This program is made possible through a generous gift from Ruth and Russell Bolton
in conjunction with the Eberly College of Arts & Sciences.

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

End-of-Semester Reading This Sunday!

Join us this Sunday, December 4, at 6:00 p.m. in the Honors Hall for the Bolton Workshops end-of-semester reading. This event is when we sit around eating lots of desserts, and some veggies, and listening to what everyone has been writing these past few months. Hope to see you there!

Friday, November 11, 2011

Homeward Bound

It could have been a night of nostalgia -- a group of WVU students talking about home, our eyes growing misty with each passing sentence. Instead, us Honors Dorm Boltoneers discussed what makes our old hometown and our new adopted home, Morgantown, unique. We discussed how concrete details really help cement a picture in a reader's mind. One student's hometown had six gas stations; another had 4 stops signs and his family had lived there since 1820; another talked about how each family member represented home to her (she moved around a lot as a kid). What came across in each of the descriptions, though, was just how well we knew home. Home may not seem like something to write...well, home, about, but each hometown was distinct and unique.
We all agreed though, that when it comes to uniqueness, our adopted home as Mountaineers doesn't need any help. The Jekyll and Hyde effect of High Street soon got brought up. The hidden establishments that suddenly become invisible at night. The eery darkness of High Street after the MAC. The cheery shops during the day. The beauty of the campus. High Street seems to be part of quintessential Morgantown, and let me say, that the Honors Dorm Boltoneers were able to capture it quite well in their writing. Instead of a night missing home, the night became filled with tales that we all could relate to: what it's like to be a Morgantownian.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Campus Monsters... and Not One Story About Halloween Costumes?

On Tuesday at Fieldcrest, it turns out that rather than taking the easy way out and talking about Halloween, it ended up being a group therapy session about the stresses of academic life. Sure education is great, but when there's a stack of paper to grade (Doc and Me) or when that one group of students in Philosophy class just won't stop talking or that one person with the laptop who is compulsively checking social media rather than taking note for class, it really does get under the skin... clawing at our attention span and moods like a monster...

We all wrote some flash length non-fiction about our recent monsters (see above), and at the end of the night bonded very much over our various miseries. We still have one workshop left, and I certainly hope our spirits are a little lighter and we don't have our own version of Where The Wild Things Are... In the Classroom for our final night for the semester.

Oh and can't forget, even Isaac was suffering from the "Rack Monster"...


Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Preview

For our last Bolton Workshop meeting, we'll be joining forces with Braxton Tower's hall council. This means there is an increased probability of food! Come to the Jean Benson Lounge at 8 pm. tonight! All the cool kids are doing it.

Preview: Poetry! Six words that describe you.