Amidst rumors of 15-mile freeway backups, many
participants set out tentatively to last weekend's Great Critique in Olympia, only to arrive early at the Evergreen State
College campus on a pristine late summer morning, ready to share a few pages of
their latest project. The soothing breeze blowing in from the north served
everyone well as the sun heated things to a perfect 75 degrees.
By noon most everyone had arrived and small knots of people
conversed noisily while seated on lawn chairs or plastic and steel numbers
provided by the college. They brought brown-bag lunches, potluck desserts, sandwiches
and fresh veggies, or Starbucks drinks to prepare for soul-baring critiquing.
At 1:00 p.m., organizer Tony Dorrough introduced faculty
members and then each group split off. “One group disappeared down a flight of
concrete steps and behind a building, another found the shade of an exquisite
tree, and still another climbed a manicured bluff overlooking all of the others,”
says Tony. “My group decided to hang fairly close to others that remained in
the college’s famed Red Square. We spent the rest of the afternoon in idyllic
conditions, surrounded by the park-like scenery and summer smells, listening to
stories, and discussing illustrations and layouts. It was a sunny slice of
writer heaven, and I can't wait for next year.”
Among the positive feedback the event received afterward was this comment, “Thank you for putting together a really great critique.
I've been to quite a few, but have not enjoyed any as much as I did ours today.
I got very valid and useful feedback. And it was fun.”
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