I wrote this letter in support of my mentor and dear friend, Elizabeth Robinson, who is at risk of losing her teaching position in the Writing and Poetics Department at Naropa University.  Please have a read and see why Elizabeth has meant so much to so many of us, and also why so many of us think it would be a bad idea to let her slip away.

January 25, 2010

Dear Naropa University Administration, Department of Writing and Poetics, alumni, students, and friends of Elizabeth Robinson—

My name is Travis Cebula, I am an MFA alumnus of the University, and I am writing to advocate for a visiting professor at the University, Elizabeth Robinson.  Let me open by saying that this letter is meant purely as an endorsement of Elizabeth Robinson and is in no way intended by myself to be a condemnation or criticism of anyone else either in the Department of Writing and Poetics or in the University of Naropa at large.  My time at Naropa was the most educationally and creatively fulfilling of my life thus far—and of that brief, beautiful window the time I spent with Elizabeth was the best of the best.

It has come to my attention through anonymous channels that Elizabeth may no longer have a position available to her after Spring Semester.  I think this is a grave mistake, and that any writing program worth its name should be doing absolutely everything in its power to secure instructors of her quality… not just for the short term but also for the long-term.  The health and future of a program that intends to be both alive and relevant into the future necessitate taking proactive steps toward that goal.  Teachers such as Elizabeth Robinson do not come around every day.  I think that it was a gift for Naropa (and especially a gift for Naropa’s students) to have Elizabeth spend time as an instructor here.  Furthermore, I feel it would be disrespectful of that initial gift to not even make a passing attempt at keeping her around.

I spent two Summer Writing Programs in Elizabeth’s MFA class, and it served as a weekly touch-point of continuity and grounding throughout each summer.  She was my MFA thesis reader.  If left to my own devices, neither my creative manuscript nor my critical thesis would have evidenced the rigorous attention to detail and quality that Elizabeth demands.  My writing as whole is far better having benefitted from her attention.  In the one semester of poetry workshop we shared, I was productive beyond my own belief in what would have been possible.  In that short semester I started and finished the manuscript for my first book (which was accepted for publication within two months of completion), had poetry published in major journals, read in public venues, and generated over 120 pages of other material that was eventually pared down into my creative manuscript—just through assignments given in her workshop.

My experience with Elizabeth has been that she has an uncanny ability to come to any work on its own terms.  That is to say, no matter what Elizabeth reads she can find merit in it, and also identify its goals, aesthetics, and spirit… and can then provide constructive criticism to bring it closer to fulfillment.  Other creative writing teachers I have known over the years have had a knack for improving the writing of their students, but it is a truly rare gift—and I would like to particularly emphasize this—to be able to provide suggestions that are based purely on the students’ work, to help generate great poetry that in no way resembles that which the instructor would write themselves.  Elizabeth has this gift, and in copious amounts.  As an editor she is most akin to an angel.

She brings a vast amount of varied knowledge and experience to every classroom situation.  She is respectful of students and their myriad points of view.  She is demanding, bringing the highest expectations to each student she encounters—and she knows how to nurture results from them.  In short she is a spectacular teacher.

But her teaching is not what makes her unique at Naropa, an institution that can boast a crowd of brilliant instructors.  It is, in fact, the person Elizabeth is which makes her irreplaceable to this school.  She embodies everything that I believe makes Naropa a special place:  mindfulness, self-motivation, excellence, skill, rigor, and an untiring sense of community.  It is this last quality that sets her apart so decidedly, even among a group of other strongly community-oriented faculty.  Elizabeth is community in human form.  She supports every writer at the school and is willing to help them, regardless of whether or not they are actually in a class she is teaching.  She is continually writing letters of recommendation for students, as well as endless blurbs, introductions, reviews, and commentary for people she has encountered over the years.  Elizabeth is always either hosting or organizing literary events for the community to enjoy.  Whenever a visiting writer comes to town for a reading, she throws a party for them at her home (and many times visitors will stay with her, as well).  Students, faculty, and the writing community at large are all equally welcome at these events, showing a level of commitment lacking (and lamented by students, in particular) at many other institutions.

As Naropa students, faculty, administration, and alumni we say we value community.  Elizabeth Robinson lives and breathes that ideal.

I am blessed to have trained with Elizabeth Robinson.  I am blessed to have graduated from the MFA program and become her colleague and friend.  I consider myself further blessed to still be a member of the writing community here in Colorado, of which she is an integral part.  It saddens me to imagine future students in the Jack Kerouac School not having the same opportunities that I have been given.

I have run my own businesses over the years, and worked at many others.  Thus, I am acutely aware that any business or institution will have financial pressures and requirements necessary to continue its existence.  I know that difficult decisions have to be made on a continual basis just to keep the doors open.  But I have never once heard money listed as a prime motivating factor at Naropa.  I have never once heard anyone, from the president on down, say that dollars and cents are the arbiter of value at our school—in any way, shape, or form.  Every other value is officially listed before finance, and rightly so… it is one of the things that sets us apart.

So I will say this.  Elizabeth Robinson is a prime example of the qualities we vocally hold so dear.  Only a fool would let her leave without begging her to stay as a permanent member of the faculty.  Only a very great fool would actually encourage her to go.

If you have any questions or would like to discuss anything I have said further, I am at your disposal.  Please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,

Travis Cebula

MFA, Writing and Poetics

Naropa University, 2009