On April 11, UNC Wilmington students, faculty and community members flocked to Kenan Hall to hear Creative Writing Master of Fine Arts candidates read from their thesis novels.

Whitney Ray, in particular, wrote about her home state of Oklahoma, a region of the country that does not get a lot of literary attention, she says.

“Oklahoma is a strange hybrid of many different cultures,” Ray said. “It’s not something that’s represented in a lot of literature. The content of my work is closely tied to that region.”

Each student in the program must write a 120-page thesis, and share an excerpt with the public the month before graduation. Sarah Andrew, Meredith Fraser, Ben Hoffman, Julia Pol Isaac and Ray shared excerpts of their three-year projects with an eager audience.

Despite the fact that the students have taken many writing courses with each other, each author exhibited a unique literary voice.  The tones of the narratives varied from a light-hearted summer camp anecdote to a more solemn piece about a Vietnam War veteran.

Ray read from her novel, “Smaller Lives,” a story about a family who runs an illegal cock fighting ring in rural Oklahoma.

“My fiction is highly autobiographical,” Ray said.  Though Ray has never witnessed a cock fight, she was born and raised in Oklahoma, one of the last states to outlaw cock fighting rings. “It was always in the background,” she said.

Though leaving her family in Oklahoma was difficult, Ray has no regrets about pursuing a MFA degree so far from home. “I heard wonderful things about UNCW from my professors,” she said. “It felt like home the minute I got here.”

Another factor that drew Ray to UNCW’s creative writing program was the opportunity to teach while pursuing a MFA degree.  “Teaching is another great love of mine,” she said. Since some universities do not allow graduate students to teach, Ray is grateful for the three years of teaching experience she gained at UNCW.

Ray is also grateful for the audience at her thesis reading. “I thought it was an excellent turnout,” she said. “It was lovely to read in Kenan Hall.”

According to Ray, it is beneficial for students, even non-writing majors, to attend readings. “It’s a wonderful cultural activity,” she said.