NATCHITOCHES –Northwestern State University’s Department of English, Languages and Cultural Studies is bringing The Moth Radio Hour to campus in October. The Moth is a nationally recognized non-profit that celebrates the commonality and diversity of human experience through personal storytelling. The Moth debuted in 2009 and airs on more than 500 radio stations nationwide with podcasts available online.
“This is a very exciting opportunity for our creative writers. The Moth is a national storytelling collective. They will fly out a team to hold a two-day event on campus with workshops for students, leading to a public performance in Magale Recital Hall,” said Dr. Rebecca Macijeski, coordinator of Creative Writing Programs.
Oona Zbitkovskis, an instructor in the Department of English, Languages and Cultural Studies, initially reached out to The Moth.
“I emailed them on a lark. I use The Moth in my literature class. I thought, ‘I wonder if they would even come. I wonder if that’s even feasible.’ So, I reached out and they said yes.”
“I’ve been a listening fan of The Moth Radio Hour and their podcast since grad school, started using them in my teaching in grad school and used them in my creative nonfiction writing class this fall,” Macijeski said. “Some of the students in that class are hoping they are going to be participants. We’re hoping it will be a mutually beneficial event that will hype up what Creative Writing is doing and bring some good attention to the university.”
The Moth’s producers will send a team from New York to Natchitoches Oct. 5-6 to workshop with students, discuss the art of storytelling and provide feedback on the students’ work. A selection of pieces curated from the workshops will be performed in Magale Recital Hall, recorded and archived in The Moth’s national webspace. The performance will be from 7-9 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 6 in Magale. That event is free and open to the public.
“It’s good when students get a perspective outside of ours,” Zbitkovskis said. “There are really just the four of us who teach creative writing. It’s nice to have guests come in and talk to them. The students will get prompts and guidance outside of us.”
“Students come to our creative writing classes for all kinds of reasons. Some are majors and want to be traditionally published writers. Some have other goals. Having an experience like this on their resume is a truly unique opportunity for our students here at Northwestern,” Macijeski said.
“Opportunities like these help the students to form connections,” Zbitkovskis said. “It’s an opportunity to create a creative community that will last them through their academic career and beyond.”
Information on The Moth is available at https://themoth.org/. For more information about the creative writing concentration in the English major or about the creative writing minor, e-mail creativewriting@nsula.edu. Information on all programs in NSU’s Department of English, Languages and Cultural Studies is available at https://www.nsula.edu/english/.
