LMC students had a chance to “Get Lit” this week and express their talents at the literature festival April 14-17.
“Let’s Get Lit” was made possible through the efforts of the English department’s literature and creative writing subcommittee with help from the LMC Writer’s Guild.
“We decided to go all out and have a whole week of opportunities,” said English Professor LD Green.
The event began Monday on both LMC campuses. Brentwood’s “Books and Popcorn” started the week with the Blind Date with a Book activity hosted by Librarian Roseann Erwin and assistant professor Nico Peck, in which wrapped books with only generic descriptions were chosen by attendees. They were also given the chance to share poems and books that they read while enjoying fresh popcorn.
Just after the conclusion of “Books and Popcorn” in Brentwood, English Professor Rachel Rios, led a Writing Dialogue workshop on the Pittsburg campus.
Student Cypher Elam was excited for the activity planned and said, “I think there’s a lot of stuff to appreciate about literature.”
The workshop began with two actors having a scripted conversation giving the small group of less than 10 attendees a general understanding of how dialogue sounds when performed.
After a brief presentation and icebreakers, Rios gave everyone a simple prompt: two characters are in a room — one wants to leave and the other desperately wants them to stay. With this short line of instructions, participants created unique narratives that sparked conversation among the group.
Tuesday’s Making Comics and Zines workshop had an impressive turnout and the entire conference room was filled with excited students who were ready to learn how to make their own zines — a small original work made by a small group or single person.
For this activity, everyone was given a chance to tell whatever story they liked just as long as it fit on the little booklet they created out of a sheet of white paper.
The room was filled with cheerful voices and after completing their comics, attendees were instructed to share their zines with their peers.
Student Aedan Ludwig told a story about a penguin afraid to leave his home but is one day washed away to a savannah where it meets and befriends other animals.
“One of the animals — an elephant — knew the penguin had to go back home,” Ludwig explained.
At the end of his story the penguin manages to get back home and the two friends continue to visit one another.
Overall, the first two days of the festival went well in the eyes of those involved. Green said that they are optimistic that “Let’s Get Lit” will pave the way for events like this for years to come.
For coverage of the last two days of the festival, see the April 25 issue of The Experience and lmcexperience.com
This article has been updated to feature the links of the organization.
