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UAB Briefs: Creative writing workshop, summer blood drive

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Welcome to another installment of UAB Briefs, in which we keep track of interesting people and events on campus.

Know people, places and programs on the UAB campus that deserve a mention?

Email Iron City Ink at sydney@starnespublishing.com or jchambers@starnespublishing.com.

Fostering young writers

Photo courtesy UAB English Department

Each summer, the UAB English Department — in collaboration with the UAB Honors Program — presents the Ada Long Creative Writing Workshop, which offers high school students a rare opportunity to work closely with published authors, including nationally acclaimed poets, novelists and essayists who have extensive teaching experience.

The three-week workshop returns to UAB for its 14th year from June 12-30, with sessions held Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., according to the department web site

And it’s not too late for budding young writers to sign up, according to Tina Braziel, the workshop’s director.

“We have room for more high school students who are interested in creative writing and exploring Birmingham for inspiration,” Braziel told Iron City Ink this week.

Up to 30 students — rising high school sophomores, juniors and seniors — can participate.

The workshop is designed for students interested in creative writing for personal enrichment, as preparation for university work in creative writing or as an introduction to writing as a career field.

“The workshop students are challenged and encouraged to try new avenues of expression,” Braziel said. “Our faculty are very adept at enabling each student to take that next step in their creative development.”

The workshop staff and teachers also benefit from the experience, according to Braziel.

“We enjoy the students – who they are, what they create, and who they become,” Braziel said. “Workshop participants quickly become very invested in writing, including their own work and their peer's work. It is very rewarding to see their work and confidence develop and to watch their friendships blossom.”

And the benefits of the program for these young writers extend beyond the three weeks of the workshop, according to Braziel.

“The students gain long-lasting friendships with the other students and our very talented faculty members,” she said. “They don't leave us so much as they join a supportive community of writers.”

And many of the students go on to aggressively pursue the beginnings of careers as writers, according to Braziel.

“Academically, our alum are eager to explore more, by continuing to write, attending nationally recognized young writers conferences, publishing their work in local journals (and) serving as editors of their university creative writing magazines and newspapers,” she said.

This year’s Ada Long participants will receive their own high-quality writing journals designed by Greenbucket Press in Irondale. The cover of each journal features a silhouette of a former student filled with a sample of his or her writing, according to Braziel.

“I feel certain the students will be inspired by the high-quality materials and the design that represents the workshop's purpose – encouraging students to discover the writer and writing within,” she said.

Green Bucket Press was founded in 2016 by Anne Markham Bailey, who has in MFA in Book Arts from The University of Alabama and an MA in English with a concentration in Creative Writing from UAB.

The workshop is named in honor of Ada Long, who was an English professor, the founding director of the Honors Program and a strong advocate of community outreach and the value of literature.

Financial aid is available for students unable to afford the workshop fee.

For information about scholarships — as well as additional information about the workshop – go to uab.edu/cas/english.

Summer blood drive

Photo courtesy UAB

UAB and the American Red Cross are holding a special summer blood drive to mark the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Alabama Chapter.

The drive will be held at UAB Hospital, UAB Highlands and the UAB School of Dentistry from June 12-20, according to a UAB news release.

All blood types are urgently needed, the release states.

Blood shortages are common in the summer due to increased demand and the fact that many people’ donation schedules are altered by school breaks and vacations

Locations and times

UAB North Pavilion, 18th Street and Sixth Avenue South

UAB Highlands, 1201 11th Avenue South

UAB School of Dentistry, 1919 7th Ave. South

Donors should bring a photo ID.

To make an appointment, go to redcrossblood.org.

Sponsor codes are UABNP for the North Pavilion drive, UABHIGHLANDS for the Highlands drive or UAB for the Dental School drive.

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