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Tampa Bay Writers Network Manifesto

Who We Are

The Tampa Bay Writers Network (TBWN) operates from the Division of Languages, Literature, and Writing at the University of South Florida, St. Petersburg. Opinions expressed herein are by the faculty members and students who run the Network -- not the Division or the University.

Shout-outs to our WWS sponsors: the College of Arts and Sciences; Environmental Science, Policy, and Geography Program; Honors Program; Florida Studies Program; and the Tavern at Bayboro. In Spring 2008, audiences can look forward to conversations about drama, a night of fiction, and more poetry and spoken word, on Wednesday nights, once a month in the Spring, at 5:00PM – to take advantage of the post-work, pre-class crowd – and is free and open to the public

What We Do

Building Literary Community

When people think “literary community,” they think of San Francisco where Jack Kerouac came to live not St. Petersburg where he came to die. We hereby pronounce great writing alive and well in St. Pete, Clearwater, Tampa, Sarasota, and all points in between. Our area has an eclectic mix of writers: not only those who’ve penned the mysteries, detective novels, chick fictions, laugh-out-loud beach reads, Pulitzer-worthy journalism, and down-home “cracker” tales one expects of Florida literature, but also hip-hop influenced spoken word artists, DIY ‘zinesters, creative writing faculty from the area’s multiple universities, award winning poets, fiction writers, dramatists, and essayists who work outside those universities; homegrown talent and writers who have migrated here following the “snowbird” route of I-75 or the path of hurricane winds up the Gulf basin. TBWN provides a way for these different groups to communicate with one another and with their audiences, and a place where those who love good writing can go for event listings, reviews, and other information.

In particular, we specialize in the types of writing and the kinds of information that do not populate local newspapers, chain bookstores, and other commercial arenas. To cut to the chase, we mean literature and literary-based resources. We recognize that a term like “literature” is hard to define, and we define it broadly, unlike former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart, who said of pornography in Jacobellis v. Ohio that he could not define it, but he knew it when he saw it, TBWN’s directors have a combined total of 30+ years in thinking and writing about this subject and we feel comfortable in our knowledge of what constitutes good literature. For the purposes of this network and its productions, we refer to literature as the traditional genres (poetry, fiction, drama, essay) and their offspring that are gaining readers among younger generations today: spoken word, wikis, ‘zines, and other forms of visual and performance rhetoric. We deem something “good” when it shows attention to craft, when it labors – through language – to create something beautiful or to disrupt our notions of what beauty is all about in the first place. Good literature knows the rules and breaks them when it needs to for good effect. Good literature makes us laugh, cry, think, feel, get angry, celebrate, ask questions...

This kind of writing – what we define as good literature – does not have adequate institutional structure in the Tampa Bay area, and that is where TBWN steps in. The area has a great literary journal, the Tampa Review, and excellent creative writing programs at USF Tampa, University of Tampa, Eckerd College, and more, but sometimes it’s hard to know what is happening on those campuses if one is not already a member of that particular community. And, sometimes (we have to admit that we, too, can be guilty on this count) universities are a bit stodgy when it comes to what counts as literature, not as open to new voices. TBWN hopes to address both of these issues.

The main targets of TBWN’s ire, however, are the more public literary forums and sponsors, which have proven inadequate for a metropolitan area of this size. The Tampa Tribune, the St. Petersburg Times, the St. Petersburg Times Festival of Reading, and most of the area’s book-selling venues privilege two kinds of writing: journalism and genre fiction. This is understandable to some extent, given the quality, quantity, and sales figures of local talent in those areas. But these institutions provide, at best, only minimal coverage of traditional literary genres and their offspring. Readings at local universities are often ghettoized to the “neighborhood” or “college beat” sections rather than “book pages.” Book reviews usually focus on a pool of writers that has grown stagnant from the lack of fresh voices, from which there are plenty to choose in the area. And, sometimes, the official literary taste in the Tampa Bay area is just plan bad. One guardian of culture dismissed a local Guggenheim- and NEA-prize winning poet’s work by saying that he did not relate to school children. If that is going to be your criteria for judging good writing, then someone who knows better needs to step up. The Tampa Bay Writers Network therefore nominates itself to be the clearinghouse for literary culture for this area.

Ongoing Projects

A website ( http://www.stpt.usf.edu/tbwn/ ):

Listing literary events, venues, resources, and writer profiles. This site needs the support of local writers, venues, and readers. If you are a writer who has been published by a legitimate press and would like us to link to your or your publisher’s website, please let us know. If you are a venue who would like to have your literary events advertised, please keep us in the loop. If you are a reader who would like to have features added to this site, please suggest them. We will do our best to accommodate what our resources and mission allow. Note that TBWN has final say over which presses we consider legitimate, which venues we advertise, and which reader suggestions to accommodate.

A ‘zine - Augusta Block:

Named after the bricks on our streets, not the city in Georgia, scheduled for debut in Spring 2007. Produced primarily by students at USF St. Pete, the ‘zine includes book reviews, writer interviews, original literary works, graphics, and more – all by and about local or state writers. ‘zines are distributed on campus and at various locations throughout the area, and those who make donations to TBWN can have their very own copy mailed to their very own home. Back copies of August Block will also be archived on our website. The purpose of this ‘zine to provide a written location where readers can learn about something other than journalism and genre fiction in this area.

Wednesday Writers Series:

Bringing together local and regional writers who read and discuss their work. The Spring 2007 series included Don Morrill and Mark Walters on the art of creative nonfiction; Bill Belleville and Ann Fisher-Wirth on nature writing; Gianmarc Manzione and Martha Serpas on poetry; and Lizz Straight and special guests on spoken word performance.

What We Don't Do

Read and critique your work

We are not creative writing teachers, just readers and lovers of literature. Being able to critique people’s writing and help them develop as writers is a skill that takes a long time to learn. We know only that we don’t know how to do it. If you are serious about your writing, you should sign up for a course at a local university or continuing education facility. Seriously, if we do not know you and you come up to us at a reading and hand us your poetry, you are wasting your time. We will probably throw it away. If we do know you, you are still wasting your time, but we will at least say something nice to you. For the record, USF St. Pete does offer a limited range of poetry and fiction writing classes, but no creative writing major.

Offer publishing advice

Ditto – we are not published creative writers, only readers. If you are an undergraduate or graduate student enrolled in one of our classes who wants to know how to circulate manuscripts for academic publication, we can help. We have a lot of experience with both acceptance and rejection. If you are not enrolled, or have not ever been enrolled in our classes, ask the professors who know you. For writers of poetry, freelance non-fiction, and just about every genre of fiction one can imagine, there are multiple guides to publication available at your local bookstore giving excellent advice.

Offer writing support groups

At the moment, TBWN does not list local writing support groups on its website, although we understand that there are a couple of good ones around. We do no underestimate the value of getting feedback on your work, and we do plan to begin listing legitimate support groups on the site. In the meantime, those wishing to find a writing buddy, start their own support group, or even create some competition by creating their own writers’ network are encouraged to post to our wiki.

The latter suggestion is made in the ultimate spirit of this network. We were not satisfied with what the area offered us in terms of literary community, even though we knew that great writers surrounded us, so we started our own network. If you do not find that TBWN satisfies your needs as a writer or reader, then create your own network and we will be happy to link to it on our site. Despite any polemic, we’re still all about facilitating community!