The Butler University MFA has a team of people working to ensure the most successful experience for students. Throughout the year, this blog will present a who’s who in the program and what they can do for you.
Hilene Flanzbaum is the Director of the Butler Univerisity MFA in Creative Writing. Originally from Staten Island, Hilene earned her M.A. at Johns Hopkins and her Ph.D. at the University of Pennsylvania. She’s edited many books and been published countless times. Recently her essay for O Magazine was anthologized. But you can read all that on her faculty bio page. I asked all the questions you really want to know, like what she drinks while writing.
As the director of the MFA, you have many roles and responsibilities. What can you do specifically for current students?
I am officially everyone’s advisor. Students should come to me about what courses to take, in what order, and how to stay on track to graduate. Even though students could talk to anyone here about professional concerns, I also give advice on life and career plans. I’m also the money person. I decide how the money is distributed.
What class do you love to teach?
I love teaching the graduate course in nonfiction. I love that. It’s very intense. It’s about craft, but also about telling the truth in very deep ways. People get very close in that kind of class. There’s a level of trust that builds up among the students that is very gratifying to see.
A new MFA student should…
I’ve never been a student here, but I’ve heard all the current people giving the incoming students this advice: “There are so many opportunities in the program. Do as much as you can.” If you make yourself available to the program, we’ll keep you busy all the time. The other thing I say to people who come to me asking they are talented enough is, “You have just as much talent as anyone who has already made it. You’ve already made the talent leap. Now it’s about how hard you work.”
A book you enjoyed this summer?
I’ve read so many books this summer… I recommend this to everybody: The Neapolitan series by Elena Ferrante.
What is your writing routine?
Mornings, definitely. I can’t keep concentration for more than two hours. I find if I can look out a window, it’s helpful. I always have a project going.
What do you drink while writing?
Coffee.
What can you say about your hometown?
It’s such a funny place. It’s rich with stories. I have an essay coming out with the New York Historical Society about Staten Island. I could definitely write more essays about it. Staten Island has changed so much. With the rest of the city becoming so gentrified, Staten Island has become the place where criminals go. It’s huge mafia. We lived with the presence of the mafia in our lives. As soon as I finish the project I’m on, I am going to write another essay about Staten Island.
Who shares your house?
Millie, a four-year-old standard poodle, and Bella, a fourteen-year-old Bichon Frise. Also, my husband who teaches at Park Tudor and directs the creative writing camp here at Butler. I have a daughter who finished college and is living in New York City trying to make it as a writer, and a daughter who is a junior in college. We are used to an empty nest, I think.
What is your favorite spot on campus?
The Efroymson Center for Creative Writing. Or anyplace I can bring my dog.