Meetings and Events for Saturday, March 29, 2025
Saturday Writers Welcomes
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Description: How do we convey the emotional contours of our experiences in writing without devolving into sentimentality, or worse yet, loading our prose with overwrought metaphors? How do we tell the truth of our feelings, while (as Emily Dickinson advises) telling it “slant”?
In this presentation/discussion, we will examine the power of concrete imagery and figurative language to give shape to the difficult and painful, the joys and beauty, of everyday living. We will discover the wonder that occurs when we, like Marianne Moore, plant very real toads in our imaginary gardens, making visible what is often left unsaid and unseen. By doing so, we will uncover the “raw material of poetry in all its rawness” and learn how to fill our own writing with the things and stuff of life.
Bio: Melissa Qualls has taught literature, composition, and creative writing in the English department at Lindenwood University since 2002. She earned her MFA from Lindenwood University in 2018 and is an active member of St. Louis Poetry Society, Babler Poetry Society, and Poetry in the Woods (2023 and 2024). Most recently, her poem They Look So Small, Lying There won Honorable Mention in the 2024 Wednesday Club Original Poetry competition, and she has published two poems For Nora and Wednesday Afternoon, April 4th in Nine Mile Literary Magazine (Fall 2024).
Melissa Qualls
Assistant Professor of English, Director of General Education
Lindenwood University
In this presentation/discussion, we will examine the power of concrete imagery and figurative language to give shape to the difficult and painful, the joys and beauty, of everyday living. We will discover the wonder that occurs when we, like Marianne Moore, plant very real toads in our imaginary gardens, making visible what is often left unsaid and unseen. By doing so, we will uncover the “raw material of poetry in all its rawness” and learn how to fill our own writing with the things and stuff of life.
Bio: Melissa Qualls has taught literature, composition, and creative writing in the English department at Lindenwood University since 2002. She earned her MFA from Lindenwood University in 2018 and is an active member of St. Louis Poetry Society, Babler Poetry Society, and Poetry in the Woods (2023 and 2024). Most recently, her poem They Look So Small, Lying There won Honorable Mention in the 2024 Wednesday Club Original Poetry competition, and she has published two poems For Nora and Wednesday Afternoon, April 4th in Nine Mile Literary Magazine (Fall 2024).
Melissa Qualls
Assistant Professor of English, Director of General Education
Lindenwood University
Events Schedule:
9:00 - 10:00 Craft of Writing Book Club (Members Only)
10:00 - 11:00 Works in Progress Cafe Prose & Poetry (Members Only)
11:00 - 1:00 Speaker Meeting - Business, then presentation (Doors open at 10:45)
1:30 LUNCH (separate checks provided) - EVERYONE INVITED to continue networking
9:00 - 10:00 Craft of Writing Book Club (Members Only)
10:00 - 11:00 Works in Progress Cafe Prose & Poetry (Members Only)
11:00 - 1:00 Speaker Meeting - Business, then presentation (Doors open at 10:45)
1:30 LUNCH (separate checks provided) - EVERYONE INVITED to continue networking
Where we meet:
Our meetings are held at:
St. Charles City-County Library District Spencer Road Branch
427 Spencer Road
St. Peters, MO 63376
$5.00 for a temporary membership (cash or check only)
Membership is $35.00 per year
Our meetings are intended for an adult audience, please contact info@saturdaywriters.org if younger than 18.
St. Charles City-County Library District Spencer Road Branch
427 Spencer Road
St. Peters, MO 63376
$5.00 for a temporary membership (cash or check only)
Membership is $35.00 per year
Our meetings are intended for an adult audience, please contact info@saturdaywriters.org if younger than 18.
Members can attend in-person meetings virtually via Zoom. This is a members-only perk. Anyone is welcome to attend the in-person meetings at the library with a guest fee or paid membership.
An annual membership comes with:
An annual membership comes with:
- virtual and/or live admission to and recordings of all regular meetings,
- access to members-only discussion/critique groups and events,
- exclusive no-fee contests, and
- listing of your bio and book titles on our website, and more.