Wednesday of finals week, Colette Tennant’s Creative Writing class invited students to come destress and escape reality briefly as participants shared their creative writing pieces as their final project for the class.
Tennant looked forward to hosting this event and was excited for those attending to see the creativity of those who contributed to the production. “It’s so nice to showcase students’ work when they’ve worked so hard,” she said. She hoped that through this experience participants would “feel encouraged by the audience’s responses to their work, [recognizing] that their work is impactful to others.”
Each piece shared was truly impactful. Themes of pain and joy, regrets of the past and hope for the future were interwoven throughout the pieces. The mixture of sorrow and laughter depicted through students’ work reminded me of life itself, with its seasons and cycles of emotions, ups and downs.
Haley Meili, author of the play “Mixed Nuts 5209,” Looked forward to this event. “I’m excited to see the play I wrote be shared live. It will be interesting to see something that I have written come to life,” she said. She hoped her play would make students laugh and find a little relief during the stress of finals week.
Juxtaposed against humorous plays were poems full of bitterness and love. Many of these pieces sent shivers up my spine. Through these poems, presenters opened a small window of their hearts to the audience, giving us just a glimpse of their stories, a slice of their passions and desires. I loved the depth and meaning hanging on each and every word of these pieces.
It was powerful to hear authors read their own work. Through their voices you could hear the emotion and see the passion in their eyes. Each piece was uniquely interesting and thought provoking, and the way each work or art was presented added meaning and power.
Even though these presentations were part of an assignment for Tennant’s Creative Writing class, it didn’t seem like one. Students were clearly passionate about their work, and the emotions they put behind each presentation showed their genuine enjoyment in presenting.
This event displayed such vast creativity! There was so much talent shown as each student brought something new, awe inspiring to the table.
“I think these kinds of events demonstrate how generous God is with the many gifts he bestows on us and I think it’s important to celebrate that abundance,” Tennant said.