Elizabeth Joy Levinson

My final residency with Pacific’s MFA program wasn’t a full residency, just a few days of workshop and craft talks offered to post-grads prior to our graduation ceremony.  However, somehow it was just as emotionally draining, if not as intellectually exhausting.  The schedule for the three day mini-residency was packed and I was nervous about the arrival of my parents & about the ceremony, so the finality of it all didn’t hit me until after the ceremony.

Overwhelmed by the crowd of graduates and family members, my parents and I relocated to a quiet spot under a tree, where I was presented with my graduation presents: a lovely silver bracelet, my father’s Mont Blanc Pen, and a handmade chapbook in which each of my family members, including my partner, wrote me a poem.  I was completely overcome.

I’m still processing all those emotions and I imagine that as I sort through them, some thoughts will appear here.  But what is clear to me is how much I want and need to keep writing, to contribute to that great conversation.