Friday, April 10, 2015
3:00 to 4:15 PM
AWP Conference
Room L100 J, Lower Level
F262. “What Might Have Happened As Well:” Using Historical Figures in Fiction, Drama, and Poetry. (Rita Mae Reese, Valerie Martin, Kimberly Elkins, Maria Hummel, Dan O’Brien) Historical figures have long played a role in creative writing and now seem more popular than ever. How (and why) do you turn a historical figure into a character? What obligations do you have to that person and do those change if the character is related to you? How do we break free from the expected narrative? These award-winning writers, who have used figures ranging from Flannery O’Connor to the disappeared crew of the Mary Celeste, share what they have learned along the way.