From left to right: Xin Tian, JoAnna, Sadie, Patric, Morgan, Mari, Jessica, John
Photo courtesy of Melissa Ferrone

On Thursday, April 30, the Department of English presented all of our graduating MFAs at the annual hooding ceremony in the Rhododendron Room of the WVU Mountainlair.

To begin the evening, Mary Ann Samyn, Director of the the Creative Writing Program, gave an introduction reminding us why we choose to spend three years earning this degree:

“The MFA is an interesting degree. Often we worry over it; we wonder about its utility. We know that as a credential, it is just the beginning. And yet, the time is a gift, we say. And the experience of the community also. And beyond all that, the act of writing, of making our lives available to others is no small thing. We make literature for the same reason we read it and reread it: It’s meaningful to do so. Time well spent. A pleasure, a heartache, a moment of humor or recognition, all of these are worthwhile.”

After receiving proud introductions and the hoods from their thesis directors, graduating students gave short readings from their theses. You can listen to a podcast of the hour-long ceremony on the Center for Literary Computing’s page for Creative Readings: http://literarycomputing.wvu.edu/projects/creative-readings-podcast
To see more photos of the event, visit our Tumblr: http://wvumfaprogram.tumblr.com/: http://wvumfaprogram.tumblr.com/

Please join us in congratulating our eight graduating MFAs:

Patric Nuttall (St. Helen, MI), Poetry
Thesis: A Census of Ghosts
Thesis Director: Jim Harms

JoAnna St. Germain (Oakland, ME), Fiction
Thesis: Lost Nation
Thesis Director: Mark Brazaitis

Xin Tian Koh (Singapore), Poetry
Thesis: I Haven’t Once Forgotten
Thesis Director: Mary Ann Samyn

Mari Casey (Point Pleasant, WV), Fiction
Thesis: Trent and Posie
Thesis Director: Mark Brazaitis

Morgan Lipkin (Camarillo, CA), Poetry
Thesis: Eating a Chicken’s Heart
Thesis Director: Mary Ann Samyn

Sadie Shorr-Parks (Philadelphia, PA), Nonfiction
Thesis: About Face
Thesis Director: Kevin Oderman

Jessica Guzman (Port Charlotte, FL), Poetry
Thesis: Adelante
Thesis Director: Mary Ann Samyn

John Bryant (Collierville, TN), Fiction
Thesis: If They Are Holy They Are Pinned to it like a Spear through a Boar
Thesis Director: Glenn Taylor