Writer in residence builds website, creates catharsis during remote learning

As Jen McClanaghan, associate professor and writer in residence in the Department of English, Communications and Media and director of the Newport MFA, walked into her Intro to Creative Writing classroom on the Thursday, March 12, before students left for spring break, she learned things were about to drastically change in unpredictable ways due to the coronavirus pandemic that was spreading through the country.

Her students had just found out they’d have a two-week spring break. Devastated, they spoke to McClanaghan about the deep disappointment over their extended spring break and the loss of the last week of school. It was already surreal.

But then that extended two-week spring break turned into two months of remote learning for the rest of the semester. Students wouldn’t be coming back. Period. As the news broke to students over their holiday, McClanaghan knew that they would feel disoriented by this completely unprecedented new reality.

“They’re going to be even more stunned, because everything is more upended than they already thought,” said McClanaghan. “I was just trying to figure out … what’s the best way to frame what’s going on, and how can I best take care of those students?”

An online creative writing website for Salve Regina students

McClanaghan wanted to create something optimistic and unique to bring her students together. Through brainstorming and a little admittedly anxious energy, McClanaghan decided that the best thing to do was build a website to house her students’ writing during this time of remote learning.

The website, called The Poetry Shed, was developed through the help of her husband, who is an adjunct professor at Salve Regina and a web designer.

The Poetry Shed website was created to help collect students’ creative writing during the coronavirus pandemic.

“I wanted it to be a place that’s almost like a time capsule for this particular period,” said McClanaghan. “A place where they can come back a couple years from now and see how they were processing.”

The website offers a few articles through a Reading section that McClanaghan has collected from across the internet to help reflect the time everyone is currently living through – informational as well as humorous pieces that bring inspiration and reflection. It also archives her students’ assigned work through the Writing section, which now houses a growing collection of creative writing assignments by undergraduate and graduate students.

McClanaghan teaches an Intro to Creative Writing and an Advanced Creative Writing class at the undergraduate levels, and she decided that her assignments in both classes were going to reflect the historic moment that students were living through. She’s offered several light-hearted assignments to her students to help them find a little humor—such as the Handwashing assignment, where students were encouraged to write out lyrics to a hand-washing graphic that students can print out for their rooms at home, or Shelter in Place, an assignment that re-imagines the timeline of one’s day pre- to post-pandemic.

Example of a lighthearted hand-washing writing prompt that McClanaghan assigned to students.

One of the most meaningful assignments for students so far, however, has been the Letter from the Future writing prompt, where McClanaghan asked her students to write a letter from the present self who is dealing with the pandemic to the past self who was enjoying the summer of 2019. McClanaghan also offered the Letter from the Future writing prompt to her graduate students who are part of the Newport MFA and have been struggling to continue writing during such a tremendous upheaval.

Both undergraduate and graduate students have produced compelling writing that has been touching for the reader and cathartic for the writer — which is probably the best kind of accomplishment for creative writing during a time of so many up and down emotions.

“They did such a good job with it,” said McClanaghan.

Find a few excerpts of the letters below with quotes from students on the impact of creative writing in general or how this assignment in particular is helping them cope with life during a pandemic.

Letter from the Future writing excerpts

Juliana Verrelli ’21, English literature major with film studies and creative writing minors

“It’s like we’re combining the lessons we’ve learned in class with our individual concerns and paranoia surrounding this pandemic,” described Verrelli. “Initially, when I came home, I didn’t have any intention of writing about the present situation. Even the thought of writing in general seemed strenuous. Anything I read or wrote seemed pointless in comparison to what was going on in the world. However, Dr. M’s assignments — specifically the Letter From the Future — forced me to confront what I was feeling head on and pour it all onto paper.” Photo of Verrelli’s workspace in Trumbull, Connecticut.

Verrelli’s Letter from the Future

“I think this assignment made all of us realize the unspoken reality that no one knew when our ‘last time’ doing anything was, whether that be going to the beach or visiting a friend, before it was all over,” said Verrelli. “It was extremely relieving to articulate all the mixed emotions that had been clouding my brain over the previous weeks, as well as appreciating all the wonderful moments I experienced leading up to this pandemic. Never again will I take for granted something as small as a hug or handshake.”

Read the rest of Verrelli’s letter and others at The Poetry Shed.

Amanda Iacampo ’15, ’21 (M) current writer in the Newport MFA

“I attended Salve for undergrad and graduated in 2015 with a double major in Secondary Education and English,” Iacampo described. “As a secondary English teacher and poet, it has always been my dream to get an MFA in poetry. I always wished that I had more room in my schedule during undergrad at Salve to minor in creative writing … When I heard that the Newport MFA program was up and running, I was elated!” Iacampo currently teaches at Highlander Charter School of Warren. Here she is writing away at home in Johnston, Rhode Island, with her cat Milo.

Iacampo’s Letter from the Future

“I knew that if I wrote the letter, I would feel better afterward,” described Iacampo. “I knew that it would help me make some sense of what was going on in the world outside my window. Writing the letter was very much an outpouring of emotion, and while it helped me process where I’m at now, it also helped me to reflect on how far I’ve come. I found so much value in the assignment that I intend to use this writing exercise with my 10th grade students.”

Read the rest of Iacampo’s letter and others at The Poetry Shed.

Letter from Sarah Salemy ’21, double major in secondary education and creative writing 

“I wasn’t expecting [McClanaghan] to do that, so when she showed us, I thought that was really awesome,” said Salemy about The Poetry Shed website. “I think it’s a great way for everyone be able to accumulate our work and just put it in one place — not just for us to see but to put that out in the world, especially at a time like this.” Here is Salemy’s workspace in Illinois, including her cat Oliver.

“For Lent, one of my goals was to journal every day, and so that kind of kickstarted a lot of my reflecting, because it was kind of right around the time everything started happening,” said Salemy. “But having the creating writing course this semester has been really helpful — just journaling and reflecting and creating this experience with the website.”

Read the rest of Salemy’s letter and others at The Poetry Shed.

Thomas Cowen ’21 (M), current writer in the Newport MFA

“I first discovered Salve Regina thirty years ago,” said Cowen, who often works from home due to his job in the Silicon Valley. “I wandered onto the campus on my first trip to Newport with my then girlfriend. She became my fiancé when I proposed on the Forty Steps three years later. We have now been married for 27 years.”

“I lost my thirteen-year-old son to childhood cancer, so we lived our own family pandemic, if you will,” said Cowen. “So many writing prompts are helpful, and frankly, I struggled at first with this one. How do I write about the future? But the great writing prompts make you think. This one makes you think about how the future provides perspective on the past just as the past informs the future.”

Read the rest of Cowen’s letter and others at The Poetry Shed.

An invitation to share writing or experiences

If anyone would like to share their own writing or something that reflects this time in quarantine, there will be a new section on The Poetry Shed website called View From Here.

This can be a place for faculty, staff, students and alumni to share writing, art, favorite quotes, recipes or pictures. Multiple submissions will be accepted, so simply email all submissions to jen.mcclanaghan@salve.edu. The subject of the email should be “view.”

This is open to everyone in the Salve Regina community, so help spread the word!

Check out stories every Tuesday that showcase the world of academics at Salve Regina and how faculty, programs and students are innovating with remote living and learning during Virtual Salve. #academictuesdays #salvesgotthis