Though the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the final weeks of the semester, creative writing honors students have maintained a strong sense of community as they finish their senior theses remotely.
The two creative writing senior thesis classes are taught by Director of Creative Writing Daniel Wallace for fiction and professor Alan Shapiro for poetry.
Wallace said his students have established close friendships throughout the fiction thesis class, and they’ve maintained these connections even as classes have moved online.
“The students know each other really well and have come together as a little literary family,” Wallace said.
The students compile anthologies of the poems or stories they have worked on since the classes began in the fall. These collections will be stored in the Wilson Library archives after graduation.
To workshop student work, Wallace’s class met twice a week, and continues to meet via Zoom. Beyond the class, students have stayed in touch through GroupMe, encouraging and checking in on each other throughout the revision process.
Wallace said the transition to online classes has not hindered the workshops, but the class has experienced the difficulty of adjusting to the new reality of the pandemic. The fiction thesis deadline was extended to the end of April, Wallace said.
“The challenge has been what the challenge is for all of us, which is how to live our lives in the face of all of this,” Wallace said. “That’s so vital, I think, to know that you’re not alone.”
Senior Katie Leonard said the class focuses on realistic literary fiction, and many of the stories she’s written suddenly feel far removed from the new reality of the pandemic. Writing in these new conditions can take some getting used to.