This past fall, MFA alum Carolina Bucheli Peñafiel was chosen as the latest Writer in Residence at Wolverine Farm Publick House. Fresh from graduating CSU’s MFA in Creative Writing Program in May 2024, Bucheli refined her thesis during the three-month residency, which is set to culminate in a showcase Thursday, Feb. 6 at 6 p.m. at Wolverine Farm.
As an emerging writer, Bucheli said the residency was particularly helpful for strengthening the work she produced during her graduate studies. Check out the Q&A below to learn more about her experience.
What have you been working on during the residency?
The residency allowed me to continue with a routine where I incorporate writing into my day-to-day life. After graduating from CSU’s creative writing program with a dual thesis in fiction and poetry, I had a lot of material to work with. At Wolverine Farm, I had an encouraging and welcoming writing space, where I could look over my poetry thesis and polish this material in both English and Spanish. I want to publish this manuscript in the future, and I feel grateful that I had the space and support to sit down and work further on how the pieces fit together. I think I have a much stronger manuscript now and I’m very excited about that.
Can you describe what your writing process looks like? Do you have any routines that feel integral to the process of beginning?
The first thing I can think of is music since it helps me get into the mental space to begin writing. Music helps me block out external and internal noise and focus on what’s at hand. Also, a part of my process is to persevere on each piece, but at some points to also let them rest.
In this residency, I really appreciated being around other people who were concentrated on their own projects because it made me feel more productive. In addition to that, Wolverine Farm very kindly provided me with a stipend for coffee and food. So, all I had to do was sit down and focus on writing.
What have you learned about yourself as a writer through this experience?
This residency showed me that I know what my creative needs are, and I’m happy to see myself gravitating towards projects, ideas, and places that I know are going to help me grow. Being in a place where I’m surrounded by art in its different forms lights up my creative light bulb.
Wolverine Farm routinely encourages different artistic projects, and other creative people gravitate there, and I found that very stimulating for my writing process.
About Wolverine Farm’s Residency Program
Established in 2018, the Writer in Residence program was created “to better serve the writing community and encourage individual authors and poets to interact with one another and build a strong network.” Throughout a three-month term, residents spend time writing and engaging the community at the Publick House and complete their residency by participating in a collaborative showcase with other monthly residents.