This Saturday during Homecoming, the Bowers Writers House hosted its second annual Alumni Reading. Directed by Lecturer in English Jesse Waters, the event invites Elizabethtown College alumni to the Writers House to read a few of their works. Waters’ goal is to invite not only English majors reading a certain genre of works, but a variety of presenters reading differing materials to showcase Etown’s creative diversity as well.
Lois Herr was the first to present her work at the event. Herr received a B.A. from the College, an M.A. in English from the University of Pennsylvania and an M.B.A. from Fordham University. She has also worked in business, education and politics. She has published two books, “Women, Power and AT&T: Winning Rights in the Workplace” and “Dear Coach: Letters Home from WWII.”
Herr dedicated her first work to Etown students. In “Women, Power and AT&T,” she wrote about the discrimination of women in the workforce at the telephone company AT&T and outlined the struggle for equality. Her father, Ira R. Herr, the first coach and athletic director at Etown, inspired her second work.
“I tried to let the information tell the story,” she said about the process of writing “Dear Coach.” During World War II, soldiers would write letters home, and Herr documented a few of these letters from that era. Currently, she is working on a piece of historical fiction that she describes as the “Downton Abbey of Dauphin county.”
The next alum to read was Maggie Farber Mitchell, an Etown alumna from the class of 2004. She graduated with a B.S. in music education and earned her Master of music education with Orff-Schulwerk Certificate from West Chester University in 2008. Mitchell taught elementary classroom music for six years before she resigned in 2010 when her daughter was born.
Mitchell wrote a children’s story called “The Big Stink” after her daughter was born. After hearing stories of student bullying and consequent suicides, Mitchell wanted a way to explain to her elementary students the effects of bullying in a relatable way. Collaborating with her illustrator friend, they produced the book about a stinkbug that was bullied by her friends. She described her work as “funny and silly, but with a great message.” After producing her book, Mitchell said it has been a great way to start conversations about bullying with kids.
Graduating with a degree in music education, Mitchell credits her interest in writing to Etown. “This place showed me that it was okay to change my mind, try new things, follow my gut and live,” she said. “If it doesn’t work, try something else.”
The last alum to present her work was Nicole St. Pierre. She earned her B.A. in English in 2012 and currently works as a technical editor and assistant course writer for a specialized online education company. St. Pierre has an affinity for poetry. Her creative works have appeared in “Embodied Effigies,” an online creative nonfiction magazine, and “Glassworks Magazine.” She has also written theater works that have been featured in staged readings both locally and in New York City.
As former student of Waters, he described her as having a “sense of humility in [her] writing” as both a writer and a playwright. St. Pierre read two of her works “Love Letter” and “Beacon.” The first poem, “Love Letter,” was written as a post-breakup letter to her ex. “It’s not as bad as it sounds, I promise,” she said before reading it. The letter described her issues with him before their breakup — like leaving the sink running — as well as their good moments like cooking together. It also included stories of the hardships she faced after the breakup and the eventual acceptance of their breakup and her unwillingness to be defined by him.
The second piece, “Beacon” was about her determined ascent to the top of a lighthouse despite her fear of heights. Although she was afraid, she said an unknown force kept her going until she viewed the beacon at the top, a true reflection on the process of life to keep going despite fears and doubts until you reach the top.
