Seventeen talented young campers from the Duke Young Writer’s program were selected to read their original pieces at the Regulator book store on the 16th of July. The campers congregated in the independent Durham bookshop located on the quaint Ninth street. The Regulator regularly has published authors read at their store. Readers shared their pieces on the first floor of the two-floor store, which also boasts a second-hand clothing store. The bricks and mortar store is lauded for its’ uniqueness and contribution to local Durham, and has been inviting Duke campers since 1997.
As you enter through the firehouse red doors, you hear the chimes breaking the silence of the bookstore. Descending down the sky blue staircase, a reader is speaking into the microphone on the makeshift stage, a “Regulator Bookshop” sign plastered on the railings. An audience consisting of locals, students and teachers listen intently to the reader.
The plethora of stories and pieces garnered several laughs, chuckles, tears and enthusiastic applause from the audience. Such pieces ranged from poems on a “Recipe for February”, to shocking exposés on body image and the effect of the media; honest letters from a Sunday school teacher, to humorous memoirs. The variety of genres of pieces shared showcased the diversity of the writers present at the camp, and highlighted their abilities to sculpt stories and pieces that stemmed from basic ideas and prompts.
Prior to the reading, butterflies swarmed in reader’s stomachs. This was especially the case for reader Annie Magee, who read her poem entitled “Where I’m From”. “It was really nerve-wracking beforehand, but it went by very quickly, so I didn’t have time to be nervous.” While readers are given chances to read at the daily reader’s forum, upper camper Clare Fogarty commented that having the opportunity to read at the bookstore “Felt like more of an honor, because anyone can come listen and people aren’t forced to come listen, it’s by choice.”
Audience members eulogized the talent displayed at the reading. Fellow camper Hannah Morris exclaimed “I think that the readings were really well done and well written, and I think a lot of the writers put a lot of time and effort into them, and it showed.” Commenting on the atmosphere of the homely book store, upper camper Zoe Grimm replied “Since it was in the bookstore, the audience were all interested in what was going on, as opposed to somewhere else. It was a cool place to be, as you could look around the bookstore after the reading.”
This event marked the fifteenth year since the Duke Young Writer’s camp moved over to the East campus and began to exhibit the campers’ pieces at the book store. When asked about the importance of carrying on this tradition, camp director Mitch Cox replied “It’s a good chance for campers to experience being an author by reading at a bookstore. Of course, they read at reader’s forum, but this is a different experience.”