On Oct. 12, Beverly Marshall and Dr. Jack Bedell read their works to a group of listeners in the Contemporary Art Gallery on Southeastern’s campus. The readings were part of “The Louisiana Connection: Readings in Poetry and Prose,” a collection of readings presented by the Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts as part of Fanfare.

Marshall is a writer in residence with the English department and author of several books and short stories, and Bedell is an English professor and award-winning poet.

Bedell read selections of his poetry, mainly from two separate collections, “Call and Response” and “Come Rain, Come Shine.” One poem he read was titled “Lasche Pas Patate,” which translates into “Don’t drop the potato,” a Cajun French saying that means “Don’t give up.” He also read the poems “The Baby Slept” and “She Done the Best She Could,” a work inspired by a tombstone inscription in Texas.

Bedell’s works have an extremely personal feel to them. “Come Rain, Come Shine” is a collection of poems about love, which he wrote from personal experience.

“All of the good love poems have been written by really good writers,” said Bedell. “I took it as a challenge.”

Marshall read a short story called “An Artificial Christmas,” a creative non-fiction work that describes the Christmas of a woman whose husband is currently overseas in the Vietnam War and her reactions to receiving a package from him.

She then recently finds, via a newspaper, that his plane may have crashed. This work describes the woman’s jealousy at having couples all around her at Christmastime and her and her mother-in-law’s disagreements.

“What motivated me was last Christmas,” said Marshall. “I was thinking about all those wives whose husbands were in Iraq and Afghanistan. People don’t think about that stuff. I think somebody has to have a voice.”

It ends with her final realization that she is thankful that he sent her something thoughtful for Christmas, despite his limited financial means, and that her husband was not dead at all.

“When I was in Iraq I can imagine what my wife was thinking when she was opening a package from me,” said freshman David Kersey.

Overall, students and faculty alike appreciated both writers.

“They are both excellent teachers but also excellent in their art, which is rare,” said Elizabeth Rollins, an English graduate student.

To continue Fanfare’s “The Louisiana Connection,” Alison Pelegrin and Dr. Norman German will present selections of their work on Tuesday, Oct. 26, in the Contemporary Art Gallery.