Last Thursday, poet Andrew Hudgins continued Mercyhurst College’s 2010 Literary Festival by reading poems from his published works, including “American Rendering” and “Shut Up, You’re Fine.”

Hudgins entertained the audience with his unique sense of humor and interesting poetry selections.

Hudgins read poems that incorporated serious topics, such as his selections from “American Rendering,” where he read poems that focused on the dark side of American history. He changed his reading to a more humorous subject when he began to explain his newest published book, “Shut Up, You’re Fine.”

Hudgins described “Shut Up, You’re fine” as a book filled with poems written for badly behaving children. Some of these poems Hudgins read aloud included “Playing Houth” and “You had it Coming.”

Many who attended the reading found themselves entertained at Hudgins’s ability to capture the voice of the child within the poems.

English Professor and Head of the English Department, Dr. Jeffrey Roessner said, “I really love Hudgins’s work, partly because he brings such a unique sense of humor to his poetry.”

After the reading, many students were still chuckling on their way out and expressing their amusement to their friends.

Junior Nick Rex said, “I enjoyed Hudgins’s ability to present topics that entertained as well as incorporated dark humor.”

Sophomore Trevor Surgeuer said, “I found his reading to be intelligent as well as cynical in an amusing way.”

The next morning students from Dr. Greg Brown’s Intro to Creative Writing had the opportunity to host Hudgins as a guest speaker. During his visit students had the chance to ask questions and listen to his opinion on writing poetry. Hudgins provided students with his thoughts on applying to grad school and the process of writing poetry overall.

Hudgins said, “Many believe that poetry is an instant process; however, in actuality it takes several drafts before a person can call a poem complete.”

The festival will close this Thursday at 8:15 p.m. in the Taylor Little Theatre with the unveiling of the 2010 Lumen, Mercyhurst College’s Literary Arts Magazine.

The magazine consists of works such as poetry, short fiction, photography and artwork created by Mercyhurst students.

Free copies of the Lumen will be distributed during the event, as well as the announcement of the top three works from this year’s Lumen.