Great Lakes Writers' Festival
Lakeland hosts authors Tom Franklin and Linda Aschbrenner
Dawn Hayford
Issue date: 11/13/08 Section: Arts & Entertainment
| |
|
Aschbrenner, a noted publisher and poet, said that poets write about two things, love and death. Thursday morning, she read a number of poems about love, particularly the love of family. Her poems are rhythmic and have a wonderful sense of sound with alliteration.
Franklin started off by telling the audience a memory from his childhood triggered by standing behind the podium in front of the audience. He read two short stories. During "Naptime," the audience was eerily quiet as Franklin weaved a shamelessly honest story about two parents frustrated with their colicky newborn. His descriptions were unique and jarring.
"I thought it was great that we could have the poet and the author bring their words to life at the convocation. It was awesome," said senior writing major Erik Hyrkas.
Following the convocation reading, workshops were held from 2-4 p.m. in Laun. The workshops were open to anyone who wanted to go.
Attendees at Aschbrenner's poetry workshop wrote four poems: a poem based on a set of words, a poem about snow, a list poem, and a dramatic monologue. Each participant read their work and received feedback from the other attendants and Aschbrenner. Franklin had attendees read a few short stories and discussed what makes a story sappy and what makes a story strong.
Thursday night, Aschbrenner and Franklin read in the Pub following a wine and cheese social hour and were available for book signings.
Aschbrenner read her collection of ghost/death poems. Her poetry ranged from somber to humorous. Franklin read from his novel "Smonk." After he read the first chapter, I wanted to go buy the book.
On Friday, Aschbrenner and Franklin held workshops again, starting at 2:15 p.m.
Franklin's workshop went for an hour instead of two, so that he could catch a flight home to Mississippi. During his workshop, he discussed the three things necessary for writing fiction: person, place, and problem. During the Friday workshop, students worked with Franklin to write a story on the whiteboard. Tom focused on varying sentence lengths and not focusing on too much description at one time.
The Great Lakes Writers' Festival is a celebration of the written word and a pleasure to attend. It gives students exposure to current writers they would not experience in a literature class.
Be the first to comment on this story