This was my last week here at Chautauqua Literary Arts center as an intern. Though this week was still pretty busy, I had more of a relaxed ending to my time here (stress level wise). All the regular events that take place every week happened this week as well.
I attended the Meet the Faculty event on Sunday. The CLSC authors of the week were Naomi Shihab Nye and E. Ethelbert Miller.
I was able to visit a neighboring town across the lake with a couple of the Literary Arts team, Ayaana and Camille. We walked around and ate at a restaurant called the Casino. There was live music and we were close to the water which made for a good meal, though I would suggest bringing bug spray if you’re going close to sundown!
The event of the week was celebrating Elizabeth O'Conner winning the Chautauqua Prize for her debut novel, Whale Fall. It was a private celebration to reveal the physical prize, a commissioned art piece created by an artist's interpretation of the novel. This year, it was a functional storage wooden box that had a lighthouse and whale skeleton. Both of which were big factors of the book. The celebration was held on Thursday evening. The Literary Arts staff helped set up and take down the event, so the majority of my day after the CLSC book reading that happens weekly was focused on the event. I had the wonderful opportunity to talk with O’Conner herself about her novel. She was incredibly sweet and kind. I left that day with a signed copy, which I am very proud of.
Saying goodbye to everyone was really hard, but I made sure I made my rounds and got to personally say bye to who I could. I was especially close to Camille, Ayanna, and Jonah (he worked in the Octagon where the CLSC sold books). Camille felt like a piece of home in an unknown place. She was so helpful and let me pick her brain about graduate and PhD programs. I hope to keep in touch with her, penpalling and at some point maybe visiting her. Ayanna was the only other fiction writer on the staff. We connected through writing, and I was blown away with her writing technique and style. Being around her felt enriching and empowering whenever we talked about our writing. Liana was the other intern on our team. She is a brilliant poet, and her emotion seeps into the words she uses which help create captivating poems. She was awarded 3rd place for a haiku poem that she submitted to the writing competition in Chautauqua this year.
Thank you to Chautauqua for this internship opportunity. But most importantly, I want to thank Stephine Hunt, the literary Arts Director. She was an amazing boss, and I have so much to learn from her.