By Ryan Broderick, Editor-at-Large
On Tuesday, October 7, the University’s English Department held an event called “Hofstra Writers Now: A Student/Faculty Reading.” The reading featured students and graduate writers.
The poet Christie Ann Reynolds went first, reading from “Idiot Heart,” a soon-to-be published collection of poems. She graduated with a B.A. in English from the University. She was also the 2003 recipient of an Academy of American Poetry award and the winner of the 2009 New School Chapbook competition.
Following Reynolds, University senior Carolyn Moretti read her poems.She was published in Newsday’s fresh voices column in 2001 and she was also, the 2004 winner of the Nassau County Young Authors Competition.
Between published poets and playwrights, Michael Montlack, B. Walker Sampson, and University Professor Erik Brogger, another University student, Nolan Meditz read. Presenting his work second to last, Meditz is an English-creative writing and German major. He recently performed in the Off-Broadway production “Words.”
“Hofstra Writer’s Now” concluded with a discussion on being published with the presenters. Reynolds opened up the Q&A with her experiences on being published for the first time.
“In terms of being published, the most important thing I think perhaps is to build your confidence. Just sending out to different literary journals. I think the first thing that really helped me was forming a community and being comfortable with my work getting out there,” Reynolds reminisced.
Ms. Reynolds continued, discussing the fears young writers may feel. Regarding the publishing of her first collection, she said “I was actually more frightened when I was accepted, as to when I was sending it out, because now I had this year to edit and make it perfect. The really stressful part because now it’s going to be super permanent.”
Brogger expounded on the methods he used early in his career. “Like a lot of people, I was raised to believe that a lot of people wrote plays and then sent them out to some producer in Hollywood and that’s how everything happened and that’s how it looked in the movies. That’s not how it works, of course. I had to learn that the only way to get my work done is be as selfish as possible.”
In college, he and his friends began, directing, performing in and producing each others plays. They ended up forming the Minneapolis-based Playwrights’ Center, devoted to the fostering of new work.
Summarizing the sentiment of many of the presenters of the night, Brogger stressed the needs for self-improvement and a need for a writer’s community. “[He and his colleagues] were motivated entirely by self-interest because no one would be coming to us. There’s some fallacy that thinks that ‘because I’m writing this someone’s going to be knocking at my door.’ So what you have to do is find a group of people who share your interest and find some kind of community. I encourage you not to think of in terms of the big score, but in terms of a theater whose interest match yours and rule out high profile places because you’re not there to show them particularly. You’re there to learn more about your work.”
University graduate Michael Montlack, one of six people who read their work at an English Department event called “Hofstra Writers Now.” (Photo courtesy of www.nicolasarellano.com )
