This summer, N.C. State’s Creative Writing department will host its seventh consecutive Young and Teen Writers’ Workshop. This year, the program has a new director: Eric Roe.
The workshop started in 2007 as a pilot program for students ranging from fourth grade to twelfth grade, and is designed to engage and challenge budding young writers.
Roe, who graduated with a Masters in Fine Arts from N.C. State in 2008, has been teaching in the English department for the past four years. Before returning to N.C. State to teach, Roe spent several semesters at Duke University, Meredith College and Durham Technical Community College teaching English 101 and introductory literature courses.
While working at Meredith College, Roe took part in a week-long summer writing camp for young kids. Roe himself began writing at the age of 11.
“When I started writing, I had a lot of people who were very encouraging,” Roe said. “I know how important it is to have somebody there encouraging you and I think this is a really good program for that.”
When the director’s position became available several months ago, Roe said he was immediately interested in taking it. Laura Giovanelli, the former director of the workshop, encouraged Roe to do so. With the start of the workshop right around the corner and being completely new to this particular program, Roe says this position has not been too difficult to pick up.
“I was fortunate to be handed a program that is very well organized and very well put together,” Roe said. “Laura has been very helpful in guiding me through what I need to do for the program.”
Roe says he is hoping to have around 100 students participate in the workshop this summer. The program aims to keep the class sizes small to ensure that students are receiving the full benefit of it and are able to have more one-on-one time with the instructors.
The classes begin later in the afternoon and will involve two different types of writing each day. Classes offered include fiction, poetry and creative non-fiction, among others.
This summer, Roe is hoping to reinstitute the practice of taking students to museums on the first Friday of each workshop. On these trips, students will participate in Ekphrastic writing exercises, or writing that is inspired by a work of art, and other forms of art-inspired writing.
Roe feels that young writers who want to pursue a career in writing can really benefit from programs such as this. Writing is a difficult field to get into, but Roe believes that if it is something you truly love, determination is essential.
“You shouldn’t quit for anything … it is the writing itself that is the reward,” Roe said.
The first cycle of the Young Writers’ Workshop begins July 7, and the Teen Writers’ Workshop begins July 21. Students who are interested in the program can find further details, as well as the application, on the English department’s website.