Daniel Barrett, North of Buffalo
Daniel Barrett wrote "North of Buffalo" for Michael Rosovsky's Beginning Fiction. He credits Mr. Rosovsky for leading a well-structured and exciting writing workshop and for persuading the author Tom Perrotta to speak before the class. Hoping to follow in Perrotta's footsteps, Mr. Barrett would like to become a writer after graduating with a degree in English from Yale ('04).
Angus Burgin, American Venery
A senior in the History and Literature program at Harvard College, Angus Burgin spent the summer proctoring for the Summer School in Kirkland House. He wrote "American Venery" for Jane Rosenzweig's Writing Short Fiction, developing the plot on a series of napkins while watching a Sunday night poetry reading at the Lizard Lounge. The story was part of an unintentional series of stories Mr. Burgin wrote on girlfriends' fathers, although he points out the Captain bears no resemblance to any of his own past girlfriends' fathers.
Tim Coleman, cover design
Tim Coleman is a senior and an economics concentrator at Harvard College. Mr. Coleman designed the cover for this year's Harvard Summer Review while enrolled in Toshihiro Katayama's Principles of Graphic Design Using Computer Technology. The design was inspired by the album cover art of Hayden and Yael.
Lindsay Coppens, Surviving David
Lindsay Coppens wrote "Surviving David" for Maxine Rodburg's Strategies for Teaching Writing. Writing about the most frustrating and rewarding aspect of her first year teaching turned out to be a cathartic experience from which she learned a great deal. Ms. Coppens holds bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of New Hampshire and continues to teach high school English.
Doris Huang, When We Dropped the Atomic Bomb
Doris Huang was intrigued when she learned that two of the readings in Cheryl Smith's Writing about Social and Ethical Issues related to the atomic bombings, for she has always been fascinated by the bombings and their moral implications. For Ms. Huang, the most exciting aspect of writing is "opening the reader's eyes to something that he or she might not otherwise have seen." She is currently a high school senior at Pinewood School in Los Altos Hills, California. (Her grandfather is very proud to see her work published.)
Liz Landau, Tuning Up
Liz Landau wrote "Tuning Up" for David Gessner's Beginning Creative Nonfiction. Music is still very much a part of her life as she continues her piano studies both solo and in orchestra. Creative and journalistic writing attune her to the art of the written word. Ms. Landau is a high school senior in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.
John Lenger, Paying the Bill
John Lenger wrote "Paying the Bill" in Maxine Rodburg's Strategies for Teaching Writing. "It's a cliché that writing is lonely only because it's so true," he says. "But writing teachers are even more in need of someone to talk with. Sharing experiences with fellow writing teachers in Maxine's class really helped me to reflect deeply on my five years of teaching at the Extension School. It was a transforming experience."
Michael Liebman, Tokyo 1986-1989
Michael Liebman is currently a senior at Lincoln High School in Portland, Oregon. Although he worked on "Tokyo 1986-1989" in Janet Sylvester's Beginning Poetry, much of the inspiration for the poem came from his experiences around the Pacific Rim, ranging from travels along Japan's Tobu-Nikko Line to explorations of San Francisco's Chinatown.
Nika Maples, Tuesday Evening Lecture Series, Modern Art Museum, Fort Worth, and In Keeping
Nika Maples wrote "In Keeping" in Bruce Smith's Beginning Poetry to honor her heritage of smiling-strength. She comes from a long line of laughers. Ms. Maples is inspired by the Bible, and by the work of Flannery O'Connor, Frederick Buechner, and Adam Duritz; by Dallas at night, by Flavin light, by Mexican brass, by Chihuly glass, by rodeos, by Dobros, and always by Thoreau. She wants to assert that not all Texans have big hair.
Anne McDonald, Separate Measures, Being There, and Dorchester Stars
Anne McDonald works at Harvard and wrote her first poems in Beginning Poetry with Bruce Smith. "Dorchester Stars" recalls the patriotism of an immigrant neighborhood at the beginning of World War II and how the realities of war came home in the following years. The youngest of a large Dorchester family, Ms. McDonald says "there's still a strong affection among us, on the days that my siblings are with it." "Being There" tells of the friendship since childhood of her son, John, and Timmy McCarthy, who died at 25. "Separate Measures" is about her father.
Wendy McDowell, The Sitting Room
Wendy McDowell wrote "The Sitting Room," a full-length play, in John Canaday's Introduction to Playwriting. Ms. McDowell works as a Media Relations Officer at the Harvard Divinity School where she writes news stories and attempts to answer the prayers of journalists.
Karen Newkirk, No Sex in My City
Karen Newkirk pretended for as long as she could that the Townie Boy story was fiction but finally had to come clean in Jody Lisberger's Advanced Creative Nonfiction: "No Sex in My City" is actually a slice of her life. Although she's no longer friends with Townie Boy, she sends him a shout-out for setting her back on the boy-seeking path and for providing good material for her first published piece. Note to James Gandolfini: the author works at Harvard, look her up sometime!
Kelli Noftle, Lady of the House
Kelli Noftle wrote "Lady of the House" in David Gessner's Beginning Creative Nonfiction. During the summer, she lives with her father in Boston, where she works as a cartoonist for a publication on science and religion. The rest of her year is spent in San Diego where she is pursuing a bachelor's degree in studio art.
Emily Porter, His Mother's Son
Emily Porter attends Harvard College, where she plans to continue to pursue her love of creative writing. "His Mother's Son" was written in Michael Land's Beginning Fiction and was influenced by the research she did on children and hospitalization for another course she took over the summer. When Ms. Porter manages to tear herself away from Cambridge, she returns home to Virginia and her family, their two dogs, and two miniature donkeys.
Michelle Ann Stoecker, Shooting the Snow
Michelle Anne Stoecker worked on "Shooting the Snow" in Jane Rosenzweig's Writing Short Fiction. This is one of a series of stories she's working on based on her Native American heritage and which she hopes to develop into a book. Michelle is a student in the creative writing program at Hollins University in Virginia.
Ivy Wang, Walking Around and Preparing Butterfish
Ivy Wang's poems "Preparing Butterfish" and "Walking Around" were written for Bruce Smith's Beginning Poetry. Much of Ms. Wang's poetry centers on bones and kitchens, as does "Preparing Butterfish." In addition to writing poetry, she also enjoys eating mangoes and talking to Ryan. Ms. Wang is currently completing her senior year of high school in Pittsburgh and hopes to attend a liberal arts college in the fall.
