You would never guess it by the name, but the Winter Wheat Festival provides workshop opportunities for inspiring writers.
On Saturday, November 3, four Denison students packed into a car at 7:15 a.m. for a two and a half hour drive. The event that made these students so passionate that they would give up sleeping in on a Saturday was the annual Winter Wheat Festival, hosted by Bowling Green State University. The Writer’s Club reserved a car for the members and anyone else interested, to take to the event.
The Winter Wheat Festival is a three-day free event that hosts workshops for writers new and old. As the event started on Thursday, the Writer’s Club, who made it possible for Denison students to attend, decided it best that students spend a whole day at the event, thus making Saturday ideal for students to attend.
The event held in the student union of Bowling Green University started with a book fair. The book fair included literary journals, presses and programs that connected the event to authors from around the region. It was an excellent way for students to talk with working writers and understand where their writing can take them.
Winter Wheat Festival is supported by the Art Works, National Endowment for the Arts and the Ohio Arts Council. The festival brought an array of published authors for a keynote reading each day. On Saturday, Denison’s writers were exposed to the charming, witty and talented Ada Limon. Limon’s reading gave audiences goosebumps and wet eyes as she told her story through the craft of her poetry.
The event also included an open mic reading, where attending writers shared what they created during Winter Wheat. The event helped writers see what they are capable of in such a short time and that a little practice can go a long way.
The event was free and further emphasized the importance of the phrase “the power of the paper and pen.”
“It was an enriching experience, well worth the time. It gives writers a chance to write in a helpful and nurturing atmosphere that I recommend everyone, take part in,” said Adam Frost-Venrick ’20, a cinema and theatre major from Upper Arlington, Ohio.
The Winter Wheat Festival of Writing’s aim is to “sow the seeds of creative possibilities and grow the literary community,” said Katy Cesarotti, Winter Wheat coordinator. “It gives people the time to write, to play, and to experiment with their writing.”
There are many other upcoming events happened for writers this month as Nano-rhyme is in full swing, so feel free to take this time to explore and develop some creative skills in writing.