School Days

Last Thursday I started something brand new.  Well, new and old, I guess.  I went back to school.   I started a graduate program in Creative Writing.  Creative Non Fiction, to be precise.  I had to choose between Poetry, Fiction and Creative Non Fiction and it was a tough choice for me.  Well, I didn’t seriously consider poetry.  Not really.   But I do enjoy writing Fiction so I went back and forth for a while before settling on Creative Non Fiction.   It’s a low residency program so I will complete nearly all of my work from home under the guidance of an advisor.  And twice a year we will all meet together for ten days of intensive classes, craft lessons, workshopping and more.

Technically I started a few weeks ago because I had to complete some reading and workshop material before the residency started.  The graduate program is sponsored by Seattle Pacific University and we are hosted for our residencies at a conference center owned by the school on Whidbey Island.  Not a bad place to spend ten days and when I arrived last Thursday I looked around at all my fellow students and teachers, marveling at all these poets and writers in one place, and felt right at home.

I’m at the half way point in the residency and while I’m really enjoying being back in a learning environment again (it’s been a minute), I’m also realizing that I’ve got a lot of work ahead of me.  Yikes.  Wish me luck!