Every time Chautauquans attend a Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle presentation, wait in line for a book signing or enter the CLSC Octagon, they interact with the staff of the literary arts department. However, Chautauquans might not know the creativity and talent of the individuals that make the programming possible.
At 12:15 p.m. today on the porch of the Literary Arts Center at Alumni Hall, Summer on the Steps will host an open mic for literary arts staff. The reading will feature Liana López, Joanna Fox, Ren Solis-Roman, Kathryn O’Neal, Camille Carter, Ayaana Nayak, Cam Forster and Stephine Hunt, the managing director of Chautauqua Literary Arts.
From poetry to playwriting, literary arts staff immerse themselves in writing this summer and beyond. For interns and graduate fellows, part of the job description involves participating in at least four Writers’ Center workshops over the course of a summer season. While each Friday, Summer on the Steps opens with spotlight readers from that week’s workshops, it does not guarantee that literary arts staff will be the ones sharing.
“Not all of our staff gets heard if they want to be heard,” Hunt said.
In addition to uplifting interns and graduate fellows, Hunt wants to platform staff members that do not have workshops in their schedule, such as O’Neal, who, when she’s not welcoming Chautauquans and guests as the host of Alumni Hall, is writing poetry.
Hunt and Kwame Alexander, the Michael I. Rudell Artistic Director of Literary Arts and Inaugural Writer-in-Residence, prioritized providing a platform for their staff, who are as talented with programming as they are as writers.
Several staff members are published, including Hunt herself in the recent Chautauqua literary annual. If staff members read from unpublished work, Hunt encourages Chautauquans to follow up with them.
“There are definitely ways to interact with these works, and if they read works that are not published, I absolutely encourage the staff to talk with folks about those works,” Hunt said.
Time permitting, Hunt welcomes Chautauquans to bring their own pieces to share at the open mic. Highlighting the literary talent of the literary arts staff, Hunt hopes to give voice to the faces Chautauquans already know.
“It gives us a great space to celebrate the creativity that exists in our literary arts staff because they’re so brilliant in so many different ways, outside of the many different ways that they interact with our community members,” Hunt said. “I’m just excited to showcase them in all of their brilliance.”
