On Tuesday, February 9, English Teacher Gia Batty welcomed Nobles graduate authors Mark Polanzak ’99 and Nina MacLaughlin ’97 to her creative writing club to share their experiences as professional writers with current students. Senior Kathryn Cloonan ’21 welcomed the authors, students, graduates and faculty.
Polanzak teaches creative writing at Berklee College of Music and also founded draft: the journal of process and the accompanying podcast series, The Fail Safe. MacLaughlin, now a books columnist at the Boston Globe, is a journalist who worked for nine years as a carpenter as told in her book, Hammer Head. The authors shared their creative process, their favorite classes at Nobles, how they balance creativity in their lives and how MacLaughlin doesn’t “believe in writer’s block.” Please tune in for the full talk on our YouTube Channel.
This was the second event in our “Nobles Graduate Author Talks” and we look forward to welcoming George Colt ’72 on February 18 to talk about his 2018 book, The Game: Harvard, Yale, and America in 1968. Colt is also the author of the bestseller The Big House. You can register for that event HERE.
Not only was this a great chance for Nobles students to hear from graduates, but it also gave graduates a peek into the Nobles hybrid Zoom classroom and what it has been like for students to gather online during the 2020-2021 school year. Special thanks to Gia Batty for opening up her room and to the students for asking such great questions!