Internship Information
 

Minnesota – Writing for Social Change

Fall Semester

Example Internship Placements
Students will select internship settings from a range of organizations in Minnesota (examples provided below). Keep in mind that the below internships are not available every year, but provide an example. Many of these organizations have local context, while others will integrate the local with the global focus. The following provides information on internships that have been available in the past two years of the program. Sites will change in response to the needs of organizations locally and the specific interests of students coming on the program where possible.

Central High School / Central Touring Theatre
Interns at Central High School work in the black box theater with teacher Jan Mandel. Interns assist with the creation and production of original performances by a diverse group of high school students. The performances address a broad range of social and political issues as seen through the eyes of the students. Interns have helped with teaching, publicity, and poetry slams among other projects.

Graywolf Press
Graywolf Press is a nationally recognized nonprofit literary press, which publishes fiction, nonfiction, and poetry.  Students in Writing for Social Change would be exposed to all facets of the small press publishing industry, from editing to design to production, distribution, and promotion.

Interact Center for the Visual and Performing Arts
www.interactcenter.com
Interact Center’s mission is to create art and challenge society’s view of disability. Interact Center is a licensed day care provider, serving up to 80 actors and artists who have physical and/or mental and emotional disabilities. Interact has two main departments, visual art and performing arts. Interns in Writing for Social Change would work in the performing arts department, assisting with the conceptualization, writing, and performance of original works by Interact artists.

Intermedia Arts
www.intermediaarts.org
Intermedia Arts is a catalyst that builds understanding among people through art. Intermedia’s work directly addresses pressing social issues through a broad range of creative media including performance, film/video, visual art, and community involvement. Interns at Intermedia have worked on a variety of projects, including archiving, video production, mural work, community outreach, and artist-in-residence coordination. Students in Writing for Social Change would focus their work on writing-related and spoken-word projects.

The Loft Literary Center
The Loft Literary Center is a nationally recognized center that promotes all aspects of the written and spoken word arts.  The Center offers a large number of readings each month, co-sponsors “Talking Volumes,” a project that brings nationally prominent authors to the Twin  Cities to engage in a series of readings and discussions, which are broadcast on Minnesota Public Radio and promoted in the Minneapolis Star Tribune. The Loft also offers a wide variety of no-credit writing classes and sponsors informal writing groups.  It is the home of a monthly newsletter, A View from the Loft, as well as Speakeasy, a literary journal.  Students in Writing for Social Change would have the opportunity to work with a variety of Loft programs, based on the needs of the organization and the interests and skills of the student.

Milkweed Editions
Milkweed Editions publishes literary fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. With a mission to bring into print works that reflect a sense of social justice, the Press is a perfect fit for students in Writing for Social Change.  Because the Press is relatively small, students working at Milkweed would be exposed to all facets of the work of small press publishing, from editing to design to production and distribution.

Minnesota Center for Book Arts
www.mnbookarts.org
The mission of Minnesota Center for Book Arts is to engage diverse artists and learners in finding creativity, expression, and inspiration through the book arts. Interns work in MCBA’s education and outreach programs, leading book art workshops for youth and adults. The workshops engage students in learning about papermaking, printing, bookbinding, as well as core curriculum areas (math, science, reading, etc). Interns need not have prior book art experience.

Minnesota Historical Society Press
While the Minnesota Historical Society Press has a large number of publishing projects and imprints, students in Writing for Social Change would work primarily with the local/regional memoir/autobiography project.  This project, launched several years ago, works to publish and promote the work of local authors, whose memoirs and autobiographies serve to illustrate the rich and diverse population of the state.

Patrick’s Cabaret
www.patrickscabaret.org
Patrick’s Cabaret serves and supports artists in their growth and development by encouraging them to take risks, try new things, and present works in progress. Patrick’s serves a diverse range of performing artists, from emerging to experienced, from teenagers through seniors. The Cabaret specifically reaches out to artists of color, queer-identified artists, and those with disabilities. Interns help plan and coordinate Cabaret performances and have opportunities to curate special shows (i.e. a high school cabaret, a display of visual art by artists with disabilities, etc). Students in Writing for Social Change would work specifically to promote and curate creative writing readings and spoken-word performances.

SASE: The Write Place
SASE: The Write Place is a community-based literary organization that focuses on creating programs to promote creative writing, spoken word performance, and emerging writers across the Twin Cities.  Much of SASE’s work focuses on helping writers of color, LGBT writers, writers with disabilities, and other writers who might not otherwise have an outlet to write, revise, and showcase their work.  All of SASE’s programs are located within the communities and neighborhoods they serve, and the organization has distinguished itself by creating writing workshops for homeless teens, women and children housed at the Harriet Tubman Center, woman in prison, and other populations often overlooked by more high-profile writing organizations such as the Loft.  While the Loft is a destination for writers, SASE sees its work in going out to the writers in their own communities.  Students in Writing for Social Change would work with the SASE staff to determine which of the many writing programs most need assistance, and which programs are the best fit for the students.

University of Minnesota Press
The University of Minnesota Press is a large, academic press, with a prestigious history and a well-deserved reputation for publishing some of the most important books of social and cultural history in the last century. Students in Writing for Social Change would work with a relatively new project at the press: a regional series of books that may take the form of memoir, essays, and other forms of creative nonfiction. The project is designed to showcase the diverse population of the state, and to bring into print voices and stories that might otherwise go unheard.