Why We Write

Professor Caroline Heller's book, Reading Claudius: A Memoir in Two Parts, explores not only her family's experiences during World War II, but also how the Holocaust affected her own life as the child of a concentration camp survivor. In this interview, she talks about her family history with Rachel Kadish, author of the award-winning novel The Weight of Ink. Check out our episode page to see photos of the Heller family and to hear Edward R. Murro's 1945 broadcast on Buchenwald, where he encounters Caroline's father less than a month before Victory Day. You'll also find a link to our episode where Caroline speaks with Rachel about her book.

When Joel Christian Gill realized painting wasn't working for him, he returned to comic books and began writing and illustrating books that tell the largely unknown stories of extraordinary black people in history. Gill is the chairman, CEO, president, director of development, majority and minority stockholder, manager, co-manager, regional manager, assistant to the regional manager, receptionist, senior black correspondent and janitor of Strange Fruit Comics. The New York Times says, "At a moment when racial inequities have ignited this nation, Mr. Gill offers direction for the road ahead from the road behind.” He is the author of Fast Enough: Bessie Stringfield’s First Ride from Lions Forge 2019 and the award winning graphic novel series Strange Fruit: Uncelebrated Narratives from Black History, and Tales of The Talented Tenth from Fulcrum Publishing. In this interview, he speaks with former Boston Poet Laureate Danielle Legros Georges during a visit to campus this spring. Check out our podcast page fo

Richard Blanco is the fifth presidential inaugural poet in U.S. history—the youngest, first Latino, immigrant, and gay person to serve in such a role. In this interview, he speaks with former Boston Poet Laureate Danielle Legros Georges during a visit at Lesley University. Born in Madrid to Cuban exile parents and raised in Miami, the negotiation of cultural identity and place characterize Richard's body of work. He is the author of the poetry collections Looking for the Gulf Motel, Directions to the Beach of the Dead, and City of a Hundred Fires; the poetry chapbook Boston Strong and more. His latest book of poems, How to Love a Country (Beacon Press, 2019), both interrogates the American narrative, past and present, and celebrates the still unkept promise of its ideals. He has also authored the memoirs The Prince of Los Cocuyos: A Miami Childhood and For All of Us, One Today: An Inaugural Poet’s Journey. Find links to Richard Blanco's lecture at Lesley University and more on our podcast page.

Sara Farizan is an Iranian American young adult author. In this interview she talks about Here to Stay, her new book on basketball and Islamophobia, navigating social media as a public figure and introvert, and being a not-quite-full-time writer. She first came on the scene with the breakout YA hit If You Could Be Mine, winner of the Lambda Literary Award for LGBT Children’s/Young Adult and followed with Tell Me Again How a Crush Should Feel. Lesley University Social Media Specialist and YA lit fan Emily Earle interviews Sara. For more on Why We Write, visit our podcast page.

Fabiola R. Decius’s is a playwright and the founder of Teens WRITE (Writing, Reading, and Investigating Theater Everywhere), which is a program for teenagers to write, revise, cast, direct, and produce original plays culminating in a Ten-Minute Play Festival. Fabiola graduated from Bryn Mawr College with a Bachelor of Arts, and received a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing at Lesley University in Stage and Screen Writing. Her plays include Haiti Chérie, Final Verdict, In Sync, Ice Cream Bucket List, Date Night Surprise, Chicksmas, Draped in History, Free Before Eleven, Consent, Bus Stop, Man of the House, and Fighting Forgiveness. In addition to writing for the stage, Fabiola has also had her share of acting accolades in Waiting Room and Goddamn Bell!: A Journey Through Time at Bryn Mawr. She was a cohort member in the 2016-2017 Company One Theatre PlayLab Unit. She was a Creative City grant recipient through the New England Foundation for the Arts in 2018. In this interview, she speaks with Lesley Unive

It took Janet Pocorobba 15 years to write "The Fourth String: A Memoir of Sensei and Me," a biography of a non-traditional Japenese sensei teaching a very traditional instrument and an autobiography of the author's immersion into Japanese culture. In this episode, she talks about the challenges of writing about real people and how Japan changed her life. Janet teaches is the associate professor and associate director of Lesley University's MFA in Creative Writing program. Her work has been published in the Rumpus, Harvard Review, The Writer, Kyoto Journal, Indiana Review, The Journal, Provincetown Arts, Metropolis, American Athenaeum, and others. Jana Van der Veer conducts the interview. See a photo of Janet from her Japan days and hear her play the shamisen on our episode page.

YA and children's author David Elliott's most recent titles are Bull, a raucous, rhyming retelling of the Minotaur myth that's been compared to Hamilton and Voices: The Final Hours of Joan of Arc, a story idea that came to Elliott in his sleep. In this interview with Georgia Sparling, David talks about his first encounter with Greek mythology (it involves Scrooge McDuck), a stint as a cucumber washer in Greece, and his writing process. Learn more about David on our episode page, and be sure to pick up Voices, on shelves today.

Boston-based poet Jess Rizkallah is the award-winning author of The Magic My Body Becomes. She first decided to "chase poetry" as an undergrad at Lesley University and went on to study creative writing at NYU. A native of Boston, Jess often writes about her experiences as a Lebanese-American woman, family, love, religion, and gender expectations. On today's episode, she is interviewed by her former professor, Mary Dockray-Miller. See a video of Jess performing one of her poems and read more about her on our podcast page.

Sara Levine is writer, educator and a veterinarian. Her books for children include Bone by Bone: Comparing Animal Skeletons; Tooth by Tooth: Comparing Fangs; Tusks and Chompers; Fossil by Fossil: Comparing Dinosaur Bones — which make comparative anatomy accessible to kids (and adults). Her latest book is Flower Talk: How Plants Use Color to Communicate with Animals. Sara also writes science-related essays for adults, one of which was nominated for a Pushcart Prize in 2007. Read more about Sara on our episode page, where we have links to two of her essays and more.

Hundreds of new books for kids and young adults hit shelves every year, yet teachers often stick with the same titles year in and year out. The educators behind The Classroom Bookshelf, a blog on the School Library Journal website, encourage teachers to try new and diverse books by giving them ideas on how to incorporate them into their existing lessons. In their words, they share "thoughts and ideas on some of the most exciting, arresting, profound, and beautiful books for children and young adults." Today, we speak with two of the bloggers, Grace Enriquez and Mary Ann Cappiello, about reading books by morally suspect authors, representing different cultures in literature, and how The Classroom Bookshelf came to be. Read more about these former classroom teachers turned professors and their social justice mission on our episode page.

Enzo Silon Surin, Haitian-born poet, educator, publisher, and social advocate, is the author of two chapbooks, A Letter of Resignation: An American Libretto and Higher Ground. He is recipient of a Brother Thomas Fellowship from The Boston Foundation and is a PEN New England Celebrated New Voice in Poetry. Enzo’s work gives voice to experiences that take place in what he calls “broken spaces” and has appeared in numerous publications. He holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Lesley University and is an associate professor of English at Bunker Hill Community College and founding editor and publisher at Central Square Press. Today, he speaks with former Boston Poet Laureate Danielle Legros Georges. She is the author of two books of poems, The Dear Remote Nearness of You and Maroon; the chapbook Letters from Congo; and the editor of City of Notions: An Anthology of Contemporary Boston Poems. She is a professor of creative writing and interim director of the MFA Program in Creative Writing at Lesley University. Sh

Renée Watson is a New York Times bestselling author, educator, and activist whose latest novel for teens is Watch Us Rise, co-written with Ellen Hagan. A native of Portland, Oregon, Renée writes books for kids and teens that reflect the diversity she often found missing in books when she was a child. She recently won the Coretta Scott King Award and a Newbury Honor for Piecing Me Together. Renée is also a community advocate and the founder of the I, Too, Arts Collective, based in the home of Langston Hughes. Renée is joined by fellow author and Lesley University faculty Tracey Baptiste. Read more about Renée at our podcast episode page.

Children's book author Susan Goodman writes books that are humorous, honest, and sometimes historical. Case in point, her book titles include The Truth About Poop, The First Step: How One Girl Put Segregation on Trial, and See How They Run: Campaign Dreams, Election Schemes, and the Race to the White House. Her award-winning books grow out of Susan's myriad interests and never fail to engage, enlighten, and challenge young readers. In this episode, Erika Thulin Dawes interviews Susan about how she got into kids' books, fostering other creative writers, and more. For pictures and more information on Susan and her books, as well as a transcript of this interview, visit our podcast episode page.

If you've ever contemplated getting your MFA in Creative Writing, this is the episode for you. We've got a panel on the MFA in Creative Writing experience with three members of the Lesley University community: Boston Poet Laureate and Lesley University MFA in Creative Writing Interim Director Danielle Legros Georges, Associate Director Janet Pocorobba and alumna Heather Hughes, an associate editor at Harvard University Press. The three authors writers talk about Lesley's low-residency program, diversity in MFA programs, and what an MFA program can and can't do for you. A Q&A with the audience rounds out this episode. Recorded at the Boston Book Festival by Studio 125. For more information, on our programs and creative writing faculty, visit our podcast page.

Scott Loring Sanders is the author of "Surviving Jersey: Danger and Insanity in the Garden State," a collection of personal essays on growing up in New Jersey and life beyond the state. In this interview, Sanders speaks with Lesley University Director of Communications John Sullivan about murder and mayhem in his home state, the advice he gives to young writers and going on a police ride along for his upcoming novel. Sanders teaches creative writing to Lesley University undergraduates. In addition to "Surviving Jersey," he is the author of two novels and a book of short stories. He has published a variety of short stories and essays in magazines and journals ranging in scope from North American Review to Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine to Creative Nonfiction to Brevity. For more information, visit our podcast page.

Jami Brandli is an award-winning playwright based in Los Angeles and a faculty member in Lesley University's MFA in Creative Writing program. In this episode she discusses "making it" as a playwright, writing strong female characters and her trilogy based on Greek mythology with Emily Earle, Lesley's social media specialist. Jami’s plays include Technicolor Life, S.O.E., M-Theory, ¡SOLDADERA!, Sisters Three, Through the Eye of a Needle, Medusa’s Song, O: A Rhapsody in Divorce and BLISS (or Emily Post is Dead!) which was named in The Kilroys Top 46 List in 2014. Her work has been produced/developed at New Dramatists, WordBRIDGE, The Lark, New York Theatre Workshop, Great Plains Theatre Conference, Launch Pad, The Antaeus Company, Chalk REP, The Road, among other venues. Current 2018-2019 Humanitas Prize PLAY LA playwright. Winner of John Gassner Memorial Playwriting Award, Holland New Voices Award and Aurora Theatre Company's GAP Prize. Technicolor Life premiered at REP Stage as part of the 2015 Wome

Jason Reynolds is the New York Times bestselling author of Long Way Down and many other books for kids, middle grade and young adults. His novels feature diverse characters and are unfailingly compelling, compassionate, and timely. They take an unflinching look at gun violence, police brutality, family, loss, and friendship. In this interview, he speaks with fellow author Chris Lynch. Read more on our podcast page where we also have a link to Jason's 2018 Commencement speech at Lesley University and information about our Creative Writing in MFA program, where both Jason and Chris teach.

Cheryl Eagan-Donovan is a graduate of Lesley University's MFA in Creative Writing program, where she also teaches screenwriting. Her first documentary film, All Kindsa Girls, screened in London, Toronto and throughout the U.S. and was short-listed for the PBS series POV. Her latest documentary, Nothing Truer than Truth, premiered earlier this year and posits that the A-list playboy Edward de Vere was the real Shakespeare. Let's just say, it's an idea that is not without controversy. More info: Learn more about Eagan-Donovan and her work at Controversy Films. Check out our Lesley University's MFA in Creative Writing program. There's more to explore on our podcast page

Rachel Kadish is the acclaimed author of The Weight of Ink, winner of the 2017 National Jewish Book Award, as well as the novels From a Sealed Room and Tolstoy Lied: a Love Story. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, The Paris Review, Ploughshares, Tin House, the New England Review and Salon. In this episode, Kadish, a faculty member in the Lesley University MFA in Creative Writing program, talks about her most recent novel — the interwoven tale of two women of remarkable intellect: Ester Velasquez, an emigrant from Amsterdam who is permitted to scribe for a blind rabbi, just before the plague hits the city; and Helen Watt, an ailing historian with a love of Jewish history. Ultimately, Kadish questions whose stories get told and what stories are forgotten. Lesley University faculty member Caroline Heller, author of Reading Claudius, conducts the interview. Read more on our podcast page.

Lesley University MFA in Creative Writing alumna Katie Cotugno is a self-proclaimed "love junkie" and the author of How to Love, 99 Days, Fireworks, Top Ten, and 9 Days & 9 Nights. She writes feminist love stories with main characters who make mistakes and get into some messy situations. In this interview, she talks about taking the leap to become a full-time writer, ghostwriting romance novels, how she writes for young adults and lots more. More info: Lesley University's MFA in Creative Writing (tell 'em we sent you) Katie Cotugno's website