The Roosevelt University Creative Writing program recently hosted a graduate reading that showcased the talents of two students, Ryan Amare and Emelia Shankman. The two soon-to-be recipients of Master of Fine Arts degrees in Creative Writing regaled an audience of family, friends and University community members with excerpts from their graduate thesis projects in the Chicago campus’s historic Sullivan Rooms.
Program director Jessica Anne Chiang also invited renowned poet and author Sara Wainscott to open the salon with a selection of readings from a work still in progress. Wainscott is the author of Insecurity System (Persea, 2020) and the micro-chapbook Onion (rinky dink press, 2023), and is also a winner of the Lexi Rudtnitsky First Book Prize. She is the recipient of a fellowship from the Civitella Ranieri Foundation, a Newcity “Lit 50” honoree for Chicago literary influencers and the former co-curator of the Wit Rabbit Reading Series. The author engaged the audience with poignant humor, skillfully revealing what the life and creative process of a published author.
Ryan Amare is a fiction writer with a focus on death and existentialism. He has backgrounds in philosophy, theatre, video games and the ancient languages and lifestyles of Alexandria. “An anthropologist of the mind and a scholar of human behavior and brain chemistry,” Amare read selections from his thesis “The Everywhere Place.” This work of historical fiction delved into topics ranging from the Library of Alexandria, the function of idea exchange and strategies to alleviate stress. The piece was experimental and philosophical while being firmly grounded in a human story, and speaks to the promise of Amare’s talent.
Emelia Shankman holds a BA in English from Salisbury University and is a trained singer. She writes fiction, poetry, plays, historical fiction, essays, letters and dystopian science fiction. According to Chiang, “she has perfect attendance, the voice of an angel, and a work ethic so myopic she got herself pneumonia the same week her thesis was due yet didn’t miss a beat! Literally! Emma has crafted a book of song and prose for her thesis.” Shankman read excerpts from her thesis, a hybrid piece with a focus on familial ties and mental illness. “Her work is playful but never shies away from the darkness, the loneliness, the dread,” and imaginatively plays with medium, topic and tone.
The entire evening was one of joy that celebrated the achievements of Amare and Shankman and showed just how prepared they are to share their gifts with the world of publishing.
