How to ignore your inner critic and write without fear
Tue, February 15 2022, 11am
Julie Schumacher
Regents Professor of English and Creative Writing
University of Minnesota
Event to be held via Zoom.
Several years ago, when I was working at the University and living in St. Paul, I read that a University faculty member, a woman who also lived in St. Paul, had won the Thurber Prize for American Humor. The prize in previous years had gone to David Sedaris, Calvin Trillin, Jon Stewart, and Ian Frazier, to name a few. There had been a few women finalists, but never before was a woman awarded the prize.
I bought the book, Dear Committee Members, and if you’d been in the room while I was reading it you’d have heard me laugh out loud and sometimes gasp, thinking, Can she say that? After I finished the book, I did something I hardly ever do. I wrote a fan letter to the author. And she graciously replied.
Julie Schumacher, the author of that book and its sequel, The Shakespeare Requirement, plus novels for young adults and a coloring book for academics (!), will be the featured presenter for the UMRA Living Well Workshop on Tuesday, February 15.
Writing can become enjoyable
She will discuss her own writing process and the ways in which writing—whether fiction, nonfiction, or poetry—can become more enjoyable and even, at times, less of a personal trial.
A member of the University of Minnesota faculty since 1996, Schumacher was named Regents Professor of English and Creative Writing in 2021, one of only two Regents Professors named last year. She was recognized by the College of Liberal Arts as a Scholar of the College for 2016–19, and has received a Distinguished Educator Award from the College of Continuing Education plus awards for the teaching of both graduate and undergraduate students at the U. For 12 years, she directed the Creative Writing Program in the Department of English.
Many UMRA members may remember the previous occasion when she joined us as the keynote speaker for our 2017 Annual Meeting at the Campus Club.
What questions do you have for Professor Schumacher? One of mine will be, Do you ever have a good laugh from your characters as you write your stories, or is it only we, the readers, who get to have that?
Please register for this workshop and join us via Zoom at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, February 15.
— Jan Morlock, UMRA president
Upcoming Events
Our July 15 "hike" is going to be a kayaking adventure on Bde Maka Ska (formerly Lake Calhoun) and Lake of the Isles! If you don't have a kayak (or paddleboard), Wheel Fun Rentals, located next to the new concession stand rents single kayaks at $15 an hour and double kayaks at $25. The second hour is free if we rent before noon. Life jackets are provided with the rental.
Laura Ericksen will lead the discussion of How Stella Learned to Talk by Christina Hunger, a true story by a speech-language pathologist who taught her dog, Stella, to communicate using buttons associated with different words.
Our August 5 hike will be a reprise of our hike last summer at William O'Brien State Park. This is a beautiful park with a winding trail and a great view of the countryside. The hike is about 5.5 to 6 miles and we'll go at a moderate pace with frequent water breaks. After the hike, we will eat lunch at Rustic Roots Winery, a half mile north of the park.
Kathy Cramer will lead the discussion of The Bookbinder by Pip Williams, a book set in 1914 Oxford chronicling the life of Peggy who works in the University bindery, but craves a life beyond binding books but to being a scholar herself.
Enjoy a two-hour cruise on the Jonathan Padelford, leaving from the Harriet Island dock in St. Paul, boarding time at 5:30 p.m. We will have a brief program on board by Patrick Nunnally from the River Life Program of the Institute on the Environment.
August 31 is the due date for annual reports and updates. Annual Reports, Toolkits, web page updates, operating document updates and archives collections are all due each year on this date.
Autumn is a wonderful season in Minnesota so plan to join UMRA at the Andersen Horticultural Library at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. Kristen Mastel, head librarian and curator, will reveal its treasure trove of publications and artifacts relating to plant history, horticulture, and natural history. After the tour, those who are interested may stay to eat lunch together, sitting outside if the weather is nice. Later, you are invited to a one-hour tram tour of the entire Arboretum that includes natural areas of flowering shrubs, bogs, and forests, family garden and landscaping showpieces, and the red barn farm
After a summer break the UMRA Photo Club will next meet September 10, 2024 in the meeting room of the Hennepin County St. Anthony Branch Library. For those interested in lunch, meet at the Great Dragon at 11:30 am. For September the THEME will be Curves
We will continue to discuss the pros and cons of Medicare Advantage. You will also hear about notable non-health plan and non-broker resources.