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MFA pioneers graduate
August 09, 2007
They’ve been engineers, fishing boat captains and stay-at-home moms. But somewhere along life’s journey, the writing bug nipped students of the Rainier Writing Workshop. Some turned to poetry, and others to essays or novels.
On August 12, PLU’s master of fine arts in creative writing program celebrated the graduation of its pioneer class. The program began in 2004, and the 20 graduates represented the first full graduating class.
Typically, cohort groups take three years to complete the program, although two students in the first class – Holly Hughes and M.J. Iuppa – completed the coursework in two years and graduated last summer. Both already had master’s degrees in creative writing when they began PLU’s program.
MFA students were on campus last week for the program’s 10-day summer residency. Prior to the graduation event, members of the Class of 2007 gathered in the living room of Faculty House to recall how they chose the program and what they intended to do after receiving their degrees.
Margie Lukas, of Omaha, Neb., will go back to teaching creative writing at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, and work on finishing a novel called "The Clew of Turtle" that has caught the interest of a New York agent.
“I want to rewrite it a bit using all I’ve learned here,” she said.
After being a full-time mom and helping her husband in his orthodontic practice, Lukas decided that, at age 51, she wanted to get her college degree. She earned her bachelor’s of fine arts and then, three years ago, started the MFA program.
“I had never been to this part of the country before,” she said. “I also was attracted to the three-year program. At my age, I didn’t want to beat myself to death.”
Lukas was already busy writing before she was accepted to the program. Her story "Yellow Bird," was even made into a movie and premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2005.
For Kathleen Flenniken, Sunday’s graduation will mean returning to business as usual, teaching poetry and writing in the Seattle School District. But this time, she feels she’ll teach the classes with more confidence.
The mother of three is glad she decided to plunge into the MFA program three years ago so she could focus on doing something for herself. At the time, she already had two engineering degrees, had worked at Hanford Nuclear Reservation and held a teaching job. She recalls that before attending PLU, she’d “write up verses in between stirring spaghetti on the stove.”
So far, she has published one poetry book, "Famous", and is currently working on a new manuscript about her time as an engineer at Hanford.
Bainbridge Island resident Jennifer Culkin said she had applied for a MFA program twenty years ago, but never followed through. Life, and work as a critical care nurse, kept getting in the way. Then three years ago she applied, was accepted, and now has a collection of essays due for publication by Beacon Press next year.
“I really had no idea what to expect when I started this,” she said. “As the first class, we got to shape and mold the program.”
Program director Stan Rubin said interest in the program is growing quickly, and for every applicant who is accepted about five are turned away. Rubin’s excitement over the acclaim the young program has received, as well as his pride over this graduating class, was evident as he reviewed the books published and awards won.
“We don’t just look for people that are already published or have a Pulitzer,” he said. “We do look for people that are already writing; the habit of writing is already there.”
That might mean new students bring with them multiple published works or merely have 100 pages of scribbles that will someday form a manuscript and final thesis.
“We set a goal of bringing people who can independently create,” he said. “They have the passion.”
Learn more about the program at www.plu.edu/~mfa.
Typically, cohort groups take three years to complete the program, although two students in the first class – Holly Hughes and M.J. Iuppa – completed the coursework in two years and graduated last summer. Both already had master’s degrees in creative writing when they began PLU’s program.
MFA students were on campus last week for the program’s 10-day summer residency. Prior to the graduation event, members of the Class of 2007 gathered in the living room of Faculty House to recall how they chose the program and what they intended to do after receiving their degrees.
Margie Lukas, of Omaha, Neb., will go back to teaching creative writing at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, and work on finishing a novel called "The Clew of Turtle" that has caught the interest of a New York agent.
“I want to rewrite it a bit using all I’ve learned here,” she said.
After being a full-time mom and helping her husband in his orthodontic practice, Lukas decided that, at age 51, she wanted to get her college degree. She earned her bachelor’s of fine arts and then, three years ago, started the MFA program.
“I had never been to this part of the country before,” she said. “I also was attracted to the three-year program. At my age, I didn’t want to beat myself to death.”
Lukas was already busy writing before she was accepted to the program. Her story "Yellow Bird," was even made into a movie and premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2005.
For Kathleen Flenniken, Sunday’s graduation will mean returning to business as usual, teaching poetry and writing in the Seattle School District. But this time, she feels she’ll teach the classes with more confidence.
The mother of three is glad she decided to plunge into the MFA program three years ago so she could focus on doing something for herself. At the time, she already had two engineering degrees, had worked at Hanford Nuclear Reservation and held a teaching job. She recalls that before attending PLU, she’d “write up verses in between stirring spaghetti on the stove.”
So far, she has published one poetry book, "Famous", and is currently working on a new manuscript about her time as an engineer at Hanford.
Bainbridge Island resident Jennifer Culkin said she had applied for a MFA program twenty years ago, but never followed through. Life, and work as a critical care nurse, kept getting in the way. Then three years ago she applied, was accepted, and now has a collection of essays due for publication by Beacon Press next year.
“I really had no idea what to expect when I started this,” she said. “As the first class, we got to shape and mold the program.”
Program director Stan Rubin said interest in the program is growing quickly, and for every applicant who is accepted about five are turned away. Rubin’s excitement over the acclaim the young program has received, as well as his pride over this graduating class, was evident as he reviewed the books published and awards won.
“We don’t just look for people that are already published or have a Pulitzer,” he said. “We do look for people that are already writing; the habit of writing is already there.”
That might mean new students bring with them multiple published works or merely have 100 pages of scribbles that will someday form a manuscript and final thesis.
“We set a goal of bringing people who can independently create,” he said. “They have the passion.”
Learn more about the program at www.plu.edu/~mfa.