From the Archives: “I think characters resist being known in the way real people do. When I start to construct a character, I never begin with their deep dark secrets or biggest fears or hidden shame. I usually start with the surface details—physical features, occupation, interests—and over time, I learn the things the character secretly wants or hates or tries to hide.”
“I believe that a little piece of the supernatural, of the metaphysical, and of the unknown placed within the realm of the known is how—at least to the West African mind—the world works.”
“I was more interested in it as a book exploring characters just going about their lives. For me that’s the part of the Rust Belt narrative not often told.”
“You know how questions can be hydras—you think you’ve solved one, and then two more sprout. I’m sure the desert will continue to baffle me in the future, but I’m excited to say my next book has more stamps in its passport.”
Dean Bakopoulos on Nicholas Delbanco’s generosity as a mentor and a teacher, as well as the gift of being offered a place at the table.
Writing in appreciation of Nicholas Delbanco’s short story “Departure,” Nina Buckless says, “We are offered a portrait in fragments, which collectively captures a family separated by the American landscape but held together by its matriarch.”
Valerie Laken on Nicholas Delbanco’s role as a mentor, and giving young writers the permission to dream: “He’s made a career of bringing together, supporting, and celebrating writers, and in doing that he made them all believe—not just in themselves, but in the value of literature itself.”
Travis Holland on Nicholas Delbanco as a master teacher, as well as Delbanco’s approach to running a writing workshop that matters: “This is good, now let’s make it better.”
Elizabeth Kostova on the lasting influence of Nicholas Delbanco, both in her work and in developing the habits of a writer. “We learned from him about the importance of persistence, as much as about prose style or character development.”
The University of Michigan has just announced that it will provide one year of post-MFA funding to all of its MFA graduates, starting with the cohort entering its second year this fall. Says a press release: Thanks to a new gift from Helen Zell, the MFA Program in Creative Writing at the University of Michigan is now able to offer all qualifying graduates of our program one year of post-MFA funding. The University of Michigan’s MFA Program in Creative Writing has been committed to offering post-graduate support to our writers since the first Meijer Fellowship was offered in 1999, thanks […]
