On Wednesday, April 25, 2018, Drury University’s English Honor Society Sigma Tau Delta will be hosting their fourth annual English Symposium. The symposium will start at 9 a.m. in Olin Library’s Harwood Reading Room and events will continue throughout the day.

Sigma Tau Delta member, Madeline Dale, explains “there will be many speakers from different areas of the humanities, English, and writing fields. These speakers will cover a variety of topics all the way from law to philosophy.”

Even if they aren’t an English or Writing major, most students will be able to find plenty of fun events in which they can take part. There will be student readings, a lunch and some guest speakers. Drury students from the Small Press Publishing class will also release the new issue of their literary magazine, Currents.

According to their website, the magazine is completely student-produced and cycles new issues around campus twice a year. Currents staff accepts submissions of writing and art from any creative Drury student, and any reader is encouraged to contribute.

Towards the end of the day, Sigma Tau Delta will also hold their annual induction ceremony at the Rose O’Neill House. Dale mentioned that in order to join Sigma Tau Delta, you have to be an English or Writing major and have a GPA of 3.5 or higher within English and Writing courses. Students get invited based on those credentials and how active they are in the English and Writing departments.

In addition to the provided food and readings from authors, Dr. Jo Van Arkel and her American Literature I class will also be revealing a special project.

Directly in front of the west entrance of Pearsons Hall, Van Arkel and her students will be writing quotes from famous literary voices on the sidewalk in chalk, ranging from years 1620 to 1865.

“Over the course of the semester our class has somewhat developed an understanding of various American texts, voices, and experiences,” said Van Arkel. “We are going to try to capture those different voices and experiences in quotes that resonate with students in today’s society. Our class is hoping to ultimately capture the American voice.”

Van Arkel adds that she values the university’s active and constant engagement in public discourse.

“This is one of the ways that we can both connect with our history and also celebrate it. The multicultural aspect of that is really important. It is not just one voice, but many voices and many perspectives that are being represented in our timeline,” explained Van Arkel.

Students can expect to read from scholars including Anne Bradstreet, John Smith, Herman Melville and Benjamin Franklin. Bradstreet can even be credited with being the first ever published author in America.

“I think it is significant and important that in some ways, the first voice to come back from across the ocean and be published is a woman,” said Van Arkel.

If you have any questions about the English Symposium, feel free to email Sigma Tau Delta’s advisor, Dr. Kevin Henderson at khenders@drury.edu or Madeline Dale at mdale002@drury.edu.

Article written by Claire Plaster