Young Writers' Program Open for Registration

The 2010 summer catalog is now available and open for registration.
Browse and register now

The Loft offers a wide range of classes for teen and young adult readers and writers. No grades are given, just lots of personal attention in small, energized groups. Classes range from, screenwriting, playwriting, comic book and graphic novel, satire, zines, fiction, poetry, and cutting-edge spoken word—maybe even a genre or two you haven’t even heard of. Interested in publishing? Just starting your own blog? Looking for help preparing for the SAT/ACT, the Loft is the place for you. Some classes also include trips to neighboring arts organizations.

For additional information, contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , Coordinator of Youth Programs, at 612-215-2595.

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You've Been Published

The Loft's Annual Report

Supporting members of the Loft have been published in the FY09 Annual Report. With your contribution the Loft continues to support the artistic development of writers, to foster a writing community, and to build an audience for literature.

Save the Date: June 3 is the Loft’s 35th
anniversary celebration and member homecoming (be the first to see Milkweed Edition’s Views from the Loft anthology).

 
A Purr-fect Place to Boost Your Writing Skills

by Lori L. Lake

A View from the Loft

If I told l you I saw a cat in a morgue, would you believe me?

It’s true. One April, I attended the Mad Anthony Mystery Conference in Hamilton, Ohio. As part of that event, participants toured the Hamilton Police, Fire, and Coroner’s departments.

The morgue was particularly fascinating. The coroner, Dr. Burkhardt, walked us through the process of receiving a body, and he and his staff showed us autopsy tools and spoke of procedures while regaling us with stories both macabre and humorous. As the coroner spoke, an orange tabby wound through our legs, his kitty-cat curiosity apparent. Someone asked why they had a cat in the morgue, and the coroner said, “There’s so much desolation here—it’s comforting to have something alive when devastated people come to identify their kin.”

A cat in the morgue. What an unusual fact, and wouldn’t it be great fun to weave that thread into a book? I must admit, though, that I did find myself wondering what would happen if some body part fell off the autopsy table or if those grieving next of kin had severe allergies to cats.

But feline antics aside, this conference included an in-depth Writers Police Academy taught by active or retired law enforcement personnel. About 120 people, including presenters, attended the mystery-related event, which was not only inexpensive but also surprisingly worthwhile.

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