During the time of the Celts, there were few written stories, so bards would entertain the masses with the adventures of Celtic gods and demigods through the art of oral storytelling.

I have been an avid member of the Guilford Writing Group for a couple years now. It challenges me and my writing to expand and diversify. So, when I heard that the Guilford Writing Group was going to collaborate with the Celtic Group to tell stories and share an underrated culture, I leapt at the opportunity to cover it.

This collaboration fits perfectly with the mindset of the Guilford Writing Group, a group that loves to celebrate all sorts of themes and genres of storytelling and creative writing. You could share your own work or the work of poets and authors that you like so long as you shared it orally in order to fit the Celtic theme.

Celtic Club leader senior Sam Dawson was more than happy to share his knowledge of Celtic culture.

“I wanted to do something special for the Celtic Club and share Celtic culture,” said Dawson. “So me and a couple of my club members thought our club and the Writing Group could get together and do some storytelling.”

Being unfamiliar with the Celtic Club or the culture, I asked Dawson “why start up a Celtic Club?”

“I’ve been wanting to start up this club since high school because I have Celtic heritage myself and I wanted a way to celebrate it,” Dawson said. “The Celtic tradition has been dying out, and this collaboration, I think, is a good way to keep the tradition of oral bard-like storytelling alive.”

Dawson’s enthusiasm was wonderfully complemented by that of the Guilford Writing Group’s  Mylène Dressler, assistant professor of English and creative writing.

“I love it when we have collaboration on campus,” Dressler said. “We would love to work with other organizations on campus to create a beautiful cross pollination.”

With great enthusiasm, the cross pollination began. The group shared their personal and favorite works. I heard the poetry of Robert Frost, personal narratives from past class projects, the beginning of mouthwatering personal novels and, of course, I shared my Celtic themed short horror story.

Learning about a new culture and what they believed in and how they relate to other cultures was very interesting.

The sharing of personal work by members of the Guilford Writing Group and the Celtic Club was enjoyable and an appropriate way to end the last meeting of the Guilford Writing Group for the semester.

If you run a club or are a club member, I highly recommend a collaboration with the Guilford Writing Group. They are always looking to expand their writing and build a community with other clubs on campus.