Brainstorming

So, to round out my beat, my professor's asked us to come up with five story ideas relating to what we've chosen to follow.

Number one:

Do a piece on the undergraduate literary journal "Jabberwocky." This journal is a big deal for fiction writers on campus, and a big part of the magazine includes poetry by undergrads like us. I've even submitted to them a few times. Not only will I be able to be behind-the-scenes for this dynamic literary post, hopefully I'll be able to be a part of it all semester and keep everyone updated on "Jabberwocky." Their first meeting of the semester is tomorrow at 6:30, and then afterwards we're all going to go to a reading.

Number two:

October 15th, Amherst Cinema is presenting a "poetry festival" through film. $5 a pop for students, so everyone should check it out. I'll be there, and hopefully some of the authors will as well. If I can score interviews, and even if I can't, it'll be a great story and I'm looking forward to covering it.

Number three:

UMass Amherst's writing program places among the top ten in the United States. There's a reason for this! I want to write a story on grads and undergrads in the writing department that have made a name for themselves with poetry, and I'd like to incorporate some of the reasons why UMass is such a haven for the literary-inclined. That includes interviewing professors of the poetry classes, students, and authors who have graduated or still attend.

Number four:

There is a Visiting Writers Series here at UMass Amherst. Not a lot of people know about it. The only reason I do is because I took a one-credit literary course my freshman year that required us to go to every single reading on and around campus. This semester, for my beat, I'd like to write stories on the individual poets who come to read their work here on campus. Onsite interviews with the author is something no one can really pass up. The first poetry reading is happening Thursday night at 7:00 (the same one the Jabberwocky group is heading to), at Memorial Hall, with Dara Wier.

Number five:

Emily Dickinson. We've all heard of her, the famously tragic poet, and we've all read some of her work. Lucky for me, the Emily Dickinson Museum is located directly in the center of Amherst, and their annual Emily Dickinson read-a-thon is happening Saturday, from from 7:00AM-10:00PM. I'd like to check it out, and write a story on why the poet is so important in this area of the country. I'll get interviews from the museum staff, and hopefully the hardcore fans of Dickinson's work who attend this annual Poetry marathon. Should be interesting, eh?

So there you have it, some rough ideas of what this blog is gonna be all about.