RHS Student Reflects On Connecticut Literary Festival Experience

By Caitlin Chatterton

VERNON, CT — On Saturday, October 23, four RHS Creative Writing students performed at the Connecticut Literary Festival at Real Art Ways in Hartford. Cali Miville, Kaylin Maher, Victoria Mitchell and myself, Caitlin Chatterton, performed for a total of 20 minutes at the festival.

When arriving at the festival, we saw different vendors selling books and other merchandise and it was a great atmosphere. Real Art Ways is a center for all aspects of art - with beautiful pieces of visual art displayed and literary art being performed this weekend.

We were performing at the Tiny Readings Gallery, and I was the first to perform for our group, reading three poems varying from an ekphrastic based off a piece of incarcerated art to a persona poem from a television series.

Next was Victoria Mitchell, who also read three poems including one titled, "Five More Minutes." Through the incorporation of the song title, Victoria created a story of a high school student's summer and their experience when their friends moved away.

Next was Kaylin Maher who read a personal narrative that explored her childhood through the metaphor of clothing.

Finally, Cali Miville read her prepared pieces, which included a powerful haibun that finished off Rockville High's performance at the festival. Although it was nerve-wracking to perform in front of new faces, several practices during our creative writing classes prepared us for the performance and it was also a very welcoming environment. We were in front of a community of writers, and it was exciting to have the opportunity to share our work in front of our friends and family, as well as people we never met before, and one that we would have never been able to experience without our teacher, Mrs. Nordlund