Tuesday, April 15, 2008 • Creative writing workshop to come to LCC

Lassen Community College will take center stage and become a beacon for local creative writing and poetry on Friday, April 18, and Saturday, April 19.

A reading will be held at 7 p.m. at Middleton Hall on April 18, which will be an opportunity for local writers and poets to showcase their talents to the public.

An intensive creative writing workshop will make up the bulk of Saturday, April 19, lasting from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The end result of the workshop will be a reading at 4:30 p.m. from all the workshop participants.

All the events will be free and open to the public.

According to a press release from the facilitators of the event, “Everybody in Lassen County is welcome, from high school students to seniors, from fourth generation residents to newcomers. Whatever you write will be of great personal value — to your family, your friends or possibly even a much wider audience.”

The event is being put together by college staff and accomplished writers in honor of National Poetry Month.

The facilitators of the workshop will include Phil Finkel, Candace Toft, Lynda Jackson and Dianna Henning, who are all published writers of poetry, fiction or nonfiction, as well as accomplished teachers.

Finkel has been featured four times at the Words and Music venue put together by the Lassen County Arts Council.

Toft has authored four novels and been the recipient of a number of writing awards, including the San Diego Book Awards Best Novel for her book “Emergence.”

Jackson has just completed her first children’s novel, “What on Earth Are You Doing Daisy Ramshead?”

Henning holds a Master of Fine Arts degree and has been published in several magazines, as well as teaching at several venues around the state.

LCC and a grant from Poets and Writers, a national organization dedicated to the promotion of all creative writing, are sponsoring the event.

Snacks and drinks will be provided, but workshop participants are encouraged to bring their own lunch.