A lot has happened during the past couple of weeks, from classes, to awesome concerts, to amazing spectacles of light. And all of this is only possible because of this internship.
After receiving our official work schedules on Saturday, June 22nd, I started working in the Chautauqua's Poetry Makerspace. One of the main hubs of the Literary Arts department, this space allows visitors to be creative through poetry, whether it be through black-out poetry, traveling stanzas, or responding to the weekly prompt to contribute to Chautauqua’s community poem – a poem made entirely out specific lines we liked from everyone’s individual poems. Meanwhile, I would spend my time reading over and contributing to Chautauqua’s anthology when I wasn’t assisting visitors.
Sunday is when visiting writers Ruth Forman and Charlotte Mathews came and read some of their work to the community at the Hall of Philosophy, followed by a Q&A session and a book signing. Their readings were wonderful, both of whom wrote about very powerful topics in such a compelling way.
Ruth Forman (left) and Charlotte Mathews (right) answering audience’s questions after their readings
Once Monday rolled around, I fell into a rhythm. I would go to my prose class in Alumni Hall taught by Charlotte on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 1:15pm – 3:15pm, and work at the poetry makerspace from 10am – 2pm on days where my classes didn’t conflict, all while completing different writing assignments during my time off.
During these classes, she taught us the importance of slowing down, not only when writing but also to just exist, by making us write down things we saw that delighted us every day immediately, no matter how small or insignificant it may seem (for me, it was often the times I got to pet one of the many dogs that are present on the grounds). She also stressed to not let our minds judge or critique our first drafts – No one writes a perfect first draft. By writing without bias or worry, this allows us to unknowingly write amazing things. Charlotte would illustrate this point by giving us prompts and forcing us to write as much as we can within a time limit of 4-5 minutes, forcing us to ignore the critical part of our minds and solely focus on getting words onto the page – whether or not it was clean or made sense.
Finally, on Friday, there was a spotlight event on Alumni Hall’s porch where we read the community poem that was created throughout the week, and it was well crafted. Both Charlotte and Ruth – who had taught a poetry writing course during the week – also chose two of their students to read work they produced during their respective class at this event. And I was one of those readers. Everyone who shared their writing did a good job. I definitely got a few laughs from my story.
Me reading a story I wrote about an ancestor who is important to me.
Later that night, I had the pleasure of seeing the Beach Boys perform live at Chautauqua’s amphitheater. Having my father’s music basically be the soundtrack of my early years, I grew up listening to the Beach Boys. And it was such a treat watching. It was a great way to end the week.
Sunday, June 30th, is when the next pair of visiting writers – and future instructors – were introduced at a reading event in the Hall of Philosophy that afternoon: Chloé Caldwell (prose) and Lillian-Yvonne Bertram (poetry). They also read some of their work to us, both of them showing off their unique but equally brilliant writing skills and perspectives.
Lillian-Yvonne Bertam (right) and Chloé Caldwell (left)
The upcoming week followed a similar pattern as the first, except this week I was in the poetry writing class with Lillian-Yvonne Bertram. They were an excellent teacher, and introduced different techniques and practices to help us get unstuck when working on poetry, with special emphasis on movement. They also had us read various poems to illustrate how shifting a poem’s perspective or format can also help one find new ways to unstuck.
Enjoying a slow day of work at Chautauqua’s Poetry Makerspace
Another difference from last week was how I was able to visit some of the art galleries at the Fowler-Kellogg Art Center and the Strohl Art Center. There was so much cool, beautiful artwork done by so many resident artists. There was a weaving-based, a mix-media, and a ceramic/steel work gallery. But my favorite gallery was Passion for Paper, showing off the amazing sculptures many artists made entirely out of paper. It never ceases to amaze me how limitless paper can be. Though, I will admit, the little house sculptures were adorable.
Some of my favorite pieces displayed. Here's a short video of my third favorite.
As expected, the whole institution was buzzing with energy and excitement on July 4th. Bands and choirs performed on the main plaza playing the national anthem and various patriotic marches. And though I had to work that day, that didn’t stop me from enjoying the uplifting atmosphere. After it got dark, everyone gathered around the edge of Lake Chautauqua near Miller Bell Tower to watch, not one but, multiple firework shows. The sky was filled with so much light and color.
My week ended on Friday with one last poetry class with Lillian-Yvonne in the morning, another afternoon spotlight reading on Alumni Hall’s porch – where, this time, I read the community poem – and an interview with the manager of the Chautauqua Literary arts, Stephine Hunt. The past two weeks have been fairly eventful overall, and I am looking forward to whatever adventures lie ahead.