Writer’s Paradise

English graduate student Sarah McMahon ‘15, of Colfax, Wisconsin, found creative inspiration during a week at the annual Antioch Writers Workshop in Yellow Springs, Ohio. The retreat brought together noted authors and aspiring writers for a few days of learning and creative exploration.

McMahon gained insights from poets Nikki Giovanni and Herbert Woodward Martin, Marley and Me author John Grogan and other creative voices who attended the conference. Antioch Writers Workshop is one of the oldest and highest-profile creative writers’ gatherings in the U.S.

“Opportunities such as this could be once in a lifetime, and I feel incredibly blessed to have been chosen. I got to meet and talk with authors I’d admired my whole life,” said McMahon, who received one of AWW’s three competitive scholarships to attend the event.

“That is a testament to the quality of her poetry,” said Illinois Poet Laureate Dr. Kevin Stein. “Her poems bested submissions by practicing writers with decades of experience, many of whom boast graduate degrees and literary publication. Sarah’s striking success results from her blend of aesthetic risk-taking and disciplined study.”

The workshop spurred creativity through classroom lectures, informal lunch gatherings with guest lecturers, small group discussions and an open mic night.

“I was able to interact with people who built their lives and careers around their love for words, and that was incredibly inspiring,” McMahon said.

A Bradley track and cross country athlete, McMahon presented two of her portfolio poems at the open mic. One of her works will be featured in literary journal Barking Sycamores, which focuses on writings of and about people with neurological disorders.

“The feedback was fresh and helpful because I had only received suggestions from my peers at Bradley,” she said. “Because I was the youngest in my workshop group, I saw how my writing was received by a different audience than usual.”

Beyond the excitement of meeting role models and receiving feedback from new audiences, the conference offered vital space for the writers to relax in fellowship with like-minded people. That, McMahon said, was as important as any friendly piece of advice.

“At Antioch, I found a group of people who appreciate writing to the fullest,” she said. “We immediately found common ground. Though we discussed craft and content, I got to talk about my favorite writers and works with abandon. That refreshed me.”