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Augsburg creative writing mentor Neal Karlen describes connection to Prince in Star Tribune column

Minneapolis Star Tribune - logoNeal Karlen, a mentor in Augsburg College’s Master of Arts in Creative Writing program, described the unlikely friendship he developed with music icon Prince in a recent Star Tribune column. Karlen is among an elite group of writers granted in-depth interviews with Prince in the mid-1980s. Over time, discussions between the print writer and the songwriter developed into something akin to friendship, according Karlen.

“I always told Prince I knew he really didn’t consider me a friend, but as one of the few people in Minneapolis who was probably awake, like he always was, in the middle of the night, and was ‘Willing and Able,’ as my favorite song of his is titled, to talk about loneliness and death,” Karlen wrote.

“I even rubbed it in, in the opening of my second Rolling Stone cover story on Prince, published in 1990.

‘The phone rings at 4:48 in the morning,'”

Pioneer Press deems Howling Bird ‘ready to take off’

PioneerPressHowling Bird, a student-run press at Augsburg College, is Minnesota’s newest small publisher. Howling Bird will take flight December 1 with the announcement of the winner of the press’ first National Poetry Prize, according to the Pioneer Press.

The honored poet will receive $1,000 and publication by Howling Bird in a trade paperback. That book will be guided through the publication process, from editing and design to marketing and distribution, by three students in the newly established publishing concentration in Augsburg’s low-residency Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing program. To learn more about the MFA program and its students, read “Augsburg’s Howling Bird press ready to take off” on the Pioneer Press website.

Submit to Murphy Square by Feb. 3

murphysquareMurphy Square is a publication of the Augsburg community, a collection of short stories, essays, c, and visual arts created by students, faculty, and staff of the College. Below Augsburg College students and a professor of English share their thoughts about the importance of this .

You can submit to the 2012 edition of Murphy Square through Friday, Feb. 3. Email murphysquare@augsburg.edu with your art or written work attached as a document. Your name should not be on the file. Put your name and the title of the work in the body of the email. Email olsoncar@augsburg.edu with questions.

Pictured here is the Murphy Square editorial staff. Continue reading “Submit to Murphy Square by Feb. 3”

The Art of Learning

lor_convocationAt Tuesday’s opening convocation, Day student body president Houa Lor ’13 challenged students to practice three art forms—habits in the art of learning that can help students succeed. An excerpt from his speech follows:

Read:

Most of you have been reading for a long time now, but this first advice is not your typical magazine or newspaper read. I am referring to the reading that requires you to find the main point and supporting details in a particular passage. Sounds easy? Because it is. But for me, it was much more of a struggle than anything…. The difficulty was not comprehension, but rather the lack of focus that was put into it. It is easy to quickly read an assigned chapter, close the book and go do something else. I am sure this is familiar to some of you. Continue reading “The Art of Learning”

The sights and sounds of Paris

parisIt is said that Paris is never more French than in the winter. Perhaps that is one of the reasons why a group of students and two Augsburg faculty spent part of their holiday break taking in the sights and sounds of Paris.

Actually, they were in the City of Light to experience the art and music. In this course, professors Merilee Klemp of the music department and Tara Sweeney of the art department worked together to develop a program that would help students understand and appreciate the intersections between the disciplines. Continue reading “The sights and sounds of Paris”