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Contributors
Betsy Corsiglia, Thorne's Farm
Betsy Corsiglia is a freelance photographer. Choosing to explore writing as another venue for creativity, Ms. Corsiglia started with Phil Gambone's Introduction to Expository Writing. Her piece, "Thorne's Farm," was from an assignment based on a childhood memory.
Ann de Leon, Curie and Siqueiro's Heart
Writing "Curie" and "Siqueiro's Heart" in Janet Sylvester's Advanced Poetry Writing, Ann de Leon discovered that new forms and structures can open a further layer of appreciation of the craft. It was a pleasure for her to work with such talented classmates, even if they all were occasionally "mugged by the villanelle." Ms. de Leon is a chocoholic-Mexican with an active imagination and sincerely thanks Janet Sylvester for expecting nothing more than the best work from each of her students.
Nijsje Dorman, Traveling Companions
Nijsje Dorman wrote "Traveling Companions" in Heather Jordan's Essay Writing. The first Extension course she's taken, Ms. Dorman registered for it wanting to see if she could write something that would be of interest to non-scientists; she found it a shock to move from the third-person impersonality of scientific writing to the confessional feel of a personal essay. Ms. Dorman is a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Cell Biology at the Medical School studying the movement of RNA from the cell nucleus to its cytoplasm.
Tessa Fisher, Lost and Found
Tessa Fisher grew up in Durban, South Africa. After graduating from Capetown University, she worked as an advertising writer in Johannesburg, New York, Los Angeles, and Boston. She now lives in Cambridge with her husband and two children. She wrote "Lost and Found" in Joan Leegant's Introduction to Fiction Writing.
John Flanagan, Somerville, Center of the World
John Flanagan is an executive nomad in the twilight of his career. He wrote "Somerville, Center of the World" while taking Susan Carlisle's Introduction to Memoir. The class was instrumental in helping him explore the influence of early childhood on his life choices and business career.
Jenn Director Knudsen, La langue extraordinaire
Jenn Director Knudsen has not returned to France since she left eight years ago. But memories from her year abroad in Toulouse remain fresh; she recounts some of them in "La langue extraordinaire," which she wrote in Susan Carlisle's Introduction to Memoir. Ms. Knudsen holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from UC Berkeley. She's expecting her first baby in August.
Monisha Saldanha, Coda
Monisha Saldanha wrote "Coda" in Kim Cooper's Intermediate Fiction Writing. "Coda" reflects the messiness of human relationships in which sometimes love does not overcome all obstacles.
Nicole Gallant Talavia, Blue Dust
Nicole Gallant Talavia came up with the story "Blue Dust" while taking Katherine Oxnard's Intermediate Fiction Writing. She used this story to work on her character development skills, but she somehow got carried away and developed Ken into a penguin. Like Marjorie, Ms. Talavia loves penguins but has no desire to visit Antarctica. Ms. Talavia holds a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering and appreciates the opportunity Extension gives her to learn about the craft of fiction.
Jen Trynin, Pants on Fire
Jen Trynin received her degree in creative writing from Oberlin College in the late eighties. Still feeling young, foolish, and generous of spirit, she then embarked on a career in rock 'n' roll, releasing two records on Warner Bros. (Cockamamie and Gun Shy Trigger Happy), which culminated in a near collision with full-on rock superstardom. For the past three years, she's been sitting in a lot of chairs. One year into the sitting stint, she decided to return to writing. Her piece, "Pants on Fire," written in David Gessner's Advanced Creative Nonfiction, was inspired by a giggle-fest she enjoyed with a six-year-old at a dinner party. A native of New Jersey, Ms. Trynin now lives in Boston.
Laurette Wilkie, Constructing Escapes
After transferring credits from Notre Dame, MassArt, and Goldsmith College, University of London, Laurette Wilkie completed her bachelor's degree at Extension. During her final year of studies, she explored the essay in William Rice's fall course and wrote "Constructing Escapes" in David Long's Fundamentals of Grammar.
Janet Wu, Miranda
Janet Wu wrote "Miranda" in Grace Mazur's Master's Class in Literature and Creative Writing. An ALM candidate at Extension, Ms. Wu received her BA from Yale and her MS from Columbia. She works in television by day as the medical reporter for WHDH . . . but like Kafka and Faulkner and so many of her other literary heroes, she writes by night!
Webmaster. Last modified Thu, Oct 18, 2001.
