In three short days, renowned writers from across the country will converge at Douglas Anderson’s Writers’ Festival. At the beginning of the year, it seemed so far away, something to think about later, something that would happen at some point but not anytime soon. Now that it’s upon us, and we’re packing tote bags and deciding which workshops to attend, I’m reminded of my past experiences at Writers’ Fest, and how they’ve changed my perspective of writing.

My first Writers’ Fest was in eighth grade, when Joyce Carol Oates headlined. At that point, writing was a central aspect of my life, but I really didn’t understand myself as a writer. I was just excited to be in a room of high schoolers and authors that I vaguely knew about. I spent the day listening to writers speak about their craft, and slowly began to realize that I wanted to become more invested in writing.

In sophomore year, I attended Writers’ Fest again, where I went to workshops on publishing, spoken word, revising, songwriting- essentially all topics I knew about, but was too afraid to try. I learned how to ensure that my work gets noticed by editors at magazines, how to transform my life experiences into a powerful performance, how to revise my pieces in a precise manner, and how to take techniques learned in sound devices and meter lessons to explore musical poetry. I stepped out of my comfort zone, and learned so much about myself and the possibilities of writing.

In three short days, all of the planning will come to an end, and Writers’ Festival will actually happen. We will have the chance to listen, meet, and learn from writers like Richard Ford, Patricia Smith, Joseph Millar, Dorianne Laux, Rick Moody, and Sarah Kay. In three short days, these celebrated authors will teach us what it means to be a writer in this day and age. In three short days, I will be reminded again why I write, why I get excited over the structure of a sentence, why I want to read a poem over and over until the message settles deep within me, why a book lingers around me for weeks after I’ve read the last page. In three short days, I will push away all of the stress of senior year and college and scholarships and finishing school and focus on the written word, because at Writers’ Festival, that’s what matters.

To help me get ready, I’ve been reading sample works of authors attending the festival. Here are a few of my favorites. Check out the official Festival page at http://douglasandersonwritersfest.com/, where you can read bios, workshop descriptions, and register. See you soon!

• “Leaving for Kenosha” by Richard Ford: http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/features/2008/03/03/080303fi_fiction_ford?currentPage=all
• “Dust” by Dorianne Laux: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/241982
• “Sole Custody” by Joseph Millar: http://www.writersdigest.com/writing-articles/by-writing-genre/poetry/poetry-the-leap
• “The Type” by Sarah Kay: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sarah-kay/the-type_b_3533002.html
• “Siblings” by Patricia Smith: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/244376
• “Hawaiian Nights” (excerpt) by Rick Moody: http://www.newyorker.com/archive/1999/06/21/1999_06_21_108_TNY_LIBRY_000018453

–Emily Cramer, Editor-in-Chief

As writers we are exposed to different types of writing. Play writing, fiction, poetry, nonfiction, creative nonfiction- the list goes on and on. From day one I have considered myself a fiction writer, and that was that. Set in stone, forever known. But, that has changed over the course of these last two weeks.

My friends told me to be prepared for what they called “Poetry Boot Camp,” but the group of desks and a stool in the front of the room aren’t as intimidating as they make it out to be.

I don’t particularly like change. I never thought I’d be saying this but I have developed a true love for poetry and the feeling that it brings people. It sounds cliché but, I have never in my life experienced something quite like it. I remember sitting in class and reading “A Blessing” by James Wright. I was sitting in my desk thinking about how the poem was saying so much to me as a reader in just a few lines.

Before my recent poetry class I never understood how a poem could move you in a way that is difficult to put into words simply because the words were chosen carefully and placed in a specific order. I am still very passionate about fiction as a writer but, I think merging my love for both poetry and fiction gives me great advantages as a writer. I’ve found myself going back to my short stories for poem ideas. It’s a great place to start if I’m stuck.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge once said, “Poetry: the best words in the best order.” And as a writer I am forever searching for those words to put them in my own “best” order.

–Madison George, Social Media Editor

Last week, I turned eighteen. I ate pad thai and tried on prom dresses with my close friends. I came home and blew out candles, ate cake, watched as my family embraced and congratulated me on becoming an adult—legally, I was allowed to buy lottery tickets, get married, vote. But, as I watched the crumb littered dishes stack by the sink, I realized that I didn’t feel different at all. I was still seventeen. And sixteen. And two. Sandra Cisneros wrote, “The way you grow old is kind of like an onion or the rings inside a tree trunk or like my little wooden dolls that fit one inside the other, each year inside the next one.” We are all the ages we have ever been.

As writers, we can use our journey of growing older in unique ways. On the days we are feeling three years old, we can write stories about being on a playground, kicking our feet out from swings and sliding against sand. On the days we are feeling seventeen, we can write poems about preparing to leave our families, going to college, starting lives on our own.

Whenever I feel like I am in a writing rut, I always try to trace my memories back as far as I can and write from the perspective of who I was. Trying this can help you vary the kinds of voices you use in your work, and also help broaden the topics you write about. If you need a little extra push, here are some poems about childhood/ adolescence that stand out to me:

• Flashcards by Rita Dove

http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/index.php?date=2007/08/27

• Three Songs at the End of Summer by Jane Kenyon

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poem/26442

• Believing in Iron by Yusef Komunyakaa

http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/16182

Enjoy your journey! I hope you have as much fun as I did.

–Raegen Carpenter, Poetry Editor