Photo of the Week

Our first photo of the week is a stylized highlight of the writing center:

  - Kelci de Haas

Do you know how autumn comes?

                Do you know how autumn comes? It starts in the wind. The summer breeze grows hard, an edge to it which sweeps down from the north. The smells of burning leaves, of rot and decay, float on the autumn wind, leaving trails of dying summer in their path. The autumn wind freezes straight through jackets and jeans, straight through flesh right down to the bone, to the center of a person, leaving little bits of frost in the marrow of their skeleton.

                As the wind sweeps over the trees, the leaves at the very top begin to turn, their rich green yellowing in the blink of an eye. It travels down, through the emerald, silky green of the tree’s branches. The leaves turn yellow, or orange, or red, or brown, and wither and die, falling from their perch aloft to the ground so far below. They are trampled underfoot, raked into piles in backyards everywhere, jumped in, bagged up, and pressed between the pages of books. They sink into the earth, dying and withering, being eaten by autumn’s quiet chill.

                The air becomes colder, and without the trees keeping the semblance of summer the world begins to turn brown and yellow. Breath curls in steamy swirls through the air. Feet trudge across once green lawns, and people glance furtively at the cloudy sky, waiting for the first snow to fall and declare this winter’s realm. Autumn is the in-between time, a point in the year that is neither warm nor cold, but a sort of limbo, a waiting place.

                Through September into October, that month marked by ghouls and witches, and then into November when we, here in America, celebrate the final harvest with our own fall festival, Thanksgiving. No one looks at it as a harvest festival, but in truth that is what it is. We stuff ourselves with summer’s bounty, reveling in the stuffed turkey, mashed potatoes, overdone carrots, and pumpkin pie. We gather together with friends and family to celebrate a successful summer and to prepare for the long, nighttime season of winter, when the hours of darkness grows stronger than day.

                Do you know how autumn comes? It comes in a whisper, in a glance. It comes like night does, starting slow, and then here before you have a chance to blink. It steals over the world, icy hands grasping at the edges of our perception. And then it’s here, and summer is gone. Another six months, or seven months, or nine months we might have to wait to see the summer sun again.

  - Julia Pillard

Writing Center Staff At Blindspot

Last Friday night, the 23rd, a nearly-full house of Coe Students gathered in Dows to see the open-mic event: Blindspot. Frat boys commentated (ie yelled out) from their section, theatre denizens shamelessly plugged the upcoming play, and audiences roared as a very diverse group of “performers” did their acts. But let’s be honest here: the Writing Center peeps totally stole the show.

Staying true to one of the Writing Center’s most valued tricks--reading aloud--staffers Anna Heglud and Courtney Marti each did their own well-timed and super funny readings of some...well, unconventional stories.

First, Anna Hegland graced the stage, and, to most people’s shock, did a reading of a steamy story in the back of an old Cosmopolitan magazine. Wasting none of the hot details, she both mocked the story (which was, to be honest, pretty nasty) while simultaneously getting laughs from all of her fellow peers. Well done, Anna. Nobody will forget that any time soon.

Later, Courtney Marti stepped up to share an adaptation of Cinderella from her book, Politically Correct Bedtime Stories: Modern Tales For Our Life & Times. The story alone was great, but Courtney took it up a level: like all good story tellers, she did the voices, and everyone who knows Courtney knows that she is terrific at pretty much every imaginable dialect.

So yeah, everyone did great at Blindspot on Friday--great singers, Top 10 Lists, instrumentalists. But we can confidently say that the Writing Center staffers who performed will be remembered for quite some time.

  - Jane Lindemann

Hey Guys!

It's the start of a new school year and a new blogging team here at the Writing Center.  We are very excited to entertain you with witty wisdom and news about what's happening here, but we thought we should probably introduce ourselves first.  However, we didn't want to overwhelm you with information - so we'll start slow.

Look forward to posts this week from three fabulous people: Jane, Julia, and Kelci!

JANE LINDEMANN
Height: 5' 7.5"
Eye Color: Green
Hair Color: Light Brown
Class: Freshman

Jane is a Leo looking for love.  She logs onto her purple laptop between rehearsals for Twelfth Night, in which she plays Feste.  While she can't pick a major, she is dedicated to her classes almost as much as she is dedicated to coffee.  Her two pots a day will keep you on your toes to entertain her!  However, if you are looking for date ideas, try taking her out to coffee, perhaps with a romantic giraffe ride afterwards.

JULIA PILLARD
Height: 5' 8.5"
Eye Color: Blue
Hair Color: Blonde
Class: Freshman

This Aries from Fort Collins has a fiery personality.  Her Dell laptop (running Vista) allows her to complete homework for her music and writing classes.  She loves long afternoons sitting in her cushioned wicker chair low to the ground, sipping minestrone soup.  Her dream date would be something including owls, perhaps meeting them, petting them, drawing them, or just talking about them!

KELCI DE HAAS
Height: 5' 5"
Eye Color: Brown
Hair Color: Brown (with a blue and green streak!)
Class: Freshman

Kelci's Libra life is the furthest thing from balanced!  She juggles playing sports, theater and writing classes, and hanging out with friends; perhaps watching a movie on her lime green Sony Viao.  She loves both playing and watching football, as well as almost any kind of dessert.  If you want to hang out with Kelci, avoid conflicts with any football games, but especially Green Bay Packers games! 


Tune in next Sunday for another preview and more introductions!


  - Kelci de Haas