by Dominique Bruno

Renee Nicholson

Renee Nicholson, MFA in Creative Writing alumna from West Virginia University, gave a wonderful pre-Halloween reading in spooky Elizabeth Moore Hall on October 30, 2014, in front of an enthusiastic crowd of readers and writers! Renee read from her newest book of poems, Roundabout Directions from Lincoln Center, published as the first book in the Crossroads Poetry Series by Urban Farmhouse Press, as well as from her work with narrative medicine with Doctor Jamie Shumway, former Associate Dean of Medical Education in the West Virginia University School of Medicine. She is now polishing the completed manuscript of Dr. Shumway’s memoirs with the help of his wife, as Dr. Shumway passed away earlier this fall. Renee delivered a touching tribute to him with excerpts of his contemplative yet witty prose. Alongside her many teaching and advising obligations in the Department of Multidisciplinary Studies, Renee is constantly generating new product, and her new poetry is proof that hard work and dedication to craft can only help hone prodigious talent. Perhaps the most memorable part of the evening, however, was when Renee kicked off her reading with a poem about Pop Rocks, and had the foresight to go and purchase real Pop Rocks candies for the audience. For a person who labors hard to make each line of her poetry interesting and beautiful, it was amazing for Renee to read that particular poem with the sound of Pop Rocks crackling throughout the room. I was taking a few pictures, and I could hear the candy popping everywhere, even in the balcony of Elizabeth Moore Hall. In all honesty, Renee’s reading was the best Halloween treat that a writer could have asked for. A big thank-you goes out to the Department of Multidisciplinary Studies and the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences for providing West Virginia University with such a great event.