Story by Reporter Anastasia Benstead

The spring of 2022 was the inaugural hosting of the AQ Writes Presentation series. This year, the English Department was excited to host the second annual installment of the series! 

AQ Writes is a three day event in February where all Aquinas College writers are encouraged to share their work. The first day, Monday, features an alumni of note or someone on campus with a large project worth highlighting. The second day, Tuesday, is for staff and faculty to share their published works of fiction. The final day, Thursday, is reserved for students to share their creative writing. There are no ramifications for what can and cannot be presented. 

Last year the poet Laura Nemec Foster read from her latest works, and this year along those same veins, Dr. Michelle DeRose shared her poetry (all the way from Ireland too!) It is a great event that is hoping to gain both momentum and popularity in the next few years. 

This year there were three featured student readers. Anastasia Benstead presented her piece “To honor Ojisan,” while Sarah Palnau read her short story “What Color is Today?” and Leah Ash presented her prose piece “Mountains are Deities Holding Up the World.” Aquinas gives its best regards to Leah who is graduating in the spring. It is certain that she will accomplish amazing things, and continue to write in her post graduate life! 

If anyone is interested in participating in this event, whether staff, student, faculty or alumni, please reach out to Dr. Daniel Mancilla and he will make it possible. All pieces are welcome, including  screen plays, poetry, and song lyrics in addition to your short stories! Not only do we want to hear your works, but “a featured reader at AQ Writes” is a great resume builder!

For the past two years the event has been conducted virtually over Zoom, however that may change moving forward and updates will be shared as they are available. If students have any ideas for making the AQ Writes series more accessible please contact Dr. Gretchen Rumohr as the goal is to involve as many students as possible on the third day. We hope to see you next February!