The MFA Creative Writing program is delighted to welcome T Kira Māhealani Madden–our new Assistant Professor in Fiction and Creative Nonfiction–to the College of Charleston.

T Kira Māhealani Madden is a Chinese, Kānaka Maoli writer, photographer, and amateur magician. She holds an MFA in creative writing from Sarah Lawrence College and an BA in design and literature from Parsons School of Design and Eugene Lang College. She is the founding Editor-in-chief of No Tokens, a magazine of literature and art, and is a 2017 NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellow in nonfiction literature from the New York Foundation for the Arts. She has received fellowships from MacDowell, Hedgebrook, Tin House, DISQUIET, Summer Literary Seminars, and Yaddo, where she was selected for the 2017 Linda Collins Endowed Residency Award. She facilitates writing workshops for homeless and formerly incarcerated individuals. Her debut memoir, LONG LIVE THE TRIBE OF FATHERLESS GIRLS, was a New York Times Editors’ Choice selection, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle John Leonard Prize, a finalist for the LAMBDA Literary Award for lesbian memoir, and is now in development as a feature film. Winner of the 2021 Judith A. Markowitz Award, there is no period in her name.

Erin Davis (MFA ’21) took home 3rd place for fiction for her short story “Moon Ride” in the annual Porter Fleming Literary Competition organized by the Morris Museum of Art (Augusta, Georgia). The contest is open to all writers living in the Southeast. She will receive $250. Congratulations to Erin!

Congratulations to Joshua Garcia (MFA / ARCM ’21) who was awarded the competitive Stadler Fellowship for 2021-22. Joshua will join the staff of the Stadler Center for Poetry & Literary Arts in August 2021 serving as the Stadler Fellow in Literary Arts Administration. He will help advise the Center’s leadership on new and existing initiatives on Bucknell’s campus and in the surrounding community. Joshua also will serve as a staff poet for Bucknell’s summer Seminar for Undergraduate Poets.

Congratulations to Gardner Dorton (MFA ’19) whose poetry chapbook Stone Fruit won the Glass Poetry Press contest and was published in March 2021.

Drew Welborn was able to virtually (and safely) interview Abigail Fitzpatrick, our new Woodfin Fellow in Poetry, and get to know more about her writing journey and experience. When Abigail isn’t writing or studying, she enjoys hiking, camping, painting, crafting and drinking (chewing?) bubble tea.

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Where are you from, and where did you earn your undergraduate degree?

I am from a small town in Pennsylvania! I went to West Virginia University, where I earned my BA in philosophy with minors in sociology, political science and creative writing.

What made you want to pursue an MFA? What drew you to Charleston?

Pursuing an MFA was a last-minute decision for me, actually. I took the LSAT and began to start my applications to law schools when I thought an MFA program might be fun. So on a whim, I took my GRE and applied to a few programs. The College of Charleston was my dream graduate school location and I was lucky enough to get in (and get this scholarship)! I’m extremely grateful and thankful to have ended up here.

When did you get your start in poetry, and how did that come about?

I started loving poetry when I was very young, maybe six or seven, and I began to write poetry around the age of fourteen. I thoroughly enjoyed how it seemed to be the only way in formal-ish writing you could indulge in wordplay, manipulation of sounds and visuals. Additionally, I was always a bit of a creature growing up and never quite fit in, so exploration of writing and art helped me find the positives of my eccentricity and embrace that a little more. I think it takes character to write, and then writing continues to build that character and exploit parts of it you didn’t know were there. Some huge inspirations that drove me to write poetry were Charles Bukowski’s “a smile to remember,” Lewis Carroll’s “The Walrus and the Carpenter” and, don’t laugh, Dr. Seuss’s ability to incorporate valuable life and world lessons in playful rhythm and rhyme. I wanted to speak for the trees as a child (even still as an adult) much like the Lorax.

What do you find yourself writing about?

I like to write about the ugly in the world, and in myself, and try to flesh it out, maybe even turn it around. It’s not entirely impossible considering how wonderfully fun and positive language can be. I write about bugs, my mother (hi mom) and nature as well. You know, all the clichés. I also try to make some things humorous, but as it turns out I tend to be the only one laughing at my own jokes. Such is life.

If you could meet one author, dead or alive, who would it be and why?

David Sedaris, hands down. Not poetry, I know, but his ability to write encapsulating, funny and attention-keeping creative nonfiction essays is astounding. It takes talent to turn everyday life into published humor. If he couldn’t spare the time, I wish I could speak to David Foster Wallace, specifically to thank him for his posthumously published commencement speech, “This is Water” that I continue to read and love and cherish.

Any plans for after the program?

I’ll resume my initial plans to go to law school. Maybe pursue a career in politics. I’m sure I’ll continue to write in my spare time, whenever that may be, and certainly continue to read and study poetry—I’m sure it’ll be a necessary step away from US fiscal policy studies and searches for contract loopholes—or whatever you do in law school.

Abigail Fitzpatrick virtually (and safely) interviewed our newest Woodfin Fellow in Fiction, Drew Welborn, to ask him about his writing journey and experience. When Drew isn’t writing or studying, he enjoys being on the tennis court, watching scary movies, and, of course, playing with his labradoodle, Pearl.

Where are you from and what did you study for your undergraduate degree?

I’m from Anderson, SC—not far from Clemson and Greenville. I went to undergrad at Anderson University, where I earned my BA in English. Also, I finished my MA in English Literature at Clemson University before joining the MFA program at Charleston.

What sparked your interest in writing fiction?

I don’t know if there’s a specific thing that sparked it. I’ve just always enjoyed it and I tended to take a creative approach to writing just about any assignment. In elementary school, I wrote a story about a time machine for a contest and I even attempted to write a novel about a werewolf (which was sadly unfinished!), and I won a local short story contest in high school. So that interest has always been there, but I never thought about pursuing it seriously until I encountered the workshop scene at AU and Clemson. I had very encouraging professors that made me feel like I could really do this.

What’s your favorite fiction novel and why?

Honestly, I’m not sure I have a favorite novel. I feel like it changes with whatever I’m reading. So right now, Karen Russell’s Swamplandia! is on top. I love the way she plays with reality to enhance the very real, human experience of her characters. However, I definitely have a favorite short story: “In the Cemetery Where Al Jolson is Buried” by Amy Hempel. It’s the first story I read that made me feel like I needed to write. If I could move someone with my writing in just a fraction of the way that that story moved me, I’d consider myself a success.

If you could meet one author, dead or alive, who would it be and why?

This is a tough one! Of course, I have to say Amy Hempel just so I could thank her for writing my favorite story. But I’d also love to pick her brain about her writing process and style. Every line, down to each singular word, is so expertly crafted—it’s beyond impressive. I’d also love to host a round table of sorts with Stephen King, Karen Russell, Carmen Machado, and Mary Shelley where I could just take in the scope of their imaginations. Their storylines are, for lack of a better word, otherworldly.

What are some themes you find reoccurring in your writing?

I find myself focusing in on characters that have essentially reached their breaking point. They’ve been let down, often by those closest to them. But I want to go beyond that—the characters I write about play an equal, if not bigger, part in that undoing. They’re let down, ultimately, by themselves. Sometimes they recognize their role in their own undoing, sometimes they don’t. Disappointment is something we all know and are probably all too familiar with—which is where writing about these characters comes into play. That’s what I find so appealing about writing: all the ways it can help us work through those anxieties and tensions. Hopefully exploring the ways in which my characters cope with these moments doesn’t just help me as, but readers as well. At least I hope it will!

Where do you find inspiration for your writing?

Oh, man…anything and everything! I feel like that’s such a bad answer but it’s true! I used to think I could only write about things I’d experienced, although that tends to lead to a lot of sitting around. In the last few years, I just look for anything that sparks some sort of interest. It could be something I’m watching on TV, a song lyric, an ad in a magazine, a random comment from someone…truly anything. Recently, I wrote a short piece inspired by an entry on a Buzzfeed list. So—like everything else in 2020—anything goes these days!

From The College Today
By Amy S. Mercer | June 12, 2020

Dorothea Benton Frank (Dottie to everyone who knew her) had a strong connection to the College of Charleston. The New York Times best-selling author of 20 novels set in the Lowcountry spoke at the College’s 2010 Winter Commencement, during which she encouraged graduates to “Dream a dream that is as big as you can imagine but be reasonably certain that it’s one you have a good chance to fulfill.”

But it went much deeper than that. Frank devoted much of her limited free time to the College’s M.F.A. Creative Writing program, including hosting dinners for students at her home on Sullivan’s Island. When she passed away in 2019, her family contributed a generous gift to the program in her honor. The Dorothea Benton Frank Writing Series and Fellowship will, according to Peter Frank, Dottie’s husband, distinguish the M.F.A. Creative Writing program from the rest.

“Dottie always felt that it wasn’t right that commercially successful writing didn’t have the same status as literary writing,” he says. “It was something she was very passionate about and she believed that students needed to learn the disciplines and mechanics of selling their work.”

Emily Rosko, associate professor of English and director of the M.F.A. Creative Writing program, explains that the writing series will have two components, offering a balance of artistic and professional approaches to a writer’s life and work.

The Master’s Class component will bring prominent, award-winning and best-selling writers to campus to meet with M.F.A. graduate students and top undergraduate creative writers. Students will have the opportunity to closely engage with a diverse array of renowned writers representing a range of literary backgrounds and genres. The class will focus on the craft of writing, provide manuscript feedback and offer expertise on professional aspects of a writer’s career.

The second component of the writing series will be the Industry Talks, which will bring agents, editors, publishers, literary managers and television, film and theater producers for an open forum event to discuss the business side of writing. These professionals will share their expertise and give advice to students about the publishing industry and possible careers in publishing or writing.

Dorthea Benton Frank (Photo by Steve Rosamilia)

Bret Lott, acclaimed novelist and professor of English at the College says, “The opportunities this incredible gift brings to us are, really, endless. To begin with, we’ll be bringing the best, commercially successful writers out there to our campus to interact personally with our M.F.A.s. They’ll be seeing what it means to write–and write successfully–for a living.”

The inaugural Dorothea Benton Frank Fellowship will be awarded in the fall of 2020 to an incoming student based on merit and strong potential demonstrated in their creative writing sample. The M.F.A. Creative Writing program will use the Frank Fellowship to recruit top students from across the nation.

“We value writing above all else in our students,” Lott says, “and so we’ll be selecting award recipients according to the quality of their work. We’re looking for writers who want to make artful work that will be read by real people, and not for a select coterie made up of those ‘in the know’ about what writing should be. We want to give help to writers who want to write good books that will be read, and not shelved. That’s what Dottie wanted to make and did so very, very well.”

Founded in 2016, the M.F.A. in Creative Writing is a two-year program of graduate study for 12 students admitted annually for a total of 24 students. Graduates of the program have published books of poetry and fiction and received awards and fellowships.

“The fellowships are so very important for our still-young M.F.A. program because they offer significant financial support for emerging writers as they spend two years in Charleston perfecting their craft and writing their first book,” Rosko says.

Dorothea Benton Frank passionately believed in the power of storytelling to transform lives. The writing series and fellowship will not only distinguish this program from the rest, it will also give students the tools to be “reasonably certain” they can fulfill their writing dreams.