I have taken many writing courses, but Alexandra's stands out as the one that best honed my story telling, provided a community and prepared me for an MFA program.

When my class with Alexandra ended, she continued to review my writing and provided support and encouragement for my MFA applications. When I needed letters of recommendations, she obliged me two years in a row. With her support and vote of confidence, I entered the MFA program at Rutgers-Newark this past fall.

One reason I selected Rutgers' program was because Alice Elliott Dark, whose writing I first encountered in Alexandra's class, teaches here. In Professor Dark's class two weeks ago, we had a lecture on landscapes and character. I went home, pulled out Alexandra's handout from Annie Proulx and distributed it to classmates.

Alexandra's interaction does not end in the class room. She creates a writer's community. As a Midwesterner transplant, a writing community is something I have always wanted in New York but didn't know how to find. Alexandra held after-class dinners, invited us to readings that she hosted and made us aware of literary events.

Alexandra is a working writer in New York whose insights come from experience, and who is devoted to maintaining a community once class has ended and the lonely, heavy lifting of writing begins.

-Aimee Rinehart