Club founder Jake Gentry on stage at the club's first meeting. Photo by Tess Longmire.
Tucked away in a second-floor classroom in Henderson Hall, a group of writers gather to share their work. They find refuge amongst Tech’s 10,000 student population to form a community, all thanks to Jake Gentry, a freshman English major who started the Creative Writing Club shortly after moving to college.
“I love that people have a place to share their work. That’s what I envisioned having this club for,” Gentry said.
At their meeting before spring break, members got the chance to read their submissions for a club contest. The topic was “Love,” since Valentine’s Day had recently passed. The judges were their volunteering peers. The proceedings were very informal and a new vice president was elected. They ended the meeting by planning their first public event, a chance to showcase their efforts.
The club has recently had the opportunity to stage a public reading at the Backdoor Playhouse in the Jere Whitson Building. They read short selections of their work to an audience of their fellow club members and a few professors in the English department.
“I like being around other creative writers, because we’re very sparse and spread out, so it’s nice to be in a community of people doing the same thing as you,” Club officer Ky Hensley said.
Their next reading will be at 6 p.m. April 17 at the Backdoor Playhouse.
