The English Department hosted the first reading of works by senior English majors, titled “Pages and Prose,” in Russell House on the evening of Thursday, Nov. 2. Five students—Abby Gray ’24, Nic Galleno ’25, Tori DaCosta ’25, Sonia Menken ’24, and Abby Glassman ’24—organized the event, which began with a dinner of Thai food from Typhoon Restaurant in Middletown. Gray and Galleno introduced the event to the audience of students and faculty clustered around circular tables. The event was intended as an outlet for writers to share their work in a formal setting apart from being published in print.  

“I felt particularly strongly about hosting this event,” Gray wrote in an email to The Argus. “It has always disappointed me that outside of the classroom, our creative writers don’t have a lot of opportunities to formally share their writing. This reading was meant to create a platform for their voices so that we could all celebrate them and allow their art to inspire our own.”

Gray explained that the organizers hoped to focus on works by students which had not yet been published, rather than the established visiting writers who typically speak at traditional Russell House readings.

“This event was meant to showcase senior English Majors, celebrating the writing they have labored over and perfected through their work in the major,” Gray wrote in an email to The Argus. “We wanted a group of really strong writers with a variety of styles. The difficult part of the planning came from trying to identify and select five readers who would balance each other in style and content.” 

Rachel Wachman ’24, Nicki Klar ’24, Trevor Wells ’24, Ariana Blaustein ’24, and Immi Shearmur ’24, all English majors and writers, each read one or two pieces they had written or are currently working on. The works spanned a variety of literary forms, including poems, novellas, and an excerpt from a novel, and a variety of topics, including the American Civil War, adolescent female friendships, and unhealthy romantic relationships. 

Klar read two pieces, which focused on themes of parents, birth, and lineage: “Road Trip,” a flash nonfiction blog post, and a poem titled “This is an attempt to remember.” Klar explained that she appreciated hearing the work of other English majors during the event.

“Getting to listen to other people’s writing was my favorite part,” Klar wrote in an email to The Argus. “All the other writers were just incredible, and I’m grateful they shared their work with me [and others].”

Like Klar, Gray particularly enjoyed hearing the performers bring their own writing to life.

“There is always something special about hearing something read from the author’s voice,” Gray said. “The words come to life so vividly. It was awesome to have that experience at the event.”

Although Klar emphasized that the event was a meaningful experience, she felt anxious before and after her performance. 

“I did not prepare much besides reading through my pieces a bit, which was probably a mistake,” Klar wrote. “I was extremely nervous, probably the most nervous I have been in terms of public speaking/performing. Especially because my pieces weren’t exactly the most ~Sophisticated~ in terms of content. I thought I was going to throw up in front of everyone.” 

Klar was surprised to find that her unease increased following the event, but found comfort in sharing her experiences with a friend.

“[After I performed] I felt just awful, so I got in my car and drove 45 minutes to nowhere and parked in front of some random government mine and was just wading in self-loathing,” Klar wrote. “I called one of my friends—she’s an incredible writer and has read lots of her stuff to audiences. She helped convince me that maybe feeling terrible is okay, that it’s part of sharing your work with the world, of being vulnerable with a group of strangers (though perhaps the fact that no one in the room was completely a stranger was what made this reading especially anxiety-filled for me). I thought I’d feel so good and proud of myself but it was completely the opposite.”

Klar hopes to see her work in print someday, but, for now, her goal is to push herself outside of her comfort zone by submitting to publications more frequently. 

“I think it’s a little optimistic to think I’ll get published in the next year or so, so my goal for now is to start submitting more of my work and getting more rejections,” Klar wrote. “Hopefully that will help build my confidence and tenacity as a writer. I think getting used to rejection will be a huge part of the process.”

In addition to allowing English majors like Klar to share their writing and listen to fellow students, the event was also intended to give English majors a chance to socialize and cultivate community within the department.

“In general, the goal of the committee is to give the English Major a stronger sense of community,” Gray wrote. “We have a relatively large major and I worry that students might feel disconnected from each other. The plan is to host a variety of events that will bring us all together in the hopes that they will inspire not only new relationships but meaningful conversations about our shared passions for reading and writing.” 

Although English faculty members contributed to the reading, most of the planning was left to students. 

“This event most certainly would not have happened without [Associate Professor of English and Chair of the English Department] Amy Tang and [Administrative Assistant] Jeanne McNeff from the English Department,” Gray wrote. “They helped us secure funding and the space so we are grateful for their support. Other than that, Professor Tang gave our committee a lot of freedom to decide what the event looked like.” 

The organizers plan to host more student-centric readings in the future, given the importance and success of the event. In addition, they plan to organize other gatherings, such as a discussion of books and academic careers with English professors and informal workshops for students to share writing still in the process of development. 

“We want the Student Russell House readings to become a series so we are already thinking about when to host the next one,” Gray wrote. “We will be looking for new writers to submit and we specifically need more poets represented!” 
Vasilia Yordanova can be reached at vyordanova@wesleyan.edu.