Archive

Interlochen, Michigan is about 15-20 miles from the shore of Lake Michigan on Traverse Bay. The school itself, however, shares a boundary with Green Lake, a small, round lake bordered by [...]

For the first time since October (when I sold all my furniture), I now have a table to eat breakfast at. For the first time since November (when I moved all my clothes into duffel bags), I have [...]

I’ve lived and worked in enough communities to understand that my first night on campus was also likely to be my last night as an anonymous individual. Show up in the middle of winter in the [...]

Ladies and Gentlemen: We have arrived! [Interlochen hosts students from all over the world.] Tomorrow: Department meeting, campus walk, explore nearby Traverse City.

We loaded up just after sunrise but before staring the car I had to take Gus on a final walk. Twenty minutes through sunrise heading uphill into the Pisgah National Forest made for a fantastic [...]

I could tell you about Brady Udall’s craft lecture on fixed, received, and moving action in stories. Or I could tell you about Pam Houston’s powerhouse discussion of metaphor, memory, trauma, and [...]

Doug Anderson is full of Vietnam slang, facts, heartbreak and reality. He can rock it in poetry, in memoir, and in novel. He’s doing what’s been done but he’s doing it in a way that most writers [...]

It’s hard to put Day 3 into words if for nothing else than the fact that I’m exhausted. But it began with silent reading about the great lakes region. I read in bed in my pajamas, the heaving [...]

She steps up to the podium unassuming—always—but those of us who have seen Claire speak know what’s coming. This woman, this 5’ 5” woman from the flatlands of Wisconsin, can unleash wisdom and [...]

My favorite moment is this: Dean Hayes walking into the bar with his hand outstretched, saying: “Hey! It’s the award-winning writer.” He’s good like that. It’s his job to know these things. My [...]