Poet David Kirby does not cite Byron, Longfellow or Dickinson as his major influences.
He prefers to compare himself to Little Richard.
We both want the same things: To make the audience happy
to be the best at what we do said Kirby, one of five authors scheduled to speak at the Spring Literary Festival this week.
In addition to Kirby, the festival will feature poet and novelist Kim Addonizio, writer Peter Ho Davies, poet Maggie Nelson and author David Shields.
This year is exciting because all the writers are very versatile and individually write a range of creative writing said Kevin Haworth, organizer of Special Programs in the Creative Writing department.
The festival is unique in that it allows students to interact with nationally prominent writers and receive writing advice from many perspectives, Haworth said.
Shields said he wants to remind students to stay innovative and challenge predetermined forms.
Art
like science
moves forward
Shields said. It's important for people to remember that
instead of trying to write like they are in 1850s Russia.
Addonizio will use myths and fairytales to illustrate how writers can creatively tell stories, but she emphasized that it takes more than creativity to succeed.
You give a lot before you ever get back
so I'd say not giving up is pretty important
Addonizio said.
Students are the ideal audience because they are intellectually engaged and want to learn from writers, Nelson said.
I think students are as adept as anyone in terms of processing information and looking for ideas to take from
she said. I'm excited to get a feel for the campus and find what people want to hear and learn about.
The Spring Literary Festival starts today and ends Friday. For a full schedule of events, check www.english.ohiou.edu/sp/slf_schedule/2009/05/.
