Learn as if you were to live forever.
Mahatma Gandhi
This fall, in just a few days, I’m going back to uni! I’ll be attending the SFU (Simon Fraser University) Writer’s Studio Program, working under the mentorship of talented Claudia Cornwell.
Here is a brief description of the program:
“Our one-year, part-time creative writing program emphasizes learning in community.
Striking a balance between a formal, full-time MFA (Master of Fine Arts) creative writing program and individual writing courses, we offer training in the theory, craft and business of writing.”
My cohort includes writers from all over the planet, and I’m excited to work with people as passionate about turning sentences into stories as I am.
Covid 19, seems the perfect time to bury myself in words. The long winter ahead suddenly seems much more appealing. I’m not ready to talk about what I will be working on, but it’s new, and it’s challenging, and I’ve got a lot to learn.
I hesitated in applying, not wanting to be the oldest ‘kid’ in the class, but as a close friend recently pointed out to me as we played on the beach, “you are like a little kid.” This is a compliment for a writer. We need to access that childlike imagination. I’m good at that, so I think I’ll fit in with the other students, no matter their age, young or old.
Just to prove my point, when we were little kids at the beach, we’d dig in the sand for hours, because our parents said, “If you did deep enough you can get all the way to China.” I think this was a distraction method to keep us busy, but I believed them. China seemed an exotic land, and it lay just beneath my feet. We never made it to that enchanted place, but despite this, I learned an important lesson: It’s easier to dig yourself into a hole than out of one. This video, taken on the sly, proves my point! It never hurts to laugh at yourself, does it?
Julie Burtinshaw 