Poets, writers and screenplay lovers will gather together to celebrate their many accomplishments throughout the year in the upcoming “Writes of Spring” program of events.
The “Writes of Spring” will take place April 7. It offers anyone interested in any type of creative writing to share his or her written pieces and learn from fellow writers. This year, the “Writes of Spring” will be part of the Creighton Reading Series.
“The CU English Department Creative Writing Program has sponsored the Creighton Reading Series for many years. As part of this series we bring nationally and internationally renowned authors to campus to read, meet with classes and visit with students,” Dr. Susan Aizenberg, associate professor of English said. “Between 2004 and last year, the Reading Series became ‘Writes of Spring,’ a two-day event during which we brought four visiting writers to campus for a number of readings and other activities with CU students and community.”
This year they are trying something new.
“This year, we have decided to separate and expand the events of those two days into the Creighton Reading Series and a new ‘Writes of Spring.’ This allows us to have more flexibility in bringing writers to campus and to make ‘Writes of Spring’ itself a more student-centered event,” Aizenberg said.
The “Writes of Spring” events include a reading question and answer session with the creative writing faculty and graduate student writers, a New Voices Reading featuring Creighton students and a reception that celebrates “Shadows,” the Creighton award-winning undergraduate literary magazine. There will also be student conferences with graduate student writers.
Michele Wise, who received a bachelor’s degree from Creighton in Creative Writing, has attended the program in the past and hopes to attend this year’s program of events as well. Currently, she is in the Elementary Education Teacher Certificate program through the University College.
“Honestly, the creative writing area of the English department at Creighton University is very small. I enjoyed being a student there and think Dr. Spencer, Dr. Aizenberg and Ms. Stefaniak are valuable fonts of inspiration and support for their students,” Wise said. “There wasn’t a class I disliked, honestly, and even though I am now going in a different career direction, I would never change my undergraduate experience because I am a writer no matter what else I do.”
“Anyone who writes poetry, fiction, plays, screenplays or creative non-fiction, or who’s ever thought they might like to do it, will learn about how to do it, how to get published and about how strong the community of writers is at Creighton,” said Dr. Brent Spencer, chair of the department of English.
All events are open to the public, except the manuscript consultations and a closed dinner.
Ted Wheeler, Creighton Reading Series coordinator, said people should attend this event “to see the great work our writers at CU produce, from first-year writers to graduate students, to our creative writing faculty” and “to meet people who are similarly interested in literature and writing. To have questions about writing answered. But most importantly, to celebrate our accomplishments over the past year.”
Wheeler will be one of the featured graduate students at the reading question and answer session. The event is sponsored by the Creighton College of Arts & Sciences, the English Department, the Creative Writing Program, “Shadows” and Sigma Tau Delta.
“Writing reveals and transforms the world, which is why the name of our event plays with the notion of the ‘rites’ of spring,” Spencer said.