Three students from the English department had their papers accepted to a national literature convention in Minneapolis, MN.

Camille Weber, 16’, Angelia Saplan, 16’, and Keri Dixon presented their papers at Sigma Tau Delta’s national literature convention.

Sigma Tau Delta is an international honors society for undergraduate English literature majors.

The convention creates a way for students to showcase their work either in literary studies or creative writing.

The conference also provides various types of workshops including information on graduate schools, publishing and scholarships.

Weber’s paper does a close reading of a passage from “Jane Eyre” where she focused on the construction of identity through the balance of rational and spiritual law.

Saplan read a collection of poems titled, “Voicing the Voiceless.” Her poems focused on topics of suicide, sexual assault, domestic violence and stalking with the intent to inform readers and empower them.

“Writing grants us a medium to speak when we are silenced, to find a voice when we are voiceless, and the courage within ourselves to begin again,” Saplan said.

Dixon presented a critical analysis of an Anne Finch poem “A Letter to Daphnis,” where she addressed the role of sex and power in marriage.

As well as attending the conference and having the privilege of presenting their individual selections, they attended creative writing panels for memoirs and flash fiction.

They also went to round tables focused on mental health entitled “Representations of Mental Illness in Literature.”

“It’s an honor to be here and speak to other students about their writing. Everyone here is so full of talent either scholarly or creatively. “Attending this convention inspires me to continue taking my studies seriously and has given me even greater confidence to share my work with bigger audiences,” Weber said.

She also said that everyone that was at the conference was extremely supportive and it was great to be in an environment where everyone is supportive.

“It was an amazing atmosphere and I cannot wait to come back and tell my chapter about this amazing experience this past week.”