Maggie Ventsias
Maggie Ventsias (she/her) is our first MFA graduate (Dec. ‘22). She also earned her BA in Art and her BFA in Professional and Creative Writing, as well as her MA in Studio Art from MIU. She will give her final MFA reading at our Spring ‘23 residency.
Maggie was in the creative nonfiction and fiction dual genre track, working on a fictionalized memoir about raising seven teenagers in the nineties with a best friend she met online after both escaped abusive relationships. She met this best friend gaming online before that was even a thing. They flipped a coin to see who would be moving out of their home. This best friend was Dylene Cymraes, who is a faculty in our undergraduate English dept. at MIU. Now the two of them are grandparents of the same kids because one of their sons and one of their daughters married and had children of their own. Everyone in the MFA wants to read Maggie’s whole book, because the story is so riveting. The book will come with a handbook on how to live an alternate lifestyle and escape abusive relationship. It will also come with a game! Maggie is also the MIU dean of students.
Maggie is a Certified Transcendental Meditation Instructor working with the Department of Consciousness to support students in their practice of TM. She was a Residential Hall Director for seven years before accepting the position of Dean of Students.
Before coming to MIU in 2014, Maggie owned her own book publishing business and ran a small co-operative farm in western Pennsylvania with her husband, Rhett. She says the best work she has done in her life thus far was to raise all her children who are now wonderful human beings making a constructive difference in the world. She is the first graduating student in our MFA, in Dec. ‘22.
Interview with Maggie Ventsias
Q: When did you take an interest in writing? How has it colored your life?
I was always an avid reader. My first “solo” book as a single-digit child was Swiss Family Robinson because it had a bright red cover and lived on my parent’s bookshelf. After that, as a teen, I was enraptured with Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. I didn’t pursue creative writing in high school because we had to choose between creative classes—since I was a musician, I couldn’t take art or writing electives; my time was consumed with band.
My career then centered around helping other people write. I owned a graphic design and book publishing company for years, where I had a team of designers and editors. We helped authors publish their books, installed the books in the Library of Congress, and assisted authors with marketing. My personal love of writing hit me when I returned to college at MIU later in life.
Q: You double majored in art. How does your art influence your writing and vice versa?
A: To me, art and writing (and music, for that matter) are nuanced dialects of the same language—soul expression. I was thrilled when I first heard of “ekphrastic poetry,” meaning when art inspires a poem. I loved reading about the artists and writers in the 1920s who hung out in Paris together, paintings arising from poems and vice versa, notably the “Lost Generation” movement with greats like Ernest Hemingway and Gertrude Stein, as well as Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse. Writing and art are inextricably connected.
Q: What are your biggest challenges and biggest rewards when it comes to art and writing?
A: Biggest Challenge: TIME. I also work full-time, so finding a block of hours to sink into the joy of the fine arts is always challenging.
Biggest Reward: The satisfaction of seeing a part of me expressed in the world, hopefully, to make a difference in others’ lives and leave the world a little better by the time I leave here.
Q: How has Transcendental Meditation impacted your life as an artist?
A: The question is more, “how has TM impacted my life,” because that inner silence, that sense of balance, that quiet bliss—that’s the foundation of everything in my life. A practical example of that is, as a writer, my well rarely runs dry. When given a topic to write about, I stop, let my attention settle to those quiet inner depths, and simply start writing. Am I saying that what I write is always effortlessly brilliant? Heck, no! Editing is the saving grace of writing for me. But my point is that I can tap into that infinite level of creativity and magic at will. For that, I am eternally grateful.
Q: If you could choose a superpower when it comes to writing, what would it be?
A: It would be to fully inhabit my characters, know their backstories intimately, feel what they feel, see through their eyes, and express their authentic personalities and stories.
Q: What advice would you give a new writer or artist?
A: The best advice I ever received and always pass on: practice, practice, practice! Whether that be in the field of writing, art, or music—practice! As writers, write every day. Morning Pages from The Artist’s Way is a great way to clear the mind and get some words on paper every morning. The more we exercise those creative muscles, the stronger they become.
Q: Having earned your BFA from MIU, what is the biggest challenge/reward/ difference you have experienced in the MFA program?
A: Both programs are structured to fully support the student in terms of time management and academic content. The workshops are similar in both programs, meaning we use an uplifting and supportive model while bringing out the best possible support for the writer’s improvement. However, the programs begin to differ in the magnificent, multiple, marvelous mentors we have access to in the MFA. Of course, the professors in the BFA are amazing, but in the MFA, the brightest writers worldwide come in during our intensive two-week residency and share their best practices with us. It’s like sitting at the feet of the masters of our craft.
Q: Finally, what is your favorite inspirational quote or go-to place when you find yourself in moments of self-doubt?
A: Favorite quote: “See the job, do the job, stay out of misery.” – Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.
Favorite place? Deep within myself, where I am unflappably resting in the eternal silence of Being.
You can buy Maggie’s art prints or cards or notebooks with her designs on Fine Art America here.