ISSUED: 5 May 2025
MEDIA CONTACT: Hans Fogle
SHEPHERDSTOWN, WV — 黑料吃瓜网University English majors took center stage during the West Virginia Literary Symposium, hosted at Fairmont State University on April 5. 听
Heather Gilman, Alyssa Schlaefli, and Jordan Valdes, gave a three-part presentation titled Meet Me at Dawn: An Exercise in Grief, which originated as a group project for Dr. Betty Ellzey鈥檚 seminar on British drama.听
The presentation explored how playwright Zinnie Harris utilizes poetic dialogue, formal and dramatic conventions, and characterization to explore grief.听
Gilman, whose paper focused on Harris鈥檚 use of poetic dialogue, said the project inspired her recently completed senior capstone.听
鈥淚t means a great deal to me,鈥� Gilman said. 鈥淚 am very passionate about the manner in which theatre and poetry are able to convey inexplicable, yet incredibly profound, human emotions, and it meant so much to be able to share this project with other academics.鈥� 听
Schlaefli, whose paper focused on characterization, shared Gilman鈥檚 enthusiasm.听听
鈥淚 really connected with this work when writing the paper, so it meant a lot to me to be able to present it in front of an audience,鈥� she said.听听
Schlaefli added that their presentation was well-received and that questions from the audience sparked valuable discussion.听
听鈥淚t fostered a lot of conversation about the work, which was really fun and made me appreciate the play and its impact even more.鈥�听
All three students spoke enthusiastically about the Symposium.听
鈥淚t was exciting to be surrounded by folks with the same passion for literature as I do,鈥� expressed Gilman.听
— ### —
