Last week marked the inauguration of both the MFA in creative writing program and the much anticipated “Lectores Speaker Series.” The program brought experienced student writers from all over the world for 10 days of intensive workshops with faculty.
Lectores was a seven-day nightly event series that director Jeff Parker affectionately referred to as a “festival for writers.”
“Our biggest hope for this first one is that we would bring in really interesting writers from around the world and expose them to other writers that they wouldn’t otherwise get to see, but at the same time we wanted to put on a really lively and interesting reading series.” Parker said.
Lectores gave people who wouldn’t normally be exposed to each other’s work the chance to sit down and discuss their creative processes, as well as the challenges and rewards that accompany being a writer.
While the daytime workshops were only open to students, the nightly Lectores reading series was free and open to the public. Lectores hosted well-known writers like Michael Connelly, Amy Hill Hearth and George Saunders, as well as other experienced guest and faculty writers.
The eclectic assortment of writers were well received by listeners. Erica Dawson, a faculty member in the MFA in creative writing program was enthusiastic about the visiting writers.
“For me, as a listener at a series like Lectores, I always leave with the urge to write,” Dawson said, “But, I also leave feeling I know something new about a particular writer’s process.”
Students and guest speakers participated in Panel discussions during which many students voiced their anxieties as writers.
“I learned student writers are interested in publishing, interested in how to live life as a writer, interested in getting through those moments when you want to throw the laptop off the balcony,” Dawson said. “I definitely will address these concerns in my classroom.”
The nightly reading series was welcomed in the Tampa Bay community, but also drew people other areas including Lakeland, St. Pete, Clearwater and other parts of the greater Tampa area.
“We thought that the interest was phenomenal, especially for the first time,” Parker said.
“We hope the Lectores series becomes a center for the literary arts for the region and in the state.”
Last week was the first of what will be a bi-annual speaker series at UT. The first series was successful, and both Parker and Dawson have high hopes for future Lectores events.
“It’s good for UT and our graduate and undergraduate students; but, it’s good for our city. I hope future Lectores events continue to bridge connections between UT, USF, St. Leo, all other campuses and writers and readers who love good writing,” Dawson said.
The next Lectores series is in June, and Parker is looking forward to it.
“It will take place during the summer session so interested undergrad students who weren’t on campus for the first one will hopefully attend,” he said. “We hope to continue to bring in interesting writers from around the country and around the world.”
Trinity Morgan can be reached at tmorgan@spartans.ut.edu.