UCLA creative writing students shared their work and inspirations at a reading Tuesday.

At the end of each quarter, the English department hosts a reading for students with creative writing minors to showcase their writing and network with each other, said Professor Fred D’Aguiar. The presenters were from four classes taught by three professors: Professor Harryette Mullen taught the poetry class, Professor Juliana Xuan Wang taught the fiction class and D’Aguiar said he taught both classes this quarter. Each student only had three minutes to present. Given the short time constraint, students were encouraged to cut their speeches elegantly when necessary instead of rushing through their pieces, D’Aguiar said before the students began reading. Learning from the students throughout the quarter is an enjoyable experience, he added.

“Your creative writing is what keeps us reading and keeps us teaching,” D’Aguiar said. “You’ve done the best service to each other, with such varied work – wonderful work.”

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Creating a visual filmed poem was a rewarding challenge, said Maya McGowan, a fourth-year English student. Since her work is usually written or musical, editing the video was difficult, McGowan said. Her film was inspired by the strength she found in her friendships, she added, while acknowledging the moments of doubt in the connection. She was happy audience members felt emotions due to her work, she said, as that is the purpose of creative art.

McGowan added that witnessing the work of talented students inspired her, especially because she is generally unfamiliar with the creative writing community and is more involved in the music scene at UCLA. As this reading was the first creative writing event she attended, McGowan said she now feels encouraged to continue writing and collaborate with other writers. The English community at UCLA – including the professors and students — help her improve as a writer, with the professors providing specific advice that encourages her to think differently about writing, she added.

“He (D’Aguiar) really encourages us to push the boundaries of what a poem is supposed to be – and especially in terms of content,” McGowan said. “Don’t be afraid of protecting someone’s feelings.”

Jett Felder, a fourth-year English student, presented a short story critiquing celebrity culture, titled, “The Famous Actor.” The main character meets an unnamed famous actor at a party and learns how little she knows about him other than the details she has become attached to, he said. As the story continues, the character notices similarities between her understanding of the famous actor and her inconsistent relationship with her father, Felder added, where she feels as if she knows both of them – but in reality, they are strangers to her.

Reading his piece in front of everyone made him feel nervous, Felder said, but once the audience laughed, he felt relieved. The difficulty of a creative work with a humorous tone is if no one laughs, it feels miserable, he added. The scene where the protagonist listens to the famous actor complain about his problems with fame and wealth – which most people dream about – connected to the audience well because of the comedic effect it had, Felder said.

Similarly, fourth-year English student Pilar Diaz said sharing their work with others felt mortifying at first because they are considerably shy. Despite being shy, they enjoy making people laugh by saying outrageous statements, they added. An absurd moment in the piece they presented was when the protagonist finally stole a bike they had been watching for weeks. When they finally sat on it, it was uncomfortable and undesirable, Diaz said. Not only was the bicycle horrible, they added, the main character did not know how to ride it and fell onto the floor because of their inexperience.

Randall Tobias, a third-year English student, shared his story about an 18-year-old who stole his mother’s car to drive to his father, who was struggling with alcoholism and bipolar disorder. When reading, he said he felt alive. He chose lighter and more humorous sections to read in front of the crowd, Tobias said. Most of the story is absurd, he added, and he gained inspiration from his life.

“Truth is stranger than fiction,” Tobias said. “All the wackiest parts of the story are based on people I know.”

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Watching the others present their pieces made him feel strong emotions, one of which was an overwhelming sublime feeling, Tobias added. He said he was in awe of the talented public speakers in the room, the depth of the creative work presented and the ability to use English in a way he had yet to see before.

“It’s been really cool to not only grow with and watch the growth of the people writing in my workshop but also see the culmination of people from the other advanced short fiction workshop and advanced poetry workshop,” Tobias said. “They’re all brilliant.”