Tower Light is hosting its first Authorial Convivium this Friday, Sept. 23, from 4:30-5:30 p.m. in the formal lounge with Patricia Bart, associate professor of english, as the emcee. 

The convivium aims to deepen social networking among writers in a creative writing workshop, as well as help students understand the great offering they can make as a writer, Bart said. 

By looking at a variety of texts — including a Psalm, a passage from “Beowulf,” a Shakespearean sonnet, an excerpt from T.S. Eliot’s “The Wasteland and “Little Gidding,” and a selection from Flannery O’Connor’s “Good Country People” — Bart plans to lead students through different writing exercises, which she calls “parlor games.” These exercises help develop a circle of trust and audience among students that many famous authors had, Bart said.

“When you’re speaking to someone, you’re showing signs of understanding, and you’re responding,” Bart said. “We are born natively expecting that immediate feedback. Then we try to become great writers. We sit here and look at our writing, but it doesn’t give us immediate feedback. We need to be able to imagine our audience in order to get over probably 95% of what writer’s block is.”

Bart will end the convivium with a brief lecture on Eliot’s “Tradition and Individual Talent,” discussing how to flourish as a modern writer, said Meera Baldwin, editor-in-chief of the fall Tower Light edition. 

Baldwin said any student can benefit from the convivium.

“In the past, we’ve hosted workshops for students to come in and review their poetry or prose with editorial members,” Baldwin said. “While those events were good, they did not really speak to the basics of writing creatively. I wanted to introduce a more lecture-style element to our event so students could learn how to get started.” 

When King David talked to God personally in prayer, he wrote about it, Bart said.

“Thank heaven he decided to expose his prayer to a wider audience, instead of writing it all to himself,” Bart said. “We all suffer rejections, but an important way of offering oneself is to put your writing out there.”

Baldwin said she’s excited to see what Bart will teach her and those that attend. 

“The number one thing I hear from other students is that they do not know where to begin with writing creatively,” Baldwin said. “I am excited to see how Dr. Bart’s lecture and the discussion will help us feel more confident with beginning any creative work.”