Student Reading Series



Phone: 616-331-3411
royerd@gvsu.edu

Department of Writing
Lake Ontario Hall
Allendale, MI 49401-9403

Student Reading Series

The Student Reading Series (SRS) is organized, planned, and publicized entirely by students and consists of monthly readings of student work throughout the year. Most of the readings are themed (which have included the eery Supernatural reading and the Glorious Poetry Smackdown), and at the end of each semester, one reading is reserved for graduating seniors to read from their best fiction, poetry, non-fiction, and drama. Readings are not limited to Writing majors/minors; the SRS welcomes all writers as long as the pieces are literary in nature.

The SRS aims to create the best readings possible; therefore, interested readers are asked to submit their pieces by rolling deadlines for review by SRS staff. All readers will be accepted, but minor revisions may need to be made for the sake of time. Readers have the option to practice prior to their event and receive feedback on their performance of their piece, which the SRS believes creates the best reading for both the reader and audience.

Broadsides-- one-sided posters with artistic settings of a poem or excerpt from a piece-- are produced by our design team as keepsakes. The aim is to have broadsides for each reading; however, this will depend on the availability of a designer.

If you are a designer or interested in helping with the organizing or publicity of the 2009-2010 series, please send an e-mail to the SRS address, srsgvsu@gmail.com. You may also speak with the student coordinator, Alex Fluegel, or faculty advisor, Austin Bunn.



02.17.08: In the wake of the now legendary Poetry Smackdown '06, the Student Reading Series has since focused its efforts on following up. Hoping to maintain the competitive yet communal spirit that made the Smackdown event in part so successful, SRS planned and organized the first annual Short Story Competition for November 8th, 2007.

The response was better than anticipated. With just a single guideline--that entries be limited to 250 words maximum--a host of GVSU seniors and underclassmen alike submitted their original stories to be considered in the contest. Aside from an initial screening, all contestants were accepted to read their piece in front of a live audience and a hand-selected panel of disinterested judges who would evaluate their performance on a 5-point scale. While each participant was applauded for their bravery, the top three (well, four as it turns out) scorers were awarded finely-printed broadsides of their stories, designed by the lovely Megan Shorter, and pdfs from which can be downloaded below for your reading pleasure.

We commend the following winners, and thank everyone who contributed.

1st place: Cyndi Miller, "Drive" [broadside pdf]
2nd place: Kaitlyn Wightman, "Obituary #666" [pdf]
3rd place (tie): Moe Fawaz, "Waiting" [pdf]; David LeGault, "Do You Have It?" [pdf]


  Last Modified Date: August 3, 2009
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