Writers Day celebrates writing, poetry, and the literary arts
The first annual Writers Day was held this Tuesday, December 1 in the Performing Arts Center, celebrating poetry, spoken word, and literature.
Several student writers, published authors, and faculty members were given the opportunity to talk about writing and show off their work. Mary Kubica, New York Times bestselling author of “The Good Girl” and “Pretty Baby”, came to talk about her writing experience.
“There was lots of rejection, you know. I remember running out every day to check the mail before my husband got home, because all these rejection letters were coming in, and I was getting embarrassed.” Kubica said. “One day, out of the blue, I received this email from one of the agents that I had two years prior that I sent ‘The Good Girl’ to. As it turned out, she had been promoted in those two years. She remembered ‘The Good Girl’ after all those years and she reached back out to me.”
Kubica also had several tips for aspiring writers to give, as well.
“It doesn’t come easy, you have to practice to get those skills.” Kubica said. “You need to find what works for you. What works for one author or one writer may not work for you.”
Also presenting that day was Tess Melvin, sophomore, sharing a spoken word performance piece, “Liability,” a poem that spawned out of the frustrations she had when reading “The Pearl” by John Steinbeck.
“When black and white movies came on in my living room, I’d groan, moan, complain, let’s watch animation, something exciting, this old fashioned language, I don’t understand it!” Melvin said. “It’s also outdated, try to make some sense out of that incoherent radio static. Fractured, incomprehensible, totally reprehensible, red, green, and blue, but where’s my moral gray area?”
Melvin also left some advice for other writers, by talking about where she draws her inspiration.
“My inspiration comes from all over. I’ve seen a lot of interesting people, sometimes when I’m in airports, or just downtown.” Melvin said. “I usually try to challenge myself by stepping out of the box and thinking about things I’ve never even begun to fathom.”