Kestrel | Fairmont State University

Cover Art:

The Homes We Build by Kaitlyn Hunter

Cathy Barber

Michael Garcia Bertrand

John Blair

Ace Boggess

Kevin Boyle

Jonathan Bracker

Rick Campbell

Marisa P. Clark

Jim Daniels

Noah Davis

Ruth Dickey

K. Uwe Dunn

Amanda Hartzell

Hayley Harvey

William Heath

Max Heinegg

Cynthia Hogue

Kaitlyn Hunter

Julia Kastner

Paul Kopp

Susan Manchin

Hannah Marshall

Tina Morris

Marlene Olin

Derek N. Otsuji

Christine Potter

Bonnie Proudfoot

Andrew Michael Roberts

Gabriel Sage

Anna Egan Smucker

Jason Tandon

George Thomas

Matthew Tuckner

Sara Moore Wagner

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Kestrel 44 Celebration

Join contributors from Kestrel 44 for a virtual celebration this Friday and Saturday!

Friday, 4 June, 6:00-8:00 p.m. https://fairmontstate.webex.com/fairmontstate/j.php?MTID=m126ac4c82fb5f8...
Readings and Panel Discussion featuring Cathy Barber, Marisa P. Clark, Cynthia Hogue, Christine Potter, Jason Tandon, and Sara Moore Wagner

Panel Discussion Topic: Last Lines; Moderator: Elizabeth Savage, Poetry Editor, Kestrel

Often, as I read poems offered to Kestrel, I’m fooled by the whims of screen space and page breaks into thinking a poem has ended powerfully when—oh look!—it actually continues for another stanza, page, or pages. Less often, a group of poems will display a writer’s knack for closing lines: such poems can seem ordinary or unfinished until that last line, which sends me to reread and then to see the power threaded discreetly through the poem, bursting forth at the finish.

The same can be said about prose—last lines can expose the brilliance of a piece or throw it into question. I still remember the shocking ending of Mark Helprin’s short story “A Vermont Tale” twenty years after I last read it—the last line is likely the only reason I remember it. Alice Munro has the knack, and O’Connor, but not everyone.

To prepare for this discussion, think about your own last lines—your favorites, the elusive ones, the ones you’ve changed or cut. What status do last lines have in your writing and in others’ writing? Is the importance a constant—crucial in some pieces, trivial in others? Sometimes about sound, other times image or theme? Don’t try to address all these questions: just think over what interests you and come to the conversation ready to discuss what you’ve thought about or realized.

Saturday, 5 June, 2:00-4:00 p.m. https://fairmontstate.webex.com/fairmontstate/j.php?MTID=mc01d10409beaf5...
Readings and Panel Discussion featuring Kevin Boyle, Ray Keifetz, John Moessner, Tina Morris, Marlene Olin, and Bonnie Proudfoot

Panel Discussion Topic: Point of View; Moderator: Suzanne Heagy, Fiction Editor, Kestrel

In the Creative Writer’s Handbook, Jason and Lefcowitz write that, “Point of view is so powerful that it is the linchpin for every other aspect of writing.” The essential point of view question is: Who is going to do the telling? The answer to the question involves characterization, language choices, plotting, and so much more.

To prepare for this discussion, think about how you select a point of view when writing prose or poetry. Have you ever rewritten a piece from a different point of view than your initial approach? Are some POVs simpler or more difficult than others for you, and why? What is the value of expressing the POV of, say, a chair or a bar of lemon soap? Are some POVs off limits? How do you think POV choices influence the reception of your work?

All Kestrel contributors are welcome to join in an Open Mic Reading on Saturday from 6 to 8 p.m. https://fairmontstate.webex.com/fairmontstate/j.php?MTID=m66f09f7d6059be...