Viebranz Writers Series Continues
Last Thursday, three writers returned to St. Lawrence University for this year’s third edition of the Writer’s Series. The English Department hosted Jac Jemc, Fred Arroyo and John Dermot Woods, three former Viebranz Visiting Professors of Creative Writing. In the morning, the writers held a craft talk discussing each of their individual writing processes.
Later that night, each writer gave a reading of their own work. Woods read excerpts from his recent graphic novels. “Mortals,” is a collaboration with illustrator Matt L. Woods described it as “a Brooklyn book.”
Woods’ next story excerpts came from two unpublished comics, “Harold and Harry,” another collaboration with Matt L., and “Admissions,” which Woods is illustrating himself.
Woods is a born and raised Long Islander who said he had never heard of the North Country before applying for the Viebranz position. He said the experience of moving to Canton was similar to his time spent in Japan – an entirely different world than anything he had seen before. In an interview earlier that day, Woods recalled his time in the NoCo skiing, joining a local softball team, and making a lifelong friendship with NCPR News Director David Sommerstein.
Next, Jemc took to the podium to read from “Empty Theatre,” a historical fiction book about the lives of King Ludwig II & Empress Sisi from the mid-1800s. Jemc said that this was the book she began working on while working at SLU. She said that “the Viebranz changed my life… I had three tenure track job offers after leaving this position.” Jemc said that some of her favorite memories of SLU include the faculty and student salons she held, and the unique observations of “SLUBAY,” St. Lawrence’s eBay/Craigslist-style email chain.
Arroyo was last to speak. Similar to Jemc, Arroyo recalled a salon he held themed around a “literary pot luck,” in which partygoers brought their favorite dishes from literature. Arroyo said that his time at SLU helped him, “discover the writer I could be.” It was also the first time he ventured into writing poetry. He recalled hiking the Mount Adams trail near Newcomb, NY, where he was observing the birch trees around him when the phrase “Before Birches Blue” came to him. It later became the title of his first poetry collection. During the reading, Arroyo read from his collection, “Sown in Earth: Essays of Memory and Belonging,” as well as selections from his “Before Birches Blue collection.