Past Events

Do you love to read? Maybe you’re drawn to writing. Are you a maker of art? Or a Comic Con fan?

Join us for the first Ridges & Rivers Book Festival celebrating reading, writing, creativity, and community.

The Ridges & Rivers Book Festival is a partnership of two Viroqua organizations working together with the community to bring a dream to life.

The Driftless Writing Center and the McIntosh Memorial Library teamed up to celebrate the literary arts by engaging authors from around the world and finding support from businesses just down the street.

Learn more and register for events on the Ridges & Rivers Book Festival website.

Seats are limited. To register, click here.

Twenty pages, five to seven scenes. Splash pages, two-page spreads. A plots and B plots and C plots. Heroes and villains and love interests and sidekicks. Emotional arcs and paneling. This SMACK-BLAM-POW seminar addresses the storytelling arsenal Percy has gained from comics and how they have made him a better novelist, screenwriter, essayist and short story writer.

Cost: Free. Sponsored by the Driftless Writing Center.

For more with Benjamin Percy, join us Saturday, April 29th from 3:30pm - 4:15pm in the Western Technical College Community Room for a reading by Benjamin Percy, followed by a Q&A session with the audience.

See the Ridges & Rivers Book Festival website for a full list of events.

This workshop is full. To be added to the wait list, email us at driftlesswritingcenter@gmail.com.

This interactive workshop—intended for beginning and experienced fiction writers—will explore a few methods you can use to murder your internal critics and increase your own creative powers. Then we’ll explore a range of concrete literary techniques you can apply to write a compelling first paragraph that will inspire you to keep writing. By the end of the workshop, each participant will complete a draft of a first paragraph to be critiqued with nurturing eyes that will foster the confidence (dare we say the joy?) to complete your creative projects.

Fee: Sliding scale $20 - $65. (Scholarships are available. Contact us at driftlesswritingcenter@gmail.com for more info.)

This event and more are being offered at the Ridges & Rivers Book Festival! See the Ridges & Rivers Book Festival website for a full list of events.

This workshop is full.

Though the workshop is full, feel free to join us at 2:00pm - 2:45pm in the Western Technical College Community Room for a reading by Melissa Faliveno out of her essay collection TOMBOYLAND, named Best Book of 2020 by NPR, New York Public Library, and O, the Oprah Magazine.

See the Ridges & Rivers Book Festival website for a full list of events.

In this generative writing workshop, we’ll be thinking and writing about place and memory—the places of our past, what we remember of them and what we don’t, and how place and memory intersect to define, and often complicate, the stories of our lives. Come ready to write, share, and discuss your process and discoveries!

Registration is limited. To register, click here.

The Driftless Writing Center is delighted to host an in-person workshop led by lauded poet, editor, and publisher Richard Vargas. His workshop—titled “Dia de los Muertos: Honoring the Dead with Poetry”—will include resources, writing opportunities, and lively group discussion held at the Vernon County Historical Society.

About our featured instructor:

Richard Vargas was born in Compton, California, and earned his BA at Cal State University, Long Beach, where he studied under Gerald Locklin. Vargas received his MFA from the University of New Mexico, where he workshopped his poetry with Joy Harjo. He has edited/published five issues of The Tequila Review—highlighting early works by Jimmy Santiago Baca, Alberto Rios, Nila Northsun, and many more—and also edited/published The Más Tequila Review from 2009-2015, featuring poets from across the country. He has had four books of his poetry published: McLife (Main Street Rag), which was featured twice on Garrison Keillor’s Writer’s Almanac; American Jesus (Tia Chucha Press); Guernica, revisited (Press 53), also featured on the Writer's Almanac; and How A Civilization Begins (Mouthfeel Press), released on September 8 of this year. Vargas has been the recipient of the Taos Summer Writers’ Conference’s Hispanic Writer Award, served on the faculty of the National Latino Writers Conference, and facilitated a workshop at the Taos Summer Writers’ Conference. His poetry continues to appear in poetry journals and anthologies. Currently, he resides in Wisconsin, near the lake where Otis Redding’s plane crashed.

Date:

Saturday, October 8, 2022, 10:00 am - 12:00 pm (CT)

Location:

Vernon County Historical Society Museum

410 S. Center Avenue, Viroqua, WI

Cost:

Workshop cost: $20-$50 sliding scale.

(Scholarships are available. Email us at driftlesswritingcenter@gmail.com.)

Richard Vargas will give a free, in-person reading of his work followed by a community open mic and a brief Q&A session with Vargas. If you would like to read during the open mic portion, please email the Driftless Writing Center at driftlesswritingcenter@gmail.com with the subject line “open mic” to sign up for a 5-minute slot. The open mic is limited to 10 participants, so email now to claim your spot.

About the featured guest:

Richard Vargas was born in Compton, California, and earned his BA at Cal State University, Long Beach, where he studied under Gerald Locklin. Vargas received his MFA from the University of New Mexico, where he workshopped his poetry with Joy Harjo. He has edited/published five issues of The Tequila Review—highlighting early works by Jimmy Santiago Baca, Alberto Rios, Nila Northsun, and many more—and also edited/published The Más Tequila Review from 2009-2015, featuring poets from across the country. He has had four books of his poetry published: McLife (Main Street Rag), which was featured twice on Garrison Keillor’s Writer’s Almanac; American Jesus (Tia Chucha Press); Guernica, revisited (Press 53), also featured on the Writer's Almanac; and How A Civilization Begins (Mouthfeel Press), released on September 8 of this year. Vargas has been the recipient of the Taos Summer Writers’ Conference’s Hispanic Writer Award, served on the faculty of the National Latino Writers Conference, and facilitated a workshop at the Taos Summer Writers’ Conference. His poetry continues to appear in poetry journals and anthologies. Currently, he resides in Wisconsin, near the lake where Otis Redding’s plane crashed.

Date: Friday, October 7th, 2022
Time: 7:00 pm (CST)
Location: Metaphysical Graffiti Bookstore - 119 W. Court Street, Viroqua, WI

Kimberly Lee will give a free virtual reading of her work followed by a community open mic and a brief Q&A session with Lee. If you would like to join the open mic portion, please email the Driftless Writing Center at driftlesswritingcenter@gmail.com with the subject line “open mic” to sign up for a 5-minute slot. The open mic is limited to 10 participants, so email now to claim your spot.

Follow this Zoom link to join the open mic. 

About the featured guest:

Kimberly Lee left the practice of law some years ago to focus on motherhood, community work, and creative pursuits. A graduate of Stanford University and UC Davis School of Law, she worked as a public defender in Los Angeles. Kimberly is a SoulCollage®, Journal to the Self®, and Amherst Writers and Artists facilitator, and a teaching artist with The Loft Literary Center, Hugo House, and San Diego Writers Ink. She has served on the staff of Carve and F(r)iction magazines and is currently an editor and contributor at Literary Mama. Her work has appeared in a variety of publications and anthologies. For more on Kimberly, visit her website (www.kimberlylee.me) or find her on Instagram (@klcreatrix).

Registration is limited. To register, click here.

Workshop cost: $30-75 sliding scale. 

(Scholarships are available. Email us at driftlesswritingcenter@gmail.com.)

The Driftless Writing Center is delighted to launch the month of April by hosting a workshop led by literary magazine editor and writer Kimberly Lee. Her workshop—titled “Writing Parenthood”—aims to help participants mine their parenting experiences for writing inspiration while they celebrate the roles they play in other’s lives.

This will be a generative workshop, perfect for all skill levels, and will include imaginative prompts, short readings, a discussion of craft, and other exercises that will serve as catalysts for creativity. Participants will learn fresh perspectives and new approaches for developing material on this rich topic, with the option of sharing their work and receiving encouraging feedback. Join us for the opportunity to engage in community with other parent-writers during this motivating session.

Kimberly Lee left the practice of law some years ago to focus on motherhood, community work, and creative pursuits. A graduate of Stanford University and UC Davis School of Law, she worked as a public defender in Los Angeles. Kimberly is a SoulCollage®, Journal to the Self®, and Amherst Writers and Artists facilitator, and a teaching artist with The Loft Literary Center, Hugo House, and San Diego Writers Ink. She has served on the staff of Carve and F(r)iction magazines and is currently an editor and contributor at Literary Mama. Her work has appeared in a variety of publications and anthologies. For more on Kimberly, visit her website (www.kimberlylee.me) or find her on Instagram (@klcreatrix).

To join this open mic, click here. 

Richard Hedderman is a multi Pushcart Prize nominee and author of two collections of poetry including, most recently, Choosing a Stone, from Finishing Line Press, which was shortlisted for the Ashland Poetry Press Richard Snyder Award and the Codhill Press Poetry Award. His writing has appeared in dozens of publications both in the U.S. and abroad, as well as in several anthologies including In a Fine Frenzy: Poets Respond to Shakespeare (University of Iowa Press). More of his work can be found at richardheddermanpoetry.com.

Sign up for this workshop here. 

The Driftless Writing Center is delighted to host a workshop by Pushcart-nominated, Milwaukee-area poet and essayist Richard Hedderman this month. Hedderman’s workshop—titled “The Words You Choose: Poetry Demystified”—will not only demystify poetry for writers but also open their creative imaginations and help bring the essential tools of intuition, language, and poetic structure into practice.  

In his workshop, Hedderman aims to help writers troll for vocabulary as they vanquish their fears of the blank page. Above all, participants will absorb Hedderman’s chief lesson: they do not need to be poets to write poetry. This interactive workshop will begin with an informal discussion on one’s connection to poetry, followed by structured writing exercises and the option to share one’s new, demystified poems.  

Richard Hedderman is a multi Pushcart Prize nominee and author of two collections of poetry including, most recently, Choosing a Stone, from Finishing Line Press, which was shortlisted for the Ashland Poetry Press Richard Snyder Award and the Codhill Press Poetry Award. His writing has appeared in dozens of publications both in the U.S. and abroad, as well as in several anthologies including In a Fine Frenzy: Poets Respond to Shakespeare (University of Iowa Press). More of his work can be found at richardheddermanpoetry.com.

Many members of our writing community have been working hard on their craft this year. And we at the Driftless Writing Center would love to hear what you’ve been working on. So we’re hosting a virtual open mic, and the special guest is YOU!

Who: YOU

When: November 20th at 7 pm (CT)

Where: Zoom link

Meeting ID: 874 0932 8249

Passcode: 125542

To sign up for the open mic, email us at driftlesswritingcenter@gmail.com. We have a limit of 15 readers, so sign up soon! We’ll create a waiting list once we reach 15 participants. If you plan to sign up, please choose a piece that you can read within an allotted time of five minutes per person.

Not ready to read yet? No problem. You can still come and listen to what your fellow writers have been working on. And thank you for supporting the Driftless Writing Center. We look forward to celebrating everyone’s work!

Registration is now closed. The event will be livestreamed here

The Driftless Writing Center invites the public to attend a reading by United States Poet Laureate Joy Harjo on the University of Wisconsin La Crosse campus. A Q&A session and book signing will follow Harjo’s reading.

The reading is free and open to public on a first-come, first-served basis. All attendees will be required to wear a mask during the event and while on campus.

Joy Harjo is an internationally renowned performer and writer of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. She is serving her second term as the 23rd Poet Laureate of the United States, the first Native American to hold that post.

The author of nine books of poetry, including the highly acclaimed An American Sunrise, several plays and children's books, and two memoirs, Crazy Brave and Poet Warrior, her many honors include the Ruth Lily Prize for Lifetime Achievement from the Poetry Foundation, the Academy of American Poets Wallace Stevens Award, two NEA fellowships, and a Guggenheim Fellowship. As a musician and performer, Harjo has produced seven award-winning music albums including her newest, I Pray for My Enemies. She is Executive Editor of the anthology When the Light of the World was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through — A Norton Anthology of Native Nations Poetry and the editor of Living Nations, Living Words: An Anthology of First Peoples Poetry, the companion anthology to her signature Poet Laureate project. She is a chancellor of the Academy of American Poets, Board of Directors Chair of the Native Arts & Cultures Foundation, and holds a Tulsa Artist Fellowship. She lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The free public reading will be held at 1400 Centennial Hall, located at 308 16th Street North, La Crosse. Parking is available in front of the Fine Arts Center, at 16th and Vine Streets. Please contact the Driftless Writing Center at driftlesswritingcenter@gmail.com or 608-492-1669 to alert organizers to any accessibility needs.

Earlier in the day, Harjo will meet for an invitation-only discussion with UW-L Native American students and other Native youth, UW-L creative writing students, and other students interested in her work as a writer, musician, and activist.

These events are co-sponsored by Driftless Writing Center, UW-La Crosse English Department, UW-La Crosse College of Arts, Sciences, and Humanities, and the UW-La Crosse Provost’s Office.