Participating in a celebration of creativity
November 14, 2018
King’s students and faculty were in attendance at the 4th annual Wordsfest, (also known as Words) held November 2 – 4, 2018.
Dr. Tom Cull, part-time Professor of English and Poet Laureate of London, was one of the organizers of the event. Dr. Cull participated in the author’s panel at the Gala Opening on Friday, November 2, 2018 and the poet’s panel on Saturday, November 3, 2018. He also hosted the Poet Laureate Presents Rivers of Words which included collaborations of six multi-disciplinary artists whose work focuses on the river.
Dr. David Huebert, part-time Professor of Writing, was also in attendance and part of the “The Short Story Today” panel.
Dr. Cull says this year’s Words “was definitely the most well-attended year on record” and estimates over a thousand people attended the festival.
The event also served as an opportunity for experiential learning, as students from King’s English 3998E class worked with Western’s Creative Writing 3910F class (21 students in all) to produce the annual Wordsfest Zine, an “instant zine” compiled, designed, edited and printed over the course of the festival.
The Zine is comprised of submissions received during the festival. This year, the Zine was dubbed FrankenZine, to mark the 200th anniversary of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. The Ziner had approximately 70 submissions, double the number from last year.
Dr. Huebert says King’s students benefited from the Wordsfest experience "from participating in open public dialogue about literature and in extending their experience beyond the campus and into the wider community."
“The Zine provided students with a valuable editing experience (their names are listed on the masthead of the publication) and it gave them an opportunity to publish their creative works,” says Dr. Cull, who served as co-publisher of the Zine
“We had a stellar cast of speakers including Emma Donoghue, Lee Maracle, and Lisa Moore,” Dr. Huebert says. “In a time when such things seem deeply threatened, events such as this festival makes you realize that literature and literacy are alive and well in the world. Perhaps the arts always have been under threat, and have thrived accordingly.”
“Words is a terrific festival that welcomes award-winning authors to London, while showcasing the amazing artistic talent of London writers and artists. London is a rich hub of artistic creativity and production. Words showcases this talent, while opening our doors to the authors who are reshaping the Canada's literary landscape,” Dr. Cull says.
For more information, visit wordsfest.ca.