IU South Bend Students Read Their Work by the Hearthside

December 18, 2011 was a cold and blustery day. However, the atmosphere inside of Fiddler's Hearth in downtown South Bend was anything but. On that particular Sunday afternoon, the pub was occupied by patrons that sipped on tea and coffee; those whom waited for participants in "The Hearthside Readers and Writers Series" to begin speaking.

The HRWS originally began in January of 2011 and has run once a month, the third Sunday of each month from 2:30 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. since. December's event marked the successful end to the first full year the series has run. The series was the brainchild of IU South Bend English Professor Clayton Michaels.

"Two thirds of the people reading are usually IUSB students." Michaels stated.

The December reading was no exception to the overwhelming response of IUSB students that Michaels described. Half of the readers were IUSB students, while the featured reader for that month, Steve Henn, received his undergraduate degree from IUSB in English.

Henn successfully went on to become an English teacher at Warsaw Community High School and has one book of poetry published entitled Unacknowledged Legislations and another forthcoming entitled And God Said: Let there be Evolution!

Henn gave an enthusiastic reading of excerpts from his poetry; which was well received by the audience who replied in howls of laughter.

Henn thoughtfully described the type of experience HRWS offers. "I think, to get an honest reaction from a crowd about your work can be a real benefit. Especially to a young writer, who maybe doesn't know quite what the value of what they're doing is."

IUSB graduate student Kristin LaFollette, who read an original fiction piece from her work, agreed. "It's always good to get up and read your stuff in front of people, because it makes you more confident in putting it out there."

However, IUSB students are not the only ones who have benefitted from the series. The HRWS is an event designed to be open to the community as a whole. Anyone from the community may sign up to read on stage, not just IUSB students and faculty.

Michaels explained that even the choice for Fiddler's Hearth as a venue played a role in what HRWS was meant to be. "It's a public house. Which, in the truest sense of the term, a public house is for the use of the public, and they've been such a great supportive venue for musicians it just seemed like a natural extension to do it with the literary community too."

South Bend, as a community, has been gradually cultivating culture in the arts in recent years. Michaels noted that there was a prior arts series in South Bend but it has been inactive for some time. He felt that the HRWS has benefitted from the cultural foundation that has been laid out in previous years.

"I've lived here [South Bend] for a few years and there's so many opportunities to get artwork and reading—doing different readings—and showcasing your writing here." LaFollette stated.

Ultimately, Michaels has been impressed by the quality of work that the IUSB students have been producing both for the HRWS and outside of the event.

"The stuff that they're producing, I wasn't writing anywhere near that well at their age." Michaels admitted.

Persons interested in reading material on stage for the February series—the deadline for January sign-up has passed—should contact Clayton Michaels at watermarkpoet@gmail.com. A week's notice should be given to ensure a spot on stage. More information can be found about the upcoming events of the HRWS on their Facebook page, search for "Hearthside Readers and Writers Series."