Tucked in the north end of the Lory Student Center in the University Ballroom, the English department hosts the Creative Writing Reading Series for authors from all over to read their work for the community throughout the year.

Matthew Cooperman is an English professor at CSU and the current director for the Creative Writing Reading Series.

The series has already been well established since Cooperman became a professor in 2003, and there is no fee to attend any of the offered events.

“I think it’s really impactful, particularly with the undergraduates who are just getting an idea that, ‘Maybe I want to write’ — to see the fruits of that labor in a published author who opens up possibilities for you that you haven’t thought of,” Cooperman said. “It’s really an exciting opportunity, and I think it really goes a long way for both our undergrads and grads in making the writing life seem real. It might seem kind of abstract or unattainable, but it’s not. It’s really out there up front. You just sort of meet those people.”

Many of those in attendance were English majors who heard about the series through classes. It’s even required for some students’ grades to attend at least one event.

“For my creative writing class, I was assigned to read their works (beforehand),” said Medhaa Lakshman, a second-year English student with a concentration in creative writing. “I especially loved Meredith (Talusan’s) tone of voice in her short story, and I also liked the way Paul Yoon crafted his plot and basically immersed you into his story.”

While many English students attend, the event is open to students of all majors, and members of the community are encouraged to attend as well.

“When I read it myself, I try to go off my own cadence — what I believe the rhythm of the poem is,” said Manuel Sanchez, a fourth-year political science student with an English minor. “But hearing (the authors read) is like being presented the way it should be, and that’s not always the way I imagined it.”

To select each author, the current director finds local authors and students who are receiving their MFA and polls them to see who they’d want to host.

“We’re always trying to bring people here that we think will benefit not only our MFA students but all the English majors and people around the university,” Cooperman said. “Everyone is welcome.”

Starting Dec. 5, there will be thesis reading from students in the MFA program at CSU.

“MFA students in the three genres generally give a reading in their third year from their work, and it’s really a wonderful event,” Cooperman said. “It’s a chance for their parents to come out and see them perform.”

Graduate readings will be held in the Gregory Allicar Museum of Art, located on the first floor of the University Center for the Arts.

Before the readings, there are salons and other activities planned as well as a Q&A session following the readings. There is a book stand selling some of the featured books, so those interested can purchase one of the author’s works and get it signed.

The first event of the series welcomed authors Yoon and Talusan.

Yoon is a senior lecturer at Harvard University, and his work has been featured in various publications, including The New Yorker and Harper’s Magazine. He also has several critically acclaimed books under his belt.

Talusan is a founding executive editor and current contributing editor at Them and has written articles for The New York Times, The Atlantic and The Guardian.

Both have also earned various accolades and achievements within the creative writing sphere.

Talusan’s story centered on an autistic transgender person in the early 2000s. The story itself was written like a research paper, with visual diagrams shown on the ballroom’s TV screens.

Talusan’s character narrated in long, scientifically dense paragraphs that would often end in a sudden joke or inspire reflection among the audience.

“I just really love how close knit the community here is,” Talusan said. “We were invited to a potluck right before the reading, which I’ve never experienced before. In a lot of MFA programs, there’s this sort of, like, built-in possibility for competition, and I think it’s really lovely — the environment of mutual support at (CSU).”

Before Yoon started his reading, he asked the audience to cheer “like you’re at a Taylor Swift concert” while he took a video.

He exhibited a lighthearted charisma, a sharp contrast to the piece he shared that examined the clashing cultures and trauma of a Korean settlement in eastern Russia. Audience members leaned in with intense expressions as Yoon strung a sharp tension through his words.

“I find this audience to be incredibly warm, gracious and exciting,” Yoon said. “I felt the energy of the room tonight.”

The next reading event will be 7:30 p.m. Oct. 17 in the University Ballroom in the LSC.

Reach Bear Atwood at news@collegian.com or on Twitter @CSUCollegian.