Flash Flash Flash
I finally got out of the house and library the other day. One of my old friends knew about a reading at a college that is somewhat local but a little out of the way. The undergraduate literary magazine put on a flash fiction fest. I have to say I was slightly disappointed, the faculty member that was suppose to read happened to be sick and couldn’t make it. It seemed they were in need of more readers, asking other to get up and speak before the three winners read their work. The first two readers (whose names I can not remember) had some very nice work to share. I especially liked the second reader. Her work was descriptive and vivid. It was a piece that I can only sum up about heritage and about looking for that, using language itself as a way to show and find what heritage means.
When we finally saw the fiction winners I was again disappointed. The third place winner had an excellent story however his voice was slightly hard to hear. The second place winner had, in my humble opinion, the best story of the three. His was descriptive and honest. His voice was the most audible and he seemed to have experience speaking in public. The first place winner was of all the readers the worst speaker. I felt that actually reading the story myself would have produced a better outcome, however the speaker was trying to act out the arrogance (at least I hope act out) of the narrator and stumbled over his words. He also seemed uncomfortable at the front of the room. Either way it was nice to see what college students are writing these days, and this reading showed a large array of what college students think and how they write. I guess this reading was just an example that writing is not just about actually sitting down somewhere and creating something but also how one presents this is important as well.
2 comments:
hey Julia,
I was just reading your post and although it seems like you were disappointed with the reading you attended, I must say I'm a little jealous! I go to a tiny liberal arts college and the writing community there is really small, the fiction community especially. We don't have a proper literary magazine or any official writing groups sponsored by the university, so readings are usually really random and small. I actually don't think I've been to an all-fiction reading since I've been in college except maybe one where a professor of mine was reading. The poetry-minded students tend to get together more often and, while I enjoy attending their poetry readings, I’m often the only one reading fiction when my friends and I get together. I wonder if this is a common thing—fiction writers having less of a gathering-mentality than poetry people? I do write both, but prose is my passion, and I wish my school would do more to promote reading/literary events and what-not, like the reading you were talking about. Anyway, I just wanted to say that I think it’s neat that they at least tried to give the fiction people an opportunity, since I feel like there is often less camaraderie among fiction writers than poets.
--Lynn C.
You never know what may inspire you to write. Going to different types of readings and events can broaden your horizons and establish new boundaries in your writing world. When we are kids our parents tell us we won't know if we like something if we don't try it, and that stays true even as we grow into adults. Writing can be such a challenge at numerous points in a writers life and experiencing something new may peak your interests and best of all cause a writing storm in your career. I completely understand that if you attend such a reading that you feel as if you have wasted your time, but just think that could have been the best reading that you could have ever attended but you wouldn't have known if you hadn't have gone.
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