The continuous speech of a single reader carrying on the voice of an epic writer mixed with the sounds of the end of the summertime. Students would walk past the white tent towards their classes on campus, occasionally stopping by to say a few lines or just look on as the story continued. Readers would giggle as professors imitated snakes and demonic noises as apples were passed around the group of tables to the fellow readers.
This past Friday, Longwood University’s department of English and modern languages gathered outside Grainger Hall once again for the marathon reading of Milton’s epic poem Paradise Lost. The event began shortly after nine and continued past the school day. The poem, “arguably one of the best in the English language” according to Associate Professor Dr. Shawn Smith, is one poem that teachers of many disciplines include on their reading lists.
Smith has coordinated this event for many years at Longwood to encourage, not just his department to come together, but other students as well. “This is what the liberal arts is about,” he commented, continuing, “It isn’t just for English people.” Many classes of all disciplines urge students to push past all comfort zones and read a small excerpt from the poem publicly. It’s an opportunity to feel more confident in public speaking and a refreshing way of teaching about the classics. “We want them to be a part of this great achievement,” Smith said.
Amanda Thompson, an English graduate studies student, would come back and forth camping out at the event between her classes. “I think it’s really fantastic,” she said. As a student, who may feel disconnected from the new generation of incoming Lancers, it’s a chance for all “students and faculty to come together.”
The Milton reading is an annual event, and it is one that students, regardless of major, faculty, staff and community members should check out and give public reading a shot.
