Celebrating reading
By Denise Dick
YOUNGSTOWN
It was Alan Clark’s girlfriend who urged the Struthers High School senior to participate in the 38th Youngstown State University English Festival.
She’s “a big fan, and she asked me to do it with her,” Adam said.
He enjoyed it.
“I really did,” Adam said.
He listed Matthew Quick’s book, “Boy 21,” as his favorite.
Participants read a list of books leading up to the English Festival, which started Wednesday and runs through Friday. There’s variation in the list based on students’ grade level. More than 2,500 students are participating over the three days.
Author Matt de la Pena, winner of the 2016 Newbery Medal for children’s literature, is the featured guest at the event.
Steven Bickmore, University of Nevada-Las Vegas professor, is this year’s James A. Houck Lecturer. He is former co-editor of the ALAN Review, the national publication of the Assembly on Literature for Adolescents.
Randy Testa, managing director of programs for professional education at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education, also is a guest.
Gary Salvner, YSU professor of English and a festival co-chairman, believes the festival has continued for many years because the authors participating are enthusiastic and students enjoy the event and tell their friends about it.
It was started by two YSU English Department heads, the late Carol and Thomas Gay, as a remembrance of their daughter who died of cancer at 13.
Their daughter, Candace, loved to read, and they wanted to establish an event she would enjoy.
It began with a committee of five people brainstorming to come up with ideas. It started as a writing contest, but Salvner said the organizers wanted something to bring young people to campus, to meet each other while participating in reading and writing events.
Events include Writing Games in which groups of students develop a presidential campaign using characters from the books as candidates and campaign personnel; a journalism workshop, poetry workshop and an impromptu writing category.
Polina Courtney and Olivia Didick, a senior and sophomore, respectively at West Branch High School; Kaileigh Sly, a Bloomfield sophomore; Natalie Isner, a junior at Trumbull Career and Technical Center; and Thomas Roberts, a sophomore at East Liverpool High School, formed a Writing Games team, dividing tasks among themselves.
Olivia listed “Rose Under Fire,” by Elizabeth Wein as her favorite festival book.
For Natalie, it was “I Will Save You,” by de la Pena.
“I loved the ending,” she said. “It really surprised me.”
The students say they enjoy meeting new people and being exposed to literature they wouldn’t read otherwise.
Brianna Biery and Paige Walsh, a sophomore and a senior, respectively of West Branch, both participated for the first time.
“We’re in a young-adult literature class, and as part of the class, we read all of the books,” Paige explained.
The event wasn’t what either girl expected.
“I didn’t expect it to be this big,” Brianna said.
She envisioned smaller groups and students answering questions about what they read.