Second Year Spotlight: Hannah Cornell

Our Editor-in-Chief, Hannah Cornell, graduated this past weekend. She writes both poetry and fiction, having dabbled in both long- and short-form.

Here, Hannah and I talk about the journey her thesis took. Her thesis, Tremors, is a blend of poetry and short prose focused on family and self-discovery with a beautiful reverence towards nature.

Interview By: Ashley Werner (Editor)

Café MFA: Introduce yourself. Who are you and what do you like to write?

Hannah Cornell: I’m Hannah. I’m a 24-year-old poet and fiction writer who grew up in Pennsylvania and moved to DC for the MFA program.  I also teach college writing at AU, which has been a highlight of the last year. I really love to write poetry that touches on the connections between humanity and nature, and my fiction typically centers on similar themes!

Café MFA: What is your thesis about? 

Hannah: My thesis, titled Tremors, is a multi-genre poetry and prose collection that explores the emotional and personal shifts that shape identity and belonging. I use various poetic forms and prose pieces to take a closer look at themes of love, loss, family, self-discovery, and the enduring human connection to the earth. A lot of the thesis is about moments of disruption, unearthing, and transformation that lead to growth. 

Café MFA: Who is on your advisory board for the project? Why did you select them?

Hannah: David Keplinger and Dolen Perkins-Valdez are on my committee. I selected them because they taught two of the most transformative classes of my time at AU - Advanced Poetry Workshop and Advanced Fiction Workshop, respectively. David was such a kind, warm, and supportive light in my first semester at AU, and he really helped me redefine myself as a poet. Dolen’s teaching made me feel like a desperate sponge - all the lessons she taught on craft were so incredible and led to so much growth in my fiction writing in my second semester at AU. Both pushed me in different ways and supported me in different ways. It helped that when I hinted to them that I wanted them both on my committee before truly asking them, they were all in and chose me back. I really couldn’t have asked for better. They are a dream team.

Café MFA: How did the idea for your thesis come about?

Hannah: Well, my thesis was originally supposed to be a novel. I came to AU with the intention of starting and finishing my first novel. However, in my first fiction workshop, I fell truly in love with the short story. While I tried the first few chapters of a novel, it just didn’t click as well as the short stories I wrote for class did. Dolen was kind enough to give me some tough-love and advocate for a multi-genre thesis that played on the poetry and short stories I had been writing. The thesis was also initially themed around the concept of hauntings, but in revision and through feedback from David and Dolen, it just didn’t feel right for what the pieces were trying to say. When David suggested Tremors after a line in one of the first poems of the collection, it all started to click into place.

Café MFA: What has been your biggest challenge with your thesis thus far?

Hannah: The biggest challenge for my thesis was figuring out which pieces belonged and which to cut, and how to order everything overall. I had some pieces I put in initially when it was themed around hauntings, and when the theme shifted, there was a lot I had to take out and new pieces to add in. It was also tricky to figure out the order. I had to really take a step back and think about the progression I wanted and what I wanted the body of the work to say. I actually printed it all out and spent a few hours rearranging the pages on my bedroom floor to see what patterns emerged. I also still feel like I haven’t quite gotten to the version I wanted.

Café MFA: What has been your biggest success thus far? 

Hannah: My biggest success has been just feeling it all start to click together and knowing that while there is still work to be done, many of the pieces (especially the newer ones) are ready to be put out into the world. When it was submitted, I was really happy that it felt like a true collection.

Café MFA: What has this project taught you?

Hannah: When I started the program, I didn’t claim the title of writer and I was super worried I wasn’t really meant to be in the program. I was pretty certain I wasn’t talented enough to be there, despite really loving reading and writing. My confidence has slowly risen in the program over the course of two years, and my thesis was proof that I had grown as a writer. I could see the evolution of my work within it and began to recognize more of the unique choices I make that are the foundations of my personal style. This project also helped increase my flexibility with form. There were a lot of pieces in this that started as free-verse poems and turned into prose (or prose poems) at David’s suggestion. While this felt strange at first, trying new forms helped me think about my words in new, exciting ways. 

Café MFA: What advice would you give first-year students who are planning their thesis work?

Hannah: My advice to first-year students would be that it’s okay to come to AU with a concrete idea for your thesis in mind. Many people come to AU with ideas for novels or collections and follow them through to the end. However, I’d also recommend that first-year students remain open to new opportunities and possibilities. Part of the benefit of being in an MFA program, especially AU’s, is that it pushes you to experiment and try new things. Sometimes those new things surprise you and lead you in promising directions. Let yourself be open to all your options and try not to force the thesis with a closed fist. Writing is a living thing that needs room to breathe and be. Open the fist.

From Ashley:

In these past two years, Hannah and I have worked closely together both in the classroom and for CafeMFA. I have had the privilege to be her friend and watch her grow more confident as a writer, teacher, and editor. Lovingly, she is one of the most Type A people I have ever met. I am constantly impressed by her ideas and how much she has been able to accomplish in just two years at AU. Her poetry connects family and nature into a beautiful metaphorical garden. In particular, her poems in tribute to her parents often brought tears to my tears in workshop. I know she’s going to keep doing and writing great things!

Find Hannah on Instagram: @hannahgencornell

Here, Hannah has shared the title poem to her thesis:

TREMORS

There are bones inside this body, restless,

white porcelain left to linger in the grass

or teeth gleaming in the darkness. 

I am not yet 

what I’m supposed to be,

but cicadas hum in the sun balmed air,

and magnolias peel to welcome the sky, 

and bird wings brush against birch bark

above rabbits that crunch on clovers. Somewhere, 

beyond cathedral spires chasing the clouds,

and the steady thrum of the earth beneath me, 

the distant glow of lantern lights sway 

in the lavender-scented breeze 

and couples lay tangled among the weeds, watching

fireflies flash in their cupped palms.