In his first year working at TCU, Alex Lemon launched a passion project that would bring acclaimed professional writers to campus. A decade later, his Live Oak Reading Series is a tradition many students continue to find inspiring.

Courtesy of the TCU Department of English

Lemon, associate professor of English, invites a range of accomplished writers from many genres to TCU. He said his ultimate goal is “for students to get to see what people writing in the world do,” as well as to encourage them that their skills are viable.

Novelist Steve Yarbrough and personal essayist Ewa Hryniewicz-Yarbrough will be featured in the next installation of the series at 6 p.m., February 12 in Moudy North, room 141.

“Live Oak readings give students a place to apply critical thinking [from the classroom] to modern literature and poetry, and get a feel of what kind of work writers are creating today,” said Audrey Ledergerber, a junior English major who frequents these events.

Connecting with authors brings another level of engagement to the series. Aaron Schmid, a philosophy senior with a creative writing minor, said he enjoys the question-and-answer sessions that follow each reading, and the unique experience of being able to “peek behind the curtain of creation.”

Live readings were an influential part of Lemon’s creative writing education, and he said he hopes Live Oak inspires and encourages students that a profession in writing is a “real, tangible thing.”

Dorothy Fortenberry, screenwriter for The Handmaid’s Tale, headlines March’s two-part Live Oak. With continued success, and snacks too, Lemon said the series will help “expand the idea of the creative life beyond the confines of the classroom.”