Annabelle Smith
On March 22nd, the creative writers held their Spring Reading, where students of all grade levels read the pieces they’ve written, workshopped, and revised so far this year. There were twenty-two pieces read, covering all four genres that writers study in the department: creative nonfiction, poetry, fiction, and drama.
This reading included a selection of pieces ranging from laugh-out-loud comedies to true stories heartfelt enough to bring tears to your eyes. The writers led the audience through the worlds they created on the page, delving into everything from a girl inherited her father’s prison sentence in Kidney Shilling’s “Birthday Breakaway” to a boy who had absolute control over every function of his body in Avery Morgan’s “Control” to a feud between a cheese church and worshippers of the dictionary in Caleb Rice and Ezran Meinelschmidt’s “Define Cheese.” The creative nonfiction pieces, too, explored ideas both specific to each writer and experienced by all listeners: how we grow up between the lines of uncertainty, how people can never be defined in just a word and, how memories are just as strong in the present as they were in the past.
A highlight of the evening was the performance of four neo-futurist plays, each written by one of this year’s senior writers. In short, neo-futurism is a movement in writing that focuses on the now: what’s relevant, what’s relatable, and what’s capable of creating a pathway of communication from the writer to the audience. The selection of these electric, two-minute plays included “Woke Culture” by Gabby Snyder, “The Bench” by Riley Necessary, “Proper Redemption” by Max Edwards, and “Train, Derailed” by Gabby Ganoe. The plays explored everything from a physical representation of spiraling thoughts to a supervillain who, after successfully (and unexpectedly) achieving her evil goals, decides to run for office. The seniors each acted out each play on the stage, where they played themselves (yet another quirk of the neo-futurist play: the characters are the real people the writers collaborate with to write the collection).
If you missed this reading, then you can look forward to two more before the end of the year. This year’s senior reading will take place on May 27th, where each of the senior writers will read some of their favorite pieces from freshman year to now. The reading will consist of all four genres, acknowledgements from each writer, and more of the neo-futurist plays from this past reading.
The department’s final, end-of-the-year reading will take place on June 2nd. While the senior writers will be graduated by then, you can look forward to a selection of pieces that will speak to the future writing of the current freshmen, sophomores, and juniors as they continue to write, learn, and grow.
Make sure to congratulate the writers on a beautiful evening and all the work that went into the reading. If you’re curious to read more, make sure to mark the upcoming readings on your calendar. Congratulations, writers!
Rebecca Fishow
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