Listen HereBy Alana Sundermann
@alana_sundy23
sundermanna@findlay.edu
From the Writer’s Kitchen might be described as a place where artists and writers of all kinds can share their work. Connor Bracken, assistant professor of English and faculty advisor of the group, describes when the Writer’s Kitchen developed and what it has become.
“It’s a pretty old inventoriable institution on campus and it’s gone through a couple [of] different iterations,” said Bracken.
From the Writer’s Kitchen has been around for a while on the University of Findlay’s campus and showcases more than just people’s writing skills.
“We are the on-campus undergraduate literary journal. We publish University of Findlay undergraduate’s, specifically, poems, essays, songs. We’ll publish plays or excerpts from plays, 2D art, photography and all sorts of stuff,” said Bracken. “Pretty much if you can print it and it has been created by a University of Findlay undergraduate then it’s eligible for publication and the Writer’s Kitchen.”
Senior English major and managing officer of the group, Megan Berg, describes it as a place where all work is appreciated.
“I love that it has kind of been a place where people who think differently and write differently are welcomed,” said Berg.
The English senior first became interested in From the Writer’s Kitchen when she stumbled across it in a program.
“I picked up a copy of it my freshman year, I was sitting in the library and they had a copy of it on the table and, I started flipping through it and I thought ‘hey I kind of like this’,” said Berg.
While a lot of students involved, are English majors, the group encourages people of all majors to join.
“There is a mast head of undergraduate students who are involved in the English major, outside of the English major and I just kind of help make sure we are sticking to deadlines,” said Bracken.
From the Writer’s Kitchen continues to grow and the work accepted, but one thing is clear, when you write, they’ll listen.
“It doesn’t matter what you write, it doesn’t matter how well you write it, we want to see it,” said Berg.
Those involved in From the Writer’s Kitchen say they have worked hard to develop a culture that is accepting and open to viewing things in a different light. Bracken shares his thoughts on poetry and the culture it brings to the world around us.
“I think it can be really helpful in reorienting what we think is important. I think poetry offers us this opportunity to slow down and experience life in a way that is fundamentally different,” said Bracken. “It helps people put things into perspective. I think that when we write poems and we read poems closely we have a deeper understanding of what it is to live as sensitive, emotional, or just sensory creatures in the world around us.”
As for the future of From the Writer’s Kitchen Berg expresses the culture she hopes to leave as her time in the group ends.
“I want to hand it down to some people who will maintain that culture of acceptance, of rallying around people and things that are different to bring them to the world in a different light,” Berg said.
