LIWP 2023 Spring Conference
Building a More Perfect Union: Celebrating the Humanities
LIWP 2023 Spring Conference
Join us for a conference that will celebrate a year-long initiative that explores identity, history, family stories, and the humanities. Conference will include a keynote speech by Poet Laureate Richard Blanco, a panel presentation by educators who were participants in the
year-long grant project, and an open-mic opportunity. Discover ways to engage your students and reignite your teaching. Connect with educators who share your passion and commitment to literacy.
To register now, please complete the registration form at LIWP 2023 Conference
The conference cost is free. Register early to reserve your spot.
This event is made possible through the generous support of NWP/NEH grants and Nassau
Community College.
If you have questions, please contact Darshna Katwala, LIWP Director, at
Certificates and CTLE credit will be provided.
LIWP 2023 Spring Conference
Friday, Mar 31, 2023, 09:00 AM
Nassau Community College, Education Drive, Garden City, NY, USA
Keynote Presenter, Richard Blanco
Selected by President Obama as the fifth inaugural poet in U.S. history, Richard Blanco is the
first Latino, immigrant, and gay person to serve in such a role. Born in Madrid to Cuban exile
parents and raised in Miami, the negotiation of cultural identity characterizes his four collections
of poetry: How To Love a Country, City of a Hundred Fires, which received the Agnes Starrett
Poetry Prize from the University of Pittsburgh Press; Directions to The Beach of the Dead,
recipient of the Beyond Margins Award from the PEN American Center; and Looking for The
Gulf Motel, recipient of the Paterson Poetry Prize and the Thom Gunn Award. He has also
authored the memoirs For All of Us, One Today: An Inaugural Poet’s Journey and The Prince of
Los Cocuyos: A Miami Childhood, winner of a Lambda Literary Award. His inaugural poem
“One Today” was published as a children’s book, in collaboration with renowned illustrator Dav
Pilkey. Boundaries, a collaboration with photographer Jacob Hessler, challenges the physical
and psychological dividing lines that shadow the United States. And his latest book of poems,
How to Love a Country, both interrogates the American narrative, past and present, and
celebrates the still unkept promise of its ideals. Blanco has written occasional poems for the
re-opening of the U.S. Embassy in Cuba, Freedom to Marry, the Tech Awards of Silicon Valley,
and the Boston Strong benefit concert following the Boston Marathon bombings. He is a
Woodrow Wilson Fellow and has received numerous honorary doctorates. He has taught at
Georgetown University, American University, and Wesleyan University. He serves as the first
Education Ambassador for The Academy of American Poets.
The Long Island Writing Project
The LIWP comprises teachers from kindergarten through university. Our seminar leaders are outstanding educators from different grade levels and disciplines in local schools, and we have a strong, ongoing partnership with Hofstra University's Department of Literacy Studies. LIWP teacher-consultants keep up with research and changes in education and their work is grounded in practical classroom approaches. Through our model of teachers teaching teachers, participants in the LIWP strengthen the classroom strategies they already find effective in teaching writing and develop new ones.
One of the most important foundational beliefs of our Project is that teachers improve their knowledge of teaching writing by writing themselves. Another is that the best way to improve our own teaching is through sharing what works with other effective teachers. We welcome your inquiries, and look forward to writing, learning and teaching with you.
The Long Island Writing Project at SUNY Nassau Community College is an approved Sponsor of Continuing Teacher and Leader Education (CTLE) pursuant to Section 80-6 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education, New York State Education Department (NYSED).
Email: Darshna.Katwala@ncc.edu
Website: https://longislandwritingproject.weebly.com/
Location: Nassau Community College, Education Drive, Garden City, NY, USA
Twitter: @liwpwriters1