Genesis of a Theme for the 2011 Sigma Tau Delta Convention

A Convention Theme.  Okay.  That’s what I needed to develop.  But where to begin?  A phrase from Roman poet Horace in his Ars Poetica kept running through my head, "dulce et utile" (pleasant and profitable, enjoyable and instructive).  Poetry was supposed to do more than be words on the page.  Hmmm.  While "dulce et utile" was a familiar phrase, how might I turn it to use for the convention?   

I began to consider what the phrase might mean for today’s literature, for today’s writers, and I kept coming back to the notion that many of today’s writers, with the power of their writing, are going beyond the words on the page.  All words have power, but the written word can contain and do so much more, going beyond being the ink marks on the page.  Consider: we read a poem that references Philomel, and, without needing the writer to say more, we know the story of the two sisters, of the loss of voice, of the revenge and pain and suffering connected to this name.  But the idea of going beyond words can be even more than considering allusions or metaphors or denotation versus connotation.   

Writers also go beyond words in other ways, using their writing to give voice to causes or people who do not have a voice.  They go beyond words and recreate nonprofit ventures that nurture the arts, nurture young writers, serve the community.  And that was it.  It clicked into place in my mind.  That would be the theme: “Beyond Words.”  The 2011 Pittsburgh theme encourages us all to consider the power of the written word, its ability to contain so much and to do so much, and to consider how writers, every day, go beyond words, providing pleasure, but also instructing and serving, giving voice to people and causes and ideas.

Please Note: The Convention will be held March 23 - 26, 2011 in Pittsburgh, PA at the Hilton Pittsburgh.