Mercer University students had the chance to showcase their writing at a longstanding literary event earlier this month. Eight creative writing majors and minors presented their work at the Emerging Student Writers Stage at the Decatur Book Festival on Oct. 4.
The independent book festival, founded in 2006, draws attendees from across the Southeast and features some prominent writers, Mercer English Professor Dr. Gordon Johnston said. The Emerging Student Writers program, hosted by the Decatur Library, was added to the festival lineup in 2024 to highlight the writing talents of college students.
Mercer was among seven universities that participated this year, and each had 45 minutes for their students to give readings in the fourth floor gallery of the Decatur Library. Dr. Johnston, who organized Mercer’s student panel for the event, said the festival was a chance for students to present their work on a stage beyond the University.
“Our creative writing majors and minors are writing at a high level,” he said. “Offering up their pieces and seeing them have a visible impact on the audience is a real confidence booster. For them to be able to hear students from other programs and see that their work is just as good or stronger, that can give them the confidence to apply for a really good graduate program or a job in the writing industry, or submit their story or piece to a good magazine.”
The Mercer student participants were Mike Echols, Mack McDonald, Maret McWhorter, Marques Muscott, Ava Pifer, Aryell Pullin, Isabella Ragsdale and Korie Watkins. Dr. Johnston hosted two practice readings in Willingham Hall to help the students prepare for the event.
“The students, they just really peaked at the (festival) session. Their best reading was the one they gave in Decatur,” Dr. Johnston said.
During the festival, Ragsdale and McWhorter read story excerpts, and the other students read a few poems. Dr. Johnston served as the emcee for the panel. All the seats in the room were filled for the Mercer session, and many of the students’ family members came to support them.
“These writing students, most of their writing experience is contained on campus,” Dr. Johnston said. “This was really valuable exposure. This introduces students to the larger literary world; this introduces them to a large-scale literary event. That’s an important step in professional development. It moves them away from looking at themselves as strictly amateur writers.”
McWhorter, a senior communication studies and creative writing double-major, has previously read their work at Mercer’s Third Thursday Reading Series and as part of the Ferrol A. Sams Distinguished Chair in English Seminar, a writer’s workshop course. The Decatur Book Festival, however, allowed them to give their first public prose reading and support peers who were sharing their writing publicly for the first time.
McWhorter read a creative nonfiction piece called “Acetylcoa,” which centers around an experience they had at age 12 burying a snake that was killed by accident.
“I am very grateful that the Decatur Book Festival invited us,” McWhorter said. “I’m really proud of all of the underclassmen that read. All the first readers that came out and read, they did a really good job.”
Attending the Decatur Book Festival has been a lifelong tradition for Pifer, a senior communication studies and creative writing double-major from Decatur, so she welcomed the opportunity to read her poetry there this year. She has participated in some open mic events at Mercer, but this was her first time reading in a larger public setting.
She read a poem called “Kintsugi Doll,” in which she talks about spinal issues she faces and compares herself to a marionette doll that has been chipped, and “2/13/23,” about the mass shooting at Michigan State University in 2023.
“I was surrounded by nothing but support from both my fellow readers and my family,” Pifer said. “It brought me a lot of confidence in my ability to read my poetry for a public audience. It made me really grateful for this opportunity. (It’s) a good feeling to have, knowing people were listening to your work and caring.”
Muscott, a sophomore double-majoring in psychology and creative writing, read three poems on the Emerging Student Writers Stage: “Roadside Graves,” about a failed romantic relationship; “Your Disciple,” about his struggles with religion growing up; and “Julie,” which muses about social norms.
“It (was) my first time getting my work out there and under the eyes of other people,” Muscott said. “It was a good experience to share what I can do with some of my peers. It was really scary going in. You’re just hoping that they get what you’re saying. But, it ended up being kind of fun. I got a really positive reception, as did my other classmates who were there.”
