Saying Goodbye...

Those of us who have been at any of the fiction dinners held this past year are familiar with the photographic stylings of resident fiction student Kristin Von Kundra, who's generously donated her time and talents in taking group and candid shots during and after each dinner (the photos are posted in previous entries of this blog).

Many of us have also had class with Kristin, and we've been able to read her stories that feature such characters as an adopted monkey named "Monkey," psycho robbers who hold up a Sheetz gas station, and a young married couple who conceive and give birth to a son all in the time frame of a few hours.

Somehow, in her writing Kristin manages to do the same thing she does with her photography: take a cast of crazies - be they MFA students or hoodlums - and make them fit together into a portrait that makes you laugh but breaks your heart at the same time.

Basically I'm telling you all of this as a prelude to announcing that Kristin will be leaving us in early July to move to sunny California with her husband John. She's been an asset to the program as a writer, a teaching assistant/personal statement specialist, a member of our fiction community, and - most importantly - as a friend.

Good luck KVK! You'll be missed.