This site uses javascript to implement some of its functionality. Please enable javascript in your web browser to ensure full functionality is available.
skip to content
University of Maine at Fort Kent

Latest News

Enrollment & Advancement Center • University of Maine at Fort Kent • 23 University Drive, Fort Kent, ME 04743

UMFK Waneta T. Blake Visiting Professor Sarah Creech presented on campus on April 12

April 15, 2016

Note: this is an archived news release. As such, the information provided may no longer apply.

NR16025

Following the pubic reading, UMFK student Adriana Gutierrez has writer Sarah Creech sign her copy of "Season of the Dragonflies."
Following the pubic reading, UMFK student Adriana Gutierrez has writer Sarah Creech sign her copy of "Season of the Dragonflies."

Following the pubic reading, UMFK student Adriana Gutierrez has writer Sarah Creech sign her copy of "Season of the Dragonflies."

Selected by the University of Maine at Fort Kent's Arts and Sciences English program, writer Sarah Creech is UMFK's sixth Waneta T. Blake Visiting Professor. According to UMFK Associate Professor of English and Creative Writing, Geraldine Cannon Becker, “Sarah was chosen because she is well-known in the creative writing field. I also have a personal connection to her, as she is a former student of mine.”

The presentation kicked off with a workshop “A Writer's Journey” at 1:30 p.m. in the Nadeau Hall conference room. “Things don't come quickly,” Sarah said during the workshop. “I learned to appreciate the process that goes into both creative writing and publishing. As a writer, you have to prepare yourself for rejection, and allow it to make you better.” The workshop ended at 3:30 p.m. after those in attendance participated in a creative writing exercise.

Following the workshop was a public reading at 7 p.m., also held in the Nadeau Hall conference room. Sarah read excerpts from her debut novel, “Season of the Dragonflies”, as well as a new novel. A love story set in present day Nashville, her second book will be published sometime next year. Briefly after the reading, Sarah answered questions from the audience. The presentation concluded at 8 p.m. with a book signing.

“I found Sarah's presentation very insightful,” said UMFK English student Jessica Boynton. “She discussed the many mentors she's had throughout her writing career, and how they led her to where she is now (having published one book, with another coming soon). I could also relate to not knowing what to do after college. Hearing that she went through something similar was reassuring. Although it can be scary to not have a set plan in place, she helped me realize that things will work themselves out, even if that doesn't happen the way you expect it to.”

Sarah received a Master of Fine Arts in 2008 from McNeese State University and currently teaches English and Creative Writing at Queens University of Charlotte. She resides in North Carolina with her husband and children.

You may view the author's webpage at: http://www.sarahcreech.org/

For more information on the workshop or presentation, please contact UMFK's Associate Professor of English & Comparative Literature, Dr. Joseph Becker at (207) 834-7588.

The Waneta T. Blake Visiting Professorship is designed to bring noteworthy writers and scholars to UMFK to work with students through courses, workshops, and seminars.