio which is "devoted to education about the contributions of First Ladies and other notable women in history".
        Founded in 1995 by Mary Regula, the Ohio library, which established an on line bibliography of America's First Ladies, is also a National Historic Site in partnership with the National Park Service.
        Krider Is a magna cum laude graduate of Ashland University, and also holds degrees from Walsh University and Stark State College.
        Panelist Maurine Beasley, an Eleanor Roosevelt biographer, is the author or co author of four books, and a journalism professor emerita at University of Maryland. Beasley is known as "dean of Washington D.C.'s journalism history".
        AWWNM's Valentine-themed Grand Opening, with accompaniment of the Salvation Army brass ensemble, was February 13, 2012.
        "Women, who buy 70% of books sold in America, and predominate in cultural audiences, have enthusiastically embraced the concept of AWWNM as long, long overdue. Our first year, thanks to the support of women and men, is a Wow!", Law said.
        AWWNM is a 501 (c) (3) public charity.
        All AWWNM programs are free and open to the public. At events, a buffet lunch is available for purchase.  

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A Journey of MIrrors: Latina Literary Landscapes.
Oprah Winfrey- featured poet Rachel Eliza Griffiths

Rachel Eliza Griffiths

Maritza Rivera

Carmen Calatayud

Oprah Winfrey- featured poet Rachel Eliza Griffiths will join D.C. area Latina poets Carmen Calatayud, Maritza Rivera and Neida Perez Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 for readings and a panel discussion entitled: A Journey of Mirrors: Latina Literary Landscapes.

The noon-1:15 p.m. event is cosponsored by American Women Writers National Museum (Janice Law, founder) and Letras Latinas of the Institute for Latino Studies, University of Notre Dame, (Francisco Aragón, director)

        Poet-Photographer Rachel Eliza Griffiths, whose work has appeared in Oprah Winfrey's O Magazine, will headline a January 29, 2013 lunchtime panel of D.C. area Latina poets.
        A Journey of Mirrors: Latina Literary Landscapes, is cosponsored by American Women Writers National Museum (Janice Law, founder) and Letras Latinas of the Institute for Latino Studies of University of Notre Dame. All AWWNM programs are free and open to the public.
        Joining Griffiths will be D.C. area poets: Carmen Calatayud, Maritza Rivera and Neida Perez. Readings will be in English and Spanish.
        "AWWNM is honored to host these dazzling poets"., said Janice Law, AWWNM founder.
         Publications featuring Griffith’s poetry and photography include: The New York Times, Comstock Review, African-American Review, Poets & Writers. For a complete listing, see www.rachelelizagriffiths.com.
         Griffiths received her MA degree in English Literature from the University of Delaware, and the MFA degree in Creative Writing from Sarah Lawrence College, where she currently teaches creative writing. Her most recent poetry book Mule & Pear, won the 2012 Poetry Award of the Black Caucus of the American Library Association.
         Carmen Calatayud, who will moderate the January 29 panel, is a local poet and psychotherapist. Her first book is "In the Company of Spirits" from which she will read.          Her son's military service in Iraq is the subject of Maritza Rivera's most recent book of poetry: A Mother's War. Rivera's poetry career, spanning four decades of work published in major American poetry venues, includes judging poetry competitions and her founding of the Mariposa (weekly) Poetry Series in College Park, Maryland.
         Rivera was just accepted to participate in the prestigious 2013 Bread Loaf Writers Conference, to be held in Sicily.
         Neida Perez, a Columbian-American, is a D.C. area community activist, mediator and writer.

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Also on January 29...

WEST VIRGINIA TAKE ME HOME

Pearl S. Buck

Pearl S. Buck, first American woman to win the Nobel Prize for literature (1938) who also won a Pulitzer Prize in 1932, is one of four premier West Virginia women writers to be honored at 1:15 p.m. Tuesday, Jan 29 including: poet Irene McKinney, songwriter Hazel Dickens, and novelist Denis Giardina.

        A dazzling West Virginian who was the first American woman to win the Nobel Prize for literature ( 1938), who also won a Pulitzer Prize in 1932,---Pearl S. Buck; is among the premier West Virginia women writers to be honored at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, January 29 by the American Women Writers National Museum (AWWNM) in Washington, D.C.
        "West Virginia's former Poet Laureate, the late Irene McKinney, West Virginia Music Hall of Fame honoree Hazel Dickens, and American Book Award winner, novelist Denise Giardina will be showcased along with Pearl Buck," said Janice Law, AWWNM founder.
        The celebration, jointly-hosted by West Virginia Center for the Book, West Virginia Library Commission, and West Virginia Humanities Council in Charleston, will be in the McLendon room of the National Press Club, 529 14th St. NW, 20045. It is part of AWWNM's 50-stae Project to monthly honor four premier women writers from each state.
        "These brilliant women are only a few of the mega-talented American women literati with West Virginia ties", said Susan Hayden, director of the WVa Center for the Book, an affiliate of the CFB in the Library of Congress.
         A poster featuring women writers from West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming and Washington state, will be featured during January, remaining permanently on the AWWNM website, as part of AWWNM's 50-state Project to monthly honor in D.C., top-tier women writers from four states.
         The AWWNM 50-state event will be held following AWWNM's January 29 noon-1:15 panel of Latina Poets.
        All AWWM programs are free and open to the public.

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