In pre-pandemic times, the hallmark of USF’s 6x6 Reading Series was the bustling energy, coffee aroma, and voices of great writers filling Felicitous on 42nd. Each semester, the Creative Writing MFA-coordinated reading provides an opportunity for the university’s literary community to come together and celebrate the work of 6 undergraduate and 6 graduate creative writers.
This year, 6x6 organizers Gabrielle Grilli and Callie Treadway carried on the tradition remotely, hosting the event on Microsoft Teams on Friday, March 12.
“Survival” was the theme—a fitting topic, as students called in from various remote locations to share their tales of survival with friends, family, fellow students, and instructors. Occurring around the one-year anniversary of the COVID-19 lockdown, the event brought writers together to connect in a time when connection proves so valuable.
This semester’s undergraduate readers were: Emma Atherton, Leeland Blackford, Karen Gonzalez-Videla, Angeleigh Palazzolo, Marcelene Pilcher, and Elena Samardjieva. Graduate readers included Audrey Blanco, Sarah Harder, Kat Lewis, Jordan Schultz, Kelcee Sykes, and Mckenzie Zalopany.
Readers shared fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and hybrid prose all embodying the survival theme in some way. Their pieces discussed topics such as life and death, persevering through tragedy, and making it through awkward first dates.
Around 50 people attended the reading to support the writers and their inspiring tales of what it takes to endure.