English Symposium

It's been a few weeks since the Drury English symposium (and I'll admit my mind is cluttered from all the school deadlines, papers, etc.) but I'll do my best to recap the highlights.




Carl Phillips opened up the event with a Q&A session and a reading from his poetry. He had a delightfully wry sense of humor and an illustrious array of poetry--oddly enough, the main thing I took away from his Q&A was when he was asked what kind of animal he would be, he said "A lion with wings." What a glorious idea!

The following morning, author Jim McKean joined my advanced creative writing workshop to give his input on two students' stories.

Jim suggested that the students read their stories aloud first--a great suggestion, in my opinion, even though a couple of the students begrudged the idea. Jim was a delight, and definitely brought out the best in our class.

Everyone was enthusiastic to participate (not to say we're usually a dull class, because that is not the case - we've discussed everything from the mechanics of writing good sex scenes to where one can find the best hamburger in town).

After the workshop, there was a career fair in which various successful authors imparted their wisdom to us in a casual setting. Following that, we all went out to lunch at Big Momma's...a first-time experience for me! I'm tempted to go into writerly details about my heavenly sandwich but I suppose you probably don't care.

Anyways, we all had a good time socializing about writing and whatever else came to our minds. Everyone looks terribly intellectual in the picture below, but I'm sure we were just posing. Especially Dr. Meidlinger ;-)

Following lunch was the alumni reading...the one part of the event I had to miss. After that, various students read from their work.

This was one of the highlights of the event for me because I had never met any of the writers who presented. Everyone had their own unique style; many of the pieces were comedic, others were quiet and reflective.

I also read from my own fiction, which was a great experience and good practice for my future. Later that evening, we all gathered at St. Michael's for a banquet and informal reading of Jim McKean's work. It was difficult to hear over the noise of the restaurant, but Jim's dynamic reading style made it so that I could understand his message from the back of the room.

Then we all feasted on lasagna and bread! I am so grateful to be a part of an English Department that feeds its starving writers :-)

The following morning, Jim McKean did a formal reading of his creative nonfiction...for example, a story of his wild experience with drag racing; and also read from his poetry (one title that stands out in my memory was "Apology To My Friend For Shooting A Hole In His Ceiling," absolutely hilarious).

His last piece, Bound, was my favorite. It was primarily the story of his marriage, but tied in elements of book-making. I can't capture its meaning fully in a blog; you'd have to read it yourself...but he wrote (and read) it with such a light touch that it never breached into cheap sentimentality. I got choked up at the end, probably because I recently got engaged and his piece highlighted all the beauty of the deep friendship found within a lasting marriage.

Overall, great success. I loved meeting new people and forming tighter bonds with my Drury friends. It was a much welcomed break from the bustle of the school week.