Saint Mary’s College Presents 'Toast the MFA'

From St. Mary's College of California: SMC’s 15th Annual MFA in Creative Writing Scholarship Fund Benefit

What: The 15th Annual Scholarship Benefit for the MFA in Creative Writing Program at Saint Mary’s College of California presents "Toast the MFA," an extraordinary evening featuring some of the nation’s most renowned literary artists, including acclaimed writer Natalie Baszile, Pulitzer-Prize winner Louise Glück; award-winning author and poet Michael Ondaatje, former U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky and celebrated author Linda Spalding. Hosted by Saint Mary’s English Professor and New York Times Poetry Editor, Matthew Zapruder, "Toast the MFA" will be held on Saturday, February 25, 2017 at the Dolby Chadwick Gallery, 210 Post Street, San Francisco, Calif. 94108.

Attendees will have the opportunity to win a variety of prizes including the grand prize—a week-long vacation at Villa La Quercia, a classically restored stone villa on a 155-acre estate in Tuscany that sleeps eight, along with $500 in travel funds. Prizes include a week’s stay at the Sun Valley Retreat; a private wine tasting for eight at the Caymus Vineyards in Napa, and a golf outing at the Sequoyah Country Club in Oakland.
Featured Writers:

• Natalie Baszile
• Louise Glück
• Michael Ondaatje
• Robert Pinsky
• Linda Spalding

• Natalie Baszile’s novel, Queen Sugar, was adapted for television for OWN, Oprah Winfrey’s television network. Baszile has received residencies at the Ragdale Foundation and Hedgebrook, among many others.
• Louise Glück is the author of 11 books of poems and a collection of essays. Her many awards include the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Bollingen Prize for Poetry, and the Wallace Stevens Award.
• Michael Ondaatje is the author of several novels, books of poetry and a memoir. His novel The English Patient won the Man Booker Prize and was adapted into an Academy Award winning film.Anil’s Ghost received the Irish Times International Fiction Prize, the Giller Prize, and the Prix Médicis.
• Robert Pinsky was U.S. Poet Laureate from 1997 to 2000. He is the recipient of the PEN/Voelcker Award and the William Carlos Williams Prize, among other accolades. His Selected Poems was published in 2012. Pinsky’s other books include The Sounds of Poetry and The Inferno of Dante, which won the Los Angeles Times Book Award.
• Linda Spalding is the author of three previous novels and two works of nonfiction. Her novel, The Purchase received Canada’s prestigious Governor General’s Award for English-language fiction. Spalding is also an editor for Brick literary journal.

When: 6 p.m. Saturday, February 25, 2017
Where: Dolby Chadwick Gallery, 210 Post Street, Suite 205, San Francisco, CA 94108
Tickets:

• $250 Mentorship Tickets: 5 p.m. Cocktail reception with the authors and Benefit admission
• $125 Pen & Ink Tickets: Benefit admission
• $50 SMC Alumni and Staff Tickets: Benefit admission
• Scholarship Fund Vacation Raffle
• $50 Raffle ticket, $460 for bundle of 10

All raffle proceeds benefit the MFA Scholarship Fund. Winners will be drawn at the benefit. Raffle ticket winners need not be present to win.

Founded in 1995, the MFA Program in Creative Writing is a two-year course of study that leads to a degree in creative nonfiction, fiction, and poetry. For more information about Saint Mary's MFA in Creative Writing, or the benefit event, visit stmarys-ca.edu/mfasupport or contact Sara Mumolo at sm13@stmarys-ca.edu or (925) 631-8556.

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