By Liz Hammond Staff Writer
Several seniors in the creative writing department presented some of their work from their past four years at Susquehanna on Feb. 22.
It was a chance for the students and faculty at Susquehanna to see how the writers institute affects each student personally. Faculty members, associate professor of English and creative writing Glen Retief and associate professor of creative writing Karla Kelsey, introduced the seniors giving a short personalized speech about them before they presented their work.
The first senior to read was Jess Kilcourse. She presented four poems and one short excerpt from a fiction piece she wrote.
Then, Hana Feiner presented her work. Glen Retief described her as, “a writer, leader and an organizer.” She chose to read three poems and one excerpt from a nonfiction piece she wrote while in Cuba.
Eileen Gonzalez was next and, before she presented her work, she explained how all of her pieces were very much tied into her heritage. She presented two poems and one excerpt from a nonfiction piece that she wrote.
Brian LeBlanc presented one excerpt from a fiction piece he wrote called, “The Adventures of the Maskurbator and Boy Floyd.”
To prepare for this night, LeBlanc said that the senior portfolio capstone class prepared them on how to give a good reading and how to time it right.
He spoke about the piece he chose, saying, “I want it to reflect on my time here, the things I’ve learned, but also showcase specifically my writing.” Picking one piece for LeBlanc was hard he said because he has dabbled in everything. He went on to say, “I think the program’s brought out a lot of good writing in me over the years.”
Lastly was Emily Teitsworth, who presented a series of poems and one excerpt from a fiction piece that she wrote.
Teitsworth said, “I have stage fright so reading them to myself over and over again is necessary for me to avoid stage fright.”
Teitsworth was inspired by everyday moments here at Susquehanna.
She said: “One of my poems is based on a daydream I had while in math class last semester. Another poem is based on a snippet of a conversation I overheard a few years ago.”
She knew from the start that she wanted to stay as far away from the political landscape as possible.
“I wanted to avoid reminding people what’s going on,” Teitsworth said. “We’ve all heard enough; let me read for one night without being reminded.”