I’m writing to you from my office in Colson Hall on a beautiful, unusually mild Thursday in July. I have been Director of Creative Writing for about three weeks, and so far, so good. Of course I’m thinking a lot these days of Mark Brazaitis and Jim Harms, both of whom did this job before me, and the myriad details they must know by heart by now, having learned them once upon a time, as I am just now beginning to do. And I’m thinking, too, of the many students who have been part of our program, both undergrad and grad, over the years and of what a pleasure it is to be associated with so many wonderful writers. I’m lucky to take my turn coordinating the program when it’s in such a good place, with lots of reasons for continued optimism.

One such reason, always, is our reading series (the full line-up is listed elsewhere in this newsletter). If you’re in town, we invite you to attend. Another reason: the outreach opportunities that are a distinguishing feature of our MFA program. Per usual, we’ll have students working on behalf of the Appalachian Prison Book Project and offering creative writing in the residence halls as part of the Bolton Writing Workshops. We’re also in the planning stages for partnerships with West Preston Middle School and the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. If you have other suggestions about how we might involve ourselves in the community, feel free to let me know (maryann.samyn@mail.wvu.edu).

One recent outreach effort, at West Preston Middle School this past March, has resulted in some beautiful works of art featuring poems by 6th, 7th, and 8th graders. Next time you’re in Colson Hall, look for those.

Finally, I want to mention and thank a few people who help make our program such a success.

First, this year’s COW (Council of Writers) officers: President Hannah McPherson, Vice-President Rebecca Doverspike, Secretary Christina Seymour, Treasurer Jessica Guzman, and Press and PR guru Nathan Holmes. COW is responsible for readings throughout the year, including the upcoming back-to-school reading on August 15 at the lovely rooftop Montmartre restaurant at the Hotel Morgan, and for compiling the welcome packets that new MFAs receive.

I also want to mention the current editors of our new journal, The Cheat Review Review: editor-in-chief Patric Nuttal; assistant editor Morgan O’Grady; fiction editor Mari Casey; nonfiction editor Sadie Shorr-Parks; and poetry editor Jessica Guzman. It’s a lot of work setting up a new journal and our editors are doing an excellent job. More about our first issue in the next cw newsletter.

Last but not definitely not least, many thanks to Rebecca Thomas and Rebecca Doverspike, the outgoing and incoming creative writing program assistants, respectively. These ladies are amazing, and I absolutely rely on their enthusiasm and expertise. This newsletter is largely the result of their hard work, so thank you, Rebeccas!

And thank you all for continuing to take an interest in and be supportive of creative writing here at WVU. Together, we’ve built a strong program and I anticipate more to come.