An unexpected benefit of the residency experience included the opportunity to engage and bond with past Civitella Ranieri Fellows and speculate on future collaborations with the fellows I met during this residency. I met a past Civitella Ranieri Fellow, Writer Paola Caridi.  She encouraged me to take a short trip to Turino for the International Book Festival.

In addition, I want to say that the community I formed at the Civitella Ranieri Foundation Castle was splendid. Each member of this cohort community will remain close to my heart and is informing the ways I perceive the work I do in the world. Everyone I met and worked with here is exceptionally talented. I recognized overlapping interests among us.  I enjoyed every day over the last six weeks of this residency period.  The friendships that I have built here are adding context to my practice and will continue to influence my writing practice. This experience will continue to transform what I know and how I see my work. I am attempting and beginning to process the impact of this experience. I am sure I am failing. I cannot fully articulate this experience in this moment.  The true impact and range will be measured in the forthcoming months and years of my career.