By Kori Frazier

This year, the Council of Writers (better known as COW), the official MFA student organization, continued its mission of providing MFA students with opportunities to share their work, create social opportunities, and further own common pursuit of creative writing outside of workshops and classrooms.

One of the organization’s primary goals is to orient incoming students to the rigorous and rewarding environment of the MFA program. These efforts began last summer, when Publications Coordinator Aaron Rote led the creation of our annual welcome packets, a compilation of information about Morgantown and WVU that features personality profiles and words of wisdom from current MFAs. In September, Elissa Hoffmann and her husband, Werner, graciously opened their home to our program for the annual MFA Meet and Greet, a potluck dinner that allowed incoming MFAs to meet current students and faculty.

In November, COW partnered with the English Graduate Organization for a hugely successful sale of books and baked goods. Raising a grand total of nearly $1600, both groups used the proceeds to put on the WVU Graduate Colloquium in February and bring noted nonfiction writer Dinty Moore to Morgantown in April.

Both fall and spring semester saw COW continuing its tradition of one of their most popular events – MFA readings at Zenclay art gallery and coffee house. These readings allow not just an opportunity for students to read their work to an audience, but provide an audience for Joinery, the official publication of WVU’s MFA program, which features work from three students each issue. This year’s featured authors included Kelly Sundberg (1st year, nonfiction), Lauren Reed (3rd year, poetry), Jason Freeman (3rd year, fiction), Molly Pascal (1st year, nonfiction), Patrick Faller (3rd year, fiction), and Aaron Rote (3rd year, poetry).

A special thanks to all who made this year in COW possible, including outgoing officers Kori Frazier, president; Charity Gingerich, vice president; Heather Frese, secretary; Tori Moore, treasurer; and Aaron Rote, publications coordinator. COW’s newly elected officers include president Heather Frese, vice president Rachel King, secretary Kelly Sundberg, treasurer Alex Berge, and publications coordinator Christina Rothenbeck.