Written by Alycia Butler 

Have you seen these bright red flyers around campus lately? The Red Dog Reading Series held its first event of the spring series on 2023 January 24th after a late start from the previous semester. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic caused Red Dog to go on Zoom for the remainder of the following year. Since the fall of 2022, the series has returned to Carlow University’s campus on the second floor of the University Commons.  

The event is 1 hour long, starting at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesdays. It allows featured readers to present their creative writing for 20 minutes and answer questions. Readings are followed by an open mic, 20 minutes dedicated to student and guest speakers. The series leaves extra time at the end for activities, games, or even more open mic.  

The first event offered student interns Lee Butler and Faith Otey to present their poetry as featured readers. “What can possibly torture a heart more than the unresolved,” Otey read to an array of undergraduates and professors. M.C. volunteer Keegan Flanagan and creative writing major Claudia Schirda also read at the event for open mic. The audience applauded the diversity in poems, ranging from themes of grief to the erotic. Carlow senior and soon-graduate Sydney Edwards was featured to orate her poetry for the second event, discussing her love and connection to mythology.  

As Red Dog moves forward, Professor Sarah Shotland strives to incorporate more writers from Carlow University. She offers an internship in both the fall and spring semesters, earning up to 4 English credits, and hopes to reach more students’ attention.  

For more information, follow @reddogreadingseries on Instagram.