Marianne Murphy Zarzana
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"A Salty Sweet Nothing" in Notre Dame Magazine Online

4/24/2013

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One of my essays, "A Salty Sweet Nothing," was published in Notre Dame Magazine online yesterday. In the essay, I reveal how after 25 years of being married to Jim Zarzana, I finally gave him  what he really wanted all along.

Kerry Temple, editor of ND Magazine, and his staff do a terrific job covering not only the University but tackling the bigger issues around the globe. Check it out.
 
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Thomas Maltman to Read from Little Wolves at SMSU, 4/22

4/20/2013

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Thomas Maltman will be reading from his new novel, Little Wolves, at Southwest Minnesota State University on Monday, April 22 at 7 p.m. in Charter Hall 201. 

Cindy Votruba at the Marshall Independent recently wrote a feature article about Tom, "Exploring His Imagination."

While I was a graduate student working on my Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing at Minnesota State University, Mankato, Tom was also earning his MFA. I've always been impressed with Tom's fine writing, and it's an honor to be able to invite him to read at SMSU and meet with our creative writing students.

This afternoon Tom gave a terrific presentation about writing as the keynote speaker for the 9th Annual Creative Writing Contest Awards Ceremony co-sponsored by SMSU and the Southwest/West Central Service Cooperative. It's one of my favorite annual events of the academic year. This contest was established as a partnership between SMSU's Creative Writing Program and the SW/WC Service Cooperative to encourage a love of language and writing for all students and as a way to recognize the talented young writers in southwest and west central Minnesota.

Students from 3rd to 12th grade submit their stories, poems and essays, then SMSU students serve as the first-tier judges, and our English faculty serve as the second-tier judges. Steve Pacheco judged fiction, Jim Zarzana judged non-fiction, and I judged poetry.  I love meeting these students after reading their work, meeting their parents, and watching their excitement as they walk to the front of the room to receive their medal and pick up the Creating Spaces anthology with their published work. 

Writing is a solitary activity, but it is fueled by community, by connection. By a sense that writing matters. As the Director of Creative Writing at SMSU, I thank all those parents, teachers, and writers who encourage and mentor young writers, who tell them to "keep writing, keep going." We need their words, stories and poems. 
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Y 2 Z: Yost and Zarzana to Team Up for SMSU Reading

4/18/2013

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Dana Yost's reading from his new book, A Higher Level: Southwest State University Women's Tennis 1979-1992, at Southwest Minnesota State University today at noon was cancelled due to the campus being closed by yet another spring snowstorm. 

Tomorrow, Friday, April 19, at noon, Dana will share a reading with me, Marianne Murphy Zarzana, in the SMSU Whipple Gallery. I'll follow Dana at 12:30. The title of my reading is "When Writing and Art Converse," and I'll be reading collaborative poems I wrote in response to the fine work of artist Betty L. Beer. I'll also be reading a brand new poem I wrote in response to a KARE 11 TV spot featuring my SMSU colleague, friend and award-winning poet Susan McLean reciting some weather-related poetry:
http://www.kare11.com/news/article/1020726/14/Marshall-residents-cope-with-winters-blast

April is certainly proving to be the cruelest month here in southwest Minnesota. But we've spotted purple and white crocuses pushing up in our garden under all that white. Although it feels like we're under the White Witch's spell in Narnia, as my husband Jim said last week, there will be thaw, there will be green. We're keeping hope alive in fly-over country.
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Dana Yost to Read from A Higher Level at SMSU, 4/18

4/17/2013

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As part of the SMSU Fine Arts Festival, award-winning journalist, poet and SMSU graduate Dana Yost will be reading tomorrow, April 18, at noon in CH 201 from his new book, A Higher Level: Southwest State University's Women Tennis 1979-1992. He'll also be reading some of his fine poetry. 

Whether taking on women's collegiate tennis, local or national issues, Dana allows readers to grasp the bigger picture in stories and poems that engage the mind, the heart and the soul. I hope you can join us tomorrow!
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Dana Yost's New Blog 

4/1/2013

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One of my favorite writers, Dana Yost, has a new blog: danayost.wordpress.com. 


I could go on and on for a long time about Dana's award-winning writing--his poetry, journalism and non-fiction--but I encourage you to head straight to his site, read his sample poetry, order his books, subscribe to his blog via email, and find out for yourself what a truly exceptional writer we have in Dana Yost. 
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    I love to play with words. To capture moments on the page. To explore the physical and spiritual geography of what I call "fly-over country." I write from imagination, observation and my own experience of wandering in fly-over country--the literal, physical spaces of my life on the Minnesota prairie and the inner territory of the soul. 

    I teach writing at Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall, Minnesota. I enjoy cooking and traveling with my husband Jim, reading, practicing yoga, playing tennis, biking, hiking and gardening.

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