The English department was abuzz last week in preparation for two literary conferences that took place last weekend.
Seven Baker University students went to the 21st National Undergraduate Literature Conference, held at Weber State University in Utah.
In addition, three members of Baker’s Sigma Tau Delta chapter traveled to the annual conference in Portland, Ore., March 29 to Monday.
English Professor Lucy Price, who went to the Weber conference, explained the conference’s objective.
“The goal of the conference is to let students have the experience of presenting their own work to a scholarly audience and to hear papers by other students,” Price said.
Students could submit critical analysis papers, personal essays, poetry and fiction to be judged at national level.
“Basically, if you’re going to the conference, you’ve already won the prize,” said sophomore Keith Gaboury. “I learned what good writing is from other people’s writing, which I can use in my own literary development.”
One of the keynote speakers at the Weber conference, Alice Sebold, was author of the novel “The Lovely Bones.”
“I haven’t ever had a chance to hear such an acclaimed author speak,” junior Megan Lamb said. “It was something I will never forget.”
The keynote speaker at the Sigma Tau Delta conference was Poet Laureate Ted Kooser and featured author Mark Salzman and filmmaker Katja Esson.