On Wednesday, March 4, the Mason Libraryhosted The New Hampshire Writers’ Project Three-Minute Fiction Slam semi-finals, sponsored by the library and the Keene State Department of English.
The contestants were asked to prepare original short stories that had to be under a three-minute time limit. Contestants ranged from Keene State students to faculty members, who read their short stories in front of three judges. The contestants’ pieces were also very diverse in their range.
Irene McGarrity, an associate professor at Keene State, said during the event, “We’ve been doing the fiction slam for three years now and this year has the most impressive collective group of stories so far.”
Leah Carlson, a first-year student who read her piece,“Rules for Life,” said, “[The contest] really helped me realize all the different types of writing skills [students at Keene State] have and what different types of writing skills are taught here.”
Carlson said of her piece, “The piece I did, despite what the judges said, was based off of real events. It was an imitation piece I did for my creative writing class and gave enough of a story without being overwhelming.”
Although the event was sponsored by the English department, the attendees were not all English students. Senior Lauren Koldras said, “[The fiction slam] was pretty cool and I always try to come. I came for my friend Lexi. I’m a psychology major and I feel very compelled to come to these events to hear things like this because it’s not my strong suit, because I can’t do what Lexi does.”
The winner of the event, Ashley Rollend, said of her piece “Canaries in the Yellow Room,” “I wrote this piece for the slam because I usually write prose and not fiction. This piece was kind of a thriller piece and I never write thriller pieces. I saw it as a break from the norm.”
Rollend was recently named Outstanding Graduating Senior in Writing by the Keene State College Department of English and received the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Grant, a grant which supports a 10-week research opportunity on their campus or around the country.
“The SURF grant is given to three students every summer. I’m from the honors program and received the honors program grant. I received the grant twice; one was from a published poetry book I wrote and the second was for a children’s book,” said Rollend.
Julia Messinger, who competed in the fiction slam, said, “I honestly did this last minute. It was nerve-wracking and I honestly just liked hearing what I did here and who I saw perform. I know Ashley and Lexi and it’s nice to know that they won. I knew they were going to place.”
Senior Lexi Palmer [an Equinox staff member] placed third place in the fiction slam with her piece “Living Conditions.” Dr. Margaret Walsh, a professor of sociology, anthropology, and criminal justice, placed second and Ashley Rollend placed first with her piece. Rollend is eligible to compete in the New Hampshire Writers’ Project Three-Minute Fiction Slam final in Manchester, New Hampshire on Thursday, March 12.
Tom Benoit can be reached at
tbenoit@kscequinox.com
