Mary Fons: I think Mary Fons was definitely one of my favorite presenters at writer’s week. I really liked how she was so down to earth and “chill”. She shared poems that were really personal, and even when there were technical difficulties she was able to make a joke and lighten the mood. I also really admire her dedication to poetry. She talked about how she took a writing class in Europe and she was able to improve her poems and get a new prospective on her writings. She never settled with her skills, but worked hard to improve her writing as much as possible.
Dr. Small: I thought it was really brave of Dr. Small to share her story at writer’s week. Not everyday do we get to learn things that go on in the personal life of our principal. She obviously cared a lot about what she was reading since she got so emotion when she talked about her horse. The story was lighthearted and enjoyable to listen to.
Mr. Hill: I really liked this story that the presenter shared. The thing that was really stood out to me was how he went out of his comfort zone and shared his journal with his daughter. That is obviously not the easiest thing to do especially when your daughter says she wanted to “ripe up the stories”. He improved his writing and the end result was really interesting. The letter he shared was, in my opinion, really good. He was able to talk about his family, and his own personal experiences and make them sound relaxed, and funny.
Jonathan Eig: I didn’t really know what to expect when I heard Jonathan Eig was presenting. The only things I knew about him were from the video that we watched in class. By the end of his presentation I was really interested in the lives of Lou Gehrig, Al Capone and Jackie Robinson. My family is a huge baseball family so I already knew a lot about both Lou Gehrig and Jackie Robinson. What interested me the most was the life of Al Capone and how much more crimes Hollywood added to the life of Al Capone (Valentine’s day massacre). I had visited his cell at Alcatraz, but I never knew anything about his life. I also liked how he stated that he never told a lie in his story. He would do countless months of research in order to write his books, and sometimes he would drop the idea entirely if he believed the story was not good enough.
Student Presenters: I always love listening to student presenters because after they are done reading, you almost get to know a little bit about them. My favorite stories were by Stephanie Fox, and Sara Zoe Braun. With Stephanie’s story, she got really involved while reading it, and it think that helped create the scene of the story. I also thought it was intriguing how she wrote it in second person, and through the narration of a book. I loved Sara Zoe Braun’s story because it was one of those stories where you know the end before the beginning, and you have to listen to the story to learn why each event happened. The other presenters where good also, but I think one was too quiet when she read, and the other stories blended in with a lot of the other ones, there was nothing that stood out about them.
Tony Romano, Kevin Brewner, Gary Anderson: I thought that these presenters were a good ending to writer’s week. Mr. Romano’s story was hilarious, but at the same time, shared a lesson. In some parts he shared from his personal experiences, and in other parts he made things up. Mr. Anderson’s poems were pretty good, but they were really short which made it hard to pay attention to all of them, and remember their stories. Mr. Brewner’s story was the best though, in my opinion. He shared a lot about his personal life, and instead of being angry that a car hit him, he was thankful. It is a noble trait to be so forgiving, and also it is noteworthy that he comes back to writer’s week each year even though he is retired.
Overall….
I loved writer’s week last year, and I think it keeps improving. It is a good break from school, but at the same time you are still learning different lessons, and being able to listen to successful authors from around the United States. I was able to see how courageous people are by sharing their writing, and how proud they are to be themselves. Teenagers can be very judgmental so by getting up on stage and pouring your feelings out, I believe that is really noble. I liked seeing more teacher, and author presenter’s this year. Last year I remember seeing students every period I went, and by the end of some days, all I wanted to do was sleep! This year on the other hand, was completely different. We only had one day of student reader’s and I thought it was extremely interesting! I didn’t want to write too many notes because I was afraid I would have missed something if I did. I loved writer’s week this year, I can’t wait till next year!
-Claire Brady
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