24-Hour Writing Marathon

Posted by Chantelle Mitchell in Creative Writing

The writing marathon will take place in Fogelson library from 3 p.m. on April to 3 p.m. on April 2.

Santa Fe University of Art and Design’s Student Writers Association is hosting its first ever 24-Hour Writing-Marathon on April 1. SWA is a collective of writers on campus who meet weekly in Alexis Hall to write and share their work and talk about various aspects of writing. Led by student officers who also act as mentors in SWA’s mentor/mentee program, the club focuses on creating community and collaboration in SFUAD’s Creative Writing and Literature department and beyond. “We’ve been wanting to do a big event that kind of reaches out to the campus, because we were always so secluded and in the corner,” SWA President Amaya Hoke says. Students from every major are welcome to attend meetings and open mic nights, and the same goes for the upcoming 24 Hour Writing Marathon.

“It’s 24 hours in the library. We’re just going to write the whole time and bond and create a creative writing community,” Brianna Neumann, SWA event coordinator, says. “We’re going to have open mics, raffles, prizes and meals for people who sign up, and snacks and coffee.” Though signing up is not mandatory, those who do are committing to staying for the entire 24 hours, and in return will have meals provided for them and will be eligible to win prizes. Snacks and coffee will be provided for everyone who shows up.

Though 24 hours of writing might sound daunting, Hoke assures everyone that it will be extremely casual. “I think that the open mics are going to be used to kind of act as a breather for the writing, because nobody wants to stare at paper or their screens for 24 hours straight. So after every two hours or so, we’re going to stop and let people come up and read a little bit of what they’ve been working on that night just to kind of re-inspire people and then resume the writing. It’s not going to be a quiet thing,” Hoke says.

Students can come work on any art they want to. “Artists can come and do their thing,” Hoke says. This semester, student organizations have been more active on campus, and this will be SWA’s largest event yet.

“Last semester, Malcom [Morgan] called a meeting for all of the clubs. He was talking about ideas and he was trying to express that we could feasibly do anything we wanted. At the time I was like, ‘what can a writing group really do feasibly?’” Hoke says. Morgan, SFUAD’s Campus Life Coordinator, mentioned that the group could do a 48-hour writing marathon if they wanted while giving student leaders examples of events. Hoke says that’s where she got the idea but decided to go for 24 hours, as the group thought it would be easier for students to set aside one day for writing rather than two.

This event is going to be important for both the larger campus community and the leaders of SWA. “The community is so important to us, but we’re also all writers,” Hoke says. We also want to write for 24 hours and push ourselves and see what we’re capable of. I think that’ll kind of be a reminder that, even though we’ve been in the club where we’ve been acting as mentors, we still need to take the time to work on our own work.” The group says it also hopes to attract some underclassmen as far as SWA goes, because the club leaders and members will be graduating soon. This event will be the perfect for students to get to know SWA and the CWL department.

If you’d like to have meals provided, sign up by Friday night at midnight by emailing studentwritersassociation@gmail.com, or directly contacting any SWA officers. Send your student ID number and any food allergies or preferences that you have. You must bring your student ID to the event, and alums must bring a valid ID as well. Don’t forget your chargers, pillows, sleeping bags, and writing materials!