Senior Sylvan Williams, the 2023 recipient of the Eder Creative Writing Scholarship, showcased her work on Thursday, March 28, at 4:00 p.m. in the Center for Research and Writing in a scholarship reading event co-hosted by the Center and the Keene State English Department.
For her reading, Williams read two of her poems, “First Communion” and “Apollo,” one of her short stories, “Outside The Eye” and an excerpt from her memoir project. The subject of her memoir was her summer 2023 study abroad trip to Madagascar.
The Eder Creative Writing Scholarship was established by Doris L. and Donald Gray Eder in 2006. The scholarship is awarded to an English major or Writing minor in their junior year and provides recognition and financial aid for their senior year.
“[Interested juniors] submit a portfolio of their work, and then we have a committee that reads all the portfolios and selects a winner,” said English Professor Dr. Brinda Charry.
Charry said she arranged the reading to give young writers more appreciation.
“I think one of the things that young writers remember the most later is when their work is appreciated by an audience,” she said. “I feel we do not have enough opportunities for that so I’ve been trying to arrange events [where] young writers can share their work.”
Charry said that the most impressive thing about Williams’ portfolio was her ability to move between genres.
“Usually students tend to be more poetry or more fiction, and I think Sylvan was equally strong with both,” she said.
“I think the ability to move across genres is not easy to do, and she does quite well in each one,” said English Professor Katherine Tirabassi.
Williams, a Writing minor, said that her favorite piece she read was “Outside the Eye” because of her process when writing it.
“That’s the one I spent a lot of time editing and rewriting,” she said. “That’s always rewarding when you’ve spent a lot of time reworking something and making it better.”
William’s biggest advice for young writers is, “momentum over motivation.”
“Instead of waiting for some inspiration to strike, develop a habit of writing where every day, you designate a specific amount of time and that’s when you write,” she said. “And you can write complete garbage, you can write stupid things, you can write anything. It’s developing that routine and that momentum.”
Molly Parsons, the director of the Center for Research and Writing who attended the event, said she enjoyed it.
“I loved it. I thought Sylvan was incredible,” she said. “I thought she showed a ton of range. There were moments that were funny, there were moments that were dark.”
Junior English major Moses Fisher was named the 2024 Eder Scholarship winner.
“I’ve been on a cloud ever since I found out,” he said. “It’s incredibly affirming to get that kind of recognition for my writing. It’s really kind of an incredible feeling.”
Fisher attended Williams’ reading and said that he enjoyed it.
“[Williams is] one of my close friends, and I was really happy that she won,” he said. “It was so lovely that she got the chance to share her work like that.”
Emily Sloane can be contacted at
esloane@kscequinox.com
