UPDATE: Writer’s Harvest benefit reading and art auction raised over a thousand dollars for TOPSS, Talawanda Oxford Pantry and Social Services (TOPSS). It featured readings from Miami University MFA graduate students and was organized by the English/CW program students and faculty along with Western College, hosted by creative writing director Brian Roley. Special thanks to K Anand-Gall and Billy Simms. While this event is held annually around Thanksgiving, TOPSS’s efforts are year round and it’s still not to late to donate on their website. Thanks to everyone.
Miami University’s English Department and Western Center for Social Impact and Innovation invite the community to attend their 32nd Annual Writer’s Harvest event on Monday, November 21, 2022, starting at 6PM. The event will be held virtually over Zoom and is free to the public. Participants can register online . Please spread the word – invite your friends and family!
Featuring writing by students in Miami University’s Creative Writing MFA program and art by local artists, the 2022 Writer’s Harvest will benefit the Talawanda Oxford Pantry and Social Services (TOPSS). The mission of TOPSS is to provide services, remove barriers, and develop collaborations that support the nutrition-related well-being of all residents of the Talawanda School District so they can fully utilize their unique capabilities across the lifespan. All proceeds from the art auction are donated directly to TOPSS. Additionally, participants will have the opportunity to donate directly to TOPSS throughout the event. We’ve attached a flier you can share as well as a link to the art auction link where you can start bidding. You do not have to be present to bid!
This year’s event features readings by MFA Creative Writing candidates Ritika Bali, Kate Isaacs, Chiamaka Onu-Okpara, and Cody Tieman, and art by Megan Hinds, Ellen Price, and Shirley Roman. It’s hosted by Miami University’s Director of Creative Writing Brian Ascalon Roley.
READINGS BY:
Ritika Bali is a first-year student of MFA in Creative Writing. When she’s not dreaming of homemade biryani and kebabs, she’s weaving stories about nostalgia, childhood and hope. Her work has been published in Bengaluru Review, Kitaab and The Punch Magazine.
Kate Isaacs was born in the state of Ohio and is still currently trapped here. Under the pen name Kate E Lore she has had multiple short stories and essays published with various literary magazines including Orsum, Panopoly, and Longridge review. Kate won first place in the Sinclair college short story contest in 2012, first place in Texas A&M Bodies themed nonfiction contest, and honorable mention with Switchgrass review in 2016. Today she will be reading a flash piece from her nonfiction thesis Grayscale.
Chiamaka Onu-Okpara is a poet and current MFA candidate at Miami University. She writes about racial inequality and other types of injustice.
Cody Tieman is a queer poet interested in the wonderful messiness of gender performance. His poetry has appeared in The Brooklyn Review, The Allegheny Review, and elsewhere. He is a first-year MFA student at Miami University and is from Columbus, OH.