A bit more than 20 years ago, about two dozen Penn people, predominantly staff, from across the University and its Health System gathered on the second floor of Houston Hall. They were there in response to a query about starting a group for staff interested in creative writing. At a university so large, varied and forward-looking, the thinking was that there would likely be some support for such a project. The idea for the group was Jennifer Baldino’s, then director of external affairs in the Office of the President. And although the number and makeup of the members has changed over the years, what became known as the Penn & Pencil Club has flourished. In its earliest days, the members met at different locations including local restaurants after work hours. Later it found a more permanent and very welcoming home at the Kelly Writers House, where the group has also held annual public readings. 

P&PC members—including a few who have been part it since its first years—have come from all parts of the University. Among them: the Laboratory for Research on the Structure of Matter (LRSM), the department of pathology and laboratory medicine, the Vet School’s department of pathobiology and its communications team, the University’s Development Office, the Wharton School’s information technology department, the Center for Technology Transfer (now called the Penn Center for Innovation), the publications office of the Health System, the University Press, and Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS).

The usual practice is to write and submit whatever the individual member prefers, and because P&PC now meets twice a month, there is less waiting time in the queue for submissions to be dis-cussed. The range of submissions that the members consider during the workshops has been very wide. Among the offerings the group has considered in the past: first-person essays; short stories about fashion, with a touch of fantasy; humorous poems about almost any topic under the sun; part of a novel featuring Greek mythological creatures but transposed to the contemporary American Northwest; poems generated by computers—and subsequently published in literary magazines; innovative (aka eccentric) microfiction based on the dictionary; a science fiction novel set in the far future when humanity has left Earth and is seeking new homes; and a novel set largely in the early years of the Civil Rights Movement.

At other times, the group has worked on joint projects, such as two (unfinished, alas) novels, for which any member could draft a chapter and then the group voted on which to add to the se-quence. For another project, known as Exquisite Corpse, developed by French surrealist writers, words or images were provided by members and then assembled into poems. Another project challenged members to incorporate words clipped from newspapers and magazines into sketches and short stories—for example, “Reflections of ancient glory,” “With a little hollandaise,” “liquidators,” and “When the Plants Take Over a Home.” The purpose is always to get the creative juices flowing!
Penn staff interested in joining the P&PC should contact Luellen Fletcher, the group’s coordinator, at Luellen@mail.med.upenn.edu