Creative writing is an opportunity to share words deep in your mind and spill them onto paper in the form of poems or fictional stories. Arapahoe Community College hosted several creative writing events this week for students to share their words with their peers and community members. The event was hosted by Jamey Trotter, a 12-year English faculty member at ACC teaching primarily creative writing and literature. The event took place on Dec. 4, 2019 at the Student Lounge at the Littleton Campus.

The impressive group of students that spoke at this event were in Trotter’s creative writing class for a final exam to provide them with exposure to reading publicly. Among the speakers were Darbi Johnson with her fiction piece, “Oral Fixation” followed by Sophia Watts reading “A View From The Balcony”, Mitch Steel, Ellison Bonds, Sophia  Barrette, Jack Potter, Mckenzie Marner with “Close To The Sun”, Celeste Briefs reading “Like Always” and Samuel Lopez read “Tiny Tiger.”

“I firmly believe to make it as a writer in today’s society you have to be able to share your work with others at readings,” Says Trotter. He also encourages students to take part in Denver’s large writing community events.

During the event, students in English 221 shared descriptive writing of both fiction, creative non-fiction and poetic writing for about five minutes. The audience was made up of twenty people including Diana Doyle, ACC’s president. Chips and salsa were served during the event from Adelita’s Cocina y Cantina.

Along with these speaking opportunities, Trotter also mentioned Writers Studio, a component of the English department. Writers Studio hosts three to four events during the Fall and Spring semester where they host professional writers to give readings. The program is run by Trotter and the head of the Journalism program, Andrea Mason.

The literary festival will also be hosted for a full day in the spring as an opportunity for students to sign up for a sit-down session that consists of ninety minutes to two hours with a professional writer that will teach students about the craft of writing. If you are a writer or interested in writing, look out for these events!