I’m Dan Williams, Geneva’s creative writing professor, and I’d love to tell you about an evening of the arts. It’s an event called “The Geneva Reading Series,” or “GRS.”

Twice a year, students, faculty, staff, and members of the Beaver Falls community gather for a night of comedy, music, poetry, and great storytelling.

Every GRS has a different theme. Last Spring, it was “Summer Forever.” Novelist Frederic S. Durbin shared a story, a beautiful hello to summer that hushed the room with its loveliness, preparing us to say goodbye to another school year.

This semester, it was “The Geneva Reading Series: Misbehaving,” a theme borrowed from my humor memoir, Misbehaving In Maine: 30 Half-Learned Lessons. I read a chapter and shared the stage with very talented student writers and musicians:

• Alexa Wilsey (English, Music, History) sang original compositions and accompanied herself on the ukulele. 

• Anna Kaufinger (Writing) read a story of suspense and horror.  

• Lydia Cummings (English, Writing) read a magical realism piece about friendship and letting go.  

• James White (Marketing) shared original music and poetry with us.  

• Jack Foster (English) read a hilarious tale of farm animal mayhem.  

For the most part, I select the readers from among the senior class. I let them know they can use the theme of the event if they like or go in a direction all their own.

In the past, we’ve had professors share their work from all over campus, regardless of discipline. Represented at GRS: Bible, Engineering, Communication, Music, Philosophy, Football, everyone!

My original dream for the event was that it would create a space where everyone could get lost in fellowship through story, song, and laughter. Because I love humor, I do my best to steer GRS in a funny direction, but the readers are free to present anything they like. My favorite Reading Series events make us laugh and cry. It’s hard not to do both when the community sets its differences aside to enjoy the gifts God has given us.

I believe GRS matters to our community because Geneva College is in the business of growth and change for the heart and mind, and that’s a lot of pressure. It’s good pressure, vital, but we’re people, and people need oases of fun, fellowship, and rest in the midst of our striving. GRS aims to bring these necessities, doing so to offer a little feast of joy, one that will reinvigorate us for the good work.

If you’re ever in town on a GRS night, please stop by. You’ll find us where Johnny Cash is playing loud, where the hot chocolate and apple cider flow like water, and where laughter and beauty are calling you to fellowship, calling you home.

Dan Williams
Watch this video on Williams made by RiverWise, a local non-profit that amplifies community voices.