MFA Lore

MFA Lore

Writer In the World

"Each story I write is a love letter to our queer worlds"

Sassafras Patterdale's writing comes from the place “where my dreaming and my loving live”

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Writer In The World and Sassafras Patterdale
Jul 30, 2025
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photo of Sassafras Patterdale and their workphoto of Sassafras Patterdale and their work
Sassafras Patterdale and their work

The stories stayed even after the wounds stopped seeping. All these years later and the stories haven’t left me. The deal I forged with them back on borrowed couches was that I would write our truths, the bodies, lives, worlds we lovingly dreamed into reality.

Welcome to Writer In The World, a curated collection of essays on the writing life by acclaimed MFA faculty and alumni. This is the Wednesday section of MFA Lore.

Other sections include Metaphortography, a quick dose of visual and literary inspiration that posts each Monday to launch your writing week. Writers in Conversation and other MFA Lore essays on the craft and business of creative writing drop each Saturday.

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Sassafras Patterdale
Sassafras Patterdale (formerly Lowrey) is a celebrated author whose books have been honored by the American Library Association and the Lambda Literary Foundation www.SassafrasPatterdale.com
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