Ashland University MFA Program

After talking to Lisa Nik, it only seemed right to keep the good juju going and interview one of our newest fiction faculty members, Kyle Winkler. You can learn everything you ever wanted to know about Kyle from this interview and from his website . Thanks to our lovely and talented intern, Angela Manasieva for preparing this interview. 1. Where are you from and how do you use your surroundings to write? I'm from southwest Indiana originally. Rolling hills, farmland, corn, wheat. LOTS of corn and wheat. My landscapes have affected me heavily in my writing. All that tall crop and the sometimes isolating farmland in the autumn during sunset can do a lot to make one feel...creeped out? Hah. I've tried to use my small town upbringing to good effect, as well. I grew up most of life in a working class to middle-class home in the rust belt. So I'm often trying to evoke the experiences and attitudes of the sorts of folks I grew up around and with. And those experiences were, to so...

We recently sat down with our wonderful faculty member Lisa Nikolidakis to discuss books, writing, and life. Where are you from and how do you use your surroundings to write? I’m currently in Houston, TX—I’ve been here a little over a year—but in 2021, I had twelve addresses, I think. My life has been a bit upside-down for a bit due to chronic illness, so I’m not precious about process. I can write anywhere, on any device. The constant in all of that flux is nature. No matter where I land, the first thing I do is pull up a map and look for the swaths of green and blue. When I was in north Florida, that meant a lot of time spent at St. Mark’s National Wildlife Refu. In Indiana, Wesselman Woods. And in Houston, I’ve been stalking a flock of roseate spoonbills at Anahuac Wildlife Refuge. Nature grounds and inspires me. It is my church. Where do you draw inspiration from when writing and how is writing implemented in your life? I’m blessed with a great problem for a writer: I am curious ab...