Helicon West Event to Feature Winning Student Authors
Utah State University graduate and published poet Darren Edwards took part in Helicon's Slam Poetry night March 26. He also competed at the National Poetry Slam competition last year. Students will read from the award-winning selections printed in 'Scibendi’ at Helicon West April 23, 7 p.m., Merrill-Cazier Library, Room 101.
Award winning student creative writing comes to life on the stage of Helicon West at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 23, in the Merrill-Cazier Library, Room 101. Spilling from the pages of Scribendi to the open-mike, the event features readings by Utah State University student authors and poets.
Published each spring, Scribendi is the magazine of the USU College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHaSS) Creative Writing Contest, collecting the graduate and undergraduate first, second and third place winning entries. The contest is open to all USU students from all departments and majors.
Named for a mountain in Greece, believed by the ancients to be the source of poetic inspiration and the home of the muses, Helicon West is generally held every second and fourth Thursday at the Logan City Library. Creative writers and poets from the university and community are invited to take part in the biweekly open-mike readings.
Star Coulbrooke, USU Writing Center director and recently named Poet Laureate of Logan, was the impetus behind Helicon, which she started in 2005 with her colleague Michael Sowder, CHaSS professor of English.
Coulbrooke said she always felt it was important to a downtown venue for Helicon West in order to have “a place where students and faculty could mix with non-academic writers, the people who live and work here, who appreciate the value of literature in making life better for everyone.”
After trying out several spots, the readings in 2012 found a permanent home in the Logan Library.
The popularity of Helicon West has grown steadily over time, gaining both participants and audience members.
“Helicon West has come into its own the past few years,” Coulbrooke said, “with a committee of students and community members who keep it thriving, who make sure we showcase both local and national authors, famous writers as well as aspiring writers.”
A panel of three experts in each category judges student works submitted for Scribendi consideration. No names are included on the works read by the panel to ensure selections are judged blindly. Copies of Scribendi will be on sale for $10 at the Helicon West event, which is free and open to the public. Copies of the magazine also are available at the same price in Ray B. West room 201.
“We’ve featured Scribendi readers every year since 2007, and have been pleased with the quality of our students’ work,” Coulbrooke said. “The students practice their excerpts to perfection and present to a large, appreciative audience. Every year it gets better.”
More information about Helicon West or Scribendi can be found at the USU English Department website or contact Kuniko Poole at kunikopoole@usu.edu.
Related links:
USU Department of English
USU College of Humanities and Social Sciences
Writer and contact: Kristian Middaugh, 435-797-0267, kristin.middaugh@usu.edu
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