A Very Fine First Year Reading by MFA Students at UAF
By Nóra McIntyre
Each fall semester, members and friends of the UAF English department gather for a night of literature, and to celebrate the incoming cohort of graduate students. This year’s First Year Reading was especially lucky, as it was held on Friday, October 13th and featured a fantastic blend of original student writing.
From left to right: Emma Allen, Mike Degen, Rachel McKinley, Ayden Harris, and Amber Fratesi
Photo by Zeke Shomler
The evening was headed off by Rachel McKinley, a returning second year Master of Fine Arts (MFA) student studying nonfiction. Rachel shared a short piece centered around her experience as a mother of young twin daughters. This meditative piece explores themes of motherhood and womanhood, as Rachel considers the dangers her daughters will face moving through the world as girls and women, as well as her own role as their protector.
Up next was Emma Allen, a first year Master of Arts (MA) student with a special focus on ancient literature. Emma read a short fiction piece that dripped with dark fantasy. This story told of a love powerful enough to overcome a death goddess, as well as Hell itself. Evocative descriptions of the fantastical settings and a raw gaze at the human condition left audience members with shivers down their spines.
The next reader, Ayden Harris, a first year MFA student studying fiction, took us in a whole new direction with an excerpt from a longer piece of fiction. This piece took place in a suspiciously quiet hospital, where the sole protagonist quickly realizes that something is amiss. This uncanny and ominous excerpt had audience members at the edge of our seats all the way up to the cliffhanger ending.
Amber Fratesi, a first year MFA student studying fiction, kept the audience on our toes with an odd, absurd piece of short fiction, centered on questions of love and fate. While waiting in a seemingly endless queue to see “the Oracle'' we were introduced to quirky, nuanced characters and an enthralling alternate world. Like the protagonist, we were left to ponder more questions than answers about the paths we follow in life.
Closing out the night was Mike Degen, a first year MFA student studying fiction. Mike read a short piece inspired by Jorge Luis Borges, which he described as being somewhere between fiction and nonfiction. This arresting piece centers around a nomad caught in a sort of time loop where connections are missed and love is lost again and again. The story spans dozens of cities, countries, and cozy corners of restaurants, but no matter the location, the ending is the same– someone has to leave.
We are extremely grateful to all the readers who participated in this event and we are excited to hear more from them! Thanks also to the UAF English department for bringing events like this to fruition, and to Rachel Blume, President of the English Graduate Organization, who hosted the event and provided wonderful introductions for the readers.
Keep an eye out for future events from the English department, including the Third Year Reading coming up in the spring semester!