Jiménez-Porter Writers’ House 10th Anniversary Gala
Ten years ago, one simple idea brought the Jiménez-Porter Writers’ House into fruition.
“Writers come from everywhere,” said Laura Lauth, the program’s founding director.
Since 2002, students have passed through the one- and two-year program to hone their creative writing and experience literature across cultures. Past and present members gathered at St. Mary’s Hall Saturday night for a dinner reception, followed by an alumni open mic.
“There is no program like it in the nation,” Lauth said of the program, housed in Dorchester Hall and the result of a collaboration between the English department and the languages, literatures and cultures school. The house is a place where writers from all backgrounds and majors can come together, she said, an idea inspired by the culture of American literature itself.
For alumnus Mike Velichansky, who participated in the Writers’ House’s inaugural year, the program was a “tumultuous” experience. But any writing workshop is, he added, and graduating from Jiménez-Porter was a step in the direction of becoming a published author.
“It was awesome,” said Velichansky. “I think it actually expanded me as a writer in spite of myself.”
Immersing oneself in a community of writers provides a “constant potential for engagement,” he said.
“It’s the only place where you get a lot of writers living together. Stuff tends to happen,” he said.
Since its inception, the Writers’ House has been the heart of the campus for students looking to push their talents, said Johnna Schmidt, who became the program’s director in 2004.
“There was a huge amount of undergraduate talent on campus that they didn’t really have a social hub,” Schmidt said. “I think it gives the literary community a place to gather on campus.”
The Writers’ House has also expanded to offer students more, including outreach programs and study-abroad opportunities — in the summer, members traveled to Dublin.
The house’s Marlena Chertock said the anniversary not only served as a celebration, but also as a networking event, bringing together new writers and graduates who now work in writing and publishing.
“They’re all coming together and meeting each other,” said Chertock, a senior journalism major. “That will be amazing to meet other writers.”
The program is geared toward advanced upperclassmen, though students from any year and major can apply, and incoming freshman have an opportunity to become members. The Writers’ House also supports a literary journal, Stylus, that publishes works by authors across the campus.
“The supportive environment it fosters really makes it worthwhile,” said former member Nick Lyle, who graduated in the spring. “It was my favorite thing about the University of Maryland.”
