Palisadians Caroline Spiegel and Grace and Emily Piccard were among the 26 students who earned an invitation to the Archer School for Girls Seventh Annual Literary Conference held February 20.
Papers were originally submitted by students from Archer, Buckley, Crossroads, Flintridge Prep, Marlborough, Marymount, Pilgrim, Polytechnic and Windward, and those chosen were read aloud at the conference.
“The presentations linked a classical piece of literature with a contemporary social issue, thus placing the arts into relevant political context,” Archer School English chair Kristin Taylor said. “The content ranged from the esoteric to the provocative, traversing the wide territory between Jane Eyre and female peace-building efforts, Thoreau and euthanasia and dozens of other juxtapositions.”
Student submissions represented six areas: Identity: Defining the Self; Through the Looking Glass: Perceptions and Distortions; Women and Power; Monsters and Crazies; The Character and the Story; and Connecting and Disconnecting.
Grace Piccard wrote “The Things She Carried,” which fell under Identity: Defining the Self.
“My piece is a semi-fictional, semi-autobiographical exploration of the human conscience, and what it means to bear certain burdens, both physical and psychological,” the Archer junior told the Palisadian-Post. “It was amazing to see a group of students so eager to share their knowledge and so excited about literature. I left truly enlightened and with a sense of certainty that our generation will contribute many positive elements to this world.”
In the Connecting and Disconnecting category, twin sister and also a junior at Archer, Emily Piccard wrote “These Days.”
“My piece, a short story, centers around a group of English soldiers returning from World War I: their experiences in coming home to a society that they no longer feel a part of, and their struggles with life and loss,” Emily said, grateful that she had been chosen to participate. “All of the presenters were a truly talented and inspiring group of people!”
Caroline Spiegel, a sophomore at Crossroads, wrote “Certainly Uncertain: Frankenstein,” challenging social stereotypes about what it means to be “crazy” or a “monster,” and proposed that the true monsters may be those who appear most sane.
“My piece is an analytical essay exploring an allegory in Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein.’ It discusses why labels like human and monster are immoral,” said Spiegel, noting that she came away from the conference inspired.
“I also realized the importance of reading work out loud. Actually hearing the pieces was magical, and brought all the art to life.”
The conference was started by a former Archer teacher, who co-taught a joint humanities course called “Seminal Moments,” which explored 20th century culture through history, literature and pop culture. She saw the value of students linking history and literature and wondered what else might come up through a student forum.
Archer’s Taylor said, “In a society where the arts and humanities, literature in particular, are not supported by mainstream educational curricula, we are excited to offer teens in Los Angeles a reason to care about these things. Our annual literary conference is not a competition, so there is no prize money or trophy. The students who engage do so for the pure joy of sharing ideas, and for the opportunity to literally play and have fun intellectually with their peers.”
The Piccard twins are the daughters of Mary Louise Piccard, and Spiegel is the daughter of John Spiegel and Melissa Thomas.
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