Janus, to ancient Romans, was the god of beginnings and transitions. Nicholas Delbanco, former director of U-M’s Creative Writing MFA Program and the Hopwood Awards Program, now U-M Professor of English and Literature, is retiring. And the local literary community is throwing a party at Rackham Amphitheatre — a daylong symposium called The Janus Faced Habit: The Art of Teaching and the Teaching of Art.
2:00-3:15pm
What We Know: Considering creative writing's recent history as a discipline, the lessons of distinguished writer-teachers, and the challenges of integrating creative and pedagogical practice. In conversation with professors and authors Margaret Lazarus Dean, Miles Harvey, and Jesmyn Ward, moderated by author and essayist Donovan Hohn.
3:30-4:45pm
Write the Future: Addressing innovative new strategies pointing the way toward the evolution of the discipline. In conversation with professors and authors Valerie Laken, William Lychack, and Porter Shreve, moderated by Jeremiah Chamberlin.
5:30-6:30pm
Charles Baxter, lauded Midwest author and former director of Michigan’s Creative Writing MFA, and Delbanco share the stage at the Rackham Assembly Hall for a conversation, marking the finale of the daylong symposium.
“The Janus Faced Habit: The Art of Teaching and the Teaching of Art”
December 4, 2:00-6:30.
Rackham Amphitheatre, 915 E. Washington St. Free.
734-764-8572.
