Encouraging environment for student writers
Provost emeritus Ed Wilson assumed the posture of Janus, looking to the past and future, as he addressed the audience gathered Friday evening for the concluding event of Words Awake’s inaugural day. With characteristic clarity and elegance, Wilson wove together texts and reflections that joined the rich humus of Wake Forest’s literary traditions with the achievements of contemporary and the promise of future writers.
Categories: Alumni, Arts & Culture, Happening at Wake, Research & Discovery
More than 50 alumni writers returned to campus for the first Words Awake! conference last weekend. Find out more about how the writers interacted with students, the campus community and local schools, and learn about the first class of the WFU Writers Hall of Fame. 
Words Awake was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity where more than 50 accomplished Wake Forest writers were together in one place — providing inspiration and career connections for aspiring authors.
Silk maps, B-24 bombers and avoiding anachronisms were the hot topics during Laura Elliott’s visit to Northwest Middle School in Winston-Salem. Elliott, a 1979 Wake Forest graduate who writes young adult historical novels, mixed WWII history with writing advice in conversations with 6th-, 7th- and 8th-graders as part of Words Awake! A Celebration of Wake Forest Writers and Writing on campus March 23-25.
As I listened to Roald Hoffmann's introduction, I was mesmerized by his ability to excel in chemistry, poetry and philosophy. In Hoffmann’s hour-long address as part of the Oakley R. Vail Lecture Series, I learned how these different fields, and really any fields, can intertwine.
The student-run festival includes a free week-long series of film screenings and workshops and ends on March 23 with a keynote address by Morgan Spurlock, the director of "Super Size Me."
On St. Patrick’s Day, Jeff Holdridge, director of the Wake Forest University Press -- the premier publisher of Irish poetry in North America -- discusses the future of Irish poetry after "The Troubles" and shares his five favorite Irish poems.
Jazzy tunes, electronic sounds mixed with romantic violin, piano, soprano, double bass and honor student recitals are on the schedule for spring semester music performances. 
Professor Eric Wilson's latest book, "Everyone Loves a Good Train Wreck," is receiving national attention for his poignant portrayal of people’s inherent fascination with morbid curiosities. From rubbernecking on the highway to watching a horror film, Wilson believes there’s something nourishing in the darkness.
Wes Hughes and Jake Meyer have been friends since their first year in Bostwick Hall. "City of Angels" is the fifth major production the two have acted in together.