amaranth News and stories from the Lindsay-Crane Center for Writing and Literature at Hiram College
hiram’s emerging
WRITERS CONTEST ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR MARY QUADE THE BIG READ PHOTO ESSAY
Spring 2016 www.hiram.edu/lindsaycrane www.facebook.com/lindsaycranecenter
am a ranth noun
1. a Vachel Lindsay poem published in The Congo and Other Poems in 1914 2. an imaginary flower that never fades 3. a highly nutritious golden seed 4. any of various annuals of the genus Amaranthus having dense green or reddish clusters of tiny flowers
Volume 5, Issue 1, Spring 2016
amaranth is a bi-annual publication of the Lindsay-Crane Center for Writing and Literature
staff
Editor-in-Chief Graphic Design
Kirsten Parkinson, Ph.D. Sarah Bianchi | sylversea design
contributing writers Kirsten Parkinson, Ph.D. Marcus Lawniczak ’15 Sara Shearer ’17
contributing photographers Kirsten Parkinson, Ph.D. Samuel Adams Mary Quade Sara Shearer ’17 Rose Brown, Bradley Cromes, Jami Cutlip, and Maria Judd
mailing address Hiram College P.O. Box 67 Hiram, Ohio 44234
© 2016 the Lindsay-Crane Center for Writing and Literature, Hiram College
LINDSAY-CRANE CENTER FOR WRITING AND LITERATURE
On the cover: the Brainerd Stranahan bench in the gardens behind Bonney Castle
amaranth News and stories from the Lindsay-Crane Center for Writing and Literature
PHOTOS The Bonney Castle parlor, a favorite studying and waiting space in the English Department house. Front cover: The Hester Crawford Memorial Herb Garden, installed in 1974 and redesigned in 2010-11 by Lucy Chamberlain ’77, outside Bonney Castle.
amaranth | spring 2016 3 4
STUDENT PROFILE
Meet the Lindsay-Crane intern for the spring semester
TEACH, TRAVEL, WRITE
Marcus Lawniczak ’15 writes about Associate Professor Mary Quade
6
EMERGING WRITERS NONFICTION CONTEST
Sara Shearer ’17 tells how the high school writing contest, now in its second year, got its start
8
THE BIG READ: A PHOTO ESSAY
Revisit the Lindsay-Crane’s community reading program from the fall of 2015
From the director 2016 marks two significant anniversaries for the Lindsay-Crane Center for Writing and Literature.
First, the Center itself celebrates its tenth birthday. In the decade since its
founding, we have focused on our mission of maintaining reading and writing
as critical components of not only a liberal arts education but of lifelong learning and culture. Our programming provides learning opportunities not only to Hiram College students but to the campus community and to the larger community of which Hiram College is an integral part.
For example, the dozens of authors that the Lindsay-Crane Center has brought to campus have
exposed our community to diverse ways of seeing and representing the world. These authors—novelists, poets, and nonfiction writers—not only speak on campus but visit Hiram classrooms and local high schools to talk with students in small groups about the processes of researching, writing, and publishing.
The Center’s writing contests allow young writers to imagine an audience for their work beyond
the classroom. Contests for Hiram students in the genres of creative nonfiction, fiction, and poetry are judged by published authors. The Center also runs the Echo Student Literary Competition in which Hiram students compete with students from five other institutions. Finally, our newest contest, the Emerging Writers Nonfiction Contest, helps high-school students envision themselves as writers before they even get to college (see story, page 6).
In the past decade, the Lindsay-Crane Center has also hosted four community reading programs
that take our belief in the power of reading and writing out into Portage County. Partnering with Portage County libraries and with multiple high schools, Hiram College has sponsored multiple events focused on a single book that have reached thousands of Northeast Ohio residents. Our most recent community reading program focused on the novel Into the Beautiful North (see story, page 8).
None of these programs or the many other projects that the Lindsay-Crane Center has undertaken
over the past ten years would be possible without the Center’s many generous donors and partners, including individuals, schools, libraries, and foundations. Funding for our programming comes exclusively from these donations and grants.
Second, this year the Hiram Poetry Review turns 50 years old. Started in 1966 by Professor of English
Hale Chatfield, the journal has been in continuous publication ever since (including a period in which it appeared on CD-ROM). Under the expert guidance of Professor of English Willard Greenwood, the Hiram Poetry Review not only offers an annual issue of what its website dubs “distinctive, witty, and heroic poetry,” it offers editorial positions to Hiram undergraduates, granting them the rare opportunity to assist in every step of the publication process. 2 amaranth | spring 2016
r
Later this spring, we’ll be celebrating the Hiram Poetry Review’s tremendous publishing achievement.
Watch our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/lindsaycranecenter/ for more details about this event. If you would like to be added to the Lindsay-Crane Center’s email list, send your name and email to lindsaycrane@hiram.edu. You can donate to the Lindsay-Crane Center at ww.hiram.edu/giving by designating your gift specifically to the Center or for a specific program within the Center.
We look forward to sharing the next ten years of Center accomplishments and another half-century
of the Hiram Poetry Review with you!
From Director Kirsten Parkinson, Ph.D.
Meet The Lindsay-Crane Spring Intern Sara Shearer ’17 Major: Creative Writing! When I first came to Hiram, I thought I wanted to major in Psychology. Then I ended up taking some writing courses and winning the First-Year Ethics Essay Contest, so I decided to follow the passion that had been staring me in the face for a long, long time.
Favorite Hiram Class (so far): I’d have to say Dialectology. The class was all about understanding and
analyzing the different American dialects, like Southern, Appalachian, or Midwestern. We also got to learn the phonetic alphabet, which was really cool because it almost felt like learning another language. I was really proud of the final project I did for the class when I analyzed my grandpa’s speech to see if he tended toward his Appalachian roots or if living in Akron for so many years had caused him to go Midwestern (he’s Midwestern).
Most Memorable Hiram Experience: I’ve had a lot of fun times here at Hiram these past three years,
but late-night sled riding from freshman year is always the one that comes to mind first. Some of the people I’d go with are now in my core group of friends.
Favorite Book: Oryx & Crake by Margaret Atwood. I read it for a bioethics course I took last year, and it
blew me away. The characters were intriguing but not always trustworthy, and the setting was dystopian but in a novel way that I hadn’t seen in any other works of fiction. It has two sequels that I hope to read soon!
What I Want to Gain from the Lindsay-Crane Internship: Through this internship, I hope to gain
some insight into what a career in editing would be like. Becoming an editor seems like a good fit for me because I love to read and discuss writing with others. Applying to a graduate MFA program is also something I see myself doing in the near future, so I want to have as much writing experience as I can get my hands on. This internship seems like a perfect fit for me, and overall I think my editorial and professional skills will be honed by it over the course of this semester.
IN MEMORIAM The Lindsay-Crane Center mourns the loss of a longtime friend. Elvidio Bufalini ’50 passed away on November 1, 2015. He was a generous supporter of Lindsay-Crane Center projects, particularly the community reading programs. www.hiram.edu/lindsaycrane 3
TEACH TRAVEL WRITE with Associate Professor Mary Quade By Marcus Lawniczak ’15
4 amaranth | spring 2016
U
ntil 2010, Associate Professor of English Mary Quade
with hammerhead sharks. Her “Writing About Nature” course,
had never traveled abroad. Once nipped by the travel
which she is offering again in the coming spring 3-week term, is
bug, though, she became an avid adventurer. Vietnam
held at Hiram College’s James H. Barrow Field Station. Students
and Cambodia are some of her most memorable destinations, al-
spend each day out on the paths and in the woods of the field sta-
though she’s also been to Turkey and Ecuador. These journeys have
tion, writing about the plants and animals they find there.
been the inspiration for many pieces of writing, including a recent-
ly completed work, titled “Project Monarch.” This essay covers the
her ideas fresh and keeps her constantly thinking in new ways.
precarious situation of the monarch butterfly in North America,
Connecting with students and getting inspiration from them is
but more specifically Mexico, where she traveled during spring
what inspired Quade to teach, and at Hiram it all started with her
break in 2015 during a year-long sabbatical.
teaching part-time. She taught “Introduction to Creative Writing,”
and this period was so successful that she was soon invited to be-
Quade teaches creative writing, including poetry, creative
Quade views teaching creative writing as a career that keeps
nonfiction, fiction, and screenwriting, at Hiram College. Her own
come a full-time faculty member.
creative work focuses on the genres of creative nonfiction and po-
etry. Her second volume of poetry, Local Extinctions, will be pub-
ferent. “They’re earnest and believe that it’s a privilege to be here
lished by Gold Wake Press this spring, while her poems and essays
because many are first-generation college students,” she said. She
have appeared in numerous journals, including Creative Nonfic-
now teaches every creative writing class that Hiram offers. Quade
tion, Confrontation, Hayden’s Ferry Review, The Florida Review,
offered some advice to aspiring writers that could apply to anyone
and Flyway: Journal of Writing and Environment.
with dreams: “Have thick skin, you will be rejected, but that doesn’t
Quade has been writing since before she can remember. As a
mean that what you’re writing isn’t good, they just wanted some-
child, she yelled at her dad, “I want to be a writer, not a reader!”
thing else. It’s sad when young writers give up because of rejection
Writing allows her to engage with the complexity of the world, she
and the thought that they aren’t good enough. You can’t let the
said, and this goal is reflected in her passion for nonfiction writing.
rejection kill the joy.”
Quade believes that the students at Hiram College are dif-
Her travels have given her many experiences to put on paper. Her essay “Cage” draws on the birds she saw in markets in Hanoi, Viet-
Photos: Left: Mary Quade hiking the horse trail in the Andes Mountains in Parque
nam’s capital. Quade’s father served two tours in the Vietnam War,
Nacional Podocarpus, outside Loja, Ecuador. Below: Monarch butterflies at Cerro
which became her inspiration to travel to Southeast Asia. In addi-
Pelon in the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve near Macheros, Mexico.
tion, Vietnam was the first time she had ever left the United States. I asked whether it was a big shock. Quade laughed, saying, “I’m not good at having preconceptions.” She simply travels to a new place and explores, getting into the culture. Culture shock is something she doesn’t have.
While having no fear of other cultures,
Quade’s approach to wildlife is the same. When she traveled with Hiram College students to the Galapagos Islands in 2014 (her second visit there), she even swam
www.hiram.edu/lindsaycrane 5
EMERGING
WRITERS NONFICTION CONTEST:
Hiram’s Unique Take on Unearthing Student Creativity By Sara Shearer ’17
6 amaranth | spring 2016
T
his year marks the second go-round for Hiram College’s Emerging Writers Nonfiction Contest, and participation more than doubled since its inaugural year. This year’s theme was “borders” to correspond with the College’s annual ethics theme and the Lindsay-Crane Center’s Big Read program focused on the novel Into the Beautiful North.
When I began writing this article, I wondered what got the high-school sophomores and juniors it is targeted at so excited about entering, other than the possibility of a cash prize. What makes this contest stand out?
Donor Joyce Chamberlain quickly helped me to answer the second part of that question. The Chamberlain family funds
the Grace J. Chamberlain Prize in Creative Writing. The funds raised from the annual Run for Grace and Andy to support the Chamberlain Prize and the Andrew Hopkins Prize in music have expanded so much that this year the Chamberlains decided to find yet another way to reach out to writers.
“We knew right away that we wanted to participate in this and encourage writers to look at Hiram as a place that will
give them the opportunity to develop that talent,” Chamberlain said. “[Our daughter] Grace was passionate about writing and becoming a writer and when we can encourage that in others, in her memory, she is still a part of Hiram College. The Emerging Writers Contest is another way for us to do that.”
The contest also exposes high-school students to nonfiction, which is not taught to them as often as other genres, said
Jeff Swenson, Associate Professor of English and the Director of Writing Across the Curriculum. “We want high-school students to start thinking about nonfiction as a genre that can serve as a creative outlet.” The curriculum in Hiram College’s Creative Writing and English majors and minors offers an emphasis in nonfiction, so exposing prospective Terriers to the often forbidden “I” is definitely a must.
High-school teachers agreed with Chamberlain and Swenson that the Emerging Writers Nonfiction Contest provides a
valuable opportunity for students to find their voices. Amy Garritano, an AP Language and Composition teacher at Lakewood High School, said a simple email with a Hiram headline caught her eye. Needless to say, she was thrilled about the contest. “We are ‘emerging writers,’” she said, “and I saw this contest as a great opportunity for my students to have a platform from which to share their thoughts, their style, their voice beyond the walls of our classroom.”
Similarly, Scott Parsons, English teacher and Director of the Osborne Writing Center at Hathaway Brown School, looks
for writing opportunities for his students everywhere and thought that the Hiram College contest fit the bill. “I believe it’s especially important for young and emerging writers to put themselves out there and submit work,” Parsons wrote me in an email. “Having work judged can be intimidating to a writer, especially if the work is personal, but it’s extremely important to take that risk in order to develop a confident and authentic voice in the world.”
Garritano spoke about how excited her students were upon hearing about the contest, which made me remember being
a budding writer in high school. I didn’t realize that there were contests out there like this one, and I only saw writing as two things: a scholarly essay or a novel. The Emerging Writers Nonfiction contest offered these students an opportunity I didn’t have, an opportunity to break down the borders created by the high-school curriculum and exercise their creativity.
In fact, I spoke with a student who placed in last year’s competition. Current high-school senior Brook Wyers told me she was
ecstatic to learn that she was in the top twelve and would be acknowledged at Hiram College’s annual Evening of Hiram Writers. “It made me feel like I could do anything and that maybe I was a great and accomplished writer,” she said. “I never thought of myself as a great writer, but that letter made me feel like I was. I think in that moment when I found out I was a finalist, I knew that I wanted to be a writer in the future.”
An Evening of Hiram Writers Featuring the winners of the Emerging Writers Nonfiction Contest April 5, 2016 | 7pm | Alumni Heritage Room
D A E R THE BIG
A Photo Essay
e Arts, the l Endowment for th na io at N e th om fr focused With a grant d Big Read program ir th its ed st ho r te r Lindsay-Crane Cen of 2015. The Cente ll fa in th or N ul tif e Beau eakers, on the novel Into th d libraries to offer sp an s ol ho sc gh hi l partnered with loca ers, to spark d even themed dinn an s, ie ov m s, on si n the book discus ing bridges betwee ild bu , es em th ’s ok ity. discussion of the bo the wider commun d an ge le ol C am ir of H academic program lege’s lected as Hiram Col se so al as w th or N Into the Beautiful emic year. r the 2015-16 acad fo g in ad re on m m required co
8 amaranth | spring 2016
Photos: Opposite page: Students from Aurora High School gather for a picture at the Big Read book discussion hosted by Aurora Memorial Library. Top: Streetsboro High School students hold their Big Read books before heading into class. Above left: Lindsay-Crane Director Kirsten Parkinson, Ph.D., hands out free copies of the Big Read book to county residents at the Portage County Administration Building in Ravenna. Above right: Students prepare for a class discussion of Into the Beautiful North at Crestwood High School in Mantua. Left: Streetsboro High School teacher and Big Read partner Maria Judd poses for a photo with Luis Alberto Urrea, author of Into the Beautiful North.
www.hiram.edu/lindsaycrane 9
EMERGING
WRITERS WORKSHOP JUNE 22-25, 2016
WHAT IS IT? This residential writing workshop introduces rising high school sophomores, juniors and seniors to the central components of creative writing—voice, image and scene.
LOCATION Workshop sessions will be set in Hiram College’s unique 1890s Stephen and Jacquelyn Love Writing House and its 500-acre James H. Barrow Field Station.
Students will concentrate on writing short inventive pieces in multiple genres that integrate strategies discussed in the workshop. Participants will have the opportunity to share their work with others and gather feedback in order to make thoughtful and effective revisions.
COST $325, including room and board
The workshop will conclude with a public reading of students’ work. Family and friends are encouraged to attend.
SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITY Hiram College will award a $1,000 Summer Academy Scholarship to every high school student who attends a 2016 summer academy and enrolls as a full time student at Hiram College. The scholarship is renewable each year for up to four years. Only one Summer Academy Scholarship will be awarded per new student.
For more information, visit www.hiram.edu/summerathiram
About the Lindsay-Crane Center The Lindsay-Crane Center for Writing and Literature is named for two poets who had close ties to Northeast Ohio. Nicholas Vachel Lindsay attended Hiram College from 1897 to 1900, and Harold Hart Crane was born in nearby Garrettsville, Ohio. The Lindsay-Crane Center offers special opportunities for Hiram College writers and readers in every discipline. The Center implements the College’s writing across the curriculum program (one of the oldest in the nation), brings professional writers to campus for intimate interactions with students and the public, mounts on-campus and regional writing contests and vigorously supports the importance of a liberal arts education in the 21st century. In addition, it offers students, community members and other friends of the College rich experiences outside the classroom that contribute to intellectual and artistic pleasure and growth and maintains a deep commitment to interdisciplinary ventures with other departments and Centers. FOR MORE INFORMATION: Visit www.hiram.edu/summerathiram, or contact Kathy Luschek at luschekk@hiram.edu or 330.569.6118.
To contact or support the Center:
Kirsten Parkinson, Ph.D., Director, parkinsonkl@hiram.edu | 330.569.5323
LINDSAY-CRANE CENTER FOR WRITING AND LITERATURE LINDSAY-CRANE CENTER FOR WRITING AND LITERATURE