Writing in Collaboration: The Student Editors Who Create Inkwell

This is the second article exploring the Inkwell project and how students, faculty, and alumni can benefit from its influence on Evergreen’s writing culture. The first article of this series introduced the history of Inkwell at Evergreen.

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Four students sitting together at a round table looking at a piece of writing. In the background is a colorful mural featuring abstract designs of letters from different alphabets.

The editorial board (from left to right: Matt Turner ’15, Nicole Christian ’14, and Mary Kallem ’14) working with writer Katelyn Peters ’14.

The Inkwell process begins each fall. Over the course of the school year and countless hours of meetings, Inkwell’s editors and writers—the student tutors at the Writing Center—hone their skills, developing articles from still-forming ideas into the finished versions that appear on paper.

In this interview, Publications Editor Thane Fay ’13 sat down with Inkwell editorial board members Mary Kallem ’14 and Matt Turner ’15 to discuss their experience with the project.

“Inkwell [is] a process that I immediately identified as something that would enrich my experience not only as a student, writer, and tutor, but as a human who values collaborative engagement.” – Matt Turner

Inkwell is a publication born out of Evergreen and the Writing Center’s unique approaches to collaborative learning, student empowerment, and linking theory to practice. The in-depth cooperation between Inkwell’s writers and editors reflects the Writing Center’s value that all writers, no matter their skill level, can benefit from supportive and comprehensive guidance from their peers. With articles centered around the experiences of student writers, Inkwell serves as a fulcrum for conversations about writing at Evergreen.

“Unlike other publications, I don’t think Inkwell’s ‘final result’ is the published artifact that sits on my shelf. The ‘results’ I’m in it for are the benefits the Evergreen community gets from reading it: the circulation of grassroots knowledge gleaned from working with students.” – Mary Kallem

Keep your eyes out for Inkwell 9, coming soon in Fall of 2014. You can read digital copies of past editions of Inkwell on the Writing Center’s website, or find physical copies in the Evergreen Archives.

Read the full interview here.

Writer Nick Mattos, ’06, Interviewed on LGBT Characters in Pop Culture

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Nick Mattos, ’06, is a freelance journalist and essayist.

Nick Mattos, ’06, is a freelance journalist and essayist living in Portland, OR. He turned up recently in The Guardian as one of three panelists discussing the evolution of LGBT characters in pop culture.  Here is a sample:

The Guardian: The concept of the ‘gay sidekick’ is a classic mainstream exploration of the LGBT community in American pop culture. Have gay characters moved more to the center of the plot in recent years, and where does work still need to be done?

Nick: One great effect I’ve observed in recent representation of queer people in pop culture is the presence of queer characters whose sexuality is not the crux of their identity. A great example of this was the character of Mitch Downe in the excellent 2012 film Paranorman, who was arguably the first openly gay character in a mainstream children’s animated film. He wasn’t stereotyped at all – the revelation of his sexuality was actually a humorous but sensitively handled plot twist. [He] was instead a whole, integral character, whose personality grew organically through the course of the film. In terms of work that still needs to be done, there are still very few representations of queer people that don’t fit the mold of being affluent, white, and relatively heteronormative in expression.

Read the entire interview at The Guardian.

The Inkwell Project: Part of Evergreen’s Writing Culture

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Cover of the first Inkwell, 2006.

Editor’s Note: The Writing Center, located in the Library building just off Red Square, is the creative home of Inkwell, A Student Guide to Writing at Evergreen. In this interview, Writing Center publications editor Thane Fay, ’13 talks with Inkwell co-founders Shaun Johnson, ’07 and Victoria Larkin, ’07 about the history of this student publication

This is the first of a series exploring the Inkwell project and how students, faculty, and alumni can benefit from its influence on Evergreen’s writing culture. 

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Inkwell cover 2012

Inkwell is written, edited, and designed entirely by Writing Center peer tutors, students dedicated to helping others find their voices through the writing process. Each year, authors discuss writing specific to Evergreen—such as seminar papers, evaluations, and academic statements—as well as exploring themes like developing a writing process, finding your voice as a student writer, and learning tools for academic and creative writing. With its emphasis on cultivating student voices and creating a culture of student empowerment in academics, Inkwell inspires student writers to think about how they write and invites them to become part of the Writing Center community

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Inkwell cover 2008

Inkwell co-founder Shaun Johnson, ’07 reflected that “Evergreen puts incredible emphasis on writing in curriculums across disciplines, so it seemed especially appropriate to draw a map for students to navigate.” Inkwell was created to be this kind of map.

The Writing Center distributes over a thousand free copies of Inkwell annually, both on campus and to the wider community. Inkwell co-founder Victoria Larkin ‘07 sees the publication as providing “a common ground, a jumping off place for conversations,” inspiring writers to “go into and beyond their preconceptions of the writing process, of writing in general, and of their own abilities.”

Learn more about The Writing Center. Read digital copies of past editions of Inkwell.

 

Continue reading

Evergreen Recognized as Spawning Ground for Creativity

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Carrie Brownstein ’98 in her Sleater-Kinney Days.

Thanks to the arts and culture blog “Dazed” for the Evergreen shout-out. Even if College’s name was slightly botched (missing “The” and further down “State”), many Greeners will agree, their alma mater inspires students to care, create and participate in their communities.

Excerpt:

E IS FOR EVERGREEN STATE COLLEGE
Forget Hogwarts. This exceptional school was the alt. place to be. The female-friendly liberal arts college spawned almost all the early movement big dogs, from Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein of Sleater-Kinney and Heavens to Betsy to Kathleen Hanna and Kathi Wilcox of Bikini Kill. Hanna studied photography. Brownstein was taking sociolinguistics. Tobi Vail was DJ of an Evergreen College radio show. Evergreen served as the environment that brought them together as likeminded individuals. While there, many of the grrrls volunteered or interned with SafePlace, a local shelter for women affected by domestic violence. This had a big impact on their blossoming movement.

Read the full article, an A-Z reflection on “grrrls who owned the 90s.”

Evergreen Provost Champions Liberal Arts Education

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Evergreen Provost Michael Zimmerman

Note: Provost Michael Zimmerman and Arts Advisor Pablo Schugurensky ’84 will facilitate an Evergreen Traveling Seminar in Seattle on March 14, titled Pushing Back Against the “STEM” Tide: The Value of A Liberal Arts Education. If you are in area and wish to attend, reserve your seats soon. Participation is limited to 25.  

‘Long before Michael Zimmerman joined Evergreen as Provost, he was a nationally respected voice in the often strident conversation about the value of a liberal arts education in an increasingly technology-driven world. Michael chairs the Washington Consortium for the Liberal Arts, a role that allows him to champion the restructuring of the conversation from the oppositional – liberal arts versus STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) – to a nuanced discussion of curricular balance on a continuum of knowledge. It starts with a respectful insistence on accurate definitions. Continue reading

Joselynn Engstrom ’99: Life Really is a Circus

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Joselynn Tokashiki Engstrom ’99

Note: You can read the full article in  City Arts.

Six days a week, Joselynn Tokashiki Engstrom can be found training at the School of Acrobatics & New Circus Arts in Georgetown—often hanging from a trapeze.

“I’ve never done anything that takes so much strength and concentration,” she says.

About 14 months ago, Engstrom and her artistic partner Terry Crane founded the Acrobatic Conundrum, a circus troupe that creates accessible, narrative shows that mix acrobatics, dance and theatre. From the beginning, she says, “We wanted to tell a story, we didn’t want it to be plug-and-play vaudeville.”

 Read the full article.

Luke Bradford ’02 – Making His Mark on the Washington Wine Scene

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Luke Bradford, ’02, owner of Cor Cellars winery in south-central Washington.

Luke Bradford, ’02, owner of Cor Cellars winery in south-central Washington.

Nestled in south-central Washington near the Oregon border, Cor Cellars winery, owned by Luke Bradford ’02, has been named Winery of the Year by the seattlepi.com’s  “Blue Collar Wine Guy.”

The writer traces Luke’s story from his early years growing up on a dairy farm in Pennsylvania, to his high school years in Park City, Utah, then to Evergreen. Mid-way through his college career, Luke traveled to Italy where he fell in love with wine and viticulture. His final years at Evergreen focused on chemistry and business, preparing him for his career as a maker of outstanding wines. Read the full article at seattlepi.com.

Filmmaker Bryan Smith ’97 Kicks Off 2014 “National Geographic Live” Speaker Series

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Filmmaker Bryan Smith ’97 visits Olympia as National Geographic speaker

Award-winning filmmaker Bryan Smith ’97 is living an Evergreen-powered dream, capturing the world on film for National Geographic. In January, he returns to Olympia as part of the 2014 National Geographic Live speaker series to talk about his globe-trotting career. Guaranteed, there will be lots of Greeners in the audience to welcome Bryan back, celebrate his success and maybe even sing an impromptu chorus of The Geoduck Fight Song.

When: Jan. 10 from 7:30-9:30 p.m. Where: The Washington Center for Preforming Arts, 512 Washington St. SE, Olympia.

Read the full story in the Olympian.