CMU professors share material in front of friends, students
Not many students get the chance to hear their professors read their work. Tonight was an exception.
Two creative writing faculty members read their works in the Baber Room of the Charles V. Park Library Thursday night.
The 8 p.m. reading gathered more than 50 people, a normal attendance for the scheduled readings. This proves to be a spectacle where professors get to showcase their work to the very students they teach.
"Students in my classes are writing their own poems and turning them into me," said associate professor Jeffrey Bean. "They don't get to see my work in the class, so this is my chance to show my work."
Bean read from a mixture of new and old poetry. Some had references to music, while others took a more serious tone. Laughter erupted as the audience found some play on words hilarious in some of his poems.
"Some poems work better in readings than others," Bean said. "I pick some that I know that will work well and I also like to pick some very new things that are not really tested out yet and kind of try them on the audience. You can always learn about a poem by reading it."
He incorporates his music background into his poems through the rhythms, patterns and musical elements.
"I've been drawn to form because of its relationship to music," Bean said.
Assistant professor Darrin Doyle took a different turn with two chapters from his newest and almost finished novel, "The Deviance." The novel was about a murder mystery and three characters that enjoy memorizing quotes.
Doyle chose to read a more serious piece because he was excited about the work and lacked other pieces that were shorter in length.
"Laughter is the one thing you can hear from an audience and know that they are engaged, where as serious stuff is really hard to read in a crowd," He said.
Sharing ideas and showing new written material between faculty and students is the backbone of the creative writing program, Doyle said.
"Our students are constantly sharing their new stuff with us, so we like to share new stuff with them," he said.
Novi graduate Nick Farrant, who introduced Doyle, has been inspired through Doyle's works.
"I remember thinking passively that maybe this guy has no idea what he is talking about," Farrant said. "It wasn't until I got to my first workshop that I realized that hiding behind that thin veneer of a slacker an immense amount of wisdom."
Mount Pleasant senior Leigh Jajuga introduced Bean and has been influenced by being in his classes.
"I'm so honored to introduce a poet who has made a tremendous impact on my life as a reader and student of poetry," Jajuga said as she introduced Bean.
Lexington senior Gino Fracassa at the poetry reading said he loved the beginning and the end works that were read.
"The second chapter that Doyle read was really engaging and (so was) the very first poem (Bean) read," Fracassa said. "I don't know if it was just that beginning-end polarity"
