Haoua Saley
I will truly never get over how talented & amazing the senior writers always are. Through the years of COVID & as a writer myself, I know how difficult it was to continue writing during a time where everything seemed bleak. These writers have truly shown strength whenever times are rough & create such beautiful pieces from their struggles. I know that this reading was really emotional for everybody (including myself considering the fact that I could not stop crying, especially since this was Mrs. Anderson and Mrs. Fishow´s last senior reading as Creative Writing teachers at BISFA). There were many pieces that tapped into the emotional aspect of life & how we as humans need to live in the now, but there were also many funny, interactive pieces that were presented throughout the reading. As there were four senior end writers this year, I will be going through each of their pieces in this article. To explain how a senior reading goes, the senior creative writers first write their senior portfolios, which are normally seventy-five to hundred pages of their written work, and then when they go through those portfolios they pick their favorite pieces to share with an audience at their senior reading. These pieces can range from all four genres that they study which are fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry drama.
Starting off strong & funny the reading began with Max Edwards. Edwards read pieces from creative nonfiction & drama. The creative non-fiction pieces consisted of two pieces, entitled How Long Did It Take & Hello By Each Day. How Long Did It Take was about how they finally started to have a relationship with their middle school crush & how that story came to be. The other creative non-fiction piece, Hello By Each Day, was a lyrical piece about life. For drama, Edwards showcased one of their Neo-futuristic drama pieces, which focuses on writing in the present in the now of things pertaining to you & things that you find interesting. Edwards decided to write a piece that included no dialogue whatsoever & relied on stage directions & the mime-acting of the other three senior writers to convey the story of a betrayal, murder, & pain. The drama piece, Silent Theater, was a very funny piece that allowed the audience to interact a little more & give everyone a chance to laugh during a very emotional reading overall. Pickle Jar Memoir consisted of Edwards coming to terms of what life is & what it's going to be, allowing people to take it day by day & eat pickles -- whatever you would like!
Gabriella Ganoe was the next senior writer to perform her pieces & she read seven of her pieces: three of which being poetry, one of which being fiction, another being drama, & one being creative nonfiction. Ganoe’s poetry pieces really spoke to her ability to naturally tell a story & use beautiful, simple yet lyrical images to come today to the whole world. Welcome Home To My Heart & Come Swim The Skies With Me were both beautiful poems that allow for a very flowy, lyrical yet important meaning to prevail through both of these pieces. Her creative nonfiction pieces, Zone, Time & The House On Mildred Drive focused on her life & how she really came to be in a story of herself, & an introduction to herself as well as things that she focuses on & likes to think about such as time zones & differences between humanity. The drama piece entitled French Psychology also focused on the differences of humanity & how each human in this world interacts with the world. Her fiction piece entitled Ruby focused on the story of the character Ruby coming to terms with her life & her situation.
Next writer to read their work was Riley Necessary. Necessary read a total of five pieces, two of which being creative nonfiction to the other two being poetry & the last being drama. Riley was able to create a mix of emotions throughout these five pieces, some of which being funny some of which being very lyrical & beautiful & some of the others being more emotional. Why I Write & The Weeds & The Wallflower were both about Necessary’s journey into why she writes & also a little bit of her life story. Something Like Silver & Message In A Bottle (From Me, To You, About The Sun) were poems about reveling in the moment & and love letter to the sun. Lastly her drama, TV Static, was about being overstimulated by sound.
The last creative writer to read with Gabriella Snyder she read a total of 6 pieces, 3 of which being creative nonfiction , two poetry, & one of which being drama. Snyder’sdrama piece entitled Simon Says allows for an audience interaction as she encourages the audience to play Simon Says with her & also sheds light on a very important topic of self-love & acceptance. Gabby's creative nonfiction pieces titled Why I Write: A Four Year Collage, She Will Make A Persistent Woman, Joshua Snyder & Figuring Out Love in 605 Words, all focus on life aspects of what has created & made Synder who she is & how she has truly come to be. Her poetry, Somewhere South Of Cedar Ridge Road consists of love stories & how she has come to accept love within her life & how she has gone through that road map of heartbreak & back to love.
Lastly, as tradition, Mrs. Anderson & Mrs. Fishow read a poem that they wrote for the seniors at the end of the reading. After they had read through the poem there was a slideshow that was to be shown of the seniors growth throughout their years at Barbara Ingram School for the Arts, but unfortunately technology was not agreeing at the time so the slideshow is available on the creative writing Facebook page for anybody to look at. After that, many of the seniors took pictures with family & friends many of the writers & the audience members were in tears because of how emotional & amazing all the pieces were. We are so sad to see these four amazing writers leave our department, but we know that each & every single one of them will go out into the world & make it a new, better place for everybody. Speaking for the writing department and the creative writing class of 2022: we love you & we will miss you! But know that we will always be cheering for you & know that you always have a family back in Hagerstown, Maryland.
If you are interested in reading any of the absolutely amazing pieces that were read, you can go buy the chatbooks that include everything that was in the reading for $5. I cannot congratulate & thank the class of 2022 creative writers enough for letting us read & listen to your amazing work you truly have inspired us all. I'm so grateful to have known you all!
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