My Nonprofit Reviews

The Loft is the only literary center of its kind in the country and it has become my literary home. Four years ago, I decided it was time to pursue my dream of being a writer. I began taking classes at The Loft and my first fiction teacher, Donna Trump, became my first mentor. This was not an official mentorship. Donna took me under her wing, because, she said, “I saw something in your writing." There was no compensation, but this is the sort of experience people tend to have with folks affiliated with The Loft. Not only is The Loft an amazing literary center, the writers and artists associated with it help to create and build a supportive literary community. Writing is a difficult and solitary endeavor. In a world where books and technology and the publishing world are forever in flux, I doubt I would be where I am today without The Loft and a teaching artist like Donna. I went on to take classes from other talented writers such as Robert Voedisch, Kate St. Vincent Vogel, and Dale Gregory Anderson and began publishing my work. After three years, I applied for The Loft’s Mentor Series Award and was accepted. Under the tutelage of the program’s outstanding writers and teachers such as Lan Samantha Chang, Marlon James, Leslie Adrienne Miller, and John Hildebrand, I took my writing and my projects to the next level. With the help of my fellow program participants and The Loft’s extremely talented Program Director, Jerod Santek, I applied for and was awarded a Minnesota State Arts Board Grant as well as a Jerome Foundation Travel and Study Grant. Without The Loft, these opportunities would not have been possible for me. My experience with The Loft Literary Center set me on a trajectory toward attainable goals, a new and exciting career path, and MFA in Creative Writing, and a place within an outstanding literary community.

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