The spring semester is truly underway for Brockport Writer’s Forum. On Wednesday Feb. 26, Jennifer Marie Brissett was given a warm welcome to discuss her novel Destroyer of Light.
Students and members of the public came together for a reading and Q&A by the author in the Liberal Arts Building, as well as a pop-up stall by co-owner of Lift Bridge Book Shop John Bonzyck. Many members from different faculties at SUNY Brockport attend, one of those being English Literature Professor Anne Panning.
“The Writers Forum gives Brockport and Rochester exposure to writers from all over the country, plus, it’s free! It’s a wonderful, welcoming community of readers and writers,” Panning said.
Author Jennifer Marie Brissett used to be a software engineer, teacher, and bookshop owner. Destroyer of Light, her second novel, follows the journey of half-alien, half-human Cora in the worlds of Dusk, Dawn and Day on a new planet when Earth becomes inhabitable. When her journey intertwines with those of the alien krestge [crest-eege], it takes her to places she never thought imaginable.
After being a software engineer, teacher and a bookshop owner, being a fiction writer was far from anything Brissett ever knew.
“I didn’t believe I could be a writer, so I continued to read,” Brissett said.
She also offered advice to prospective writers in the room.
“One of the hardest things in writing is to be honest with yourself, as writers you have to let go of the idea that you are in complete control,” Brissett said.
Students gain a fresh and more intimate perspective from these events, by having the opportunity to be a live audience.
This is the Writer’s Craft class’s focus: to read the book, analyze and discuss, and then meet with the author, all in three weeks. One of those taking the class is SUNY Brockport student Erin Snow.
“It’s nice to hear about the work from the author and their progress as well as be able to ask questions that readers have that they typically wouldn’t be able to ask,” Snow said.
Brissett faced questions on a variety of topics, from the themes brought up within her novel as well as the ability to express social commentary through the microphone of the science-fiction genre.
“This week’s visiting author delved into the writing process, emphasizing that restrictions are there to be fought and that first drafts are meant to be terrible—a reassuring reminder for writers of all levels who often feel pressured to get it right the first time,” Snow said.
To learn more about Brissett’s work, you can go to her website.
The next Brockport Writer’s Forum event is on March 12 at the Fannie Barrier Williams Liberal Arts Building from 7:30 pm to 9 pm, where National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Fellow, author and professor Sonya Bilocerkowycz will be discussing her essay collection On Our Way Home from the Revolution: Reflections on Ukraine.
All events are free and open to the public.
