News & Notices

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News Items – January 8, 2007:

Welcome to 2007! Hope you are ready, we've been working hard...

You can now make your tax deductable donates online! Casa Libre is now registered with Network for Good, the Internet's leading charitable resource, bringing together donors, volunteers and charities online to accomplish good. By clicking on the blue and white Donate Now buttons anywhere on Casa's site, users can now make a secure donation to Casa Libre. No more monthly checks to mail for our Suite Sponsors! Click the button below and be a winner for the written word!

To designate your donation for a specific fund or purpose, you will be given the option to enter a description of how you'd like your donation to be used; tell them you want to Finish Bob's Job!, or indicate that you would like to become a Suite Sponsor (and set up automatic monthly payments.)

Finish Bob's Job! Give to the Spring 2007 Casa Library Project Drive

To begin our Spring 2007 fundraising, we have decided to name our first drive after Bob Byars, a local hero who has been working tirelessly over the break to paint the library from ceiling to floor, generously donating all the paint and his labor. Bob has also decided that he will also donate a new window for the library. The current window is so old and broken it lets in water, weather and unwanted noise. Bob will install the new window in a couple of months. Bob has spent his own holiday time carefully and lovingly giving the library a much needed face lift, finally leaving the library with a refreshed feeling for the fresh new year. We want to be able to complete the work he has started, and continue improving the library we love to make it the most inspiring, comfortable, safe and useful space the community has already enjoyed for three years. You can help finish Bob's job...

Casa Libre has a goal to raise $4,000 for the library this spring. This $4,000 will go toward new custom built bench seating along the walls to accomodate more audience members for readings, create more storage and make the library less cluttered and more spacious; bathroom and kitchen repairs; a new expandable conference table that will accomadate up to twelve students (the most expensive item on the list); new (better) lighting; a new p.a. system for readings; and of course new dictionaries, updated reference books, writer's market directories, and updated journal subscriptions.

That means if 20 people donated $200 we'd have it! Or 40 folks donated $100! It isn't that much. And, you may decide you just want to donate directly for one item or another, in which case, visit this itemized list of the various parts of the library project budget.

Casa Libre lends its library to local non-profit groups for board meetings, staff meetings, classes and workshops, and many readings. There is usually an event scheduled in our library at least four nights each week during the academic year, and often more. Here's an excellent example below of how Casa's Library is used:

Casa Libre is hosting Kore Press's Grrrls Literary Activism Project! This semester Casa Libre will host an exciting 18-week, after-school workshop for girls who write. This is an opportunity for young women to develop their own artistic voices and learn how to use that voice in the social/public sphere. These young women, in community with their peers, will discover the ways in which literature can elicit change in the reader, writer, and general public. Casa donates the use of its library to this project free of charge.

Two concurrent sessions will run this spring, each meeting once weekly January-May: Tuesdays 3:30-5 p.m. or Wednesdays 2:30-4 p.m.  Each student will pick one session to attend.  The class will run from January 16^th/17^th through May 15^th/16^th.In this three-phase workshop, led by professional writers, young women will

a) read and discuss provocative work by other women writers and identify issues they feel are important to their lives, b) contribute to the conversations on these issues through poetry or prose of their own, and, c) bring their ideas to the public in a final, socially-relevant, creative project.  At the culmination of the project, each student will present her own piece of activist literature, the form of which may be anything from a sound recording to a slam performance to a broadside posted in a public space.

Topics may include: public vs. private expression, literature and art as activism, the significance of form and audience, printing and visual communication. Participants will play an active role in determining the course of the workshop.  Students will also do some out-of-class writing/blogging. 

The workshop will be for young women from Tucson and City high schools. Ten students from each school—and perhaps more— will be chosen according to an application process. There is no cost to the students.

The first WIP reading is scheduled for Friday, January 16, from 7 to 10 p.m. See the full schedule here. Three U of A MFA Creative Writing students are featured at each reading. Refreshements served. Outside and inside seating. Free and Open to the public. Where? In the library of course!

News Items - Aug. 2, 2006:

We're independent and free: Casa Libre received its letter of determination from the IRS a week ago, making us independent of our umbrella organization. Now all of our donations, from furniture, supplies, to monetary donations are tax-deductable and do not have to go through our umbrella organization. We'd like to thank Southwest Alternatives Institute (S.A.I.), for supporting us in our first two years of operations. We are now free to offer the suites for free! On July 4th we announced that we have begun to offer free Self-Directed Residencies to qualified writers as of August 1, 2006. Check our Suites pages for details.
New classes coming soon: We have an exciting lineup of classes for the fall offering a range of topics for writers in different genres. We have a prose-poem class, an epic (or serial poem) poetry class, an online Wikipoetry class, and a lyric essay class. We'll have new bookbinding classes too, but they'll be announced next week. Check out the class lineup on the Programs page.

Summer '06: Classes, Suite Sponsor Soiree, and Other News

This summer Casa Libre will be offering 4 classes and one enormous party to correspond with our Summer Donation Drive--our Summer Suite Sponsor Soiree. Casa will also bring back our popular bookbinding classes with Lee Street. He will be teaching 2 Weekend Bookbinding Classes this summer on May 27th & June 24th. Get all the details here: more information. We will also offer a new 8-week workshop and seminar with poet Melissa Buckheit entitled Perception and the Serial Poem: Constructing Image and Time. Come to Melissa's FREE pre-session/reading Thursday, June 1, 6 - 8 p.m. more information. Eleanor Kedney will teach another of her very popular Writers Studio Workshop–Level 1, a 10-week workshop that will run Tuesdays from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. starting on June 20th more information.

Perhaps our biggest event of the summer will be the Summer Suite Sponsor Soiree, an artsy-fartsy bash featuring live music, poetry, sangria, snacks with a Mexican flare, 5 mini art show receptions featuring the works of local artists to be held in each of Casa Libre's 5 suites, and swimming and music to end a hot summer night. The event will be held on Saturday night, June 17th from 6 p.m. to midnight. The event will be open to the public and have an entry fee of $10. Tickets may be purchased beforehand or at the door on the night of the event. More information to come this week!!!!! BYOT (bring your own towel!)

February 2006 New Readings, Classes, & Workshops in March

• Cancellation: Martha Ostheimer “11/11” workshop Poetic Images as Origins for Consciousness, on February 11, 2006 has been cancelled
• Kore Grrrls Literary Activism class Tuesdays: February 14 to March 21 4 to 5:30 p.m. Debra Gregerman and Judy Sensibar along with visiting writers will be teaching 10 students from City High in this pilot after-school program.
• Poets of Relentlessness FREE pre-session/reading with Poet Kristi Maxwell Thursday March 2, 2006 6-8 p.m. more information
• Poetry & the Line: A Study of the Poem's Most Fundamental Unit Saturday March 4, 2006 11-4:30 p.m. Saturday Workshop and Seminar with Poet Megan Johnson more information
• More Winnowed Fragments: Process & Ethics of Short Lyric Poem A conversation with poets Simon Pettet and David Abel co-sponsored by Chax Press and POG March 16, 2006, 7 p.m. more information
• Poetics of Relentlessness 8-week Workshop and Seminar with Poet Kristi Maxwell Thursdays: March 23 to May 11, 2006 more information
• Writers Studio Workshop–Level 1 10-week workshop with poet Eleanor Kedney Tuesdays: March 28 to May 30, 2006 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. more information
• Writer's Studio Reading FREE Reading and reception April 2, 2006 2 to 4 p.m. more information

January 2006 New Classes & Workshops Coming Soon

Martha Ostheimer, poet and educator, will lead Casa Libre’s premier “11/11,” Poetic Images as Origins for Consciousness, on February 11, 2006. The seminar and reading will run from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. with a mid-day lunch catered by Gallery of Food and a two-hour dinner break from 5 to 7 p.m. The seminar concludes with a public reception and reading with wine and refreshments. The formal reading will be free and open to the public and will feature the work of Martha Ostheimer and class participants. In March, poet Kristi Maxwell will begin an eight-week workshop and seminar on the Poetics of Relentlessness with a Free introductory presession/reading on March 2nd at 6 p.m. The class will be held on Thursday evenings from 6 to 8 p.m. beginning March 23rd. Also on Saturday, March 4th, poet Megan Johnson will lead a workshop on Poetry and the Line: A study of the poem’s most fundamental unit, from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. See our program's page for FULL details.


December 2005 Events & Notices

Lee Street's 2nd all-day beginner's bookbinding class will be held this Saturday, December 3rd, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the library. Last weekend's class was full and everyone came out with beautiful handmade books they will long cherish themselves or give as gifts. The students seemed quite proud of their final products and went home with their own handmade bookbinding loom so they can continue making books on their own. Lee got rave reviews for his first class so if you ever wanted to learn this special craft from a patient and talented teacher, now is your chance! There are three seats left in the class as of today. See our program's page for FULL details. Also, we will be offering advanced bookbinding classes in the spring with Lee, who will take the bookbinding lessons to the next level by teaching creative book cover design, book block design, and book repair. Keep checking Casa's programs page or join the mailing list for updates!

The last Lamplight Reading Series event of the year will be held at Casa Libre this coming Sunday, December 4th, at 6 p.m. in our pool courtyard. The Tucson Poetry Festival's director, poet Teresa Driver, will be the special guest reader to open the event, and an open mic will follow. This event is free and open to the public; sign up for reading when you arrive. Please remember to dress for cold weather! Refreshments will be served as always. Contact the Lamplight Series director, Roberta Howard, for more information at r.howard@nativeconnections.org. Dates for upcoming Lamplight Series readings at Casa are located on our Programs Page.

Casa Libre would like to wish all our friends and supporters a happy, healthy, safe, peaceful and pleasant holiday, and let you know we will be closed to event scheduling and guests from December 19th until the 1st of January, 2006. We have had an abundant year, and are looking forward to a brand new year of more growth and more friends to come. Hope we see you at this year's final events and classes, if not, happy whatever-you-call-your-holiday and happy New Year!

12/08/05 - Casa Libre Closed for Street Fair; Come See Us!

The weekend of December 8th through the 11th brings the Fourth Avenue Street Fair to our neck of the woods, and the entire Avenue is closed down to thru-traffic -- leaving Casa Libre blocked in by rows of merchants in the streets. Casa Libre will not be open to the public or writing guests during these events. We do however have a parking lot full of merchants ourselves, including NOW (the National Organization for Women); Cactus Rose - a unique (and entertaining) cowboy couple that sells high quality Guatemalan made and hand shaped onsite western styled hats with genuine horsetail hat bands; Ramona, a jeweler who makes uniquely styled quality jewelry and hair accessory fashions; Mexican and Guatemalan women and families selling everything from kids toys to fun Mexican and Guatemalan purses, wallets, jewelry and many other artifacts; James Howard hand crafted designer lamps - fashioned in stained glass, jewels and metals; and others. Stop by Casa Libre's table to buy a water or drink and a candle or make a donation and pick up material about Casa to help support Casa Libre.

12/01/05 Kore Press Hosts UA MFA Women Writers at Casa

Kore Press, a women's literary publisher based here in Tucson, invites MFA women to a gathering in their honor Thursday night, December 1st, at 5:30 p.m. Kore hosts this gathering to meet the new MFA candidates and to introduce them to their unique publishing work. Kore Press has been publishing literature by women since 1993, including several past & present UA faculty members. Check them out at www.korepress.org. Staff and board members of Kore will be there, as will some of friends, supporters and volunteers of the publishing group. The event is open to UA MFA women and invited guests only.

10/15/05 Upcoming Events & Lamplight Series at Casa Libre

The 20 some year old Lamplight Reading Series will be making its new home at Casa Libre starting in November. The first reading will be November 6th at 4 p.m. There will also be a "Bring Out Your Dead" open mic reading on November 4th starting at 7 p.m. In late November there will an all day intensive bookbinding class taught by Lee Street. Please see the Programs page for detailed information.

10/15/05 Poetry Workshop and Pre-session CANCELLED!

The 6-week poetry workshop with Megan Johnson to begin on Wednesday, November 2nd, has been cancelled. Sadly, Megan has had a personal family emergency and has had to leave Tucson unexpectedly. The pre-session workshop scheduled for October 26th has also been cancelled. Casa apologizes for any inconvenience.

09/20/05 Free Pre-session Writers Studio Class Tonight!

The new 10-week Writers Studio course begins tonight with a free pre-session class offered by Eleanor Kedney this Tuesday, September 20th, at 6:30 p.m. here at Casa. The class continues on Tuesday nights through December. Registration is still open; for more details see our Programs page.

Also, a new 6-week poetry workshop course offered by Megan Johnson (see Programs page for course description and bio) will begin Wednesday, November 2nd. The free pre-session workshop will be held next Wednesday October 26th at 6:30 until 8 p.m. in the library. Both presessions are free and open to all.

08/01/05 2 New Writing Classes Available at Casa in the Fall

The current Writer's Studio course with Eleanor Kedney is nearing it's last session in a couple of weeks, but a second 10-week course will begin with a free pre-session on Tuesday, September 20th, at 6:30 p.m. here at Casa, and will continue on Tuesday nights through December. Registration is now open; for more details see our Programs page. The first course was quite a success, and many of the current class will be staying on for the next -- the next course is open to new students.

Also, a new 6-week poetry workshop course offered by Megan Johnson (see Programs page for course description and bio) will begin the end of October. Details coming soon. Registration for the class opens next week.

07/05/05 2004 Summer Resident Publishes with Penguin

Last summer, Naomi Alderman stayed at Casa Libre for a month as the University of Arizona Poetry Center's Summer Resident. While she was here, she was working on her book "Disobedience". The following is an excerpt from recent message from Naomi:

From: Naomi Alderman
Subject: News from the Brit

"Well. So it's summer again. We've had a few days of hitting the low 90s in temperature in England, which the papers call "a heatwave". My friends complain - I quietly remember Tucson in July and say nothing. I do, however, have a piece of news which I have no intention of keeping to myself: I've just been offered a two-book deal with Penguin! "Disobedience", will be out March 2006. It's the novel which was absolutely *rescued* by my stay in Tucson, by the days of sitting in the library watching the monsoon crackle over the mountains and long quiet nights at Casa Libre listening to the cicadas sing.

Seriously, there's no doubt in my mind that my month in Tucson saved my book. I was ready to give up, throw it away and forget it had ever been. That quiet month, just sitting with my book, crossing out whole chapters and making notes and not panicking because I knew I had time, made all the difference. So I wanted to say thank you. I really couldn't have done it without you.... Much love - hope you're all extremely well, Naomi"

We send a happy congratulations to Naomi - best to her and her new book!

07/06/05 UA Poetry Center's 2005 Summer Resident to stay at Casa Libre

The University of Arizona Poetry Center's 2005 Summer Resident, Eric Abbott, is a poet and educator from Santa Fe, NM with an MFA from the University of Massachusetts. He has published in American Letters & Commentary, Spinning Jenny, Goodfoot, Skanky Possum, The Journal and others. Winner of an Academy of American Poets Prize, he also edits the microscopic press journal IMPY and is Assistant Managing Editor for Slope Editions.

As the 2005 Poetry Center Summer Resident, Abbott will receive a $500 stipend and four weeks in residence at Casa Libre en la Solana to work on a manuscript of poems. He was selected from 126 applicants by judges Richard Siken and Lydia Millet. See the Programs page for information on his upcoming reading at the Poetry Center.

06/06/05 Casa Hosts first Writer's Studio Workshop (10 weeks)

Eleanor Kedney, a poet from New York and Tucson, is introducing the first live Writers Studio Poetry and Fiction Workshop outside of New York City. The Writers Studio is founded on the belief that when the desire to write is strong enough, anyone can learn the craft necessary for full creative expression. The workshop consists of ten classes beginning Monday, June 6 th. The classes run from 6:30 – 8:30 PM and the cost is $295. Classes will be held at Casa Libre en la Solana. The Writers Studio is a technique-oriented program that supports fiction and poetry writers through a series of exercises designed solely to help writers discover and nurture their own voices. Beginning and experienced writers welcome. For registration and information: 212-255-7075 or www.writerstudio.com. To contact Eleanor Kedney: 520-743-8214 or eleanor@writerstudio.com. For more details also see Casa's Programs page.

6/01/05 New Writing Suite Opens - #4
Casa opens a 4th writing suite with the 5th and final suite scheduled to open in 2006. For information about #4 see Suites.

4/10/05 First Annual Open House/Open Mic
Sunday, April 17^th, 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.: Casa Libre en la Solana invites all to attend its first annual Open House-Open Mic to celebrate their first successful year serving the literary community, and National Poetry Month. See the grounds and writing suites, share wine and refreshments with your fellow literarily inclined. Bring your own poem or someone elses. Reading/Listening optional. Located across the street from Maloney's on Fourth Ave. Call Ann Fine for directions or more details. 520-325-9145.

3/21/05 "11/11" Postponed / April 17th -- Open MIC Still Happening
While the workshop portion of our first 11/11 Workshop and Open Mic event has been postponed until further notice--the Open Mic/Open House portion of the event will still take place on Sunday, April 17th, at 7 p.m. at Casa Libre. Bring your poems/stories!

3/13/05 New Writing Suite Opens - #5
Casa opens a 3rd writing suite with a fourth suite scheduled to open in December 2005. For information about #5 see Suites.

2/1/05 Website Redesign
Casa Libre's website has undergone a complete redesign. We have all the same resources, but our information is better organized and more accessible. If you have any difficulties navigating the site or have suggestions to make our site even better please email us at casakeepers@casalibre.org.

1/15/05 New Writing Suite Open - #6
Casa Libre has a new writing studio. Due to the success and request for reservations for #2—Casa's first writing studio—we have opened a second studio for visiting writers. For more information visit the Suites section of our website.

10/01/04
Casa Libre begins holding office hours from10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday

05/16/04
Click below to read a pdf file of our first newsletter (May of 2004):

The Red Door Newsletter (pdf. requires acrobat reader)