After a year of absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Union’s annual creative writing workshop and competition made a comeback on Thursday, Feb. 24, featuring a special reading of professor of English and writer in residence Bobby C. Rogers’ new poetry book.
In the early morning, 17 students from FAITH Homeschool and Peabody High School arrived at Union’s Jackson campus to attend the interactive experience.
The visiting students were stationed at fiction, creative non-fiction and poetry workshop tables led by Union students who guided them in their spontaneous writing process. After the workshop, they attended a creative writing competition awards ceremony that awarded cash prizes to the first-place winners and bookstore vouchers to the second and third-place winners.
Following the awards ceremony, Rogers held a book reading and signing of his new poetry book Shift Work.
“It’s a collection of poems inspired by work and the workers who do it. I hope to pay them tribute. Many of the poems are inspired by family stories that have been passed down,” Rogers said.
During the workshop, Rogers offered coffee to students and listened to their freshly written stories, offering them personalized advice.
“If you don’t mess up, it means you’re not trying,” Rogers said to one student.
“Writing is work. The best kind of work: never ending, always surprising, challenging and rewarding in equal measure,” Rogers said.
After the workshop, the winners of the creative writing high school and college categories were awarded a certificate, cash prize or voucher and a congratulatory fist bump from professor of English Gavin Richardson on stage. The first-place winners were: Luke Barnard from FAITH Homeschool who won both the high-school poetry and creative non-fiction categories, Kylie Smith from Peabody for the best high-school short story, Sydney Schmude in both college poetry and short story categories and Eunice Tan for college creative non-fiction.
Avery Chenault, a freshman double major in journalism and intercultural studies, led a fiction table during the workshop.
“Even though I was supposed to be the one leading the table I think I learned a lot more from the students than they did from me,” Chenault said.
“I chose to attend this event because I desired to hear and read other stories and essays that people around my age wrote,” Jake Pingen, a freshman attendee from FAITH Homeschool said. “I also desired to hear advice on how I can improve my own writing. I am happy to say that both were accomplished, and I even wish we had more time to write and discuss.”
The day of “passing the pen” to young writers wrapped up with a college-level workshop.
Photo by Avery Chenault
