<p>MissxSilverwing sent me her review on Sewanee. She asked me to post it on this thread. It is a great review. Thanks for sharing!</p>
<p>Re: Sewanee
Hi! Well, I’m happy to tell you. =)</p>
<p>Sewanee was an incredible experience for me as a writer and as a person. I’d gone to camp for three summers before for one week each time, but Sewanee, which is two weeks long, was truly a freeing experience that saw me grow as a person. They give you a LOT of independence at Sewanee, as much as possible imo, because during the day, you can basically go wherever you want on campus - to the workout facilities (which are very nice), the campus store, the library and the computer lab, Stirling’s (the coffee house), or even go down to the lake and explore. Nobody will come after you as long as you arrive at readings, discussions, and the workshops (9-12).</p>
<p>Now, when I first heard that the workshop was only three hours in the morning, I was worried that it wouldn’t be enough time and that I’d be bored the rest of the day. I’m happy to say that I was very wrong. The workshop was an amazing experience, but you truly do need the rest of the day to spend with your friends and work on poetry if you want the whole “Sewanee” package experience. And now I’ll get on to what you probably are most interested in - the workshop itself!</p>
<p>I was in the poetry workshop and my instructor was an Alfred U professor, Juliana Gray. She is a published poet and was truly amazing to work with (and you’ll have her as well if you go to Sewanee). My knowledge of poetry forms grew immensely during my time with her, as did my poetry-writing skills. If you think you’re a good writer before you go to Sewanee, you are WRONG. All you have is potential. But the workshops will change all of that if you truly listen to what your fellow writers are saying. Sewanee taught me so much about poetry - about being clear to the reader, about avoiding awkward line breaks, redundancy, and vagueness, and simply about what makes a good poem. We spent about half of every class discussing or reading over poems, doing exercises, and talking about our assignment for the day. Then came my favorite part - workshopping! Each person, when it was their turn, chose a poem that they’d written at Sewanee to discuss with the class. The ensuing discussion, which could last anywhere from fifteen minutes to almost an hour, was always brutal but fascinating. You really learn to appreciate what your fellow poets like about your work, because trust me, there is a LOT they won’t. But it’s work it, because it teaches you more about your audience then you will ever have known before.</p>
<p>Sewanee also offers a lot of super-fun activities, like Karaoke Night and the dance party on the last day. I have so many awesome memories of jumping around the Women’s Center - sorry, dance floor - and singing at the top of my lungs to the Backstreet Boys while jostled around by my fellow young writers. The social experience at Sewanee is like no other, and although I admit I didn’t bond as closely with the group as some, I still found some great friends there.</p>
<p>Onto some practical matters: the dorms are, well, not the greatest. Although the courtyard in Benedict, the SYWC dorm, is very beautiful, the rooms themselves are old and in need of redoing, but they’re livable of course. The showers, however, are not so great. The water pressure is horrible and the water will either be freezing or scalding. That’s why I suggest using the workout center showers as much as possible. They make for a much, MUCH more enjoyable bathing experience. The food was pretty yummy, but got tiresome after a while, since there’s only one dining hall. Usually, the cafeteria offers one main dish (ie tacos with Spanish rice and refried beans), hamburgers, veggie burgers, hot dogs, and fries, lunch meats/sandwiches, a salad bar, hummus, peanut butter and jelly, pizza, desserts (including two flavors of ice cream every meal!), and bread. It is very possible to eat healthily while there, but it’s hard to resist the greasier main dish and the delicious, but sugar/calorie filled desserts! Stirling’s - the campus coffee house - offers some delicious alternatives for when you tire of dining hall food, and becomes a very popular hangout for SYWC participants.</p>
<p>I strongly encourage you to apply to Sewanee and attend if accepted. It was the most amazing part of my summer, and although next year I will forsake writing camps for debate camps, I wouldn’t trade my Sewanee experience for anything (accept for qualifying to NFL nats lol).</p>
<p>And please, if anyone else ever asks you about Sewanee, don’t hesitate to share this message with them!</p>