By Jocelyn Hudnell
University of Maryland students and staff gathered Wednesday at Tawes Hall to share their favorite pieces of literature amid National Book Month.
Shakiba Sharifpour, a third-year comparative literature doctoral student, hosted the event alongside Karen Nelson, the co-director for UMD’s Center for Literary and Comparative Studies in the Department of English.
“The main idea was to provide a space to people to share what they experience with literature without that scholarly aspect, which makes it difficult for lots of us to participate,” Sharifpour said.
Each participant at the event shared a piece that resonated with them. Some books discussed were Ian McEwan’s “What We Can Know,” George Orwell’s “1984” and Ta-Nehisi Coates’ “Between the World and Me.”
Maia Cooke, a first-year English doctoral student, shared a personal writing piece titled “Black Nail Polish” at the event. She said this was her second time attending this event after previously attending last semester when she didn’t know what type of environment she was coming into.
“I wasn’t sure if this is only where people were sharing their writings, but then most of the people shared what they were reading at the time, and some ended up sharing what they personally wrote,” Cooke said. “Shakiba does a great job making sure everyone shares and has their time to share.”
Cooke explained she would invite anyone who was close to her to the event.
“I would say, ‘It’s really a great group of people that all are just writing and reading nerds and just really opens up a safe environment to go further in your passion and learn from other people and their perspectives.”
Nelson, who’s been on staff since 1999, said the current literature atmosphere at UMD is “very bustly.” After COVID-19, she noticed people taking a while to figure out how to be in a community again.
“Everybody brought dystopia literature pretty much to our meeting just now,” Nelson said. She added that these gatherings teach her about different authors she didn’t know about.
For the Fall 2026 semester, the event happens the first Wednesday of every month and the next is Nov. 4, according to Sharifpour.
“I want to know more about what’s happening in your head, and if you give me a poem, wait! Ah, I’m happy,” she said.
“I feel like we’ve turned a corner,” Nelson said. “We just bring things that we’re reading right now or that have stayed in our memory.” “The more voices, the better.”
Featured Image: The exterior of Tawes Hall. Photo by Jocelyn Hudnell.