Jeremy Klemin
Jay Sepac
This year’s Oregon Literary Fellowship recipients, awarded by the Portland‑based nonprofit Literary Arts, include a strong showing from SWLF. Among the winners are two recent nonfiction MFA alumni, Jeremy Klemin and Jay Sepac. Both writers bring exciting publication histories: Jeremy’s work has appeared in venues such as The New York Times and The Atlantic, while Jay’s essays have been published in The Normal School and The Iowa Review. Their fellowships will support longer works in progress that grew out of their time in the program. Jeremy is completing an essay collection on skateboarding, disability, and public space, while Jay is developing a collection that explores nostalgia and its intersections with image‑based technologies from specific eras, including Polaroids, Super 8 film, VHS, and early cinema.
We had the chance to chat with Jeremy and Jay about this exciting fellowship news and how their MFA experience here at OSU continues to enrich their lives post-grad. Here’s what they had to say.
Jeremy Klemin, winner of the Leslie Bradshaw Fellowship:
I was delighted to receive an Oregon Literary Fellowship in support of "Hall of Meat" a memoir-in-essays about skateboarding, disability, and the built environment that I began during my MFA. But the best surprise of all was learning that I'd share the honor alongside Jay Sepac, a fellow MFA grad! It's fitting, as the MFA community has continued to play a key role in my writing life since graduating. Colleagues (very patiently) read countless versions of the essay I submitted for the fellowship, and I probably wouldn't have applied had Katherine Cusumano, a nonfiction grad who was named a Fellow the year prior, not encouraged me to.
When people ask about the benefits of doing an MFA, I usually talk about having time and space to write. But the ongoing community is arguably a bigger draw. I feel really fortunate to continue my writing practice alongside such supportive people, and still regularly trade drafts with colleagues from the program.
Jay Sepac, winner of the Walt Morey Fellowship:
I was blown away when I got the email telling me I’d been awarded the fellowship. You get used to, like, 99% rejections, so it’s always a nice surprise when you get an email like that. The fellowship will give me a chance to finish up some work on an essay collection I’ve been working on since my days in the MFA. A lot of the essays were part of my thesis. I’ll also be working on some essays for a new book-length essay on childhood myopia, parenthood, and macro photography… or something like that.
Starting the MFA program was a major life change for me. I was going back to school after a twelve year hiatus, which felt exciting and terrifying. But it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I immediately felt at home in the program (apparently, so at home that I’m still here, now as an instructor). Before going back, writing always felt like it was taking a back seat to everything else in my life. But Elena, Justin, George, and all of the MFA faculty helped me feel like an actual writer, an actual artist. I was able to prioritize my writing, I grew so much as a writer during those two years, and I sort of figured out what made me tick. I also feel super lucky to have had such a smart and welcoming cohort who always felt like they were in my corner. I’m grateful to have them as friends and thankful that they’re still willing to look at my crappy drafts.