Pine Manor College celebrated the first commencement ceremony of the
College’s Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing Program on Saturday,
July 19, 2008.
“Congratulations to the first class of
the Solstice MFA in Creative Writing Program of Pine Manor College,”
said Dennis Lehane, one of the Program’s founding fiction faculty
members. “I hope you’re as proud of yourselves and your accomplishments
as we faculty are.” Mr. Lehane, who serves as the program’s
writer-in-residence, is author of such best-selling novels as Mystic River; Gone, Baby, Gone; and Shutter Island.
The
MFA Program features concentrations in fiction, poetry, creative
nonfiction, and writing for children & young adults. Two of the
three MFA students who graduated from Pine Manor write for young
people, while the third is a poet. Receiving their MFA Degrees were
Kirsten Blocker of Massachusetts; Adam Eisenson of North Carolina; and
John Theo, Jr., of Massachusetts.
Adam Eisenson, who
concentrated in writing for children and young adults, spoke on behalf
of his class, saying: “If you attend an MFA in Creative Writing program
with an open mind and allow yourself the chance to be taught by
established authors, take risks, and work hard, then there is no other
place you should be than Pine Manor College. I learned more than you'll
ever know.”
Pine Manor’s first MFA Commencement
speaker was celebrated children’s book writer and illustrator Nina
Crews. In addition to offering advice about nurturing and believing in
their own creative endeavors, Ms. Crews let the graduates know that
their work as students of the art of writing would not end when they
received their diplomas. “I wish that you continue to grow as writers,”
said Crews. “I don’t know that this ever really ends—I hope it doesn’t.
I do believe that one does gain mastery of one’s craft, but good
writers continue to seek new challenges. Through those challenges, they
continue to grow.”
Pine Manor College launched its
Solstice Low-Residency MFA in Creative Writing Program in July 2006 and
already boasts the most diverse faculty in the country, including
Pushcart Prize winners Ray Gonzalez, Terence Hayes, and Dzvinia
Orlowsky; Coretta Scott King Award Winner Jacqueline Woodson;
Guggenheim winner Randall Kenan; and National Book Award Finalists An
Na, Laban Carrick Hill, and Sandra Scofield, among others.
Click here to view the photo gallery
Posted on
Sat, July 19, 2008
by Solstice MFA of Pine Manor College