Podcasting, 3D creation, and digital animation are among just a few of the new activities to be hosted by the Writing Center over Zoom. These exciting workshops are part of a new digital narrative series, which will be taught in collaboration with award-winning writer Pinckney Benedict ’82. Benedict is a professor at Southern Illinois University, where he has led the integration of virtual reality and podcasting to the MFA fiction curriculum. 

Through a sequence of workshops, students will have a chance to produce their own podcasts, create virtual objects and places with 3D creation, make a digital model of themselves through animation classes, and learn how to edit video and special effects. Students are welcome to join at any point in the series, and they can see a video promo at this link. 

“What we’ve been looking to do here is expand the kind of instruction and activities that we offer through the writing center, but also try to be on the sort of cutting edge of what’s going on in the world with digital narrative,” said Dr. Pearson, director of the Humphrey Family Writing Center.

In addition to digital narrative, traditional writing workshops will be held with Reginald McKnight, who will be teaching fiction, and Heather H. Thomas, who will be teaching poetry. McKnight is the award-winning author of “He Sleeps”, “I Get on the Bus”, “Moustapha’s Eclipse”, and more. He is also the recipient of the Drue Heinz Literature Prize and a fellowship from the National Endowment of the Arts, among other accolades. Thomas is a professor of English at Kutztown University and the author of four full-length poetry collections. She has also spent a term as a Berks Poet Laureate.

Starting Sept. 12, these workshops will be held on Saturdays from 2-4 via Zoom.  Students can register through the Student Activities Office, which will then send them the necessary links.