Writers Gather to Share Literature

The Student Literary Gathering (SLG), held monthly at Austin Java, proved to be an event not only for ACC students, but also fellow Austinites with a yearning for literary prose.

Professor John Herndon opened the gathering discussing The Big Read, an event founded by the National Endowment for the Arts and meant to excite people about reading and literature. From Sept. 15 to Nov. 1, events will be held at various campuses, the Mexican American Cultural Center, Austin Public Libraries and Austin area schools, just to name a few.

The Big Read will focus on Mexican culture and will feature guest readers, such as Jorge F. Hernandez (editor of "Sun, Stone and Shadows"). More information about upcoming events can be found at austincc.edu.

The guest speaker at the SLG was Jorge Antonio Renaud, a former copy editor for the Austin American Statesman and the Waco Tribune-Herald and a former prison inmate who drew upon his experiences behind bars to write inspirational poetry.

Renaud authored "Behind the Walls: A Guide for Families and Friends of Texas Prison Inmates" and the award-winning poem, "Prison Moon." He recited the renowned poem, as well as six others which were inspired by his experiences in prison.

"The prison experience is inherently dramatic," Renaud said.

According to Renaud, he does not "belabor the obvious, but finds the commonality of what makes us human."

Renaud's poems are a powerfully profound and educational insight into the emotions of prison inmates, and the trials they encounter while incarcerated.

Ray Shea mentioned that he found out about the event through the ACC course catalog.

Shea read a short story inspired by the tragic events of Hurricane Katrina entitled "The Remains," he then was awarded a copy of "Sun, Stone and Shadows 20 Great Mexican Short Stories" from Herndon.

Reading during the open mic portion of the gathering were five other poets and writers, most of whom were not ACC students.

The Gathering lasted about an hour and half and featured a wide array of original literary creations. Gathering organizer, Herndon, jokingly admitted to plugging the Sept. 14 event on Facebook as the "best open mic in Austin."

His statement proved accurate, as 80 percent of the readers were, in fact, not Austin Community College Students.