EJ JACOBS
Life & Arts Editor
SIERRA MILLS
Chief Copy Editor
The English Department knew how to get lit this past Friday.
On April 26, Fredonia’s English Department held its second annual Literary Festival in celebration of National Poetry Month.
“This is our second year of the Fredonia Literary Festival. The event grew out of The Day of Poetry and Prose, an English department event that featured faculty reading tributes to our late colleagues. That event was paused during Covid and then we planned a bigger day-long celebration of poetry and prose that brought in student organizations and publications, plus guest writers, alumni writers, booksellers, vendors and more,” said English Professor Michael Sheehan.
Tabling was located in the William’s Center Multi-Purpose Room (MPR), with Sigma Tau Delta, The Trident, Writer’s Ring and local authors and artists selling their work.
Sigma Tau Delta hosted a book sale with donated books, with a discount for Fredonia students and other prices for other people who attended.
A series of panels were also held in the Blue Lounge, with subjects pertaining to the humanities and English, including book bannings, literary magazines and local authors.
At the end of the festival, the ENGL 400 Senior Seminar students read poetry or selections of short stories in memory of previous professors.
Christina Jarvis, an English professor, said, “I was in charge of planning the memorial readings portion of the festival, and I was thrilled to involve my senior seminar class in organizing the event. The English 400 students carefully selected literary passages that honored deceased faculty members’ favorite authors and research specialties, and then shared them following brief tributes by current English professors.”
This event was all about the students, faculty, staff and community coming together.
“I think in this moment, it’s really critical to have this campus take note of the humanities and the arts, not only because we’ve experienced these program cuts and any of us could be next, but because the humanities are being eroded piece-by-piece because the administration has chosen not to replace faculty who have retired or left,” said Dr. Jeanette McVicker, an English professor.