Jamie Albrecht

1999–2023

We join a large community of people who mourn Jamie Albrecht, a dear friend and devoted citizen of the Writers House community, a marvelously talented writer of prose and poetry, a wonderful respondent to most of the conversations that have taken place at 3805 Locust Walk, a wry and funny and charming and expressive presence.

What is there to say about someone whose knowledge of language surpassed your capacity to use it? We try.

Jamie embodied the very spirit of the Kelly Writers House — working here every year of his undergraduate education, a student of many classes taught within its walls. He was honored at our Senior Capstone ceremony and was awarded the creative Honors Thesis Prize in 2022. Whether he was flitting in and out for a cup of coffee, or filling the Arts Café with thought-provokingly brilliant analyses of texts, Jamie's presence was loving, witty, smart, and unflinchingly here. The impression he made on this space and all of those who were fortunate enough to occupy it while he was here is immeasurable. He had the courage to be bold, unapologetic, and creative. May his memory be a blessing and a reminder of the possibilities we each contain.

Jamie asked in his statement of purpose for MFA programs in creative writing, "So where do I belong?" In true Jamie fashion, he had the best answer, even to his own question, writing that he belongs in "a community in the literary arts." The Kelly Writers House was the location of a past community, which holds in its future, a permanent chair for Jamie Albrecht whose presence will continue to inspire and energize all those around.

In Jamie's words, this ridiculous and hungry and joy-filled world presents us with an opportunity: "To pick from the mess and make do." Jamie did much more than make do.

Jamie Albrecht Memorial Fund

We at the Writers House will celebrate and preserve the impact Jamie had here as a community member and student. In collaboration with his family and friends, we have established the Jamie Albrecht Memorial Endowed Fund for Student Initiatives, which will support student-led creative initiatives here at the Kelly Writers House in perpetuity.

Students are the driving force behind the energy, breadth, and future of the Writers House — their bold and intrepid ideas fill our spaces with exciting projects, and make the Writers House what it is. Each and every year the Jamie Albrecht Memorial Fund for Student Initiatives will support those ideas and help make them a reality, including funding and support for projects, space and budget for events, stipends for travel or research, and more. This fund will allow us to say "Yes!" to so many students, year after year.

Anyone can make a tax-deductible contribution of any size to the Jamie Albrecht Memorial Endowed Fund for Student Initiatives online by clicking here. We will list your name as a Friend of Jamie online in perpetuity, and in our printed Annual the year of your gift, and you'll receive annual updates as to what Jamie's fund made possible here in this house.

If you would prefer to write a check, please make your check payable to "Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania" and write "Jamie Albrecht Memorial Fund / KWH" on the memo line. You can mail checks to us at:

The Kelly Writers House
3805 Locust Walk
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6150
Attention: Jessica Lowenthal, Director

For assistance or to ask for more information, please feel free to call us at (215) 746-POEM or write us at wh@writing.upenn.edu.