Pine Manor College MFA in Creative Writing

Reviewer's Name:

Hannah

Review Date

February 22, 2010

Year of Graduation:

2011

Review Title:

Community

Full Review of the Program:

I chose Solstice because of its small student to instructor ratio coupled with philosophy of noncompetativeness, community, and inclusion. To me, this all spoke a message of open-mindedness and that a writer can be critiqued and not ripped to shreds personally. What keeps me at Solstice is that the philosophy it speaks of is not just for the website. It’s the truth. At our program a Writing for Young People student can take classes alongside a student studying adult fiction or a poet or a someone in the creative non-fiction track. In workshop, we spend equal time pointing out what’s right with a piece as we do pointing out what needs work. We are a supportive community.

Our director Meg embodies the philosophy that she purports. She encourages us to talk with each other, and my favorite thing she says at the beginning of each residency is “fall in love with each others work” and that this is the “antidote” to jealousy and competitiveness. I am in my third semester at Solstice, and I have never before worked so hard or felt a kind of growth in my writing–and I have been writing for years and years. Not only that, no matter my self doubts someone is there to encourage me, including Meg. She knows each of us by name and genre. This is a program where you are a whole person, quirks and insecurities and all.

Advice to Prospective Students:

Don't go into any MFA program thinking this is the golden key to a book contract. Focus on your craft while you are there and think about publishing later.

Also, to quote Meg, "fall in love with another person's work". It will cure most of the hangups you feel about sharing your writing.