The Shreveport Writers Club met at The Agora Borealis on Lake St in Shreveport on July 6th, 2019.
The meeting began by greeting visitors, followed by the “Making a Mark” awards, recognizing any in attendance who submitted work to any publication the previous month.
In regular business, President Tiffany Pennywell discussed the upcoming Paired Expressions: Visual and Lyrical Art collaboration with the Shreveport Art Club. Writers were encouraged to volunteer to write short poems in response to art pieces submitted by art club members. *If any writer is still interested in participating, he or she should email the club at shreveportwritersclub@gmail.com to find out details.*
Next the members participated in the flash fiction writing exercise. Writers were asked to write ten minutes on one of these topics:
- Falling down the rabbit hole
- This is what scares me least
- A tale of conflicting colors
- A perfume that could transform
- Open topic
After writing for ten minutes, participants volunteered to share what they wrote with the group.
Next, the group welcomed guest speaker, Mack Swans. Swans is a recording artist and writer. He spoke about his beginnings as an artist, with the school band in high school and making beats on his dad’s phone using the Garage Band app.
At 19 he began writing seriously and recording. Swans mentioned his earliest musical influences, which included Drake, Childish Gambino, Kanye West and others. From these influencers, he learned the importance of meaningful lyrical content.
“Be true to your own voice, instead of trying to sound like what is popular, ” he said, while cautioning the group this route may take longer to get where one wants to be, but it will be worth it.
Swans also held a question and answer session with the group after his talk.
To hear Swans’ music click here: Mack Swans on Soundcloud
