2018 Conference
Loo-ee-ville … Loo-iss-ville … Loo-uh-vul …
No matter how you say it, Louisville will be the place to be on February 22-24, 2018, for the 53rd annual TYC A-SE conference. Held at the historic Brown Hotel in downtown Louisville, the conference theme of Recipes for Student Success: Familiar Favorites and Inspired Creations promises a host of presentations and speakers to inspire and delight the TYCA-SE membership.
Our opening plenary speakers epitomize the conference theme. Kentucky’s2017 Poet Laureate, Frederick Smock, is a “familiar favorite” in literary circles. He joins the “inspired creations” of musician and emerging author J.D. Wilkes, who will not only speak at the opening plenary session but will provide music for our Derby Party that evening.
Our Friday Luncheon speaker, Crystal Wilkinson, blends the ideas of “familiar” and “inspired” nicely. An accomplished poet, novelist, and short-story writer, Crystal has taken her writing talents into the classrooms of colleges and universities across the state, inspiring a new generation of creative writers in Kentucky.
2018 Conference Speakers
Kentucky poet laureate Frederick Smock is a Louisville native. A graduate of Georgetown College and the University of Louisville, he serves as Professor of English at Bellarmine University. For fifteen years he edited The American Voice, an international literary journal. Those papers are housed in the Duke University Archives.
Mr. Smock has published ten books of poems and essays. Two new books are forthcoming – Book of Earthly Delights, poems from Larkspur Press; and On Poetry: Palm-of-the-Hand Essays, from Broadstone Books. His awards include the 2002 Henry Leadingham Poetry Prize, the 2003 Jim Wayne Miller Prize for Poetry, the 2005 Bellarmine University Wyatt Faculty Award, and the 2008 Kentucky Literary Award for Poetry. In 1995, the Kentucky Arts Council awarded him the Al Smith Fellowship in Poetry.
Nationally, his work has appeared in The Iowa Review, The Hudson Review, Poetry (Chicago), The Southern Review, Poetry East, Shenandoah, American Poetry Review, Arts & Letters, The Antioch Review, The Bloomsbury Review, and many others. Internationally, his work has appeared in Russkya Mysl (Russia), Dublin Poetry Review (Ireland), Olivier (Argentina), Art-Interpres (Sweden), and others.
Crystal Wilkinson is the author of a novel, The Birds of Opulence, and two collections of short stories, Blackberries, Blackberries and Water Street. She is the recipient of the 2017 Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence, the Judy Gaines Prize, and the Weatherford Award for Appalachian Literature. She has been a finalist for the Hurston Wright Award and the Orange Prize. Wilkinson has taken her writing talents into the classroom by teaching in several creative writing programs around Kentucky. She and her partner, Ron Davis, own The Wild Fig bookstore in Lexington, Kentucky.
Hotel
The 2018 TYCA-SE Conference will take place February 22-24, 2018, at a true Kentucky treasure: The Brown Hotel, located at the corner of Fourth Street and Broadway in downtown Louisville, Kentucky.
To make reservations at the special TYCA-SE conference rate of $169.00 (single or double) or $189.00 (triple or quad) plus local taxes per night, visit this link.
To reserve by telephone, call 1-888-888-5252 and identify yourself as being with the TYCA-SE 2018 Conference to receive the conference rate. Reservations must be made on or before January 31, 2018. Any reservations received after the cut-off date will be accepted on an available space and rate basis only. Check-in time is 4:00 p.m., and checkout time is 11:00 a.m.
Visit the hotel website for more information about The Brown Hotel.
TYCA-SE 2018 Recipes for Student Success: Familiar Favorites and Inspired Creations Call For Proposals
Pre-Conference Opportunities
Memoir Writing ($25)
Marine, social worker, carpet layer, janitor, bartender, race horse trainer, and college professor, Jim McGarrah lives in Louisville, Kentucky, close enough to Churchill Downs to hear the crowd roar each year at the Kentucky Derby. His memoir of war, A Temporary Sort of Peace (Indiana Historical Society Press, 2007) won the national Eric Hoffer Legacy Non-Fiction Award, and the sequel, The End of an Era, was published in 2011. He is editor, along with Tom Watson, of the anthology Home Again: Essays and Memoirs from Indiana and the former managing editor of Southern Indiana Review. His most recent memoir, Misdemeanor Outlaw: A Confession of Life, was published in June 2017.
Jim is also a poet and author of three award-winning books of poetry: Running the Voodoo Down (Elixir Press, 2003); When the Stars Go Dark (Main Street Rag, 2009); and Breakfast at Denny's (Ink Brush Press, 2013). His poems, essays, and stories appear frequently in literary journals such as Bayou Magazine, Breakwater, Cincinnati Review, Chamber Four, Connecticut Review, and North American Review.
Walking Tour of Downtown Louisville ($25)
Join us for a walking tour of Downtown Louisville highlighting the architecture and attractions that make Louisville so unique. Part of the city’s vibe comes from its goal to “Keep Louisville Weird” by supporting the many independent restaurants and shops throughout the city.
Post-Conference Opportunities
We know you’ll take away from this year’s conference inspired ideas and a renewed interest in familiar practices, but we don’t want the creativity and inspiration to end with the closing session. The planners invite you to explore all that the city has to offer and immerse yourself in the culture of Louisville. With so many options available, we are providing you with a listing of local attractions, including locations/typical costs. The choice is yours.
Tentative Schedule
Wednesday, February 21, 2018
1:00-5:00pm REC Meeting
5:00-7:00pm Registration
6:00-8:30pm REC Dinner
8:30pm-Midnight Chair’s Reception
Thursday, February 22, 2018
8:00am-5:00pm Registration
9:00am-12:00pm Pre-Conference Opportunities
10:00am-5:00pm Publishers’ Exhibits
1:00-3:00pm Opening Plenary Session
5:00-7:00pm Hospitality Suite open
3:00-5:00pm Voting for REC Candidates
3:15-4:00pm Concurrent Session I
4:15-5:45pm Cowan/Doster Awards Session & Reception
8:00-10:00pm Derby Party
9:00pm-Midnight Hospitality Suite open
Friday, February 23, 2018
7:00-8:30am Continental Breakfast
8:00am-5:00pm Registration
8:00am-5:00pm Publishers’ Exhibits
8:00-11:00am Voting for REC Candidates
8:00-8:45am Concurrent Session II
9:00-9:45am Concurrent Session III
10:00-10:45am Concurrent Session IV
11:00-11:45am State Meetings
12:00-2:00pm Luncheon
2:15-3:00pm Concurrent Session V
3:15-4:00pm Concurrent Session VI
4:00-11:00pm Hospitality Suite Open
4:15-5:00pm REC Meeting, Chair's Suite
Saturday, February 24, 2018
7:30-8:30am Continental Breakfast
8:00-10:30am Publishers’ Exhibits
8:30-9:15am Concurrent Session VII
9:30-10:15am Concurrent Session VIII
10:30am-12:00pm Closing Session
1:00pm-???? Post Conference Activities
Registration:
2018 Conference Highlights
TYCA-SE Chair’s Reception
If you get to Louisville on Wednesday, February 21, please join us for a TYCA-SE tradition, the annual Chair’s Reception. Starting at 8:30pm, the Chair’s Reception is an excellent way to kick off your TYCA-SE conference experience by reconnecting with old friends, making new ones, relaxing after your travels, and having a drink or two. Those “in the know” know that the Chair’s Reception is not to be missed.
Cowan/Doster Award Session
Each year, our organization recognizes excellence in teaching and in service to TYCA-SE with the Doster and Cowan Awards. The annual Awards Reception honors the recipients of these awards, who give often poignant talks about their teaching and TYCA-SE experiences. Be sure to join us at 4:15 on Thursday, February 22, to hear these award-winning presenters and light refreshments.
Derby Party
AND THEY’RE OFF! Join us on Thursday evening 8:00-10:00 pm for a night of racing (taped) and wagering (with play money), Kentucky Derby style. Enjoy light refreshments and a Derby hat contest. Wagering begins at 8:00 p.m.
Contacts
Meg Matheny - Local Arrangements Co-chair: meg.matheny@kctcs.edu
Anne Lotz - Local Arrangements Co-chair: anne.lotz@kctcs.edu
Rebecca Mullins - Program Chair: rebecca.mullins@kctcs.edu