Two distinguished writers spoke Monday night in the Sun Room of the Memorial Union as part of the Fourth Annual Symposium on Wildness, Wilderness and the Creative Imagination.

In front of an audience of about 50 people, an evening complemented by fiddle music and a natural history slide show ended with literature selections by Ven Begamudre, a short story writer and novelist from Saskatchewan, and Sheryl St. Germain, the director of the Master of Fine Arts program at Chatham College near Pittsburgh.

Celebrating the beauty and wildness of nature, the relaxing voice of the fiddle music accompanied images of animal species and swampy landscapes in southern Florida. For 20 minutes the fiddle sang to the collection of nature photographs, and then both readers took the stage. The audience sat back in their seats, relaxed and attentive, as if waiting for a bedtime story.

Ven Begamudre took the floor first, reading a document titled “A History of Photography in Seven Sections.” The images induced the listeners to picture late 19th century paintings, vibrant fireflies and creative images captured by photography.

Begamudre also read from his story called “In the Presence of Eagles,” describing the romantic adventures of two characters in their homeland around southern India that explores the subject of death. His descriptions were vivid and rich with detail, capturing the attention of the audience.

St. Germain introduced her newest collection of poems titled “Let it be a Dark Roux.”

“A ‘roux’ is a dark gumbo that is rich to the taste and entices the tongue,” she said.

“I think a roux is a place that defines you, and I hope to engage my readers to think of those places with this poetry.”

St. Germain’s own defining place is New Orleans, which she describes as a “city of masks and ghosts.” Her descriptions of the south focused on strong family relationships and their traditional crawfish consumption.

“You don’t have to travel to find wildness,” she said. “You just have to look in the mirror.”

Both Begamudre and St. Germain were available to sign their books and speak with interested audience members during the short reception following the readings.