Rewrite: English Department Reading Review

Audience: “The Index”

The snow danced outside the window in the deep blue sky and the smell of wet wood filled the Olmsted Room. Illuminated by chandelier, the room was filled with Kalamazoo residents, students, and family members. The Kalamazoo College English Department Faculty Reading brought people a diverse group together to enjoy multiple, assorted, and impressive pieces of literature.

All members of the Kalamazoo College English Department, aside from Amy Smith who is on sabbatical, contributed to the event, which began at 7:00pm on Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2010. The evening consisted of various works of short fiction, poetry, and nonfiction read by ten professors.

Nonfiction, which with five pieces dominated the evening, can be seen as too dense for a live reading. Aside from Babli Sinha’s piece, however, this was not the case. Unfortunately, Sinha’s monotone voice and lack of facial expressions made it hard to enjoy the content of her thoroughly researched and educated discussion of gender and media.

In complete contrast with Sinha’s lack of passion, but matching her intelligence came Gail Griffin. Griffin read a piece about the murder and suicide ten years ago in the DeWaters Residence Hall on Kalamazoo College’s campus. Griffin’s voice caught in her throat when she rhetorically asked herself and the audience “What is my wound compared to theirs?” Read with the strong conviction and raw emotion of a person living with the pain of such events, Griffin’s piece was beautifully written.

Another emotionally charged nonfiction piece was Marin Heinritz’s stellar reading about her mother’s illness, “Craft Wide Open By Proximity.” This piece had similar emotional content as Bruce Mills’ reading about his son’s autism from his book “An Archeology of Learning.” Although Mills showed some signs of a nervous public speaker, it did not take away from the power of his reading. In fact, it added to the personal nature of his selection.

Amelia Katanski introduced an original style of nonfiction. Broken down into four parts, Katanski’s piece “Noble Truths” lined up with Buddhist beliefs and was a refreshing break from the abundance of simplistic prose the evening provided.

Although nonfiction dominated in terms of numbers and personal content, the short fiction pieces of the evening were the most entertaining. Andy Mozina, English Department Chair and first reader of the evening, opened with comedy. “My Non-Sexual Affair” though funny by itself, was made even more captivating and enjoyable through Mozina’s phenomenal timing and eye contact.

Equally as enjoyable was Amy Rodgers, a visiting English professor. Rodgers’ dark piercing eyes and vivid facial expressions made her process piece about Robert Frost’s son Carol completely enthralling. In the enchanting last line, “He does not look like his father,” Rodgers’ powerful writing could not be questioned.

Next came Glenn Deutsch pleasing the audience by reading different characters with different voices, in his two selections of “The Monkey Version of My Father.” When Deutsch’s voice changed from it’s typically soothing deep tone to a lisping, cussing teen, it was impossible to not be captivated.

Beth Marzoni and Di Seuss were the only two professors who chose poetry selections, and they were starkly different from each other. The content of Seuss’ poems were comic and crude whereas Marzoni’s was more historic and factual. This contrast made Seuss’ poems, “It Wasn’t a Dream I Knew William Burroughs” and “Birthday Confession”, more exciting than Marzoni’s “Rothko’s Room”. But Seuss, being a practiced performer, is used to attention and praise for her crass, over-the-top humor.

It is always great to glimpse a piece of a prestigious college professor’s life outside of the classroom. This reading allowed for insight into the inner workings of a group of brilliant people. It is an insight that all in attendance were lucky to have.