By: Garrett Heath, Staff Writer
On the surface, Spartanburg, S.C. may seem like a community lacking in artistic endeavors. However, Spartanburg houses several initiatives to cooperate with up and coming writers. Hub City Bookshop & Press—located in the heart of downtown—offers three writing residencies each year through the Hub City Writer’s Project (HCWP).
Meg Reid—the Deputy Director of the HCWP—sat down with the Old Gold and Black to answer several questions about the writing in the Spartanburg community.
On describing the residency:
“The Hub City Writers Project offers three writing residencies per year in an historic cottage in downtown Spartanburg, S.C. The program is open to emerging writers in the United States who have completed a college degree in creative writing within the past five years or are pursuing a graduate degree in writing.”
On the history and organization of the residency program:
“We have had a residency program since 2007, when we were one part of a larger arts organization with HUB-BUB. The residency was called the AiR (Artist-in-Residence) program and brought in four artists to serve the community. Back then, only one of the artists was a writer. When we split with HUB-BUB a few years ago, we bought a house on Spring Street downtown and started the Writers House Residency. In the newer version of the residency, we only have one writer at a time. We do three separate residencies a year: A 10-week summer residency from June to August; A 15-week fall residency from September to December; and a 15-week winter/spring residency from January to April.”
On writer’s effect on the local community:
“The Writers House Residency is very unique because we ask our writers to not only work on their writing, but also work in our community. They include past community service on their application, as well as a plan for an outreach< project while they are here in Spartanburg. Past residents have edited books, created new programming, offered workshops and visited many schools. They have also taught in our summer writing camps for teenagers and our Summer Writing In Place Conference, which is held each July at Wofford.”
On the current writer in residence, Timothy L. Marsh:
“Timothy only arrived a few weeks ago, but he has already made many connections in the Spartanburg community. He has gone on a field trip with Wofford Professor John Lane’s Environmental Writing class, out to Peter’s Creek Preserve. He’ll be writing an article about the preserve for a series of blogs we create with the Spartanburg Visitor’s Bureau. He has a whole house to himself for the first time – we’re all very excited to see what he will write while he’s here!”
On how Wofford students can engage in writing endeavors:
“Wofford students should check out our line-up of events on www.hubcity.org! We have a few readings a week from regional and national writers. Plus, in the spring, we’ll be offering writing workshops on all sorts of genres and topics.
Students should also come check out our bookshop, especially if they’re new to Spartanburg. We have an unrivaled collection of books about the Upstate region that will help them explore the area – many publish ed by our press (Hub City Press). Our newest, “The Underground Guide to Spartanburg,” is a particular fun and informative guide to all the lesser known things Sparkle City has to offer!” Throughout the following month, the Hub City Bookshop will feature several guest speakers. On Oct. 8, Ron Rash — a novelist, poet and short story writer —will read from his new novel “Above the Waterfall,” a story set in Appalachia focusing on natural beauty, the devastation of crystal meth and communal environmental stewardship.
