Thankful Thursdays #1: Jeremy Bryant and David Evans

As we head into November and prepare for Thanksgiving and the coming holidays, we are taking this opportunity to share words of thanks with our readers. Today’s post is the first in a series we are calling “Thankful Thursdays.” Each Thursday in November we will introduce readers to some of the talented individuals in our West Virginia Weslyan MFA family and share links to their creative work. In the spirit of giving thanks, each highlighted individual will respond to the following question: What are you thankful for?

Jeremy Bryant (Nonfiction ’17) 

During this month of giving thanks, I am grateful for my MFA family. How incredible it is that we all unconditionally support one another. We praise each other’s accomplishments, pick one another up after rejections, and always celebrate our love of writing. I am blessed to be a small part of this coterie that genuinely cares about both the art and the artist. My MFA family has helped me develop as a writer and as a human, and I cannot imagine my life without them. These wonderful writers will always have a special place in my heart.

Bryant graduated from the WVWC MFA in Creative Writing program in 2017. He currently lives in the woods of Virginia where he writes poetry, watches birds, drinks hot tea, and thinks about the divine. His essay “Coming Kingdom” recently appeared in EOAGH, and his words can also be found in Prism, The Pikeville Review, The James Dickey Review, and New Verse News. Bryant works at Lynchburg College in Lynchburg, Virginia.
 

David Evans (Nonfiction ’18) 

I am thankful for all those versions of myself—that inner crowd—clamoring inside my head, demanding to be heard.

I am thankful to trace the nature of memory, explore the role of past loves and influences, cope with loss, and search for grounding and equanimity. 

I am thankful for my reservoir of personal recollections, shifting perspectives, and evolving expectations.

I am thankful I do not hunger for revenge.

I am thankful for those who have forgiven me.

I am thankful I have no doubt about the power of writing.

Evans is a life-long student and septuagenarian who retired from another life and lives in the mountains of eastern West Virginia. He will graduate this January from the WVWC MFA in Creative Writing program. His essay “Why We Build” just took Judge’s Choice in the nonfiction contest hosted by Still.

Left to right: Jeremy Bryant and David Evans