ELKINS – Davis & Elkins College students will present readings of essays on topics including home, local spaces, political places, poetry and mythology at the seventh annual Writing Showcase Monday, March 25 in Booth Library. Following the theme “Writing Our World,” the event will begin at 9 a.m. and continue throughout the day with different panel sessions occurring each hour.
In conjunction with the showcase, the campus literary magazine Aurora will host an open mic session at noon on the third floor of the library. The event is free and open to the public.
Presenters include students majoring in a variety of fields enrolled in English, writing and literature courses.
Participants and their essays in the Finding Home panel, at 9 a.m., are: Vanessa Collette of Beverly, “The Home That Turned into a House”; Sonya Parks of Belington, “Feathers”; Ellie McCutcheon of Elkins, “My Turning Point”; and Juel Selby of Boonsboro, Maryland, “Home is What I Dream Of.”
Participants and their essays in the Writing about Mythology panel, at 10 a.m., are: Makayla Haddix of Philippi, “The New Artemis: Katniss”; Mariah Parsons of Elkins, “Norse Mythology”; Cody Turner of Moorefield, “The Evolution of Druids and Wizards”; and Ester Bolmenaes of Tibro, Sweden, “Jesus, Wunzh, and Withdrawal.”
Participants and their essays in the People, Places, and Things panel, at 10 a.m., are: Savannah Gregg of Boiling Springs, South Carolina, “The Black and White Floral Bag”; Alexxis Tswago of Camden, New Jersey, “Turn your Swag on”; and Leah Kuipers of French Creek, “Home in My Heart.”
Participants and their essays in the Politics of West Virginia panel, at 11 a.m., are: Tobias Sears of Crab Orchard, “Coal Kept the Lights on”; Sierra Petry of Charleston, “The Empty City in The Hills”; Mollee Akers of Matheny, “Counting the Deaths: The Drug Epidemic in Oceania”; and James McLaughlin of Valley Grove, “West Virginia’s Breaking Bones.”
Participants and their essays in the Explorations of Place and Self panel, at 11 a.m., are: Summer Turner of Bowden, “Fields of Happiness”; Guillaume Zbinden of Chene-Bougeries, Switzerland, “Heart of Halliehurst”; Morgan White of Buckhannon, “My Next Great McCoy Adventure”; and Faith Farley of Mount Solon, Virginia, “Rejection vs. Redemption.”
Participants and their essays in the Diving In: Analyzing Poetry panel, at 1 p.m., are: Emily Alexander of Strasburg, Virginia, “’Diving In: An Exploration of Adrienne Rich’s ‘Diving into the Wreck’”; Bayli Rhodes, a December 2018 graduate from Hambleton, “‘Lady Lazarus’: Conquering Death and a Patriarchal Society”; Kass Williams of Shenandoah Junction, “The Identity Crisis: Exploring the Possible Identities of the Lady in ‘To His Coy Mistress.’”
