The University of Southern Mississippi is set to honor the National Day of Writing by hosting a month-long exhibition known as Eagles Write!, according to a USM press release. The Department of English will host the reception and reading, which will take place Oct. 20 at 4 p.m. in the Polymer Science Auditorium on the Hattiesburg campus.
The goal of the Eagles Write! event is to recognize and celebrate students’ writing and to give them the opportunity to see their work graphically expressed and showcased in an exhibition at the Cook Library Learning Commons, according to the press release. Composition instructors nominated exceptional student essays from their individual classes.
Winners were chosen in five categories: Expanded Composition, ENG 101, ENG 102, Honors Composition and Digital/Creative.
“We want our students to know they are authors, and we want to celebrate their varied experiences with writing during their time at USM,” said Joyce Inman, director of composition in the English Department.
In addition to first-year composition entries, the Department of English partners with the Department of Art and Design in an effort to illustrate the significance of writing and text in all disciplines, according to the press release.
Greg Housley of Purvis; Justin Guillot of New Orleans; Armendia Hulsey of Hattiesburg; John Marshall Diffey of Long Beach; Joma Shelby of Gulfport; and Cody Bass are the 2014 winners.
According to the press release, Diffey, winner of the Honors Composition award for his piece “What Children Can Learn From a Male Cinderella,” said Eagles Write! encourages him to continue writing. “I previously viewed writing as a series of hills that I had to climb, but I now relate the process to my accomplishments that are waiting on the other side of these hills,” Diffey said.
“It’s all about writing in different situations and disciplines,” Inman said. “I want students to know that when they find a topic about which they are passionate or curious, their efforts to write about that topic are worth celebrating. And, at USM, we want to celebrate with them.”
