2014 Convention Stories

Saved by Savannah: A Sestina for the Sigma Tau Delta Convention

Emily J. O’Brien
Sigma Tau Delta Officer, Alpha Omicron Epsilon Chapter
Indiana University East, Richmond, IN

Twelve hours in a van is indeed
a long time to get anywhere, oh boy,
even if it is to attend a convention for English,
our chosen discipline, our supposed source of inspiration.
Alas, after the long drive we arrived feeling like peasants
as we checked into our fancy hotel in Savannah.

But oh, how worthwhile our journey was, oh Savannah,
a breathtaking blend of history and art, indeed,
historic monuments from when the colony of Georgia was just peasants
right next to modern sculptures. Walking the cobblestone corridors, oh boy,
what a treat, what a sight to see, what instant inspiration!
Like the convention panels on all areas of the English

discipline, analyses of all eras of English
literature from Antigone to Mrs. Dalloway, the Sigma Tau Deltans at Savannah
reignited our passions—much-needed inspiration
for our exhausted minds. Before, we were out of steam indeed,
but we fed off the English major energy around us, oh boy,
our transformations were obvious, no longer were we peasants

trudging through life as if it were a hard labor, no, peasants
no more! We picked up our pens and remembered why English
was our chosen path, our passion. We wrote and we wrote, oh boy,
the weights on all of our shoulders had gone and writer’s block with it, for Savannah
had saved us. How sudden, how surprising it was, indeed
I had lost all desire to write, but finally, I found inspiration

from the ocean breeze, the sound of the waves, my new inspiration
to let my pen take me away to a land with no peasants
or college students struggling to get by, indeed
the ocean took me, took all of us to a land where English
majors ruled supreme, for in Savannah
they did. We united to say that English matters and oh boy,

it does. How could I have forgotten? Oh boy,
how could I have let my love die, let my inspiration,
my desire to inspire others, go? Lucky for me, Savannah
set me straight, for there, even peasants
can ride boats, even professors can get lost, in a world where English
rules supreme, anything can happen. How magical, indeed,

how marvelous Savannah was for us all, professors and peasants
alike, for oh boy, how abundant the springs of inspiration
flow when English majors run the show, what a sight to see, indeed.

(from left to right) Ian Holt, myself, Chase Eversole (President of Alpha Omicron Epsilon Chapter), Katie Yohey, and Kaylyn Flora.