Ask anyone about the negative effects of COVID-19, and they probably won鈥檛 even hesitate answering. Isolation, financial instability and cracked skin from a steady application of hand sanitizer are just a few things that come to mind. But sometimes, reliving the same monotonous day over and over again brings renewed appreciation for comforting habits and routines we previously took for granted. In Michelle Wright鈥檚 case, this came when she returned to her parents鈥 house and fell into the rhythms of family pizza night, a Friday dinnertime tradition where her mom, dad and brother gathered in the kitchen to listen to music and prepare homemade personal pan pizzas.
鈥淥nce COVID started impacting all of life, it became something essential,鈥 she says. 鈥淥nce every single day felt like the exact same day, pizza night kind of distinguished where we were at in the week, which gave us more of a structure through all the lockdowns.鈥
Pizza night is the subject of Wright鈥檚 submission in Puzzled Experiences, a COVID-themed anthology compiled by professor of English Dr. John Van Rys鈥 creative non-fiction class. The collection of real-life stories captures a myriad of pandemic experiences from the absurd and amusing to the frustrating and outright bleak. Although Wright found some comfort in crafting her experiences into a narrative, the strain of isolation still impacted her creative process.
鈥淛ust getting up and doing things felt pointless most days, especially since writing for my courses usually takes place with my peers. The pandemic made me turn inward when I would usually express myself on paper or out loud to other people. Some days, though, writing was actually what would get me through, because it was something I needed to do.鈥
Ben Wright, another creative non-fiction student, expressed similar sentiments of loneliness and discontent. However, he grappled with those feelings long before COVID.
鈥淢y parents are missionaries and teachers, and we lived in Niger, West Africa for 10 years,鈥 he says. 鈥淲e came back to Canada five years ago, and I鈥檝e had trouble adjusting since then. My impression of everyone else鈥檚 experience of COVID was that there was this sense of exhaustion and things going slowly. I feel that, but I鈥檝e also felt like that for a long time.鈥
What I appreciate about anthologies is the variety of individual perspectives. Creating one involves a prompt, which in this case was our COVID experiences.
Ben Wright鈥檚 piece, The House for Special Purpose, draws comparisons between his ongoing mental health struggles and those of the wider population amidst the pandemic. Although the piece isn鈥檛 exactly lighthearted, arranging his thoughts on paper always comes with some sense of solace and clarity.
鈥淚 like being able to express myself, and the back and forth format of a conversation is very limited. With writing, you pack everything into each sentence and it can go off in any number of directions. People also have to spend more time thinking about what they read, so it鈥檚 more freeing in that sense.鈥
The experience of contributing a piece to a larger anthology also helped Ben Wright feel a stronger sense of community with his classmates.
鈥淲hat I appreciate about anthologies is the variety of individual perspectives. Creating one involves a prompt, which in this case was our COVID experiences. While there were some similarities, there was a lot of room within that for each of us to have our own viewpoint.鈥
Despite their differences in tone, style and outlook, both students agree that they鈥檝e become bolder, more self-assured writers since starting at Redeemer.
鈥淭he revision process has really developed for me since coming here,鈥 says Michelle Wright. 鈥淚鈥檝e always been a last-minute person, especially when it comes to assignments, so I had no real writing process. Developing what it actually looks like to create a good piece was huge for me, and I鈥檝e definitely committed to a slower process.鈥
鈥淚t鈥檚 forced me to be more genuine,鈥 says Ben Wright. 鈥淚 usually like to hide behind anonymity instead of identifying myself with my writing. However, when you鈥檙e workshopping with a group on a daily basis you have to be very honest about yourself. My writing is still a little weird and off-kilter, but it鈥檚 better to write something authentic that you can support than something disingenuous that you can鈥檛.鈥