All good things must end, unfortunately.

Well, we’ve come to the end of the road–at least for this particular class and semester. I’ll be reminding you of deadlines and the like soon, but first, I want to say a few things to this class:

We’ve been through an experience this semester that has been challenging, frustrating, and, for many of us–if not all–depressing. All of those emotions (and any I haven’t mentioned) are totally valid. I’ve had conversations with many of you over the semester, and during each one I’ve tried to say (however awkwardly) how awesome you are and how impressed I am with you. Even if I haven’t spoken to you one-on-one, I still want you to know I think these things about each of you. Seriously.

I hope all of us will have a chance to catch our breath for a moment when this semester is finally closed and let ourselves feel strong in the knowledge that we’ve survived a moment of unparalleled time in recent history. It’s not over–not by a long shot–but we’ve weathered some serious shit thus far.

I’m honored to have been able to facilitate your creative writing. Writing is obviously a passion of each person in this class. I’ve laughed, shouted, and smiled with pride as I’ve read your journals, posts, and major writing assignments.

I want each of you to continue writing. Writers share thoughts that define a time–any time–but this is a time I think history will want to study.

Prof. Jennifer Sears may be starting up a Creative Writing club at City Tech in the fall! If you are interested, email her at jsears@citytech.cuny.edu, and she’ll put your name on the list if the club comes to fruition. I may be involved as well!

I also want each of you to keep in touch. I’ve loved running into my students in the halls of City Tech long after they’ve been in my class. I hope we’ll be in physical halls again soon, but until that happens, we’ll have to run into each other in virtual halls by other means. My personal email address is jessica.penner@gmail.com. I Instagram a lot. I also have a website: jessicadawnpenner.com. I’ll admit, it’s a work-in-progress, but you can see some of my writing there.

I have one more writing assignment, which is detailed on the Assignment page. It’s very simple and easy to do. It’s a letter to students next semester who are going to take this class.

Okay, I’ll stop and get down to particulars:

Final Portfolios (aka Chapbooks)

Please look at the Announcement post from Week 15 for details on the chapbooks, which are standing in for the final exam for this class. There are many details–please follow them closely. This helps me grade more efficiently, and is something that’ll help your overall grade, because if you don’t follow these details, I’ll deduct 10% off your Final Portfolio/Chapbook grade.

REMEMBER THE DUE DATE:

11:59 PM on Monday, May 24, 2021!

I’ve been generous on deadlines this semester because of the situation we’ve all been through, but this deadline is real, folks, because I have to turn in grades soon after this date. I don’t have time to locate you and your work.

If you don’t turn in a chapbook by 11:59 PM on May 24, you’ll lose 225 points (this is worth 30% of your overall grade).

Even if your chapbook isn’t complete or as finished as you’d like, know that this is the agony of any writer–student or otherwise–we never feel it’s perfect, so submit what you’ve got by May 24!

If you have questions or concerns, contact me!

Stay safe & be well!