RWW 2020 Residency (Online!)

It’s been a year already—and oh, what a year it’s been. As COVID-19 continued to terradeform our social planet over the recent months, it became evident that RWW would need to move entirely online. Rapidly setting up the digital infrastructure, troubleshooting the technology, establishing a digital archive for global use, and strategizing how to recreate normal residency campus life became our immediate priority. Our objective was to make the transition online as seamless, effortless, and enjoyable as possible for our participants, all while maximizing social opportunity and the intimate sense of community—and that meant a lot of work behind the scenes. I oversaw all the technological, archival, and media aspects as Creative Director, and the weeks both prior and after were filled with late nights and much coffee in a race against dawn. (Admittedly, though, that might not be something entirely new!)

With over 140 hours of concurrent events throughout the 9 days of residency, the lineup was star-studded, insightful, challenging, inspiring, and provocative. Guest speakers included RWW grads Emily Holt (Though the Walls are Lit) and Jen Soriano (Making the Tongue Dry), while Terese Mailhot (Heart Berries) was our guest reader; our “Art of the Book” sessions featured special visits from authors Arthur Sze (Sight Lines) and Deborah Miranda (Bad Indians). The morning craft talks and readings featured faculty authors, and as to the classes? Those included the acclaimed 2020 faculty roster:

Our RWW graduates all gave readings and presentations from their remarkably diverse and masterful works, with the online ceremony featuring selected readings from each. These were followed by Erin Hollowell ‘09 (Alumni Speaker), Oliver de la Paz (Faculty Speaker), and Geoffrey Foy, Associate Provost of Graduate Program, who—as has become tradition—gave personal remarks on each graduate’s work from his own a careful reading. This cherished event was filled with friends and family joining in and participating from around the globe.

In the end, Residency 2020 was a success far beyond anything I had anticipated.

My thanks goes out to the RWW team: Rick Barot, Hannah Comerford, Sydney Elliott, Casey Fuller, and Nick Templeton. It was an intense undertaking, but I thoroughly enjoyed working so closely together and I couldn’t be more proud of what we accomplished, or grateful for the wonderful moments we shared.

A special thanks, too, goes to Cynthia Givens. Long the RWW program assistant, she was again invaluable in this residency’s earlier preparations before retiring after many years at PLU. We’ll miss you, Cynthia.