Tag Archives: Geneseo

by | December 2, 2017 · 2:39 pm

Fifth Annual Pub Fair at the Visual Studies Workshop

Posted by Rachel Britton, Poetry Editor for issue 6.1

Poetry printed into sidewalk bricks of the Memorial Gallery’s Poetry Walk led me to the Pub Fair, a day of books, art, beer, and coffee at the Visual Studies Workshop (VSW). Promoting its most recent issue, Gandy Dancer had a significant presence with representatives from the managing, nonfiction, and art editors, staff readers, and friends of the journal. The event offered creative vendors space to sell and build their network likeminded individuals. Among those in attendance were BOA Editions, Ltd., Writers and Books, Open Letter translations from the University of Rochester, and RIT’s art magazine Draft. I was overwhelmed by the amount of art, magazines, journals, and organizations present. And by extension, the size of Rochester’s art community! Continue reading →

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by | October 25, 2017 · 10:07 am

A Kind of Book Review of Ocean Vuong’s Night Sky With Exit Wounds

Posted by Frank Bruno, Fiction Reader for issue 6.1

In May of 2016 Ocean Vuong’s first full length collection of poetry, Night Sky With Exit Wounds was released by Copper Canyon Press. The book has since received swaths of rave reviews and a number of prestigious awards including the Whiting Award, the Forward Prize, and the Thom Gunn Award. Despite the relative media buzz created by the book, it only came to me a year after its initial release when my friend read me the poem “Thanksgiving 2006.” I started reading my own copy this past June and finished it last week. Continue reading →

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by | April 7, 2017 · 8:48 am

What am I even doing here? Writing and Existential Angst

Posted by Lily Codera, GD Poetry Reader for 5.2

So you’ve decided to write, and nothing is going to stop you. You’re going to write, and no number of soul-draining barista or restaurant server positions (on the side) can slow your momentum now. At this point, you may have developed a routine that allows you to work on your writing regularly; you may have even pinpointed your most productive time of day so as to “protect” it, like Kate Daloz suggested at her recent reading. Maybe your dad has finally come to terms with the fact that you’re probably not going to become the doctor or lawyer that he always wanted you to be. Great. So why do you still feel so unsettled about all this? Continue reading →

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by | March 7, 2017 · 10:30 am

The Opposite of Loneliness: Marina Keegan’s Sentiments for the Student

Posted By Emily McClemont, GD Creative Nonfiction Reader for 5.2

“Sparkl[ing] with talent, humanity, and youth.” (O, The Oprah Magazine).

In May of 2012, Marina Keegan graduated magna cum laude from Yale University. She lost her life in a car accident shortly after. Two years following Keegan’s death, a collection of her short stories and essays was published. A New York Times bestseller and Goodreads Choice Awards in Nonfiction (2014) winner, The Opposite of Loneliness conveys, as Keegan’s former mentor, Harold Bloom states, Keegan’s request for the student generation “to invest their youthful pride and exuberance both in self-development and in the improvement of our tormented society.” Continue reading →

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by | February 13, 2017 · 3:00 pm

National Book Review Month: An Interview with Dr. Lytton Smith

Posted by Grace Rowan, GD Non-Fiction Reader for 5.2

When most people think of the month of February, events such as Valentine’s Day, Black History Month, and President’s Day come to mind. What you may not know is that February is also National Book Review Month. Here at SUNY Geneseo, we are celebrating books of all genres through the English Department’s second annual National Book Review Month (NaRMo). Readers can submit reviews of their favorite books to the NaRMo website: www.narmo.milne-library.org. The website provides five easy steps to writing a book review and how to submit the review once completed. NaRMo is accepting reviews from a variety of genres including Children’s Books, Drama, Fiction, Non-Fiction, and Poetry. Continue reading →

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by | December 20, 2016 · 4:00 pm

Gandy Dancer Issue 5.1 Preview

Gandy Dancer Issue 5.1 PreviewPosted by Robbie Held, GD Poetry Section Head for 5.1

After months upon months of sleepless and harrowing nights of editing, with only our immutable and eternal love for literature keeping us going, Gandy Dancer issue 5.1 has been sent to the presses packed full of art and literature with broad appeal. In the mood for fiction about a thrilling night of skinny dipping? Rachel Britton’s “Bare” will do the trick. Malcolm Flanigan’s “All Roads,” a personal tour of Rome, NY, will delight if urban decay is more your speed. Either way, the launch party is on the 20th of December, and we hope to see you there. I, for one, will be there wearing my finest oversized, pink IZOD sweatshirt. Continue reading →

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by | November 5, 2016 · 9:00 am

“How to Poem”: An Interview with Gandy Dancer Contributor Ashley Olin

Posted by Rachel Powers, GD Poetry Reader for 5.1

 

Ashley Olin - Poem

From Miley Cyrus to “Wikipedia-ing,” Gandy Dancer’s former contributor discusses the writing process behind her poems.

We are excited for the chance to visit with former Gandy Dancer 3.1 contributor, Ashley Olin. Although Ashley no longer travels across Geneseo’s college green to get to poetry workshops, her time as an undergraduate student at SUNY Geneseo has shaped her unique writing process. From surfing Wikipedia to finding inspiration in pop culture, Ashley shares some sources of inspiration for her poems. Continue reading →

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by | October 26, 2016 · 9:00 am

A Short Review of Heirlooms Followed by an Interview with Rachel Hall

HeirloomsPosted by Grace Ventura, GD Fiction Reader for 5.1

This past September, Gandy Dancer’s own faculty advisor Rachel Hall, had her collection of stories, Heirlooms, published. Heirlooms consists of stories written from the fictional viewpoint of Rachel’s mother and grandparents. The characters in the stories are Jewish and escape from an Occupied territory in France during World War II. In every story Rachel has recreated her family’s history; some of the information is true and some of it is stretched, but that’s the beauty of fiction. Continue reading →

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by | October 15, 2016 · 9:00 am

Finding a Voice Within Yourself

Posted by Giovanni Madonna, GD Fiction Reader for 5.1

Non-fiction has always been something of a gray zone for me because of how different it is from fiction. I’ve always loved the freedom that fiction allows, so when I entered into a non-fiction workshop this semester I was more than a bit intimidated. It was like having a smart phone and then suddenly having it taken away and replaced with one of those paper-thin flip phones that could do little more than call your parents. I started to wonder what I could write about, what would stick out, or be worth putting down. It took some time for me to realize I was asking the wrong questions. With nonfiction, it’s not a matter of finding the flashiest or most shocking events (though a good narrative could exist in those too), but about being willing and able to present yourself, your true self, to an unknown audience. And at the center of this necessary honesty is voice, the way the narrator sounds on the page and ultimately the unique personal lens that they present the essay through. Continue reading →

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by | October 4, 2016 · 1:00 pm

Finding Inspiration

Posted by Pam Haas, GD Poetry Reader for 5.1

As a writer, I’m constantly looking around for different sources to draw inspiration from. Recently, however, I’ve had a bit of a block. Every writer knows that feeling when the muse has abandoned them and nothing seems like poetry, or when the day feels too dreary and drippy to compose a satisfying painting. So to combat writer’s block for myself and anyone who may be similarly searching around for creative encouragement, I asked a few fellow student writers at SUNY Geneseo to respond to the question: Where do you get your inspiration from? This is what they have to say: Continue reading →

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