"Love and Wonder in a Ruined World": Continuing Graduate Education and Short Story Collection Manuscript Preparation

"Love and Wonder in a Ruined World": Continuing Graduate Education and Short Story Collection Manuscript Preparation

Grant:
Lecturers' Professional Development Fund (LPDF)
Academic Year:
2011 - 2012 (June 1, 2011 through May 31, 2012)
Funding Requested:
$2,000.00
Project Dates:
-
Applicant(s):
lcthomas
Overview of the Project:
I am requesting financial support to assist with educational costs as I pursue a Masters' of Fine Arts degree in Fiction at Warren Wilson College's MFA Program for Writers. The Warren Wilson MFA program is a nationally recognized top-ranked low-residency program designed for mid-career teaching and writing professionals. In keeping with CRLT's guidelines that Lecturers' Professional Development Grants serve the professional development of the individual lecturer, an MFA degree from Warren Wilson College will result in significant advancement of my scholarly and creative credentials in my role as Program Head of the Residential College's Creative Writing and Literature Concentration. My studies at Warren Wilson will provide a rigorous foundation to continue my work developing new curricular pathways within the Creative Writing Concentration and facilitate future teaching initiatives in allied disciplines within the Residential College. In addition to concentrating on the scholarship and pedagogical training Warren Wilson College's program emphasizes , I will be editing and polishing my short story collection manuscript, "Love and Wonder in a Ruined World", in my first year of study with the goal of preparing the manuscript for publication by December 2012.
Final Report Fields
Project Objectives:
Over the past year of graduate MFA study, I aimed to complete a short story collection I had begun several years before. I wrote and revised two short stories to add to this collection. An additional planned short story has become the basis for a novel. My objectives for this project ended up shifting to focus on work on the novel, entitled "Centennial Farms".
Project Achievements:
My MFA course of study has informed my teaching at every level. I have compiled a new, extensive bibliography of teaching texts to supplement my core teaching bibliography. I am in the process of designing a new First Year Seminar and another creative writing course based upon my areas of focus and study. I have completed four chapters of my novel manuscript and am closer to having a short story collection to submit for publication.
Continuation:
I have one more year of study in the MFA program. In addition to continuing my critical analysis work and adding to my teaching bibliography, I will continue work on my novel manuscript over the next year.
Dissemination:
My project activities will be shared with colleagues in the design and teaching of new courses within my program.
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