On a particularly sunny Friday afternoon in October, members of the Eau Claire community gathered at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation church to watch two Wisconsin-based poets perform their works.

Last Friday, poets Roberta Hill and Dasha Kelly read poetry from their published works as a part of the Chippewa Valley Book Festival, a celebration of writers, which the Literary Arts Committee of the Eau Claire Regional Arts Council puts on. The festival has been drawing authors from across the state since 2000.

Hill and Kelly are just two members of a long list of authors participating in this year’s week-long festival, known as CVBF, spanning from Oct. 13-23. Others include Nickolas Butler, Gary Wright and the university’s own BJ Hollars, Karen Loeb and John Hildebrand.

UW-Eau Claire English professor and CVBF committee member Allyson Loomis said the festival has only grown over the years. While she said she believes it takes a long time for events of this nature to become community traditions, she thinks the festival is on its way to becoming “part of the rhythm of life in the Chippewa Valley.”

“Both reading and writing are solitary activities, so it’s nice, once a year, for the literati of the Chippewa Valley to gather, converse and trade secrets together,” she said.

The audience at Hill and Kelly’s reading on Friday celebrated the writings of the two poets with applause and laughter. While Hill and Kelly have different approaches to poetry, they both drew in the crowd that filled the pews. Hill primarily focuses on poetry readings, while Kelly specializes in spoken word.

Senior Samantha Griffin said she particularly enjoyed Kelly’s performance for its ability to connect with each individual in the audience.

“She had this way of making you feel like she was talking directly to you even though you were just one body in a crowd of people,” Griffin said. “I could have stayed and listened to her all night. She was a very captivating speaker.”

Both Griffin and Loomis said events like the festival are important to the livelihood of the Eau Claire community. Griffin said she feels the festival is a great opportunity for members of the community to appreciate local literature they might not be exposed to throughout the rest of the year.

“More generally, it’s important to celebrate literary art,” Loomis said. “We are all built of stories. To celebrate them is to celebrate ourselves.”

Loomis said preparations for the 2015 CVBF are already underway.