On Wednesday, April 2, Assistant Professor of English Austin Segrest gave a reading from his new book of poetry, “Groom.” Taking place in the Wriston Art Galleries from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., the event included craft talks by local artists—two illustrators and a photographer—who contributed to the book. The reading attracted an impressively large crowd from all areas of the university and beyond; the gallery was so full people were sitting on the floor and standing just outside the gallery entryway.
This isn’t the first literary-artistic event I’ve attended in Wriston, but it felt particularly poignant nonetheless. The vibrant community support for Segrest and his book was evident not only in the jam-packed gallery, but also in the collaborators’ talks. Each spoke for a while about their own personal journey with their art form, and how they came to be involved with “Groom.”
The first speaker, visual artist Emmalie Engle, described her experience working in coffee and creating art in coffee shops. I felt so inspired by the way she talked about art in everyday life—it was beautiful. After learning about her artistic journey, I found her frontispiece design to be even more meaningful and apt for Segrest’s book. The piece includes a detailed peacock and a deer among branches.
Following Engle was another visual artist, Danny Ceballos, who created bamboo ink drawings for the book. Ceballos spoke about the imperfect nature of using bamboo ink to draw, as well as the kind-of messy and yet wonderful figures he likes to create with it. Lastly, photographer John Nance spoke about his love for capturing moments and slowing down time with photography.
After the three craft talks, Segrest proceeded to read selections from his book. For those who don’t know, “Groom” deals with themes of abuse and grooming. As a listener, I went on an emotional roller coaster I didn’t know was coming, but by no means did I regret riding it. I can’t speak for the other people in the room, but for me, the poetry was both heartbreaking and beautiful. I look forward to reading it on the page to soak up all of the technical genius I know is there.
I have yet to read the whole book, but knowing all the love and care that went into creating it, I want to. If you weren’t able to make it to this reading, there should be another one coming up, so keep an eye out! “Groom” is now for sale on the Unbound Edition Press website.