Sunday, September 30, 2018
Six BCHS student writers, avid fans of contemporary literature, attended an evening appearance by best selling novelist Jodi Picoult, the most recent guest of the Mark Twain House & Museum in their “Mark My Words” series.
Picoult examined with wit and wisdom her complex writing process that has produced twenty-five best selling books. All examine timely issues of personal and public importance. She named “Small Great Things” as her favorite and “Nineteen Minutes” as her most important works of fiction because of their socially significant subjects: racism and school shootings.
Senior Marissa Pecorelli and junior Zaheer Turtem, veterans of the Creative Writing endeavors at BCHS, provided very diverse personal responses to the event. Pecorelli’s poem and Turtem’s critique convey the passionate personal connection that evolved between author and audience in the intimate setting. All attendees, including BC seniors Kaitlyn DelValle, Caitlyn DiAngelis, Mackenzie Lewis, and Hannah Shapland, received autographed copies of Picoult’s new book, “A Spark of Light.”
Mrs. Jody Ceglarski, English teacher, and Miss Foo Field, guidance counselor, accompanied students as guests of The Writing Initiative.