People talk about defining moments, moments that change the trajectory. Oprah calls them “Aha moments” I wouldn’t and couldn’t realize that that was mine not for years to come. There were no refreshments, but being a little black girl in a bookstore owned by a black woman and people coaxing me gently from my shell to share what I had written because my words and my voice matter meant more than I could express then or now.
When I applied to graduate school, I thought I wouldn’t get in. I thought I would apply, receive my rejections, and continue the life that I was living. I had just gotten a job in publishing after several months of internships, and I lived with my partner of eight years by a trio of lakes… Continue reading Emylisa Warrick Introduction (University of South Carolina ’18)
Image: Carolyn Jewel I fell in love with writing at a young age. I read voraciously in the crook of this one plum tree in our backyard. We all climbed it, but I owned it. It was my special reading nook. I walked through the stacks of the library in my hometown and felt the… Continue reading Lydia Mulligan Introduction (Eastern Washington University ’17)
Image: Mark Grapengater Everyone has a “hardest part.” The research was mine. I started like any millennial would: I googled it: “MFAs,” “Graduate Programs for Writers,” “Creative Nonfiction MA programs.” I looked up my favorite writers to see if they taught anywhere; if they did, I researched that program. I found a few articles that… Continue reading About those applications
Image: Moose Winans I waited to write this until I was here, in Missouri, in my apartment in Columbia. I waited until I drove home from the airport in Kansas City after Edward flew away on Southwest, back to Orlando International and the house we shared together. I waited until I woke up alone, to… Continue reading Bailey Boyd Introduction (University of Missouri ’17)
