We’re Baaaaacckkk!
Home Again, Home Again
Winter break is over and we students are convening again, returning from far-flung locations like Nigeria, as well as closer locales like Chicago, Los Angeles, and NYC. One student went to Florida, another to Iowa. A few of us stayed here, in town, and in the dorms. Orientation for the Spring semester felt like a meeting of long-lost friends, and that is indeed what we’ve become, we Writing & Publishing students, good friends for life.
Now we’re busy settling in. First-year students are holed up in their rooms, writing, writing and writing, in preparation for the Multi-Genre Workshop taught by Justin Bigos. (If the first class is any indication, it’s going to be a fabulous class). Second-year students are a little different. You can find them wandering around with beatific as well as bemused looks on their faces, for this is their semester, the period of time when everything they’ve learned and practiced will coalesce into a publishable work of art. I’m guessing that “terrified and excited” might sum up the range of their feelings. (Personally, I can’t wait to read their work!)
The snow keeps falling, followed by rain, then sun, then snow again. The winter walks are as delightful as the summer walks, and the views may just be more inspiring. It’s wonderful as a writer to be in a place as varied and beautiful as Montpelier. Whenever I
get stuck on something, stumble over a bit of writer’s block, I amble outside for some fresh air and exercise to get my thoughts flowing again. We’re lucky to be here!
While We Were Out
The school hasn’t been empty while everyone was gone, not in the least. Several of the low-residency programs have been on campus: The MFA in Writing Residency was here from December 28th to January 8th, followed by the MFA in Writing for Children & Young Adults Residency from January 9th through the 21st. At present, the MFA in Visual Art Residency is on campus and will be until February 2nd, followed February 7th through 16th by the MFA in Music Composition. Lectures, readings, exhibitions and more are all open to Writing & Publishing students. What a treat!
Coming Up
This Friday’s Professional Development Seminar is being led by playwright Amahl Khouri https://vcfa.edu/faculty-staff/amahl-khouri/. Amahl is delightful. One of my jobs as the Hospitality Fellow here at VCFA is to meet and greet visiting faculty. The night Amahl arrived was snowy, so snowy that my car couldn’t make it to the airport, and so snowy that the cab with studded tires couldn’t make it up the hill to campus. Amahl took it all with grace and charm. I met him midway up the hill, pulling his rolling bag through the snow, and we walked the rest of the way to the dorms together. Even after all that, after cancelled and delayed flights, after waiting in an airport for hours, after traveling all the way from Berlin, Amahl was full of smiles and happiness. We talked all the way up the hill. We’ve been running into each other around campus since that night, and we always have a fun and interesting chat. So sweet! (Also, the students who are taking his module tell me that he rocks as a teacher. I can’t wait till Friday).
Cafe Anna’s Friday Night Reading Series swings back into action on February 7th, featuring, wait for it…Amahl Khouri! He will be joined by Folio Literary Agents Jeff Kleinman & Sonali Chanchani for a Q & A.
Well, that’s it for now. I have a story to work on, so I think I’ll take a walk in the lovely night air to get my mind on fiction. see you next time!
