Works In Progress Series
Exploring Condemnation and Forgiveness in Fiction
with
Zak Buczinsky
Wednesday, February 11, 2026
4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Bio:
Zak Buczinsky is a third year MFA in fiction writing. Much of his writing deals with addiction and the spirituality that occurs around recovery. The major project he is working on is a novel that explores these same themes, and that, in particular, asks: how does forgiveness function? How do our resentments and condemnations, both of ourselves and others, keep us sick and repeating the same mistakes? And how does someone achieve the real forgiveness that is required in order to rid ourselves of condemnation and resentment? These questions are, on the one hand, concerned directly with mental health, and are common hot points of discussion in the rooms of addiction recovery, but for Zak they are also spiritual questions that are vital when it comes to touching the deepest transcendental parts of ourselves.