Writer's Week 2011

Mary Fons: I really enjoyed Fons’s down-to-earth style which was unlike some other poets I’ve heard who have the same dramatic style of performing poetry. While Fons performed her poems in a way that sounded close to these poets, it was much more genuine and real, rather than an act she was putting on for us. I felt like I could relate to her quite well and I really enjoyed her poems, especially “Coat Check Girl”. However, I feel like she may be one of my favorites simply because she was the only performance poet I saw during the week.

Dr. Small and Mrs. Emily Hill’s Dad: While Dr. Small did draw the audience in by leaving the subject of her piece a mystery until after she had performed it, I was a little confused on what was happening. I understood the story but since the context was unclear, it was difficult to understand the significance of the events. If I had known that the letters were emails sent to her family and the specific point in her life during which she wrote them, I think I would have been able to appreciate her writing more. I was a little hesitant at first when I discovered Mrs. Hill’s father was not a writer at all, but after hearing him perform a very well-written piece, I was inspired to see a non-writer that has developed writing skills through persistence and effort. It really shows that writing is not only a natural talent; it can also be advanced through practice.

Jonathan Eig: It seemed like students were getting rather bored with Eig but I really enjoyed learning about his approach to writing. He really seemed dedicated and I was really interested to know how he obtains facts for his biographies. While I do expect a writer to put in this much effort when writing a non-fiction book, the manner in which he went about collecting research was quite fascinating.

Students: The first student performer, Christine Veit, had a very touching performance and I appreciated that she was able to be share such an emotional story with us. Like Dominique and Taylor mentioned, I also enjoyed Stephanie Fox’s piece. She put a great amount of personality into her characters and her story, engaging the audience. Not many students are willing to do that and I admired her courage for doing so.

Faculty: Mr. Romano was a very engaging speaker and I enjoyed his piece. It wasn’t very dramatic or outlandish, and it did make me think about my relationship with my own parents and where it would be years from now. The poetry that Mr. Anderson read was also quite interesting and rather different from anything I had heard at Writer’s Week this year. I was drawn in by the fact that I didn’t know where the story of the poem would go or what he would describe next. Finally, I liked the way Mr. Brewner described to us his own experiences like he was telling a story rather than simple reading a piece of literature off a page.

Overall, I enjoyed myself at Writer’s Week this year. While the writers were not there to entertain us, like Miss Berdick pointed out, some of the presenters were very captivating. I appreciate Writer’s Week. It is such a unique experience, and rather inspiring seeing writers read or talk about their own pieces.