My visiting fellowship at Bard Graduate Center was relatively brief, but nonetheless extremely enriching. BGC provided an oasis within which to think, read, and formulate ideas. I came to BGC as a practicing artist (creative writer) and I found a welcoming environment in which conversations with other visiting fellows revealed many synergies exist between the inquiries of scholars and those of creative writers. BGC is a vibrant, creative hub. The excellent library resources at BGC sparked a number of ideas for new writing projects. It was wonderful to engage with faculty, other visiting fellows, and students at the presentation; preparing for the presentation and relating it to the theme of distance and material culture incubated work on the creative process that I will continue as a writing teacher and mentor. My time at BGC helped me realize how integral material culture is to my work as a novelist and poet. I found a genuine openness at BGC, and intellectual curiosity, and kindred spirits who share a love of art. I am grateful to BCG for being so inviting to a practitioner, a creative writer. My fellowship at BGC came at a crucial threshold, when I was leaving behind one project and beginning a new one; the superb resources at BGC will mobilize new work and prove valuable in the future.

Jeanette Lynes, Professor of English and Director of the MFA in Writing, University of Saskatchewan, Canada; Bard Graduate Center Visiting Fellow, November–December 2017.