Fresno MFA Program in Creative Writing

MFA Fresno is Moving!

2011-02-22T13:51:00.001-08:00

Hey all!

The MFA program at Fresno State has moved its blog to Wordpress:

http://www.mfafresno.wordpress.com

Please visit the new blog for the latest publication news, announcements regarding readings and visiting writers, and other information about Fresno State's MFA program.

Thanks for being a reader, and we'll see you all on the new site!

The MFA Program at CSU Fresno

P.S. The old blog will remain here for a while, but will not be updated. All of the posts from this blog have been moved to the new address.

KUDOS: 2010 Summer Workshop Edition

2010-05-04T15:37:00.001-07:00

Many of our MFA students are headed to prestigious nationwide summer workshops in the next few months, and we'd like to take a moment to recognize their accomplishment in being accepted, and to wish them luck. Way to represent the Fresno State MFA Program!

Tin House Summer Writers Workshop, Portland, OR

We're proud to recognize the following SEVEN students who were accepted to Tin House this summer: fiction writer Rafael Sanchez, poet Jake Kelly, fiction writer Kristofer Whited, poet Andre Yang, fiction writer Tiffany Crum, poet Michelle Brittan, and recent fiction graduate Elizabeth Martin. That's quite a formidable contingency-- look out, Portland!

Sewanee Writers' Conference, Sewanee, TN

Fiction writer Tiffany Crum has also been accepted to the Sewanee Writers' Conference in Sewanee, TN. Congratulations, Tiffany!

Voices of Our Nation Writing Workshop, San Francisco, CA

Congratulations to fiction student Miguel Jimenez, who has been accepted to the Advanced Writing Workshop offered by the VONA Writers Workshop. Congratulations are also in order for poet Cynthia Guardado, who was also accepted to VONA this summer. Way to go, Miguel and Cynthia!

Port Townsend Writers' Conference, Port Townsend, WA

And congratulations again to Cynthia Guardado for also being accepted to the Port Townsend Writers' Conference in Port Townsend, WA!

Congratulations to our intrepid summer workshop crew, and please keep an eye on the blog for more updates about the summer writing opportunities our students are exploring!

KUDOS: May 2010

2010-05-04T15:08:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy spring semester for the students and faculty of Fresno State's MFA Program! First, let's celebrate recent awards and publications:

Fresno Arts Council Horizon Award and Northwest Review Publication

Poetry Professor and Porgram Coordinator Connie Hales has been awarded a prestigious Fresno Arts Council Horizon Award. The award is given to recognize individuals who have made significant contributions toward the enrichment of life in our community through excellence in the arts. In addition, Connie's poems "Forgiven" and "Failed Blessing" have both been accepted for publication in the Northwest Review. Congratulations, Connie, and well-deserved for all that you do!

Full Teaching Assistantship awarded to recently accepted PhD in Creative Writing candidate

Soon-to-be-graduate in nonfiction Sarah Fawn Montgomery has been awarded a full teaching assistantship to the University of Nebraska's PhD program in creative writing, plus a $15,000 a year stipend. Congratulations to Sarah Fawn, who rose to the top of the applicant field in a competitive year for PhD programs nationwide!

CALYX Publication

Heart congratulations to poetry student Megan Baptista-Geist, whose poem "Elegy for a 1962 Ford Falcon Ranchero" has been accepted for publication in CALYX magazine. Way to go, Megan!

Redactions: Poetry & Poetics Publication

Poetry student Barbara Price strikes again with a publication in Redactions: Poetry & Poetics, which accepted her poem, "Switch." Way to go, Barbara!

Graduate Dean's Medalist and Outstanding Thesis Award

Congratulations to soon-to-be-graduate nonfiction writer, Rachel Jackson, who was selected as this year's College of Arts & Humanities Graduate Dean's Medalist AND recipient of the College of Arts & Humanities Outstanding Thesis Award for her memoir, Here and Gone.

Graduate Research and Creative Arts Symposium

Congratulations to poets Murleen Ray and Marcus Chinn, who will present their poetry at the Fresno State Graduate Research and Creative Arts Symposium!

Brevity Publication

And finally, because no KUDOS post is complete without mention of one of our busiest colleagues, who is having a great year... Nonfiction Professor Steven Church's essay, "Lag Time," which he read at his book release party last Friday (for BOTH of his new books released in 2010), appears in the most recent issue of Brevity. Way to go, Steven-- keep 'em coming!

Susan Orlean Reading: Friday, March 19 7 PM in Peters Recreation Center

2010-03-16T15:41:00.000-07:00

The San Joaquin Literary Association

and the MFA Program are excited to welcome

Susan Orlean

This Friday, March 19

Q&A Session from 3 - 4 PM in the Peters Recreation Center (corner of Woodrow and Shaw)

Reading and Book Signing, Peters Recreation Center 7 PM

Parking in Lot V (off Woodrow Ave) will be relaxed

The award-winning author and New Yorker staff writer will host a Q&A session at 3 PM and read from her work starting at 7 PM in the Peters Recreation Center, with a book signing to follow. Orlean is the author of The Orchid Thief, a profile of Florida orchid grower, breeder, and collector John Laroche, The Bullfighter Checks Her Make-up: My Encounters with Extraordinary People, and My Kind of Place: Travel Stories from a Woman Who's Been Everywhere. She has contributed articles to Vogue, Rolling Stone, Esquire, and Outside, and is currently at work on a biographical history about the dog actor Rin Tin Tin.

Please come early for what promises to be an exciting and well-attended event

KUDOS: March 2010

2010-03-16T15:00:00.000-07:00

Congratulations are in order for our students and faculty on yet another successful month of publishing and academic news!

Umbrella Factory and the Sewanee Writers' Conference

A double dose of good news for fiction student Tiffany Crum, whose story "Virginia" was accepted for publication in Umbrella Factory and who has been accepted to the Sewanee Writers' Conference this summer. Way to go!

The Atlantic Student Writing Contest

Congratulations to essayist Rachel Jackson, whose essay "Principles of Concealment" was selected as an Honorable Mention in The Atlantic's Student Writing Contest!

The Chaffey Review and good news on PhD Program applications

Two pieces of great news for essayist Sarah Fawn Montgomery, whose essay, "Deferred Intentions" was accepted for the May issue of the Chaffey Review, and who was recently accepted to the University of Nebraska's PhD Program in Creative Writing. Sarah Fawn is also on the waiting list at the University of Missouri, another fine PhD program. Way to go, Sarah Fawn!

Brevity Guest Blogger

Nonfiction professor Steven Church acted as guest blogger for Brevity, commenting on ethics and aesthetics in nonfiction in reaction to John D'Agata's new book, About a Mountain. Check it out here!

Monkey Puzzle

Poetry professor Tim Skeen's poem "Theosophy" appears in the new issue of Monkey Puzzle, as does poetry student, Barbara Price's poem, "I Hope You Got a Copy of the Memo, Louise." Congratulations to Tim and Barbara!

Book contract with Heydey Books

Interdisciplinary Master of Arts student Joel Pickford, who took classes in creative nonfiction with the MFA Program last year, has just learned that the project on which he was working, a book titled "Soul Calling: A Photographer's Journey in the Hmong Diaspora" has been accepted for publication by Heydey Books. Heart congratulations, Joel!

Poetry Rhythm Magazine

Recent poetry graduate Ana Garza has a poem, "On the Phone" appearing in the next issue of Poetry Rhythm Magazine. Congratulations, Ana!

Writers' Bloc

Fiction student Peter Driscoll's story, "The Perpetual State of Hegemony," just came out in Writers' Bloc, an online journal. Congratulations, Peter!

North American Review

Poet Angela Armstrong's poem, "Once in the Mojave Desert," appears in the latest issue of North American Review. Congratulations, Angela!

KUDOS: February 2010

2010-02-17T09:08:00.000-08:00

It's been a busy month for the MFA Program! We're smack in the middle of an exciting hiring process for a new Fiction faculty member and the Spring Reading Series is in full gear. This week, we're pleased to welcome essayist and Director of the Iowa Writers' Workshop, John D'Agata, whose new book, About a Mountain just hit shelves.

But before we get too far ahead of ourselves, let's take a moment to celebrate some great news for our students and faculty...

The Day After: My Atomic Angst

Creative Nonfiction professor Steven Church's new new book (remember, Theoretical Killings: Essays and Accidents just came out a couple of months ago) was just released from Soft Skull Press. The man's on fire. Congrats, Steven!

The Acentos Review

Fiction student Rafael Sanchez's story "Ambivalencia" was just accept for publication by The Acentos Review, a fine online literary journal that's been around for a few years now. Hearty congrats to Rafael!

Safe From the Neighbors

Our great friend and former Program Director, Steve Yarbrough's new novel, Safe From the Neighbors, has been reviewed in the Washington Post! Congratulations, Steve!

MFA Grad Lands Job in D.C.

Recent Creative Nonfiction MFA grad Karen Sikola just accepted a two-month position as a Scholar Relations Advisor for the Congressional Youth Leadership Council in Washington, D.C. Way to go, Karen!

New York Times piece on Here, Bullet

Poetry professor Brian Turner's collection Here, Bullet was spotlighted in a recent New York Times piece. Congratulations, Brian!

The Pinch

Creative Nonfiction student Sarah Fawn Montgomery's essay "Death: An Encyclopedia Account of Ritual and Remembrance" has been accepted for publication by The Pinch for their fall 2010 issue.

TIME YOU LET ME IN: 25 POETS UNDER 25

TIME YOU LET ME IN: 25 POETS UNDER 25 is a wonderful new collection of poems put together by Naomi Shihab Nye. The best part is that the volume includes poems by our own students, Michelle Brittain and Jocelyn Stott. Congratulations to Michelle and Jocelyn!

Kill Screen

Recent Creative Nonfiction graduate Josh Geist's essay "King of the Ogres" has been picked up by a new magazine, Kill Screen, which is setting out to publish serious writing about gaming.

EVENT: READING THURSDAY, Feb 4: Poets Sasha Pimentel Chacón and Mike Medrano

2010-02-03T14:44:00.000-08:00

Spring 2010 MFA Reading Series at
California State University, Fresno
Presents
Sasha Pimentel Chacón
Winner of an Academy of Poets Prize, former Phillip Levine Fellow and a recent multiple Pushcart Prize Nominee. Her first book of poems is Insides She Swallowed
and
Mike Medrano
Author of Born in the Cavity of Sunsets, his first book of poetry. He is host of Pakatelas, a literary radio show on KFCF 88.1 FM.

Alice Peters Auditorium in the University Business Center
(Room 191)

7:00 PM

KUDOS: January 2010

2010-01-25T16:22:00.000-08:00

With the New Year comes more exciting news about our faculty and students! Our most recent causes for celebration:

Able Muse

Poet Ana Garza has two terrific poems in the latest Able Muse. Their titles are "When I Least Expect It" and "Weeding a Dog's Grave," and you can click on audio to hear her read them. Very cool. Congratulations, Ana!

Another Pushcart Nomination

Vince Gotera, editor of North American Review, nominated Angie Armstrong's poem "Stripper Names" for a Pushcart Prize!

Congratulations to Angie!

United States Arts Literary Fellowship

Our own poetry faculty member Brian Turner was awarded a prestigious United States Artists Literary Fellowship for 2009. Hearty congrats to Brian!

Asia Literary Review

The Asia Literary Review will soon be publishing a short story, "Mrs. Saichue," by our friend and recent MFA grad, Burlee Vang! He has now published in all three genres. Congratulations, Burlee!

Editor's Choice Award, Poets of the American West

Program Coordinator and poet Connie Hales has won the Editor's Choice Award from the editors of the anthology Poets of the American West for her poem "Covenant: Atomic Energy Commission, 1950s." The book will be out later this year. Congratulations, Connie!

Fringe Magazine

Fiction writer Tiffany Crum's fine short story, "Bloodsuckers," has been accepted for publication in Fringe Magazine , an online literary journal just selected to be featured in the Standout Markets column of Writer's Digest. Congratulations, Tiffany!

KUDOS: Fall 2009

2009-12-08T09:15:00.000-08:00

Monkey Puzzle

Jasmine Armstrong's poem "Speaking of Tehran on a Train," which was dedicated to Professor Samina Najmi, was accepted for publication in Monkey Puzzle. Congratulations, Jasmine!

Pushcart Prize Nomination & Anthologized Poem

James Tyner's poem, "At a Barbecue for R.C. One Week After He is Out of Iraq" was nominated for a Pushcart Prize by Autumn House Press. He also has a poem in the new anthology THE WORKING POET: 75 WRITING EXERCISES AND A POETRY ANTHOLOGY. It's available from Amazon.com. Congratulations, James!

Translation in Ezra

Kirsten Sanft's translation of an excerpt from the book-length poem "Altazor" by the Chilean poet, Vicente Huidobro has been accepted for publication in the Spring 2010 issue of Ezra. Congratulations, Kirsten!

MELUS

Recent MFA grad Burlee Vang's poems "Story Cloth" and "Incantation for Rebirth" have just been accepted for publication in MELUS' special issue of Poetry and Poetics.

Verdad, Askew, and Poet Lore

David Dominguez has 4 poems out this month: “Consuelo” and “Unpacking, ” Askew poetry magazine. “The Ted Dominguez Latin American Combo,” Verdad literary journal. “To the Ghost of Cesar Chavez,” Poet Lore magazine.

Kartika Review

Vuong Vu, recent MFA graduate--has a poem "The Hmong" in the current issue of Kartika Review.

Andrés Montoya Memorial Scholarship

These are $500 scholarships awarded on the basis of merit to Chicano/a students who are pursuing a career in creative writing. This year's recipients are:

Graduate student: Mario Rosado

Undergraduate Students: Erin Alvarez and David Campos

(This year the judges decided to award a scholarship to two undergraduate students because they couldn't choose between two terrific finalists. )

Congratulations to all of you!

Theoretical Killings & a Pushcart Prize Nomination

Theoretical Killings: Essays and Accidents, Steven Church's latest book, is out and available. Go get yourself a copy! And congratulations to Steven!

"In this collage of essays, letters, movies, advertisements, and every other medium known to man, Steven Church, author of The Guinness Book of Me, journeys to the depths of the human mind through his often bizarre turns of thought. Church philosophizes without any philosophical rhetoric and questions everything without seeming to question a thing. This thought-provoking postmodern jumble of serial killers, obsessive correspondences, and jumbo toys will leave you both enlightened and thoroughly entertained."

Also, Steven's essay "The Sound of Retreat" was nominated by The Pinch for a Pushcart Prize. Congratulations!

Pushcart Prize Nomination

Poetry Professor Tim Skeen's poem "Theosophy" has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize by the editors of MONKEY PUZZLE! Congratulations, Tim!

Slant

MFA student Barbara Price's poem "Happy Birthday" has just been accepted for the May 2010 issue of Slant: A Journal of Poetry! Congratulations, Barb!

New South

MFA graduate, Eric Parker just had a nonfiction piece, "Feeding the Rich," accepted for publication in New South. Eric was solicited by an Editor after she read his blog, where Eric writes about his experience delivering pizza to some of the wealthiest people in America. Check it out: www.feedingtherich.blogspot.com

Nice work, Eric! Congratulations!

Normal School Fiction/Nonfiction Contest

2009-11-18T17:02:00.000-08:00

The First Annual Normal Prize in Fiction and Nonfiction

Deadline for Submissions: Feb. 12, 2010

Fiction Prize: $1,000 & Publication

Nonfiction Prize: $1,000 & Publication

Final Judges

Margot Livesey: Fiction
David Shields: Nonfiction

GUIDELINES

All submissions must be no more than 10,087 words double-spaced, 12 pt. font, with numbered pages and NO IDENTIFYING INFORMATION ON MANUSCRIPT.
Entry fee: $20 per submission. Please make checks out to “The Normal School.”
All submissions must include 2 Cover Sheets:

1^st Cover Sheet must include: a) Title b) Genre c) Name of Author d) 50 word biographical statement e) mailing address f) email address
2^nd Cover Sheet must include: a) Title of Work b) Genre *NO OTHER IDENTIFYING INFORMATION CAN APPEAR ON THIS COVER SHEET.

All submissions must be previously unpublished in any form (print or electronic media).
Simultaneous submissions ARE allowed as long you notify editors of The Normal School should your piece be accepted elsewhere. Multiple submissions ARE allowed, but each submission must be accompanied by the entry fee.
Manuscripts will not be returned. Please do not send your only copy. If you want verification that we have received your manuscript, send a self-addressed, stamped postcard.
Please address all submissions to:

The Normal School

Normal Prize Contest – “Genre”

5245 N. Backer Ave.

M/S PB 98

California State University, Fresno

Fresno, CA 93740

All submissions must be postmarked between 12/1/2009 and 2/12/2010.

Please be sure to SPECIFY GENRE on envelope and cover sheet.

All entrants will receive a complimentary issue of The Normal School.

Winners will be announced before the Fall 2010 issue via email.

All entries will be considered for publication.

Checklist

Payment of $20 U.S. dollars made out to The Normal School.
Your manuscript (double-spaced, 12 pt. font, 10,087 words or fewer, and NO IDENTIFYING INFORMATION).
2 Cover sheets – one with biography and address, one with title and genre only.

Judging: All submissions will be read “blind” in an effort to ensure the most ethical contest possible. TNS staff will read and narrow down submissions to a collection of approximately 10-15 semi-finalists and then pass these selections on to the outside judge. The final judge will not be sent the names of the finalists. Only their manuscripts, without identifying information, will be forwarded. The outside judge will then select 1 Winner and 2-3 Finalists in each genre. TNS will publish the contest winner and reserve the right to consider the finalists for publication as well.

For More Info, Visit the Normal School Blog.

Event: Joe Stroud Reading in Madden Library

2009-11-15T22:13:00.000-08:00

THURSDAY, Nov 19:
A Reading by Poet

Joe Stroud

Madden Library
on the CSUF Campus

7:00 pm Free and Open To The Public

Most recently, he is the author of Of this World: New and Selected Poems, from Copper Canyon Press. He is also the author of the collections, “Country of Light”, “Below Cold Mountain”, “In the Sleep of Rivers: [Poems], and “Signatures”

He has been awarded the Witter Bynner Fellowship from the Library of Congress, and his poems have been featured on National Public Radio, Los Angeles Times, and The Washington Post.

Thesis Defense Reading Series Friday, 11/13/09

2009-11-09T22:37:00.000-08:00

Join us for the first event in the 2009-2010 Thesis Defense Reading Series!
Graduating students
Jasmine Marshall Armstrong, Marcus Chinn & Matthew Lance
will read their poetry and prose.

FRIDAY, 11/13/09 ALICE PETERS AUDITORIUM (PB 191)7:00 PM
parking FREE IN LOT J

EVENT: Michael Luis Medrano

2009-11-04T11:44:00.000-08:00

Fresno Poet Michael Luis Medrano, In Conversation

On behalf of the Chicano Writers and Artists Association, I’d like to
invite you all to join us for an evening of poetics and discussion on
writing with Fresno poet Michael Luis Medrano. CWAA is excited to have
the opportunity to discuss topics like publishing, building a
manuscript, landscape in our writing, submitting to journals and many
other important issues. Michael will also read from his recently
published collection of poetry, Born in the Cavity of Sunsets, which
will be available for purchase at the event. Please mark your
calendars for:

Thursday, November 12, 2009

7:00PM

CSU, FRESNO – Peters Building 192

The event will be moderated by MFA student Miguel Jimenez and promises
to be both insightful and moving. We hope to see you there!

EVENT: Ron Carlson & Michelle Latiolais Reading Friday, Oct 30th ALICE PETERS AUDITORIUM (PB 191) 7:00 PM

2009-10-21T13:55:00.000-07:00

Ron Carlson is the author of eight books of fiction, including the novel Five Skies. His stories have appeared

in Esquire, Harper’s, The New Yorker, and Gentleman’s Quarterly. He has received a number of honors and

awards, including a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in Fiction, a National Society of Arts and

Letters Literature Award, and the 1993 Ploughshares Cohen Prize. He directs the graduate program in fiction

at the University of California, Irvine.

Michelle Latiolais is a Professor of English at the University of California at Irvine. She is the author of the

novel Even Now which received the Gold Medal for Fiction from the Commonwealth Club of California. Her

second novel, A Proper Knowledge, was published in 2008 by Bellevue Literary Press. She has published

writing in three anthologies, Absolute Disaster, Women On The Edge: Writing From Los Angeles and Woof!

Writers on Dogs. Her stories and essays have appeared in Zyzzyva, The Antioch Review, Western Humani-

ties Review and the Santa Monica Review. Most recently she had work in issues of the Iowa Review and the

Northwest Review.

Relaxed Parking in LOT J

Questions: 278-2553

INTERVIEW: Steve Yarbrough

2009-10-19T12:41:00.000-07:00

Steve Yarbrough Interview – Thursday, October 15, 2009

Interviewed by current poetry student, Juan Guzman

JG: First off, on behalf of SJLA and the MFA program at CSU, Fresno, welcome back! We are all eager to hear about what you’ve been up to in these recent months, since you joined the faculty at Emerson College. Obviously, you’ve gone through a tremendous change since the last time I’ve seen you in Fresno and I’m curious as to how you are adjusting to life in Boston?

SY: Boston’s great, Juan, and the main problem there is choosing what to do. The other night I did a reading at Barnes & Noble on the Common that overlapped with a Jill McCorkle reading at Harvard, and there were something like five other readings around town that night, including at least three that I wished I could have gone to. There’s great music all the time, and you can see any film you want to see. And there are the Patriots, too, and you know how I love football. But you still have to keep the focus on work—on doing your own and helping the students do theirs. You can’t let attractions become distractions.

JG: Has the move inspired you to write?

SY: No, I inspire myself to write, just like I did here. But when I get out of class at night and, say, Pamela Painter sends me a text and says come next door to Remington’s (a bar) because “we’re all here” and I know that “we’re all here” might mean Margot Livesey, Ladette Randolph, Dan Tobin, Alice Hoffman, Tom Perrotta, Rick Russo, etc.—you realize you’re in a very big pond where you’re just one more fish that had better keep doing what a fish does best. But there are some fine fish in Fresno too—the Haleses, Steven Church, Tim Skeen, Alex Espinoza, Dave Borofka—and I hope all the students appreciate them.

JG: Tell me about Emerson: Top rated MFA program; wonderful, gifted faculty; historic, scenic town; Ploughshares! Don’t get me wrong, being a part of the writing community here and reading the work of my peers and professors, I really am proud to be a part of CSU, Fresno’s MFA program. But you’ve joined a university which is considerably older than Fresno State, and, not only that, a university which is strictly dedicated to two huge components of our trade: art and communication. What is that like as both a teacher of writing and a writer?

SY: Well, I believe I’m right in saying that creative writing is one of the two top majors at Emerson. So it’s really huge there, and it’s one of the main reasons students choose the school. Right now, I’m seeing the biggest differences in Emerson and Fresno State at the undergraduate level. I’m teaching an advanced undergraduate fiction writing class, and almost everyone in it is working toward a BFA in creative writing. They’ve been focused on fiction writing since the day they came there; so what I see in that class—it’s called WR407—is worlds beyond what I’d see in a typical 163 class at Fresno State, though I often saw some very good writing in that class down through the years too. (For instance, I almost never see a student making a grammar or spelling mistake at Emerson, whereas in the last couple of 163 classes I taught here, I spent most of my time correcting sentence errors.) Furthermore, my undergraduate classes are limited to twelve students, so I can give all of them a lot of time. We also have a huge program in publishing, and one of the effects of that is that the writing students have been exposed to all aspects of the publishing business and tend to understand things like the importance of reviews, the politics of submissions, and so on. Now, as far as graduate students go, I’ve sure got some fine ones at Emerson. But man, I also had some devilishly good ones at Fresno State. I’d put the graduate fiction students I had here during the last three or four years up against anybody else’s anywhere. They were that good. They are that good.

JG: I have to ask, tell me something we have at CSU, Fresno that they don’t have at Emerson? They won’t find out, I swear.

SY: They most certainly will find out. In fact, they already know. You have one of the most innovative literary magazines out there—The Normal School—and my friends at Emerson are really impressed by it. Emerson certainly has one of the greatest ones, Ploughshares, but the Normal School is doing some things no one else is. It’s carved out a special spot for itself.

JG: I remember reading your 2006 novel The End of California and being excited that Fresno played a big role in the storyline. Do you find yourself writing (or wanting to write) about Fresno since you’ve left? Is that urge greater, or different, from what it was like when you lived in Fresno? I guess, ultimately, I wonder if (or how) leaving Fresno, which was your home for a long time, affected your writing.

SY: Well, that’s a great question. Twenty-something years ago, moving to Fresno made me think a lot more about the place I come from, Mississippi, and I started focusing on it in a way that I never had before, and that had a lot to do with distance and being forced to live in my imagination. When I lived here, I almost never wrote about Fresno. But now that I’m somewhere else, maybe I will. Right now, I’m working on a novel that’s set in Virginia, where I lived before I moved to Fresno. Some things take decades in gestation.

JG: Recently, I hear, you read from a short story that was written from the point of view of a woman in her 50’s. Where do you find the voice to write a story like that? You are clearly not a woman; so, tell me, how do you come to trust yourself in that voice?

SY: You may recall from being in my classes that I deeply distrust the advice “write what you know,” if that advice means only “write what you yourself have experienced.” I have less perspective on my own experiences than I do those of almost anyone else. As far as writing about women characters, well, I have a wife, two daughters and a dog named Lucy. I’ve spent a lot more time around women than I have around men, and if I may say so I tend to like them more.

JG: In that story, the woman recalls conversations between her 3-year-old self and her father. The story also tends to break from the chronology of time, weaving the narrator’s adult voice with the voice of her childhood, am I correct?

SY: Yes.

JG: I’m a writer of poetry, but I’ll always be a huge lover of fiction and I think narrative design, or structure, is one of the biggest hurdles I’ll have to conquer if I ever decide to dabble in that genre. Finding a voice, or voices, that your readers can trust and believe is really challenging enough and I’m assuming that your story played with time and its constructs, so I wonder, how do you gauge that sort of power over your fiction? When are flashbacks and bends in time too much and when do you know they are absolutely crucial? How does a writer commit to a narrator and still make all the other characters jump from the page?

SY: Some people hate hearing this, but I find something infinitely mysterious in the choices I make when it comes to such matters as structure and technique. The first line of that story you’re asking about is “What she remembers, in the time she allots for remembering, is how cold the house got in winter.” I wrote that line fourteen years ago in my office at Fresno State. I don’t remember why I wrote it the way I did. But everything else in that story—the distance between the events being written about and the position of the POV character in the present; her ability to turn memory on and off; her occasional distance from her own feelings; and a coldness motif—all of it came from the first line. My first sentence, which I don’t remember writing, told me how to construct the remainder of the story. Isn’t that a mystery?

JG: What are your thoughts on narrative (or other forms of) design/structure on the novel as opposed to the short story? Do you think it’s different for the two?

SY: I’d say that the story invites—no, forces—you to confront form on every page, in every line. The novel allows you more leeway. I find writing novels easier, in the sense that you sink into the narrative and live with it for years and the checks you keep writing don’t have to be cashed for a long time. But I love the story more than any other form. It forgives nothing. It’s the ultimate jealous, possessive lover.

JG: Your newest book, Safe from Neighbors, hasn’t even been released yet, but I’m expecting it’s going to be a hit. You can pre-order it online, but it’ll be out from Knopf in January, and from what I’ve read of it, it sounds really powerful and also really rather dark. Just my style! It takes place in Loring, Mississippi, a place all of your readers are certainly familiar with by now. Steve, I guess I’m just obsessed by landscapes today, but Mississippi is a landscape that you belong to. Is it easier for you to write about places like Mississippi rather than places like Fresno, which is still another landscape of yours?

SY: I’ll always go back to Mississippi in my work, Juan, and it may be because I was a child there—tabula rasa—and the things I witnessed and experienced made an enormous impact on me. I lived through the Civil Rights Movement, and most people today, when we have an African-American president, cannot even begin to imagine what I once saw Black people go through.

JG: Let’s talk about that. Safe from Neighbors is a book which, at times, will be set in the segregated south. The novel flashes back to Loring, Mississippi, 1962; a pivotal decade for civil rights and the south. How much attention to historic detail did you pay while writing this novel and was that important to you? Was it important to the novel?

SY: Well, I lived though those times, as I said above, but I certainly did a lot of background reading on the James Meredith crisis before starting to write the book. I learned things I didn’t know and recalled things I’d forgotten. As for detail, I want the period details to be right, but I don’t want history to overwhelm the fiction. It’s still an act of the imagination, you know?

JG: Obviously, the novel has to tackle racial issues, in what ways is this subject difficult to write about? I know you and so I know that this is really a personal issue for you. How does your personal connection with this part of the country, in this particular time in history, come into play when writing a novel like Safe from Neighbors?

SY: I had finished the novel before Obama was elected president. But a lot of what I’m seeing right now makes me very glad I wrote this particular book. I thought that when Jimmy Carter said much of the opposition to Obama was the result of racism, he was one hundred percent correct—and maybe it took a white Southerner to say it. The vitriol the President is facing is unlike anything I’ve seen before on the national stage. But it’s exactly like what I witnessed every day growing up in Indianola, Mississippi, where a Black man was supposed to know his place and remain there.

JG: In which ways do you think writing a short story (or novel, for that matter) about racial tensions in Loring different from writing one that takes place in Fresno, for you, I mean. Which would you have a more difficult time writing? Because don’t you think there are similarities in both situations? I’m just really fascinated by the fact that you do carry a number of landscapes with you, you even belong to Poland! How do you manage that, as a writer, how easy is it for you to switch between them?

SY: More mystery here, Juan. I could always write about Poland. I once wrote a pretty good story set in Italy after spending all of a week there. But Fresno never quite captured my imagination as a landscape for fiction, though, as I said above, maybe that will change now. I’ll say this: some of the racist remarks I heard in my twenty years here were every bit as virulent as you’d hear anywhere in the South—or anywhere on earth.

JG: Will you be back for a reading and signing when the book is released? Maybe an appearance sometime in the spring?

SY: Knopf hasn’t set up the book tour yet. But I’ll go wherever they tell me!

JG: You know, Phil Levine will be on our campus for a reading in April…jealous?

SY: Dude, I’m sitting at Phil Levine’s desk right now!

JG: Who are some of the writers coming to Emerson this year? Any suggestions for SJLA? We’re looking to bring people to Fresno right now.

SY: We had Kathryn Harrison at Emerson recently, and the poet Alan Shapiro, a great reader, is coming soon. I’d suggest you guys try to get Tom Perrotta, Ron Rash, Margot Livesey, all fine writers and great readers.

JG: What are you working on now?

SY: I’m working on a novel tentatively titled The Fork. Can’t say much about it, except that it’s a struggle.

JG: Beside the wonderful poetry, what do you miss most about Fresno?

SY: I miss the many people I love. They enriched my life more than they will ever know.

JG: If I give you some of my poems, can you force Ploughshares to publish them?

SY: I can’t even get them to publish me!

KUDOS: September/October 2009

2009-10-19T12:08:00.000-07:00

The Colorado Review

Nonfiction student Rachel Jackson's essay, "Hellcat Court" has been accepted for publication in the Summer 2010 issue of The Colorado Review. Congratulations, Rachel!

American Book Award

Former student and colleague Daniel Chacón co-edited a collection with Mimi R. Gladstein of Jose Antonio Burciaga's work titled The Last Supper of Chicano Heroes: The Collected Works of José Antonio Burciaga. It just won the American Book Award! Congratulations to Daniel!

Willows Wept Review

Poet Ana Garza has a poem in the current issue of Willows Wept Review. Congratulations, Ana!

Shakespeare's Monkey Review and California Educator

Double good news for Megan Bohigian, whose poem "Matter Over Mind" appears in the current issue of Shakespeare's Monkey Review, and who is also featured in an article about teaching creative writing in California Educator. Way to go, Megan!

Fourth Genre, Brevity, and The Colorado Review

Triple score for Steven Church whose essays "Ultrasonic," "Lag Time," and "After the Storm" are forthcoming in Fourth Genre, Brevity, and The Colorado Review, respectively. Congratulations, Steven!

The Pinch

Congratulations to Carol Claassen, whose essay "Terminal Punctuation" has been accepted for publication by The Pinch. Way to go, Carol!

Poets of the American West

Congratulations to Program Director and poet Connie Hales, whose poems "Out of This Place" and "Covenant: Atomic Energy Commission, 1950s" have been accepted for publication in Poets of the American West by Many Voices Press, due out in June 2010.

Here is a Pen, Achiote Press Chapbook Anthology

Poet Andre Yang has a poem in "Here is a Pen," a chapbook anthology published by Achiote Press. Congratulations, Andre!

The Mississippi Review

MFA graduate Liz Scheid's essay, "Jellyfish" has been accepted for publications in The Mississippi Review. Great job, Liz!

Monkey Puzzle

Poet Barbara Price's poem "I Hope You Got a Copy of the Memo, Louise" has been accepted for publication in Monkey Puzzle, issue #8. Congratulations, Barbara!

EVENT: Steve Yarbrough Reading Thursday, Oct. 15, Peters Rec Center Auditorium, 7 PM

2009-10-06T11:59:00.000-07:00

Steve Yarbrough Reading

THURSDAY, OCT. 15

Peters Recreation Center Auditorium

(Corner of Woodrow and Shaw)

7 PM

Don't miss this opportunity to welcome friend, novelist, and former MFA Program Director Steve Yarbrough back to Fresno for a night of reading and fun. Book signing to follow.

Steve's bio:

Born in Indianola, Mississippi, he received his B.A. and M.A. in English from the University of Mississippi and his M.F.A. in Creative Writing from theUniversity of Arkansas. Writing largely within the Southern tradition, he draws his themes and characters from Southern history and mores in ways that have been compared to Flannery O'Connor, William Faulkner, and Willie Morris.

Yarbrough's major works include the novels The End of California (2006), Prisoners of War (2004), Visible Spirits (2001) and The Oxygen Man (1999), as well as short story collections such as Family Men (1990), Mississippi History (1994) and Veneer (1998). His latest novel, Safe from the Neighbors, is forthcoming from Knopf.

His honors include the Mississippi Authors Award, the California Book Award, and an award from the Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters. His novel, Prisoners of War, was a finalist for the 2005 PEN/Faulkner award. His work has been translated into Dutch, Japanese and Polish and published in the United Kingdom.

A professor of creative writing for many years at California State University, Fresno, Yarbrough recently joined the faculty in the Department of Writing, Literature and Publishing at Emerson College in Boston.

He is married to the Polish literary translator Ewa Hryniewicz-Yarbrough and they have two daughters, Tosha and Lena. He lives in Stoneham, Massachusetts.

Panel Discussion on Available Summer Workshops

2009-09-30T13:22:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, October 14th from 3-4 PM in PB 194

Please join us for an informal Q&A on summer writing conferences.
MFA graduate students

Andre Yang, Tiffany Crum, Rachel Jackson, Mario Rosado, and Miguel Jimenez

Panelists in Poetry, Fiction and Creative Non-Fiction Will discuss their experiences this past summer at Breadloaf, Tin House, VONA, and Kundiman.

We'll have information available on these and a number of other programs.

Discussion topics will include application guidelines, deadlines, funding, and other important topics. Please join us!

KUDOS: Summer 2009

2009-09-03T14:59:00.000-07:00

Massachusetts Review

Essayist (and poet, and fiction writer, and sometime voiceover specialist) Burlee Vang has an essay, "Polaroids of Tom" in the new Massachusetts Review. Congratulations, Burlee!

Witness Magazine

Congratulations to Elizabeth Martin, whose story "The Only Things Virginia Loves" was accepted for the December issue of Witness!

The Southern Review

A heart congratulations to poetry professor Tim Skeen, whose poems "Death's Younger Brother" and "My Brother's Trombone" appeared in the summer issue of The Southern Review!

The Northwest Review

And another heart congratulations to our other poetry professor, Connie Hales, who recently had three poems accepted for the Winter and Spring issues of The Northwest Review!

The Packingtown Review and The Pinch and Sonora Review AND Lionsgate Studios and Fox TV!

Nonfiction professor Steven Church has scored a triple-header with his essays, "Will the Real K. Nelson Please Stand Up," which was accepted by The Packingtown Review, "The Sound of Retreat" which was picked up by The Pinch, and "Confessions of a Parasite," which found a home at the Sonora Review.

Additionally, we've just learned that Lionsgate Studios and Fox TV have just purchased the television rights to develop a series based on Steven's memoir, The Guinness Book of Me. Way to go, Steven!

KUDOS: Summer 2009 Awards & Conferences

2009-07-09T14:47:00.000-07:00

Writer-in-Residence Job, or Life After the MFA

Kristin FitzPatrick just landed a job as the Eva Jane Romaine Coombe Writer-in-Residence at the Seven Hills School in Cincinnati for the 2009-2010 year. Each semester, she'll teach one creative writing class to juniors and seniors and direct or help with creative writing-related events at the school. Fabulous, Kristin!

Richard Wright Literary Excellence Award

On his final day in Fresno, Steve Yarbrough learned that he is the recipient of the Richard Wright Literary Excellence Award. Previous winners include Eudora Welty, Willie Morris, Margaret Walker Alexander and Beth Henley. You make us proud, Steve, and you'll be missed!

Bread Loaf Writers' Conference

Three students and one faculty member will be representing Fresno State at the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference this August at Middlebury College in Vermont! Alex Espinoza was invited to be a Fellow in Fiction and students Rachel Jackson, Tiffany Crum, and recent graduate Kristin FitzPatrick were accepted to the conference as well. Congratulations Alex, Rachel, Tiffany, and Kristin!

One of LA's Most Notable Writers

Alex Espinoza has been chosen by City of Los Angeles’s Department of Cultural Affairs and the National Endowment for the Arts to participate as part of the official delegation of "LA's most notable writers" at the 23rd Annual Guadalajara International Book Fair (Féria Internacional del Libro). As part of the delegation, Alex will serve as an ambassador for both Los Angeles and for the United States, giving readings and participating on panels. The most prominent book fair in the Spanish-speaking world, the Féria Internacional del Libro is the second only to Frankfurt’s book fair in scope and reputation. About 2,000 writers of international stature have taken part in this forum of literary discussion and critical thought; past participants have included Margaret Atwood, Carlos Fuentes, Gabriel García Márquez, Toni Morrison, Salman Rushdie and Mario Vargas Llosa. Congratulations, Alex!

KUDOS: Summer 2009 Publications

2009-07-09T14:26:00.000-07:00

Interview with Sandra Cisneros

Miguel Jimenez wrote a fantastic piece for the latest issue of a new, nationally distributed Latino focused magazine called Cafe Magazine on the 25th anniversary of Sandra Cisneros' seminal book, THE HOUSE ON MANGO STREET. Nice work, Miguel!

Upcoming Events: Final Thesis Defense, Naomi Shihab Nye Reading, Lysley Tenorio Reading

2009-04-13T13:36:00.000-07:00

Attention All Lovers of Poetry & Prose!

Mark your calendars for the FINAL THREE READINGS of the 2009 Spring semester. It's been a busy season, but we're ending the year with a bang.

Final Thesis Defense
Friday, April 17, 2009 7:00 PM Peters Recreation Center Auditorium (corner of Woodrow and Shaw)

Come out and support your friends and colleagues as they read from their masters theses!

Naomi Shihab Nye Reading
Thursday, April 23, 2009
7:00 PM
Satellite Student Union

Award-winning poet Naomi Shihab Nye will be reading on the Fresno State campus. Don't miss this chance to hear one of the nation's premier poets. Event is free and open to the public.

Naomi Shihab Nye was born on March 12, 1952, in St. Louis, Missouri, to a Palestinian father and an American mother. During her high school years, she lived in Ramallah in Jordan, the Old City in Jerusalem, and San Antonio, Texas, where she later received her B.A. in English and world religions from Trinity University.

Nye is the author of numerous books of poems, including You and Yours (BOA Editions, 2005), which received the Isabella Gardner Poetry Award, as well as 19 Varieties of Gazelle: Poems of the Middle East (2002), a collection of new and selected poems about the Middle East, Fuel (1998), Red Suitcase (1994), and Hugging the Jukebox (1982).

Nye gives voice to her experience as an Arab-American through poems about heritage and peace that overflow with a humanitarian spirit. About her work, the poet William Stafford has said, "her poems combine transcendent liveliness and sparkle along with warmth and human insight. She is a champion of the literature of encouragement and heart. Reading her work enhances life."

Lysley Tenorio Reading
Friday, May 1, 2009
7:00 PM
Alice Peters Auditorium (PB 191)

Winner of the prestigious Whiting Award, short story writer Lysley Tenorio will read and talk with students and the public.

Tenorio, who was born in the Philippines, is a graduate of UC Berkeley and the master of fine arts program at the University of Oregon.

His short stories, often drawing upon the experiences of first-generation Filipino immigrants in California, have been anthologized in "The Pushcart Prize" and "Best New American Voices" and have appeared in the Atlantic Monthly, Manoa, Ploughshares and other publications.

Tenorio, a past winner of the Nelson Algren Short Story Award, has been a Wallace Stegner fellow at Stanford and a John Steinbeck fellow at San Jose State University and has received fellowships from the National Endowment of the Arts, Yaddo and the MacDowell Colony. He is at work on a novel.

EVENT: Thesis Defense Reading: Courney Miller, Ria Williams, and Burlee Vang

2009-03-26T10:42:00.001-07:00

Thesis Defense Reading:
Courtney Miller
Ria Williams
Burlee Vang

Friday, March 27
7:00 PM
Peters Recreation Center Auditorium

Come out and support three wonderful writers in their culminating readings this Friday, March 27, 2009. Courtney, Ria, and Burlee will read from their MFA theses in the Peters Recreation Center Auditorium (corner of Woodrow and Shaw, NOT in PB 191 as originally announced!).

EVENT: Tod Goldberg Reading and Q&A TODAY, 3/26/09

2009-03-26T10:33:00.000-07:00

TODAY: Novelist Tod Goldberg Reading
Q&A: 3:00 PM in PB 390
Reading and Book Signing: Alice Peters Auditorium (PB 191): 7:30 PM

Don't forget to come out today for what promises to be a fun event-- novelist and short story writer Tod Goldberg will be holding a Q&A session at 3 in PB 390 and then reading from his work tonight at the Alice Peters Auditorium, PB 191, starting at 7:30 PM.

More on Tod:

Tod Goldberg is the author of the novels Living Dead Girl (Soho Press), a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, Fake Liar Cheat (Pocket Books/MTV), Burn Notice: The Fix (Penguin) and the short story collection Simplify (OV Books), a 2006 finalist for the SCBA Award for Fiction and winner of the Other Voices Short Story Collection Prize.

In 2009, he'll release two new books -- the novel Burn Notice: The End Game (Penguin) and Other Resort Cities (OV Books), a second collection of short fiction. His short fiction has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies, including Other Voices, Santa Monica Review, The Sun and Las Vegas Noir (Akashic), twice receiving Special Mention for the Pushcart Prize.

His essays and nonfiction have appeared widely, including in the anthologies When I Was A Loser (Free Press), Don't You Forget About Me: Contemporary Writers on the Films of John Hughes (Simon & Schuster), and Off The Page: Writers Talk About Beginnings, Endings and Everything In Between (WW Norton).

KUDOS: Erin Cook, Brian Turner, Burlee Vang, Sasha Pimentel Chacon, Rachel Jackson, James Tyner, David Durham, Steven Church, Andre Yang, Samina Najmi

2009-03-26T10:03:00.000-07:00

Once again, biog things are afoot in the MFA program and there are lots of congratulations to go around...

Stories in Quiddity International Literary Journal AND Southern Humanities Review

Big congratulations are in order for fiction writer Erin cook, whose recent double-header acceptances include "Gershwin Sings the Blues" (accepted by Quiddity) and "Sticks and Stones," which will come out in Southern Humanities Review. Way to go, Erin!

Book deals with Bloodaxe Books and Alice James Books, PLUS an Amy Lowell Poetry Traveling Scholarship

Poetry professor Brian Turner has a lot to celebrate lately-- his book Talk the Guns is coming out with Alice James Books in April 2010 and with Bloodaxe Books in Fall 2010. He's also hitting the road with an Amy Lowell Poetry Traveling Scholarship, which will fund his travels abroad for the next year. Congrats, Brian!

Essay accepted by Ploughshares

Congratulations to poet/essayist/fiction writer Burlee Vang, who can now add Ploughshares to his list of publications. His Essay, "The Dead" has been accepted for the next issue.

Publication AND Cover mention on American Poetry Review

Poet Sasha Pimentel Chacon has a poem featured in the next issue of American Poetry Review, and is also mentioned on the magazine's cover-- way to go, Sasha!

Publication in Front Porch

Nonfiction writer Rachel Jackson had her essay, Paroxysmal Event: A Personal History of Fainting" accepted for publication by Texas State's literary journal, Front Porch. Way to go, Rachel!

4 Poems in new anthology, The Working Poet

Poet James Tyner has received news that four of his poems will be published in the forthcoming anthology/textbook, The Working Poet: 78 Exercises for Writing Poetry. The poems are After Jumping Some Kids and Taking Their Money, 1988; Hollywood Trash; Bones in the Grapevines; and At a Barbecue for Robert Clark One Week After He is Out of Iraq. Congratulations, James!

Nomination for the John W. Campbell Award

Fiction professor David Anthony Durham is among five nominees for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, alongside Aliette de Bodard, Felix Gilman, Tony Pi, and Gord Sellar. Great news, David!

Book Deal with Softskull Press

Nonfiction professor Steven Church deserves a big round of applause for his recent book deal with Softskull Press out of Brooklyn, New York. They will publishing his third book, Cornflake Fallout: Living Through the Apocalypse. Way to go, Steven!

2009 Kundiman Asian American Poetry Retreat Fellowship

Poet Andre Yang is making waves in his first year with news of a fellowship to attend the 2009 Kundiman Asian American Poetry Retreat this summer at the University of Virginia. Congratulations, Andre!

MELUS Journal Publication

Literature professor Samina Najmi has had her critical essay, "Naomi Shihab Nye's Aesthetic
of Smallness and the Military Sublime" accepted for publication in MELUS Journal. Congratulations, Samina!

...And great timing, since Naomi Shihab Nye is scheduled to read at Fresno State on Thursday, April 23. Check back often for more details!

KUDOS: Neil Blaikie, Lucille Sutton, Jeff Tannen, MELUS Conf. Presenters, James Tyner, Liz Scheid, Jocelyn Stott, David Durham, & Stephen Barile!

2009-02-25T09:13:00.000-08:00

Lots of congratulations to go around lately! The MFA Program has been hard at work and it shows:

Story in the Tampa Review

Fiction graduate Neil Blaikie's story, "In the Valley of Amazement" has been accepted by the Tampa Review. Congratulations, Neil!

Stories in SN Review

Congratulations to Lucille Sutton and Jeff Tannen, who have both recently had stories accepted by the SN Review!

MELUS Conference Presenters

Eight students from Samina Najmi's Asian American Literature class have had their papers selected for presentation at the MELUS Conference in Spokane, Washington. Hearty congratulations to Jasmine Armstrong, Darby Cogburn, Miriam Fernandez, Jane Jeffers, Krystal Lake, Eric Malinowsky, Jocelyn Stott, and Georgia Williams!

Poetry Student Wins Coal Hill Chapbook Contest

Congratulations to poetry student James Tyner, whose chapbook The Ghetto Exorcist won this year's Coal Hill Chapbook Contest! James will receive a cash prize and The Ghetto Exorcist will be published online as part of Coal Hill Review and Autumn House Press will print a paperback version as well. Well done, James!

Poem in Third Coast

Poetry grad Liz Scheid's poem. "Tuesday" has been accepted for publication in Third Coast. Way to go, Liz!

Two MFA Poets in forthcoming Naomi Shihab Nye anthology

Big congratulations to Michelle Brittan and Jocelyn Stott, both of whom have poems appearing in a forthcoming anthology of poets under 25 edited by Naomi Shihab Nye (who's also coming to Fresno to read on April 23!)

Acacia News

Fiction professor David Anthony Durham just sold the Spanish rights to his book, Acacia and has learned that another of his books, Pride of Carthage, will have a Romanian edition. Wonderful news!

Poems in Broad River Review

Congratulations to Stephen Barile, whose poems "Accordion," "A Carnival," and "Mission Photo Studio" have been accepted for publication in Broad River Review.

KUDOS: James Espinoza, Erin Cook, David Durham, The Normal School

2009-01-26T10:28:00.000-08:00

Essay published in turnrow

Soon-to-be creative nonfiction MFA graduate James Espinoza has published an essay, "The Work of a Father" in the January issue of turnrow, a bi-annual journal out of the University of Louisiana at Monroe. Congratulations, James!

Stories in Harpur Palate and South Dakota Review

Recent fiction graduate Erin Cook has two publications to celebrate: "Summer Night Breeze, 1976" will appear in Harpur Palate, and "Blue Heron Lake" will be published in South Dakota Review. This makes six publications in twelve months for Erin-- way to go!

Story in anthology, It's All Love

Fiction professor David Anthony Durham has a story coming out soon in the anthology, It's All Love. Congratulations, David!

The Normal School in Barnes & Noble

The Normal School, Fresno State's new, nationally recognized literary magazine, has been picked up for sale by the nation's largest book retailer, Barnes & Noble. Hats off to Steven Church and the Normal crew!

KUDOS: Connie Hales, Steve Yarbrough, James Tyner, Sasha Pimentel Chacon, and Steven Church

2008-12-02T11:18:00.000-08:00

The Ledge 2008 Poetry Awards Finalist

Poetry professor Connie Hales has been named a finalist for The Ledge's 2008 Poetry Awards for her poems "Clarity: Because I'm Not There" and "American Art." They will be published in the 2009 edition of The Ledge Poetry & Fiction magazine. Congratulations, Connie!

Publication in the Oxford American Book of Great Music Writing

Fiction professor and MFA Program Coordinator Steve Yarbrough's essay "Guitar Lessons" was just anthologized in The Oxford American Book of Great Music Writing. It includes work by Roseanne Cash, Steve Martin, Donald Justice and Susan Straight, among others. Congratulations Steve!

Finalist in the 2008 WinningWriters.com War Poetry Contest

Poetry student James Tyner has been named a Finalist in the 2008 WinningWriters.com War Poetry Contest, and they have published three of his poems: "Watching the News in Spain," "Asking My Father About a Scar on His Arm Over Dinner," and "Some Pages from My Book of Pacifism." Congratulations, James!

Publication in American Poetry Review

Recent graduate Sasha Pimentel Chacón (whose book is due out soon) has just had a long poem "Blood Sister" accepted by American Poetry Review. This magazine is probably the most widely distributed poetry magazine in the country--it doesn't get much better than this. Congratulations, Sasha!

New Book Coming Out from Creative Nonfiction Faculty Member Steven Church

Steven Church has just learned that the University of New Orleans Press will publish his new book THEORETICAL KILLINGS: ESSAYS, EXPERIMENTS AND ACCIDENTS. Right now, it looks as if it will be out sometime in the spring of 2009. Needless to say, this is a major boost
for our creative nonfiction program. We'd also note that this accomplishment comes at a time when Steven has also started up our first-rate literary magazine, THE NORMAL SCHOOL, which you may recall is now being distributed by Ingram. Big congratulations, Steven!

Interview with Adam Braver

2008-12-01T14:16:00.000-08:00

Our Story: An Interview with Novelist, Adam Braver
By Miguel Jimenez

ADAM BRAVER is the author of Mr. Lincoln’s Wars, Divine Sarah, and Crows Over the Wheatfield. His books have been selected for the Barnes & Noble Discover New Writers program, Border’s Original Voices series, and twice for the Book Sense list. His work has appeared in journals such as Daedalus, Ontario Review, Cimarron Review, Water-Stone Review, Harvard Review, Tin House, West Branch, and Post Road. He teaches at Roger Williams University in Bristol, RI, and at the NY State Summer Writers Institute.

MJ: It's a great coincidence that we have this opportunity to discuss your work at a time when the word “historic” is being used quite often when discussing the current United States' presidential administration and the one to come in 2009. I say this because you have taken on historic figures in your novels. I'm particularly thinking of “Mr. Lincoln's Wars” and your most recent novel, “Nov. 22, 1963”—both are fictional accounts on the lives of U.S. Presidents, Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy. What drew you to these important figures of American history?

AB: Somebody said to me not that long ago something about writing about those two presidents, and I have to say that I didn't think about it in those terms for some reason. But you know, in “Nov. 22, 1963”, it was more about letting people know what went on in the head, to know the traumatic moments. Most of what it is I did, is that I tried to wonder what went on inside Kennedy as a human being not just as a politician. And it was also much more thematic, based on this idea, question, of what is our mythology? Of myth making and the making of our stories...about the facts and memories of people that all come together to create this history, this story. And there are a lot of books that are coming out where people are really trying to figure out history through literary means as opposed to just biographical means.

MJ: You also wrote two other novels—“Divine Sarah” based on the classic French actress, Sandra Bernhardt, and another on a Van Gogh scholar in “Crows over the Wheatfield.” How do you go about writing novels on such popular figures?

AB: I guess partly naively. Certainly, the Kennedy Assassination was the biggest, the one I knew the most about going into it. But I'm always interested in the off-camera moments because those are just like great photographs that often tell more about a situation with those kind of broad stroke moments. As a reader, I'm always attracted to those kind of books.

MJ: What are the challenges? And do you worry how well you've fictionalized the lives of those popular figures?

AB: On a narrative level, just assuming the small aspects of a life in a day, I have the risk of 'is this going to be interesting enough?' It's a really tricky ethical question about the fictionalizing parts of peoples' lives. For the most part, I try to do it in a respectful and believable way. I try to create people in some sort of honest way where there's a truth. I would not try to make people what they weren't. I would never make somebody cruel in a way that may never have been cruel.

All of these figures, and so many other figures, are a part of who we are. Yet, we really don't know anything about them as human beings. They become just sort of mythic figures. I'm interested in people as humans. It makes me appreciate them more when I see them as being humans.
MJ: Let's talk about your most recent book, Nov. 22, 1963. It is described as a fictionalization of the day of JFK's assassination—is that a good description? I mean, how much of Nov. 22, 1963 is written with fact and how much is written with fiction? How would you describe it?

AB: Oh, it's definitely a hybrid. A hybrid of fiction and creative non-fiction and some straight up journalism. For the most part in the book we're in someone's head, somebody like Jackie Kennedy—that's when the real fiction takes over. So there are narratives that are dramatized and fictionalized, and the book also introduces people who are not real. But for the most part, the people who appear in the book are based on real people. I spoke to a couple of people who are in the book, and some others are based on, for example, old transcripts. This is all from the idea that I mentioned earlier—a story based from other peoples' stories and other peoples' memories. I'm really intrigued by that. It's typically more of a memoirists' intrigue than a fiction writer's intrigue, in terms of the idea of memory and how we remember things and how they really happened.

MJ: What were some of the challenges writing these novels?

AB: They have their own sets of challenges. But one of the advantages, if you will, with something like the Kennedy assassination is that we have an inherent understanding of what happened. Everyone coming into that book has a sense of the story, a mental image of what it's all about. They're already working with peoples' preconceived notions.

When writing fictionalized characters you have to really develop them in a different way, develop the situation, and familiarize, as opposed to borrowing. So they're different approaches. With somebody who is real, like Jackie Kennedy, there is a sense of 'how do you enter into this person?' or 'How do you enter somebody who just had her husband killed next to her?' It entails stripping away all the celebrity and the politics and everything else. It's just trying to get into the basic and emotional state. That was really the entry point. This takes us back to what I was talking about earlier on trying to find the human side of people who don't seem human to us.

MJ: You've said that you hope some truth comes out of your books—a truth larger than the figures themselves.

AB: I mean truth in terms of literary truth. This idea that this story, the assassination, in “Nov. 22, 1963,” it's so many people's story—the people who will tell you they were sitting in a classroom when it happened or such as some of the people in the book, like the motorcycle policeman getting blood on his face. It has become so many peoples' stories. Then all those stories come together to become our story. It is our story.

EVENT: The Normal School Launch Party & Adam Braver Reading

2008-12-01T14:09:00.000-08:00

The Normal School Launch Party
with a reading by Contributing Editor, Adam Braver

This Thursday at 7:30 p.m., critically acclaimed novelist and TNS Contributing Editor, Adam Braver will help launch The Normal School, with a reading at 7:30 p.m. at the Alice Peters Auditorium in the University Business Center. He also will be celebrating publication of his newest book, "November 22, 1963," a unique and fascinating novel about the assassination 40 years ago of President John F. Kennedy.
The reading is FREE and will be followed by a catered reception. "Trust Me. I'm Normal" T-Shirts, copies of The Normal School, and subscriptions will be available for sale. Parking restrictions will be relaxed in Lot J for the event.

The event is co-sponsored by the Master of Fine Arts Program in Creative Writing, The Press, the College of Arts and Humanities, the Division of Continuing Education, and the Department of English

Adam Braver is a California native, whose earlier novels are "Crows Over the Wheatfield," "Divine Sarah" and "Lincoln's Wars." He edits the Miscellaneous section of the literary magazine Post Road and reviews books for the Providence (R.I.) Journal. He teaches at Roger Williams University in Bristol, R.I.

Call For Submissions: EMPRISE REVIEW

2008-11-13T11:17:00.000-08:00

Emprise Review is a new literary journal in search of stimulating original art. The staff is composed of an international group of writers who are looking to create an outlet for the best works without consideration for past accomplishments. We want high-quality, compelling work. Emprise Review publishes monthly online issues.

Our main page is: http://www.muttsbane.com

Deadline for submission is the 20th of each month.The editors will contact you regarding our decision between the 20th and 25th.

All submissions should be original and sent as attachments with Emprise and the submission category in the subject line.

Guidelines: http://www.muttsbane.com/submissions.aspx

EVENT: MFA Student Reading Series, Friday, November 14 @ 7:30PM

2008-11-13T11:14:00.000-08:00

Please join us tomorrow, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 14 for another night of the Student Reading Series: New Student Showcase. The magic starts at 7:30 PM in the Alice Peters Auditorium and will feature three captivating, charismatic, and above all, new writers from our program, Miguel Jimenez, Megan Baptista, and Laura Musselman.

The Normal School

2008-11-13T10:57:00.000-08:00

The inaugural issue of our new literary magazine, The Normal School is out, and is already generating quite a buzz. The magazine has already been picked up for distribution by Ingram Distributors, meaning you'll be able to find copies on the shelves of your local Barnes & Noble and Borders bookstores.

Other Normal News:

Congratulations to Juan Felipe Herrera for winning the PEN/USA Award for Poetry for his 187 Reasons Mexicanos Can't Cross the Border. You can read Juan's "The Return of Jake Condor" in our inaugural issue. Get it at www.thenormalschool.com.

Check out the TNS blog at www.thenormalschoolblog.blogspot.com

KUDOS: Steve Yarbrough, Steven Church, Diane Miniel

2008-11-13T10:35:00.000-08:00

Bio in the New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture

Included in the New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture is a biographical essay on our own Program Coordinator, Steve Yarbrough. It appears among biographical essays on William Faulkner, Eudora Welty, Flannery O'Connor, Toni Morrison, William Styron, Richard Wright, Anne
Tyler, Zora Neale Hurston, Carson McCullers and Tennessee Williams, among select others. Way to go, Steve!

Best American Essays, Notable Essay of the Year

Bob Atwan, Series Editor for Best American Essays, has listed Steven Church's "I'm Just Getting to the Disturbing Part" as a Notable Essay of the Year in the latest edition. Congratulations, Steven!

Graduate Research Merit Award

Creative Nonfiction student Diane Miniel has been awarded a Graduate Research Merit Award in the amount of $1,000. Congratulations, Diane!

EVENT: Novelist Nina Revoyr Reading & Book Signing, Thursday, Oct. 30

2008-10-29T11:09:00.000-07:00

Nina Revoyr

Q&A Session 3 - 4 PM, PB 194
Reading and Book Signing 7 PM
Alice Peters Auditorium

Q&A with Los Angeles novelist Nina Revoyr
By: Olivia Muñoz

NINA REVOYR is the author of “The Necessary Hunger,” and “Southland.” Her latest book, “The Age of Dreaming” follows the story of a Japanese silent film star who looks back on a career that ended abruptly during the changing social and racial tides in California in the 1920s. In the “The Age of Dreaming,” the story fallows the character back and forth between the 1960s and the height of the silent film era as he deals with the death of his favorite director, tries to please both his Japanese and American fans, and comes to terms with his past.

OLIVIA MUÑOZ: You are inspired by real people, and incorporate places and history into your novels. Tell me a little bit about your research process: do you dig first and then write? Or do you write as you go along?

NINA REVOYR: I use real life situations in my first two books, but as really use real life as jumping off points only. I don’t look to tell those stories, but instead let them trigger a work of fiction. In “The Age of Dreaming,” what was important to me was that there really was at one point a silent film star of color – not only a star but a sex symbol. In my book, the story deals with what fame costs my character, Jun Nakayama, personally. Real life gave me permission to create that character but I very consciously stop at an early point of getting interested in a subject. So, something will spark, I’ll stop, and then research to fill in any holes.

OM: What hooks you?
NR: An issue or theme that is intriguing enough to sustain me for the years it takes to write a book. For example, in “Southland,” I was interested in the organic mix of African-American and Asian residents of a Los Angeles neighborhood. I remember very vividly as a kid hearing about killing during the Watts riots – hearing people actually brag about killing kids. So, race dynamics are interesting to me.
“The Age of Dreaming” came about because I work in a building that has some silent film history. After learning more about that, and about a real life Japanese silent film star, I began to explore the question of what happens to someone when they don’t do what they were supposed to do in their life.

OM: Was that a question you were grappling with? How much of your work is you?
NR: I think it is all autobiographical in a sense. I was dealing with being a writer, and whether I wanted to continue doing that, and what that would take. “The Age of Dreaming” is my most autobiographical work to date even though I’m obviously not a 73-year-old man, not a former silent film star – but all of my concerns and obsessions are the same. I was dealing with making the right choices, creative blocks, and it was easier to address those themes in a work of fiction than any other way.

OM: You deal with the interplay of race in your novels. Is that something you feel you will continue to touch on in the rest of your career?
NR: Absolutely. The book I am working on now is set in the Midwest and deals with race quite directly. I spent my childhood years in Wisconsin thinking about those years – and even looking at election news coverage now – I am surprised at what people are willing to say.

OM: You’re often praised for your portrayal of male characters. What helps you write from that point of view? Is it difficult for you?
Thank you for saying that. No, I don’t find too difficult. I was raised by a single dad and my grandfather is my hero. I think my love for my grandfather comes through in “The Age of Dreaming,” for sure. I grew up surrounded by men and knew them as nurturers.
People do comment on the accuracy with which I depict men’s relationships and their silly mistakes with women. Being gay, I know something about making mistakes with women.

OM: On Oct. 30 you’ll be visiting us here at Fresno State, which offers a MFA in Creative Writing. What kind of advice would you give to aspiring writers?
NR: Read as much as you can. Write as much as you can. I know that sounds simple, but that’s really it. There are no excuses – you can say, “I’m too busy,” but if you really need to write and want to write, you’re going do it.
Also, being in an MFA program is a very unique experience. Create a community that is portable – take relationships with you. You need that support and it’s not always there once you’re done with school.
Also – this is going to sound cheesy, but it’s true – write for yourself. Frankly, there’s no guarantee for what’s going to happen on the publishing end, so you’ve got to take your joy from the process.

NINA REVOYR will do a Q& A at Fresno State on Thursday, Oct. 30, at 3 p.m. in Alice Peters Conference Room (PB 194) and then do a reading later that evening at 7 p.m. in Alice Peters Auditorium (PB 191). Parking is available in the UBC Lot.

http://www.ninarevoyr.com/

KUDOS: David Anthony Durham, Erin Cook, James Espinoza, Daniel Chacon

2008-10-14T08:42:00.000-07:00

In the Washington Post

Check out fiction instructor David Anthony Durham's article published recently in the Washington Post!

Published in the Wisconsin Review

Congratulations to fiction student Erin Cook, whose story, "Merging Forms," was accepted for publication by the Wisconsin Review!

Published in the Yellow Medicine Review

James Espinoza's essay "A Boy Not Named Cuauhtémoc" has been accepted for publication in the Yellow Medicine Review, a journal produced at Southwest Minnesota State University, that celebrates the universal literature, art, and thought of indigenous, pre-colonial peoples. Congratulations, James!

Former CSUF MFA Professor Wins Hudson Prize

Former Distinguished Visiting Professor (and former CSUF student) Daniel Chacon's new collection of short stories, Unending Rooms, is this year's winner of the Hudson Prize and is just out from Black Lawrence Press. Congratulations, Daniel!

EVENT: Alex Espinoza Reading at Respite by the River

2008-09-23T09:08:00.000-07:00

Come out to the San Joaquin River Parkway this Thursday, September 25th for another installation of Respite by the River. This week's featured performer is our own fiction professor and acclaimed novelist, Alex Espinoza!

Live music and picnic starts at 6:00 PM, and Alex's reading starts at 7:00 PM.

EVENT: MFA Student Reading Series

2008-09-23T09:03:00.000-07:00

Please join us for the season debut of the 08-09 Student Reading Series.

FRIDAY, September 26 @ 7:00 PM
Alice Peters Auditorium

The first reading will represent a reader from each genre, featuring writing by JOSH GEIST and introducing two of the newest additions to our program, MICHELLE BRITTAN, and MARIO ROSADO.

As you all know, the readings feature graduating MFA students and introduce new students to our program and the community. It's run by students, comprised of students and supported by students so if it isn't your turn to stand at the podium, then it's your turn to fill a seat and enjoy some of the great writing coming out of our program.

KUDOS: Megan Bohigian, Tim Skeen, Liz Scheid, Mike Maniquiz, Connie Hales, David Borofka

2008-09-23T08:48:00.000-07:00

Pushcart Nomination

Congratulations to Megan Bohigian, whose poem "Sweeping" has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and will be appearing in the next issue of Whiskey Island Magazine!

MFA Poets in Border Senses

Tim Skeen, Liz Scheid, Mike Maniquiz, and Connie Hales are to be congratulated for their poems in the current issue of Border Senses!

Emerging Writers Network Short Fiction Prize

Congratulations to former student David Borofka, who has won the Emerging Writers Network Prize in Short Fiction for his story, "The Secret Lives of Engineers."

EVENT: SJLA Presents David Shields Reading

2008-09-08T10:20:00.000-07:00

The San Joaquin Literary Association Presents
David Shields

New York Times Best-selling Author reads from his newest book
"The Thing About Life is that One Day You'll Be Dead"

Q&A Session: 3 - 4 PM in Alice Peters Room 192 (across from PB 191)
Reading and Book Signing: 7 PM in Alice Peters Auditorium, PB 191

Both events are open to the public; Parking in UBC Lot

Author bio from www.davidshields.com:

"David Shields's new book, The Thing About Life Is That One Day You'll Be Dead, (Knopf, 2008), was a New York Times bestseller. He is the author of eight previous books, including Black Planet: Facing Race During an NBA Season, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award; Remote: Reflections on Life in the Shadow of Celebrity, winner of the PEN/Revson Award; and Dead Languages: A Novel, winner of the PEN Syndicated Fiction Award. His essays and stories have appeared in the New York Times Magazine, Harper's, Yale Review, Village Voice, Salon, Slate, McSweeney's, and Utne Reader; he's written reviews for the New York Times Book Review, Los Angeles Times Book Review, Boston Globe, and Philadelphia Inquirer.

Shields has received a Guggenheim fellowship, two NEA fellowships, an Ingram Merrill Foundation Award, a Ludwig Vogelstein Foundation grant, and a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship. He lives with his wife and daughter in Seattle, where he is a professor in the English department at the University of Washington. Since 1996 he has also been a member of the faculty in Warren Wilson College's low-residency MFA Program for Writers, in Asheville, North Carolina. His work has been translated into French, German, Dutch, Norwegian, Japanese, Turkish, Korean, Portuguese, and Persian. He was the chair of the 2007 National Book Awards nonfiction panel."

Come join us for an evening of great prose!

KUDOS: David Anthony Durham

2008-08-26T10:14:00.000-07:00

Acacia News

David Anthony Durham's Acacia has just come out in a paperback edition from Anchor. It's also been rolling out in several foreign editions. It's appeared in German, in the UK, and in Italian already. It will be in French, Polish, Russian and Swedish soon. The novel was a finalist for a John W Campbell Award, and David is pleased to announce that Relativity Media and Michael DeLuca Productions have acquired the film rights. They have a screenwriter working on an adaption now!

IN THE MEDIA: Poets & Writers Magazine

2008-08-26T08:18:00.000-07:00

Check out the piece on Fresno's literary scene from Poets & Writers Magazine's Cheryl Klein, who speaks with new faculty members Steven Church and Alex Espinoza and poetry student Burlee Vang.

KUDOS: A Busy Summer 2008

2008-08-18T07:21:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy and successful summer for MFA students and faculty. Congratulations are in order for a long list of accomplishments:

Fourth Genre and River Teeth pubs

Creative Nonfiction professor Steven Church's essay "I'm Just Getting to the Disturbing Part" was selected by Michael Steinberg and Robert Root for inclusion in the 5th edition of their textbook, The Fourth Genre: Contemporary Writers of/on Creative Nonfiction due out in Spring 2009. In addition, the nonfiction journal River Teeth plans to reprint Steven's essay "Danger Boys" in a "best of" 10 year anniversary issue. Congratulations, Steven!

Glimmer Train Competition Finalist

Poetry student Burlee Vang learned this summer that his essay "The Dangers of Food Invitations" is a finalist for Glimmer Train's Family Matters competition. Congrats, Burlee!

Cottonwood pub

Fiction student Erin Cook's story "Thicket Wall" was accepted for publication by Cottonwood. Congratulations, Erin!

Nonfiction Conference winner

Creative Nonfiction student David Cicoletti's essay "Standing at Crossroads Lumber" won first prize and $3,000 at the Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference in Dallas, Texas and will be published in an annual literary nonfiction anthology titled Ten Spurs, sponsored by Hearst newspapers. Congratulations, David!

Photography book introduction

Delta Deep Down, a moving collection of photographs of the Mississippi Delta published this summer, has an introduction written by our own Steve Yarbrough, MFA Program coordinator and novelist. Congratulations to Steve!

Fresh Air Interview

Poetry professor and Iraq war veteran Brian Turner was interviewed in July for NPR's Fresh Air with Terri Gross. Check out the link to NPR's article, "Soldier-Poet Brian Turner, Framing War in Verse." Congratulations, Brian!

LA Times Review

Fiction Professor Alex Espinoza reviewed Stephanie Elizondo Griest's book Mexican Enough: My Life Between the Borderlines for the Los Angeles Times this summer. Check out the review here. Congratulations, Alex!

Zyzzyva pub

Poets Vuong Vu and Lee Herrick both have poems in the Fall 2008 issue of Zyzzyva. Congratulations Vuong and Lee!

KUDOS: Steven Church and Diane Miniel

2008-06-09T09:55:00.000-07:00

T.V. Option Purchased

Fuse Entertainment has purchased another TV option for Professor Steven Church's book, The Guinness Book of Me: A Memoir of Record. Congratulations, Steven!

Valley Writers Read

Congratulations to student Diane Miniel, whose nonfiction piece, Mystery Spot, has been selected for Valley Writers Read!

KUDOS: Steve Yarbrough, Ewa Yarbrough, Megan Bohigian, Burlee Vang, Brian Carroll

2008-05-20T08:13:00.000-07:00

Novel Sold!

Program Director Steve Yarbrough has just sold his latest novel, Safe From the Neighbors, to Knopf. Congratulations, Steve!

Poetry Translation in Threepenny Review

Ewa Yarbrough recently had a poetry translation accepted for publication in Threepenny Review. Congratulations, Ewa!

Poem in this summer's Whiskey Island Magazine

Poetry student Megan Bohigian's poem, "Sweeping" will appear in this summer's Whiskey Island Magazine. Congratulations, Megan!

Poem in Alaska Quarterly Review

Poetry student Burlee Vang's poem "Ex-Monk at the Packing House" will appear in the next issue of the Alaska Quarterly Review. Congratulations, Burlee!

Featured on CNN

Recent graduate Brian Carroll's writings on his travels in Sichuan province in China has been featured on CNN recently. Check it out. Congratulations, Brian!

KUDOS: Josh Geist and Sasha Pimentel Chacon

2008-05-12T13:09:00.001-07:00

A couple of big end-of-the-semester achievements to announce:

Creative nonfiction student Josh Geist's essay Completion has been accepted for publication in Ninth Letter.

Also, poet Sasha Pimentel Chacon's book of poems, titled Insides She Swallowed, is forthcoming from West End Press in 2009.

Two big Congratulations to two hardworking writers!

KUDOS: Burlee Vang, Mike Maniquiz, Ewa Yarbrough, and Kristin FitzPatrick

2008-04-28T16:16:00.000-07:00

Two for the North American Review!

Congratulations to poetry student Burlee Vang, whose poem "Drinking the Dead" has just been accepted for publication in the country's oldest literary journal, the North American Review.

AND for the second time in twenty-four hours, a Fresno State poet has had work accepted by North American Review--in this case, the honors go to Mike Maniquiz, who just learned that his poem "Bakya" will appear there.

TriQuarterly Publication

Those of you who attended the presentation on translation that Ewa Hryniewicz-Yarbrough did for us back in February will no doubt be pleased to learn that the essay she read that night has just been accepted for publication in Northwestern University's outstanding journal TriQuarterly. Congratulations, Ewa.

Sewanee Writers' Conference

Congratulations to fiction student Kristin FitzPatrick, who has just been accepted for this coming summer's Sewanee Writers' Conference, where she'll get to study with folks like Tim O'Brien, Jill McCorkle and Gary Fisketjon!

EVENT: Student Reading Series this Friday, 5/2-- LAST OF THE SEMESTER!

2008-04-28T15:51:00.000-07:00

The Fresno State MFA Student Reading Series presents

“Poetry and Prose Swim Party”
7:30-9pm
Friday, May 2nd
Alice Peters Auditorium,
Peters Business Building 191

Friends,

You've been hearing hints of metaphorical baths & night swims in the lake with dead poets, but this Friday, May 2 at 7:30 pm inside the Alice Peters Auditorium, we're making this happen.

So slip into your favorite Hawaiian shirt & shades &/or bathrobe & goggles & come prepared to be fully immersed in water.

The Readers:

Newbies: Marilyn Byrne & Candace Duerksen
Graduates: JC Trevino, Carol Vitali & Liz Scheid

Also, the contest award winners will be revealed this night. So, don't be late. But do bring a bucket of water. If you do, you just may win something lucky.

EVENT: Glover Davis Reading, Thursday May 1 @ 7:30 PM

2008-04-28T15:46:00.000-07:00

Glover Davis Reading
This Thursday, May 1, 7:30 pm
Alice Peters Auditorium

Poet Glover Davis has published his fourth and eagerly awaited collection of poems entitled Separate Lives. He will be reading from this collection this Thursday at 7:30 pm in the Alice Peters Auditorium, and then signing copies of the book. The reading is free and open to the public with parking available in the UBC Lot.

A graduate of Iowa’s MFA in Creative Writing, Glover’s three previous collections are entitled Bandaging Bread, August Fires, and Legend. Glover’s work has appeared in Southern Review, Monserrat Review, Crazy Horse, The Formalist, Quarterly West, Janus, and other literary journals.

His poems also appear in various anthologies including The Geography of Home: California’s Poetry of Place. Glover Davis has recently retired from his position as professor of creative writing at San Diego State, where he directed the MFA Program in Creative Writing for a significant portion of his career.

Come out and join for us for a wonderful evening of poetry!

Below is an article written by our own Stephen Barile about Glover:

GLOVER DAVIS, FRESNO POET
by Stephen Barile

If you turned to page 27 in the long out-of-print anthology of Fresno poets, “Down at the Santa Fe Depot,” you would find the poems and picture of a handsome young man with abundant dark blond hair named Glover Davis. He seems almost out-of-place in his sweater, in a farm town standing next to a train station. But Davis’ poetry was among that of nineteen other poets in the anthology of Fresno poets first published in 1970. He was one of the original Fresno poets anthologized, and among a second group of poets that studied with Philip Levine at Fresno State College.
Levine was hired as an associate professor to teach English composition in 1958, but during his tenure his ambitions led to the creation of the foremost undergraduate poetry-writing in the country. Davis and his fellow classmates, including Herbert Scott and William Childress, went on to become nationally recognized poets and educators.
Glover Davis was born in San Luis Obispo, raised in Santa Cruz and came to Fresno State in 1960, because his sister went there and he could afford it. He happened upon a poetry writing class taught by Levine and discovered his love of verse and future vocation. Several years later, Davis met and married Sandra Avakian, a Fresno native and secretary in the English Department office. Armed with good advice from Levine, Davis did graduate work at the University of Iowa Writer’s Workshop, the best graduate poetry-writing program in the country. While at Iowa, one of Davis’ classmates was C. G. Hanzlicek, who went on to teach poetry-writing at Fresno State until his retirement in 2001. After Davis graduated, he was hired to teach at San Diego State University in 1966. He retired as Professor Emeritus of Creative Writing in 2004 after 39 years. Shortly thereafter, Glover and Sandy returned to Fresno where they currently reside.
One of the reasons for Davis’ return to Fresno was to be part of the poet’s community in Fresno. It was easy to live here, a place of family and friends, and nurturing community of poets. Philip Levine, even after winning the Pulitzer Prize for his poetry, continues to live in Fresno because of the camaraderie and lifelong friendships he has developed with Fresno poets. Davis is a regular at the Fresno Poet’s Association’s reading coordinated by C. G. Hanzlicek.
Glover Davis’ most recent book of poems is titled “Separate Lives,” and was published by Pecan Grove Press in 2007. Davis' earlier books include "Bandaging Bread" (1970), "August Fires" (1978) and "Legend" (1988); his poems have appeared in such prestigious publications as Southern Review, Poetry and New England Review.
Louis L. Martz writing in The Yale Review describes Davis’ new book as “Tense, disciplined and sapient.” In The Chariton Review, poet Christopher Buckley described the poems as having “nuance and resonance and reward several readings.” Wesleyan University Press has called Davis’ poetry “powerful, magical [and] transforming.”
Glover Davis will be reading from his work at California State University, Fresno, on May 1, in the Alice Peters Auditorium in the Peters Business Building. Though his hair has turned white, Davis maintains his youthful enthusiasm for poetry and poetry-writing and Fresno as a place for poetry.

EVENT: Steve Yarbrough Reading @ Fig Garden Library, Tues., 5/6

2008-04-16T14:24:00.000-07:00

Steve Yarbrough Reading

Tuesday, May 6 @ 10 AM
Fig Garden Library

STEVE YARBROUGH, the James and Coke Hallowell Distinguished Professor in Creative Writing at CSUF and director of the university’s MFA Program in Creative Writing, will speak at the Fig Garden Library on Tuesday, May 6, at 10 AM, sponsored by the Friends of the Fig Garden Library.

Mr. Yarbrough’s most recent novel is The End of California. He has won the California Book Award from the Commonwealth Club, and was a finalist for the prestigious PEN/Faulkner Award for fiction in 2005 for his novel Prisoners of War.

The Library is located on the southwest corner of Marks and Bullard in Fresno. Refreshments will be served. For further information call 559-226-0930 or e-mail james.ashford@usa.net.

EVENT: Student Reading Series this Friday, 4/18

2008-04-14T13:53:00.000-07:00

Friday, April 18th
7:30-9pm
Alice Peters Auditorium (PB 191)

The CSU Fresno MFA Student Reading Series presents:

“The Writers’ Academy Awards ”

The night’s literary stars include:

*Amanda Smith*

*Neal Blaikie*

*Steven Howland*

*Brigitte Bowers*

Take a stroll down the red carpet to hear a few fabulous writers read their shimmering stories and sparkling essays. Come be razzle-dazzled!

EVENT: Mary Yukari Waters Reading, Tues. 4/15

2008-04-07T16:20:00.000-07:00

Mary Yukari Waters
Tuesday, April 15
7:30 p.m. in the Alice Peters Auditorium (PB 191)
Q&A Session 3:00 - 4:00 p.m. in PB 194

Award-Winning Author Mary Yukari Waters Visits CSU-Fresno

Mary Yukari Waters, author of the acclaimed short story collection The Laws of Evening, will be visiting CSU-Fresno on Tuesday, April 15. Waters will conduct a Q&A session about her writing from 3:00-4:00 PM in PB 194. She will read from her work in the Alice Peters Auditorium (PB 191) at 7:30 p.m.

Please call 559.278.1569 for more information. Mary Yukari Waters' visit is sponsored by the
MFA in Creative Writing, Department of English, CSU-Fresno.

******
About The Laws of Evening
An uncommonly elegant and assured debut collection,
The Laws of Evening explores Japanese society caught
between the long shadow of World War II and the rapid
advance of Westernization.

In “Aftermath,” a mother watches her son play American
dodgeball and eat Western food as she desperately
tries to keep alive the memory of his father. “Since
My House Burned Down” depicts a Japanese widow,
permanently displaced from her kitchen by her
daughter-in-law, reflecting on the deprivations of
wartime as the acidic, foreign smell of tomato sauce
wafts upstairs. In “Egg-Face,” latent hope kindles
for thirty-year-old jobless Ritsuko when a matchmaker
arranges for her to meet a handsome young man. And
“The Way Love Works” explores favoritism in three generations of women when a Japanese-American teenager visits Japan with her mother.

A virtuoso collection infused with a warmth that invites readers to feel at home in a world that might otherwise seem alien, The Laws of Evening establishes Mary Yukari Waters as a vibrant new voice in American literature.

About the author
Mary Yukari Waters is half Japanese and half Irish-American. Born in Japan, she moved to America when she was nine years old. A former accountant, she earned her MFA from the University of California, Irvine. She is the recipient of an O. Henry Award, a Pushcart Prize, and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. Her work has been included in The Best American Short Stories, The Pushcart Book of Short Stories: The Best Stories from a Quarter-Century of the Pushcart Prizes, and Francis Ford Coppola’s Zoetrope: All Story. She lives in Los Angeles.

EVENT: Bear Flag Republic Anthology Reading, Fri. 4/11

2008-04-07T15:22:00.000-07:00

Poetry Anthology reading this Friday!

Bear Flag Republic

Prose Poems and Poetics from California
Edited by Christopher Buckley and Gary Young

A reading from this new anthology will be held on April 11
in the Alice Peters Auditorium (PB 191) at 7:30 p.m.
Reception to follow.
Parking in Lot J will be relaxed.

Readers:

Christopher Buckley
David Dominguez
Peter Everwine
C. G. Hanzlicek
Sandra Hoben
Philip Levine
Dixie Salazar
Jon Veinberg
Gary Young

Copies of the anthology will be on sale at a substantial discount.
Free admission.

KUDOS: David Anthony Durham, Elizabeth Martin, and Sasha Pimentel Chacon

2008-04-07T15:12:00.000-07:00

Fiction instructor David Anthony Durham has just been named a finalist for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Science Fiction Writer! It's a great honor, so keep we're keeping our fingers crossed, and in the meantime congratulating David.
Fiction student Elizabeth (Schulte) Martin's story "Tony Valentine Remembered" has been accepted for publication by Hot Metal Bridge, a great new magazine out of the University of Pittsburgh. Congratulations, Elizabeth!

Check out the current issue of Colorado Review. There's some wonderful poems & essays. But, most importantly there's a wonderful essay titled, The Falls We Take, available online from student Sasha Pimentel Chacon. Congratulations, Sasha!

EVENT: Eric Blehm Reading, Fri. 4/4 in Peters Auditorium

2008-04-01T14:26:00.000-07:00

Eric Blehm Reading
Friday, April 4
8:00 p.m.
Peters Auditorium
(in Student Rec Center)

Photo Credit: Lorien Warner

Q&A Session: 4:00 - 5:00, PB 194

The San Joaquin Literary Association, a student organization in the MFA Program in Creative Writing, is proud to sponsor a reading by author Eric Blehm. The reading will take place on Friday, April 4 starting at 8:00 p.m. in the Peters Auditorium in the Student Recreation Center at the corner of Shaw and Woodrow. A Q&A session will take place beforehand starting at 4:00 p.m. in PB 194 on the first floor of the Alice Peters Building.

Eric Blehm is the author of The Last Season, an account of the 1996 disappearance of King’s Canyon National Park backcountry ranger Randy Morgenson, which won The National Outdoor Book Award, as well as The Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Award for nonfiction. A freelance journalist and former editor of Transworld SNOWboarding, Blehm has written articles for Outside, GQ, Couloir, Men’s Journal, Climbing, Spin, Playboy, San
Diego Union Tribune and the Los Angeles Times, among others. He graduated with honors from San Diego State’s School of Communication in 1994 with a BA in journalism and a minor in outdoor recreation.

DOUBLE EVENT: Alex Espinoza Reading and Student Reading Series THIS THURSDAY, March 27

2008-03-24T16:35:00.000-07:00

Double Header, Thursday, March 27:
Alex Espinoza @ Arte Américas, 6:30 p.m.
~and~
Student Reading Series: "Uncensored: Writing the Taboo"
on campus @ Alice Peters Auditorium (PB 191), 8:00 p.m.

Thursday promises to be a huge night for literature lovers in Fresno--you can catch fiction instructor Alex Espinoza's reading at 6:30 p.m., Arte Américas, 1630 Van Ness.

Then you can get yourself back to campus in time for the excellent lineup of graduating and newbie Creative Nonfiction students at 8:00 pm in the Alice Peters Auditorium for Uncensored: Writing the Taboo-- "A night of creative nonfiction writers reading their scandalous tales of sordid behavior, confessing dangerous secrets, and revealing terrible truths."

EVENT: Dagoberto Gilb Reading, Tuesday 4/1

2008-03-18T12:57:00.000-07:00

Photo credit: Nancy Crampton

Dagoberto Gilb Reading
Tuesday, April 1 in the Alice Peters Auditorium, 7:00 p.m.

The M.F.A. Program is proud to host Spring 2008 Visiting Writer Dagoberto Gilb for a reading and book signing on Tuesday, April 1 in the Alice Peters Auditorium (PB 191) starting at 7:00 p.m.

Dagoberto is also touring to promote his most recent book, The Flowers, a novel, which is garnering praise from reviewers at the Houston Chronicle and the Los Angeles Times.
The event is free and open to the public with parking provided in the UBC lot. Please join us for an exciting evening of great prose!

About the author:

Dagoberto Gilb was born in the city of Los Angeles, his mother a Mexican who crossed the border illegally, and his father a Spanish-speaking Anglo raised in East Los Angeles. They divorced before he began kindergarten. He attended several junior colleges until he transferred to the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he studied philosophy and religion and graduated with both bachelor's and master's degrees. After that, he began his life as a construction worker, migrating back and forth from Los Angeles and El Paso. After becoming a father, he joined the union in Los Angeles; a member of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, he became a class-A journeyman carpenter, and his employment for the next twelve years was on high-rise buildings.

He is the author of Gritos, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, Woodcuts of Women, The Magic of Blood, winner of the PEN/Hemingway Award, The Last Known Residence of Mickey Acuña, and the editor of Hecho in Tejas: An Anthology of Texas American Literature. His essays and fiction have appeared in The New Yorker, Harper’s, and The Best American Essays.

Dagoberto Gilb's work has been translated into French, Italian, Japanese, German, Spanish, and Dutch. Anthologized in many literary and college composition textbooks, his fiction and nonfiction is taught in Chicano, Latino, American, and Western literature courses. His work has been honored by national prizes, such as the Whiting Writers' Award and the John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, and recognized through the El Paso Writer's Hall of Fame, the Library of Congress Archive of Hispanic Literature on Tape, and the Texas Book Festival's Bookend Award for Ongoing Literary Achievement.

He lives in Austin, Texas. He has been a visiting writer at the University of Texas at Austin, University of Wyoming, University of Arizona, and Vassar. He is now a tenured professor in the Creative Writing Program at Texas State University, in San Marcos, Texas. He is a visiting writer at Cal State Fresno from February until May of 2008.

EVENT: 28th Annual Young Writers' Conference, 3/26

2008-03-12T11:00:00.000-07:00

March 26th, 2008
The 28th Annual Young Writers' Conference

With Keynote Speaker
Mona Simpson
9:15 a.m., Satellite Student Union

(Author photo: Casper Tringale)

Mona Simpson is the author of four novels: Off Keck Road, Anywhere but Here, The Lost Father, and A Regular Guy. She is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Whiting Prize, and the Lila Acheson Wallace Award, and is currently a professor at UCLA.

Each spring, the Department of English and the College of Arts and Humanities at California State University, Fresno, host the Young Writers' Conference for area high school students.

This conference provides a valuable opportunity for young writers to hear a professional writer read his or her work and answer questions about the creative writing process and the profession in general. It also allows them to meet and interact with other student writers from across the Central Valley, to get a taste of what a university-level writing workshop might be like, and to get feedback on their own writing.

In addition, it provides excellent training and an opportunity for an exchange of ideas among teachers. This conference is an excellent example of an ongoing collaborative effort between area school districts and the University.

KUDOS: Kristin FitzPatrick

2008-03-12T10:57:00.000-07:00

This morning fiction student Kristin FitzPatrick learned that her story "A New Kukla"(which some will remember from last spring's 263 class, when it wastitled "Conlon's Nursery") has been accepted by COLORADO REVIEW.

It'll be out in the summer issue. Congratulations to Kristin, who produced many drafts of this piece, working on it until she got it just right. Now it absolutely gleams.

EVENT: Rick Campbell Reading 3/4

2008-02-27T14:03:00.000-08:00

Reading, Reception, and Book Signing
TUESDAY, MARCH 4 at 7:00 PM
Alice Peters Auditorium (PB 191)
(Free and open to the public. Parking is available in the UBC lot.)

The MFA Program is proud to host poet and publisher Rick Campbell of Anhinga Press, who will be reading from his latest book of poetry, Dixmont (Autumn House Press, 2007).

A little background on Rick from his website:

"Rick Campbell’s recent books include The Traveler’s Companion (Black Bay Books, 2004). His first full-length book, Setting The World In Order (Texas Tech 2001) won the Walt McDonald Prize. His poems and essays have appeared in The Georgia Review, The Missouri Review, The Tampa Review, Southern Poetry Review, Puerto Del Sol, Prairie Schooner, and other journals. Campbell has won an NEA Fellowship, a Pushcart Prize, and two fellowships from the Florida Arts Council. He is the director of Anhinga Press and the Anhinga Prize for Poetry, and he teaches English at Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, Florida.

Rick holds a BA (1980) University of Florida, MA (1983) University of Wyoming, Ph.D. (1993) Florida State University.

He lives with his wife, daughter, and, possibly, too many dogs, in Gadsden County, Florida."

Please join us for a great evening of poetry!

CHECK OUT: David Anthony Durham's Wahington Post Article

2008-02-20T15:14:00.000-08:00

Check out Fiction Professor David Anthony Durham's article "So Close to Freedom" in Sunday's (February 17, 2008) Washington Post.

EVENT: MFA Students Read to Promote Rogue Festival

2008-02-13T15:31:00.000-08:00

MFA Students Promote the Rogue Festival at ArtHop

On Thursday, February 7, three MFA students read their work in front of
an ArtHop audience at Ashtree Studios. Readers were Marcus Chinn (pictured above), Stephanie Huebschle (pictured below), and Carol Claassen (too quick for pictures).

Their fifteen-minute sampler was one of many Rogue Festival performance groups’ previews of longer acts. The next promotional event is RogueHop, on Thursday, February 28, when SJLA readers will return to Ashtree from 7:20-7:35 p.m.

More MFA students will read in the three-night series of “Poetry and Prose from Fresno State” presented by the San Joaquin Literary Association, as the festival begins later this month.

Student readings are scheduled for February 29 (8:45 p.m.), March 1 (5:00 p.m.), and March 2 (7:30) at the new Spectrum Gallery, 608 E. Olive. For more information, please visit www.myspace.com/sjla or www.roguefestival.com.

EVENT: Lynn Chandhok Reading, 2/22

2008-02-11T12:52:00.000-08:00

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22ND
7:00 p.m. Alice Peters Auditorium (PB 191)
Free and open to the public; Free parking in the UBC Lot

Lynn Chandhok, winner of the 2006 Philip Levine Prize in Poetry, will be reading from her book The View From Zero Bridge, recently published by Anhinga Press.

About The View From Zero Bridge, 2006 Judge Corrinne Clegg Hales, writes, “It's the rich physicality of these poems that draws me to them, and it's their large emotional reach that keeps me coming back. This is a poetry that embraces the problem of distance--geographical, chronological, religious, cultural--and the book gathers quiet force as it weaves between worlds as seemingly distant as Kashmir and Brooklyn, childhood and parenthood, sensuality and intellect, science and tradition. It's a delight to read a new book of poems that not only sings with a beautiful voice, but sings with remarkable wisdom, and sings to the heart."

KUDOS: Erin Cook, Janet Nichols Lynch

2008-02-11T12:40:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to our good friend Erin Cook, whose story "Utopia" has
just been accepted by the Louisiana Review! That's her second of the year.

Congratulations to former student Janet Nichols Lynch, whose as-yet-untitled novel has been picked up for publication by Bridge Works. Janet took 263 in 200, and excerpts from the novel-in-progress, then called KEEP THE WHATEVER, made the rounds in workshop. Janet writes, among other things, "I have . . . the MFA program to thank." She has previously published a number of places, including the New Yorker, and her previous novel, PEACE IS A FOUR-LETTER WORD, came out from Heyday Books in 2005.

EVENT: Ewa Hryniewicz-Yarbrough, "The Translator's Craft" 2/8

2008-01-23T12:16:00.000-08:00

The MFA Program is proud to host Ewa Hryniewicz-Yarbrough to discuss "The Translator's Craft" on Friday, February 8, 2008 in the Alice Peters Auditorium (PB 191) at 7:30 p.m.

Ewa's work has appeared in places like the New Yorker, the Paris Review, TriQuarterly, Ploughshares, and the Chicago Review, and her translations, (she translates from English to Polish and Polish to English), include a book by Phillip Levine. Her forthcoming book, "They Carry a Promise," is a collection of poems by Janusz Szuber, and will be available from Knopf in 2009.

The talk is free and open to the public-- please join us for this illuminating discussion of the craft of translation.

KUDOS: Liz Scheid, Alex Espinoza

2008-01-23T12:09:00.000-08:00

More great stuff to check out from our MFA community:

Poetry student Liz Scheid just had two of her poems, "Hypervigilance" and "Reciprocation" accepted for publication by DIAGRAM. Congratulations!

And check out this great interview on BOMB MAGAZINE's website with Daniel
Alarcón and our own Alex Espinoza!

KUDOS: David Anthony Durham, Jefferson Beavers, and Burlee Vang

2008-01-07T12:50:00.000-08:00

More great news:

David Anthony Durham's book, Acacia, was chosen by Kirkus Reviews as one of the ten best books of 2007. David shares this honor with authors like Amy Bloom, Roberto Bolano, and Andrea Barrett. Way to go!

Recent creative nonfiction grad, Jefferson Beavers' essay "A Collection of Things" was nominated by the editors of In the Grove for a Pushcart Prize. Congratulations, Jefferson!

Poet Burlee Vang has just learned that his poetry chapbook "Tiger in America" is a finalist for the 2007 Jessie Bryce Niles Chapbook Contest from the Comstock Review. Congratulations!

KUDOS: Steven Church, Sasha Pimentel-Chacon

2008-01-07T12:34:00.000-08:00

Wow! Another Pushcart Prize nomination each for Steven Church and Sasha Pimentel-Chacon!

Steven's essay "Next Stop, Country Boy Mine" has been nominated by The Pinch, and Sasha's essay "The Falls We Take" was nominated by the Colorado Review.

Congratulations (again!), Steven and Sasha!

KUDOS: Steven Church, Sasha Pimentel-Chacon, Angie Armstrong

2007-12-03T12:25:00.000-08:00

And the good news keeps on coming...

Congratulations this time for TWO of our writers nominated for Pushcart Prizes-- creative nonfiction professor Steven Church's essay "I'm Just Getting to the Disturbing Part" has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize by Fourth Genre, and student Sasha Pimentel-Chacon's poem "Planting Tomatoes for the First Time" was nominated for a Pushcart by the editors of Dos Passos Review.

Congratulations are also in order for student Angie Armstrong, whose poem "Sky Harbour Road" was published by 32 Poems, volume 5, no. 2. She's in very good company with such writers as Bob Hicok & Lia Purpura.

Way to go, everybody!

EVENT: MFA Student Reading Series, "Battle of the Truth-Seekers"

2007-11-28T12:16:00.000-08:00

The MFA Student Reading Series commences this Friday evening with another
highly-anticipated reading by new and graduating MFA students of all three
genres. Ring-side seating is limited, so you'll want to arrive early for this
friendly "Battle of the Truth-Seekers." Writing fans may even find a few
holiday treats at the door.

Where & When:
Friday, November 30th
7-8:30pm
Alice Peters Auditorium
University Business Center

Which genre best captures the truth? You be the judge. . .

The Contenders:

Eric Smith, Fiction

Eric Smith, who received his B.A. in English from Fresno State in 2004 and soon after entered the MFA program, explains why he writes about characters who are in the process of negotiating the boundaries between woods and asphalt, life and death: “From the time I was six or so, I would venture from my house across Highway 1 and into the woods on the other side, where I would spend hours along the deer trails reading sign, always searching for something I didn’t yet know. I’m still searching and maybe that’s why I have to write.”

On Truth: Truth is Faith. It is whatever reason we find to get up and go on everyday no matter what. The little dash between the dates on the tombstone. The truth is in the hunt, not the kill. The fiction is our reflective reasoning of why we killed in the first place.

James Espinoza, Creative Nonfiction

James Espinoza was born in Los Angeles and raised in California's Central Valley where he grew up watching Sabado Gigante and working at swap meets. He received his BA from Loyola Marymount University. His writing has appeared in the The Multilingual Educator, In the Grove, The San Jose Metro, Border Senses, and the anthology Windows Into My World.

On Truth: I know nothing of truth. I leave truth to the philosophers or old Mexican women who hand out proverbs like loose change, who say things about truth like: Cuando el rio suena, agua lleva. If the river can be heard, it carries water.

Lejla Tricic, Creative Nonfiction

Newbies:

Jo Scalzo, Fiction

Jo Scalzo is a product of the Midwest. She grew up with no place to hide
on flat land, surrounded by corn and soybean fields that often find a
place in her fiction. She received her undergraduate degree from Purdue
University and came to regard Lafayette, Indiana as her home.

On Truth: Jo counts many poets among her friends and prefers to take the not-so-neutral position that each "side" of creative writing only makes up a small portion of the Truth, with Truth being multi-sided and multi-dimensional. To attain Truth would be to invite insanity. You can't handle the Truth.

Rachel Jackson, Creative Nonfiction

Rachel Jackson earned her B.A. in English from the University of Texas in 2001. While at UT, she served as managing editor of the humor magazine, The Texas Travesty, where she discovered that nearly everything is funny, but only if it’s worded a certain way and accompanied by a clever picture. In 2004, Rachel married her little brother’s best friend, a navy pilot, and since then she has enjoyed dodging hurricanes, learning acronyms, and moving. This is her first semester in the MFA Program, and she still can’t believe her luck.

On Truth: Ambrose Bierce wrote that truth is “an ingenious compound of desirability and appearance,” and while Rachel finds this hilarious and quotable, truth in her own writing feels more like discovering a hideous, hidden bruise and showing it off anyway.

Jasmine Armstrong, Poetry

KUDOS: David Anthony Durham, Steve Yarbrough, Daniel Chacon, Burlee Vang, and Erin Cook

2007-11-14T11:59:00.000-08:00

Wow! The news keeps getting better:

Fiction instructor David Anthony Durham's novel Acacia has been named by Publisher's Weekly as one of the best books of the year. Congratulations!

Program Coordinator Steve Yarbrough has a short story in the New Granta Book of the American Short Story, edited by Richard Ford. Steve is one of the writers chosen to represent American writing for the last fifty years or so. He's standing shoulder to shoulder with the likes of Eudora Welty, John Cheever, Flannery O'Connor, Edward P. Jones, John Updike, Tobias Wolff, Richard Yates, Annie Proulx, Robert Stone, Andre Dubus - just to name a few. Congratulations!

Congratulations to former student and last year's Distinguished
Visiting Writer Daniel Chacon, whose new story collection has just won
the Hudson Prize and will be published by Black Lawrence Press in New
York.

Current poetry student Burlee Vang just learned that he's a finalist for the 2007 War Poetry Contest at Winning Writers. They'll be publishing his poems "THE DEAD I KNOW" and "LINES FOR THE FLEEING WIDOW AND HER CHILDREN." Congratulations, Burlee!

Congratulations to current student Erin Cook, whose story "Bird" was just accepted by Slice Magazine. The journal'sother contributors include writers like Manuel Munoz, Jonathan Galassi and Junot Diaz. Congratulations, Erin!

KUDOS: Sasha Pimental, David Chacon, Tim Skeen

2007-11-06T13:05:00.000-08:00

More good news to spread:

Student Sasha Pimentel's chapbook, "Blood, Sister," is a finalist for the 2006 Black River Chapbook Competition.

Fall 2007 Distinguished Visiting Professor Daniel Chacon's new collection of stories, (formerly called "Unending Rooms," now "The Chicano Book of the Dead") is a finalist for the 2007 Hudson Prize.

Poetry instructor Tim Skeen is also a semi-finalist of for his collection, "Peacetime." Tim was a finalist for the same prize last year for the same manuscript under a different title.

Congratulations to all!

EVENT: Jennifer Haigh Reading 11/8 (Interview!)

2007-11-05T14:23:00.000-08:00

As you know, award-winning author Jennifer Haigh is coming this Thursday, November 8th and will be reading from her work in the Alice Peters Auditorium (PB 191) at 7:30 p.m.

Our own Kristin Fitzpatrick took a moment to interview Jennifer Haigh, and the conversation is published on FresnoFamous. Check it out.

KUDOS: John Hales and Liz Scheid

2007-11-05T12:19:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to John Hales, whose book Shooting Polaris just got a wonderful review in ISLE: Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment.

Current poetry student Liz Scheid's lyric essay "what I'm not telling you" and her poem "What They Don't Tell You About Breastfeeding" have BOTH been accepted for publication in the acclaimed literary magazine Post Road. Congratulations, Liz!

KUDOS: Steve Yarbrough

2007-11-01T13:59:00.000-07:00

MFA Program Director Steve Yarbrough will have his 1996 story "Sleet" published
in WRITES OF PASSAGE: COMING OF AGE STORIES FROM THE HUDSON REVIEW, an anthology being published to coincide with the 60th anniversary of the magazine.

Steve says that this story was rejected 24 times before THE HUDSON REVIEW took it.

Other writers who will have stories in what promises to be a truly amazing collection include Elizabeth Spencer, William Trevor and Tennessee Williams. Excellent company!

KUDOS: Brian Turner, Liza Wieland, Jasmine Armstrong

2007-11-01T12:08:00.000-07:00

If you haven't already, take a moment to check out poetry instructor Brian Turner's illuminating posts in the New York Times series "Home Fires: Five Iraq War Veterans on Their Return to American Life."

Former MFA instructor Liza Wieland's new novel, Watch of Nightingales, has been selected as the winner of this year's Michigan Literary Fiction Awards and will be published by the University of Michigan Press. Congratulations, Liza!

Congratulations also to current poetry student Jasmine Armstrong, whose poem has been accepted for publication in Sojourners Magazine!

EVENT: Jennifer Haigh Reading 11/8

2007-10-30T14:12:00.001-07:00

The MFA Program is excited to host a reading by PEN/Hemingway award-winner Jennifer Haigh, author of acclaimed novels Mrs. Kimble and Baker Towers, next Thursday, November 8th from 7:30 - 9:30 pm in the Alice Peters Auditorium, (PB 191).

A Q&A session will take place before the reading from 3:00 - 4:00 pm in UC 202.

The event is free and open to the public with parking available in Lots UBC and A. Representatives from the Kennel Bookstore will be on hand to sell copies of Haigh's novels.

Haigh’s debut novel Mrs. Kimble, which follows the lives of three separate women who all end up marrying and divorcing the same man, won the PEN/Hemingway Award for Outstanding first fiction. Her recent novel, Baker Towers, won the 2006 PEN/L. L. Winship Award, and chronicles life in a Pennsylvania mining town in the 1950’s, drawing on some of the experiences of her grandfathers, both coal miners.

Originally from Barnesboro, Pennsylvania, Haigh is a graduate of Dickinson College and the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, and has appeared on the Today Show to discuss her fiction.

KUDOS: Vuong Vu, David Hurst

2007-10-19T12:42:00.000-07:00

Keep an eye out for this new feature on the blog, "Kudos," where we congratulate current and former MFA students on awards and publications. CSU Fresno is home to such an active and prolific group of writers, and in the past we've recognized them and sung their praises only on private listservs-- it's high time we shared the news with a wider audience!

Without further ado:

Vuong Vu, a recent MFA poetry grad, has won the Atlanta Review's International Poetry Contest. His winning poem is called "Flower Bomb," and will be published in the next issue of the Atlanta Review. Congratulations!

Dave Hurst, another recent grad of the MFA program specializing in poetry, has just received word that his poem "astronauts" was accepted for publication for an anthology of Creative Writing inspired by String Theory, coming out next spring. Congratulations to Dave, as well!

EVENT: MFA Student Run Reading Series

2007-10-16T13:17:00.000-07:00

The first of the new MFA student run reading series is set for Thursday, October 25, at 7 pm. Picture this: Prose Vs. Poetry, or Veterans' Vs. Newbies. Or just come for the "freaky" costumes. Either way, this is something you don't want to miss--(whether it be to congratulate Brian & Tabitha who are prepared to graduate or it to help initiate Juan & Jocelyn, you need to be there). With Halloween on the verge, costumes are allowed, as are birthday suites. (Just kidding).
The Details

Who: Brian Carroll & Tabitha Villalba Vs. Juan Guzman & Jocelyn Stott

When: Thursday, October 25

Where: Alice Peters Auditorium, University Business Center

And one final perk: our very own Carol Claassen will be the hostess, which means you're guaranteed a good time.

Brian T. Carroll, husband, father of five children, and grandfather, studied history, kinesiology, and creative writing at UCLA. He has taught a wide variety of subjects on three continents and pursued interests from zoology to linguistics. He has published poetry and fiction in student magazines, and written about Shakespeare theater for Westways Magazine, public transportation and local politics for the Valley Voice Newspaper, California spiders for a webpage and arachnology newsletter, and creative non-fiction for The Evangelical Beacon. He also edited the English abstract for a Chinese journal article on Chinese Gall Aphids. He is working on a novel.

Tabitha Renee Herrera-Villalba , a valley native, earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Fresno State in 2004 before continuing on to graduate school to study creative writing. She chose the MFA program at Fresno State not only because she wanted to remain local, but also because of the talented and supportive faculty here. She enjoys writing short stories about the valley and her Mexican heritage. Currently, she is working on her first novel, Claims of Innocence, which is about a young girl who witnesses her brother’s dramatic change after he
returns from the Vietnam War. She is also married and has three beautiful daughters, ages 8, 4, and 2.

Juan Guzman received his B.A. in English and Mass Communication Journalism (Broadcast) from Fresno State in May. He is in his first semester of the MFA program as a poetry student. Juan was the recipient of the Andres Montoya Creative Writing Award in 2006 and is the 2007-2008 Phil Levine Scholar. He is both in awe and inspired by the students and faculty in the program and feels lucky to be surrounded by good writers.

Jocelyn, 22, graduated in the spring of 2007 and has just entered the MFA program with an emphasis in poetry. She is currently teaching courses of beginning English as a TA at Fresno State, and looks forward to sharing her passion for language and writing with her students. Jocelyn is both thankful for and intimidated by the opportunity to work the talented colleagues and instructors in this creative writing program.

EVENT: SJLA's Constellations on the Page

2007-10-15T13:01:00.000-07:00

An SJLA Sponsored Student Reading Event:

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 3
5:00 - 7:00 p.m.
Full Circle Brewing Co. (Free entry, 21+ only)
620 F. Street
Downtown Fresno

"Constellations on the Page"

con-stel-la-tion n.
1. An arbitrary formation of stars perceived as a figure or design.

2. The configuration of planets at the time of one's birth, regarded by
astrologers as determining one's character or fate.

3. A gathering or an assemblage, especially of prominent persons or
things: The symposium was attended by a constellation of artists and
writers.

4. A set or configuration, as of related items, properties, ideas, or
individuals.

The San Joaquin Literary Association, a student group from Fresno State, is sponsoring a student reading of “Constellations on the Page.” Talented CSU Fresno writers of fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction will present their original works—-writing that explores connections between images and ideas, characters, times, and places. The Fresno-famous band, Inflight Nymphs, will shine its own light on the evening reading. So if you’ve ever wondered why we feel compelled to connect the disparate parts of our human experience, why we seek to make meaning where none existed before, you should join these inspiring artists for a performance you will be glad to be part of.

EVENT: Steve Almond Reading 9/21

2007-09-17T13:00:00.000-07:00

Author Steve Almond will read from his new collection of essays, (Not That You asked): Rants, Exploits, and Obsessions this Friday, September 21, at 7:30 p.m. in the Alice Peters Auditorium (PB 191).

A Q & A Session will take place before the reading from 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. in Room 194 in the Peters Building.

This event is free and open to the public, with parking available in Lots UBC, A, and J.

Originally from Palo Alto, California, Almond gained notoriety in May 2006 for publishing an open letter of resignation to the Boston Globe resigning his position as an adjunct professor at Boston College in order to protest the College’s choice of Condoleezza Rice as its graduation commencement speaker.

Almond is the author of two previous story collections, My Life in Heavy Metal (2003) and The Evil B.B. Chow (2006), as well as a nonfiction examination of his obsession with all things confectionery and the rise of the American candy industry, Candyfreak: A Journey Through the Chocolate Underbelly of America (2004). He also co-authored a novel, Which Brings Me to You, with Julianna Baggott.

Almond’s new collection, (Not That You Asked), includes an open attack on Oprah Winfrey’s Book Club, for which he immediately apologizes by offering his newborn daughter to Oprah as a gift of trust. Other essays explore topics ranging from Fox News to sexual obsessions of past girlfriends to the impact of Kurt Vonnegut on the author’s life.

For more on Steve Almond, check out Carol Claassen's interview with him on FresnoFamous.com.

EVENT: San Joaquin Review reading

2007-05-14T07:31:00.000-07:00

The annual reading and release party for the San Joaquin Review journal is scheduled for Thursday evening, May 17, at 7 p.m. The San Joaquin Review is the literary journal for Fresno State and the English Department, and is staffed by MFA students. This year's editor is Jennifer Raimondo, pictured above.

Raimondo's staff consisted of Emily Tallman and Jc Trevino, poetry editors; James Espinoza and Eric Parker, creative nonfiction editors; and Anna Boyle and Tabitha Villalba, fiction editors. The faculty adviser was Tim Skeen.

The reading--which will feature 14 of the 25 writers and artists published in this year's journal--is free and open to the public. A reception will follow. The event will be held in the Alice Peters Auditorium, inside the University Business Center on campus.

EVENT: Inner Ear Poetry Jam

2007-05-13T08:05:00.000-07:00

Still one of the longest-running performance poetry events in town, the Inner Ear Poetry Jam will celebrate its fifth anniversary on Thursday, May 17. The special anniversary edition--featuring visiting performance poets Beau Sia and Tim Z. Hernandez--will start at 7:30 p.m. at the Full Circle Brewery downtown, 620 F. Street. Cost: $10 advance, $12 at the door.

The Inner Ear is co-hosted by recent Fresno MFA graduate Deanna Pierro, pictured left above, with fellow conspirators DJ Smack Jilly and Bryan Medina.

The Inner Ear Poetry Jam, held the third Thursday of each month, bills itself as "a live open mic venue showcasing Central California artists in spoken-word, art, music, and performance." A similar performance event, the Beat-Down Poetry Slam, is held on the third Tuesday of each month at Javawava in the Tower District.

EVENT: Janet Nichols Lynch reading

2007-05-12T08:13:00.000-07:00

The annual Respite By The River series returns this month for another six-month run, delivering stories of California's central San Joaquin Valley by area writers.

The first installment of the new season is scheduled for Thursday, May 17, with Fresno MFA alumna Janet Nichols Lynch. She is the author of four novels for young adults--including the recent Peace is a Four-letter Word, from Heyday Books--as well as the short-story collection Where Words Leave Off Music Begins. Nichols Lynch lives in Visalia and teaches at both El Diamante High School and College of the Sequoias.

The free event will take place at the San Joaquin River Center, 11605 Old Friant Road. Bring your own picnic dinner at 6 p.m. for the pre-reading entertainment. The reading begins at 7 p.m., with a book-signing and tour of the River Center to follow.

Here's the rest of the 2007 series lineup:
June 21, with Jim Ashford;
July 19, Nature Poets of the Valley;
Aug. 16, with Aris Janigian;
Sept. 20, with David Mas Masumoto;
Oct. 18, Heyday Books "Highway 99" anthology reading.

NEWS: New fiction faculty

2007-05-11T08:18:00.000-07:00

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The Fresno MFA program will welcome two new fiction faculty to the English Department in fall 2007, acclaimed writers David Anthony Durham (left) and Alex Espinoza.

Durham received his MFA from the University of Maryland College Park in 1996. He is the author of three novels: Gabriel's Story, Walk Through Darkness, and Pride of Carthage, all published by Doubleday. Acacia, his fourth novel, is scheduled to be published by Doubleday this summer.

Espinoza received his MFA from UC Irvine in 2004. He is the author of the novel Still Water Saints (Random House, January 2007), which has been named a "Discover Great New Writers" selection at Barnes and Noble Booksellers, and Jesus Stole My Bike (Chicano Chapbook Series).

In brief e-mail interviews, MFA student Jefferson Beavers talked with both Durham and Espinoza on the eve of their arrivals in Fresno.

What writing project(s) are you working on now?

Durham: At this very moment I'm writing another review for The Washington Post. But that's a small project. The big one is that I'm feeling my way into my next novel. It's a continuation of the story I began in Acacia, and it's likely to be another hefty book. Seems I like 'em dangerously heavy. Also, I'm preparing for the publication of Acacia in mid-June. It's a very different experience than I've had before. I'm doing a lot pre-publication stuff: interviews, website design, giveaways, etc. It's a learning experience!

Espinoza: I'm working on my second novel, which takes place in Hollywood during the twenties and thirties and involves a Latino actor who becomes one of the biggest film stars of the time.

What are you both looking forward to most about life in Fresno?

Durham: Community. I don't mind saying that a real big part of the draw to Fresno State was the ease and camaraderie I felt with the faculty and students. During the interview I already felt at home, among friends, supported and encouraged. That's exactly the type of program I want to be involved with. It's the type of experience I want to offer students. Such a program is very rare. I really look forward to being a part of it, and to adding what I can to keep the program growing.

Espinoza: It's impossible to answer this briefly. There are truly so many things that have me excited about calling Fresno home. For one, everyone in the English Department at Fresno State has been amazingly generous, and I am looking forward to being part of such a committed and reputable faculty. Secondly, as a Chicano writer, it will be a great thrill to be living in a region that has cultivated such gifted poets as Gary Soto, Luis Omar Salinas, and Dixie Salazar, writers who have come to define and shape not just Chicano Literature, but American Literature as well. And finally, I hear Fresno has great fresh produce!

EVENT: MFA year-end party

2007-05-10T22:39:00.000-07:00

The Fresno MFA program is known for its tough workshops and great writing community, true. But it's also known for its year-end parties!

This year's installment of partying will commence this Friday evening, May 11, at the home of MFA alumni Tanya Nichols and Stephen T. Barile, pictured above. You can e-mail Tanya if you need directions.

STUDENTS: Beavers, Getto are dean's medal nominees

2007-05-02T19:40:00.000-07:00

Two graduating Fresno MFA students were honored this past Saturday night at the annual Arts In Motion event, the yearly showcase of the top graduate and undergraduate students in the College of Arts and Humanities.

Guiseppe Getto (pictured left) and Jefferson Beavers (right) were both named Graduate Dean's Medal Nominees from the English Department. They were joined by MFA coordinator Connie Hales (center) and other English Department faculty, family, and friends at Arts In Motion, where 18 of the College's top grads were recognized for both their scholastic achievement and service to the university community.

Getto is completing both his MA degree in Composition and his MFA degree in creative writing, with an emphasis in poetry, this semester. He will begin doctoral study in composition and rhetoric in the fall at Michigan State.

Beavers is completing his MFA degree in creative writing, with an emphasis in creative nonfiction, this semester. He will begin a lectureship with the Mass Communication and Journalism Department at Fresno State in the fall.

Getto and Beavers each received certificates, $100 awards, and full scholarships to the annual CSU Summer Arts festival, as awarded by the dean of the College, Vida Samiian.

STUDENTS: 2007 award winners

2007-05-01T07:48:00.000-07:00

This past Friday night's MFA convocation reading was preceded by the annual awards ceremony for the English Department's creative writing prizes. Pictured above, from left, are the award winners who were in attendance: Kristin FitzPatrick, James Tyner, Stacy C. Brand, Lisa Lieberman, Logan Perkes, Megan Baptista, Sasha Pimentel, and Eric Parker.

Here's the full list of winners:

Fresno Creative Nonfiction Prize
Stacy C. Brand, "Happens After"
Lisa Lieberman, "The Boy"
Honorable mention: Eric Parker, "Raising the Dead"

Fresno Fiction Prize
Kristin FitzPatrick, "Conlan's Nursery"

Ernesto Trejo Poetry Prize (graduate student)
Co-sponsored by the Academy of American Poets
James Tyner, "Asking My Father About a Scar On His Arm Over Dinner"
Honorable mention: Sasha Pimentel, "Before Dinner"
Honorable mention: Marcus Chinn, "The Black Sun"

Larry Levis Poetry Prize (undergraduate)
Co-sponsored by the Academy of American Poets
Megan Baptista, "The Linguica Prayer"

Also honored were the English Department's nominees for the Arts & Humanities outstanding student awards. Logan Perkes was the Outstanding Thesis Award Nominee from the entire college for her manuscript, "Making the Bed: Essays and Poems." The Graduate Dean's Medal Nominees were Jefferson Beavers (MFA) and Guiseppe Getto (both MFA and MA).

STUDENTS: Class of 2007

2007-04-30T14:09:00.000-07:00

The Fall 2006, Spring 2007, and Summer 2007 creative writing graduates gave public readings this past Friday night, April 27, at the annual MFA Convocation Reading and Awards ceremony. Twelve students in all will graduate this year with their Master of Fine Arts degrees: four in poetry, three in fiction, and five in creative nonfiction. Eleven of the twelve MFA candidates read excerpts from their thesis manuscripts at the convocation.

Pictured above, from left: Guiseppe Getto, Nigel Medhurst, Rick Garza, Kelly Van Horn, Jefferson Beavers, Emily Tallman, Sylvia Savala, Logan Perkes, Deanna Pierro, and Jennifer Raimondo.

Graduates John Thomas Rabb and Brian Wall are not pictured.

More than 100 people attended the convocation, just short of a packed house in the Alice Peters Auditorium, inside the University Business Center.

NEWS: Hales, Church win Provost's Awards

2007-04-29T09:00:00.000-07:00

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English Department faculty Connie Hales and Steven Church have each earned recognition from the university's prestigious annual Provost's Awards. Both Hales and Church teach in the Fresno MFA program.

Hales, who has been the MFA program's coordinator for six years, in addition to a full schedule as a professor, won the Graduate Teaching and Mentoring Award. Church, who is completing his first year as an assistant professor at Fresno State, won the Promising New Faculty Award.

EVENT: Lee Gutkind reading

2007-04-28T08:56:00.000-07:00

The English Department will welcome distinguished author Lee Gutkind to campus Friday, May 4, for the latest installment of its annual Visiting Writer Series, hosted by the MFA program and the San Joaquin Literary Association.

Gutkind is an influential author, journal founder, and anthology editor who is known worldwide as "The Godfather of Creative Nonfiction." He is the founder and editor of the groundbreaking literary magazine Creative Nonfiction. His unique brand of literary journalism has led Gutkind to perform as a clown for Ringling Brothers, scrub with heart and liver transplant surgeons, wander the country on a motorcycle, and experience psychotherapy with a distressed family--all as research for dozens of books, profiles, essays and anthologies. His most recent book is Almost Human: Making Robots Think, a behind-the-scenes look at the Carnegie Mellon Robotics Institute. Gutkind's visit is co-sponsored by The Fresno Bee.

The event begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Peters Educational Center inside the Student Rec Center at Shaw and Woodrow avenues. There will be a book-signing after the reading. Admission is free. A pre-event Q&A session for Fresno State students only will be held from 4 to 5 p.m. in PB 390.

NEWS: Levine Prize winner is named

2007-04-25T07:36:00.000-07:00

The Fresno MFA program has named Lynn Aarti Chandhok its 2006 winner of the Philip Levine Prize in Poetry, which includes a $1,500 award and publication of her first poetry collection, A View from Zero Bridge, by Anhinga Press.

The prize's final judge, Connie Hales, chose Chandhok's manuscript from among 15 finalists. Hales wrote of the winning entry: "It's the rich physicality of these poems that draws me to them, and it's their large emotional reach that keeps me coming back. This is a poetry that embraces the problem of distance--geographical, chronological, religious, cultural--and the book gathers quiet force as it weaves between worlds as seemingly distant as Kashmir and Brooklyn, childhood and parenthood, sensuality and intellect, science and tradition."

The Levine Prize is an annual book contest proudly sponsored and organized by the Fresno MFA program. Through participation in the program's English 242 course, Literary Editing and Publishing, MFA students are given the opportunity to serve as the primary manuscript readers for the contest, as well as to learn about other facets of contest administration, book publishing, and promotions. The instructor for the course and coordinator of the contest is Tim Skeen.

EVENT: Hettie Jones lecture

2007-04-24T07:19:00.000-07:00

The second installment this spring of the renowned international literature series Branching Out: Poetry for the 21st Century will feature Hettie Jones lecturing on the Beat Generation poets. The free lecture is scheduled for Monday, April 30, at 7 p.m., at the Woodward Park library.

Jones writes both poetry and prose. She is the author of How I Became Hettie Jones, a memoir on the Beat scene of the 1950s and '60s. She has also published short prose in journals such as The Village Voice and Ploughshares, among others, and has written numerous books for children and young adults, including The Trees Stand Shining, and Big Star Fallin' Mama: Five Women In Black Music. Click here for a news release on Jones.

Branching Out is a program of Poets House and the Poetry Society of America, which partner with the public libraries in seven American cities to present lectures by distinguished poets on the works of celebrated modern and classic poets. This is the second time that Fresno has been chosen for the series, which will include four lectures in 2007 and two lectures in spring 2008.

The Fresno County Library hosts the Branching Out series locally. The National Endowment for the Humanities funds the series nationally.

EVENT: MFA convocation and awards

2007-04-18T21:30:00.000-07:00

The Department of English and the Fresno MFA program invite the public to attend the annual MFA Convocation Reading and Awards ceremony, in honor of the 2006-07 graduating students. The event is scheduled for Friday, April 27, at 7 p.m. The reading and reception will feature 12 graduating MFA degree candidates, and will take place in the Alice Peters Auditorium, inside the University Business Center. Admission is free.

EVENT: Richard Katrovas reading

2007-04-14T06:57:00.000-07:00

The English Department will welcome distinguished author Richard Katrovas to campus Wednesday, April 25, for the latest installments of its annual Visiting Writer Series, hosted by the MFA program and the San Joaquin Literary Association.

Katrovas, an author of both poetry and prose, is the academic founder of the international Prague Summer Program for writers. Katrovas has written six books of poetry, two memoirs, a book of short stories and a novel. His most recent book is the memoir The Years of Smashing Bricks, released this year by Carnegie Mellon University Press.

The event begins at 7 p.m. in Room 194 inside the University Business Center. There will be a book-signing and reception after the reading. Admission is free.

Fresno MFA alumni Stephen T. Barile interviews Katrovas for a FresnoFamous.com feature article this week. Click here for the interview.

EVENT: Fresno City College poetry readings

2007-04-09T13:35:00.000-07:00

Adriel Luis

April is National Poetry Month. To commemorate the occasion, Fresno City College will host two performance poetry events this month, featuring two eclectic poetic performers.

The first reading is scheduled for Monday, April 16, with Bay Area slam poet Adriel Luis. As part of the acclaimed spoken-word quartet Ill-Literacy, Luis regularly appears on HBO's Def Poetry Jam and is the 2005 Bay Area Poetry Slam champion. He's the author of the poetry collection How to Make Juice and has shared the stage with poets and musicians including Saul Williams, KRS-One, Lauryn Hill, and Mos Def, among many others.

The second reading is scheduled for Wednesday, April 18, with local poet and essayist David Mas Masumoto. An organic peach and grape farmer from Del Rey, south of Fresno, Masumoto is the author of several poetic books of prose, including: Letters to the Valley, Four Seasons in Five Senses, Harvest Son, and Epitaph For A Peach, among others. Masumoto is also a regular columnist for the Fresno Bee.

Each reading will be held from 11 a.m. to noon inside the Student Lounge at Fresno City College, at McKinley and Van Ness avenues. For details, e-mail FCC English instructor Lee Herrick here. National Poetry Month is an ongoing project of the Academy of American Poets.

EVENT: Clovis Library poetry readings

2007-04-08T17:10:00.000-07:00

April is National Poetry Month. To commemorate the occasion, the Clovis Branch Library will host its annual series of poetry readings featuring a mix of Fresno State student and alumni poets. The readings are scheduled for the last three Sunday afternoons in April, each running from 2 to 3 p.m.

The first reading is scheduled for April 15, featuring James Tyner, Juan Guzman, and Bryan Medina. Tyner is a current MFA student who works at the Clovis library, and he will host all three readings. Guzman is a current English Department undergrad who will enter the MFA program in fall 2007.

The second reading is scheduled for April 22, featuring Sasha Pimentel and David Hurst. Pimentel is a current MFA student and Hurst is a recent MFA alumni. The third reading is scheduled for April 29, featuring Liz Scheid and Pilar Graham. Scheid is a current MFA student and Graham is a recent MFA alumni.

National Poetry Month is an ongoing project of the Academy of American Poets. The Clovis library is located at 1155 5th Street in downtown Clovis. For details, call the library at (559) 299-9531.

EVENT: "Memory" series, feat. Lillian Faderman

2007-04-05T07:43:00.000-07:00

The MFA program and the San Joaquin Literary Association are proud to present the final installment of a three-part creative nonfiction reading series, "The Problem of Memory." The final reading is scheduled for Friday, April 13, at 7:30 p.m. It features Lillian Faderman, along with MFA student writers Burlee Vang and Stacy C. Brand.

For writers of creative nonfiction, memory is often the source and the subject of writing. But it is also inherently problematic: It can be flawed, fragmented, subjective, and even surreal. Writers deal with the problem of memory throughout the process of writing and on the page. In this three-part reading series, nine accomplished writers of creative nonfiction will tackle the complicated predicaments that memory can create. The series intends to celebrate the genre and a create dialogue on important questions of content and craft with which each writer inevitably grapples.

A reception and book signing will follow the reading, which takes place in the Alice Peters Auditorium on campus, inside the University Business Center. Details are available on the SJLA's MySpace page.

MFA student David Cicoletti writes about the series recently on Fresno Famous. Click here for the article.

EVENT: Beverly Lowry reading

2007-03-31T07:51:00.000-07:00

The sixth and final installment of the Fresno Poets' Association 2006-07 reading series is scheduled for Thursday, April 5, with creative nonfiction writer Beverly Lowry.

Lowry is the author of six novels and three works of creative nonfiction, including the acclaimed Crossed Over: A Murder, A Memoir, about her friendship with death-row inmate Karla Faye Tucker. Her most recent work, to be published this spring, is a biography: Harriet Tubman, Imagining a Life. Her essays, book reviews, and literary journalism have been published in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, The New Yorker, Granta, Rolling Stone, and Vanity Fair, among many others. Lowry was the Fresno MFA program's distinguished visiting writer in residence in fall 2004.

The event begins at 7:30 p.m. inside the Bonner Auditorium at the Fresno Art Museum. There will be a book-signing and reception after the reading. Cost: $5 general, $4 for students. Visit FresnoPoets.org for details.

Fresno MFA student Georgia Williams interviews Lowry for a FresnoFamous.com feature article this week. Click here for the interview.

EVENT: "Memory" series, feat. John Hales

2007-03-28T07:15:00.000-07:00

The MFA program and the San Joaquin Literary Association are proud to present the second installment of a three-part creative nonfiction reading series, "The Problem of Memory." The second reading is scheduled for Thursday, March 29, at 7:30 p.m. It features John Hales, along with MFA student writers David Cicoletti and Lisa Lieberman.

For writers of creative nonfiction, memory is often the source and the subject of writing. But it is also inherently problematic: It can be flawed, fragmented, subjective, and even surreal. Writers deal with the problem of memory throughout the process of writing and on the page. In this three-part reading series, nine accomplished writers of creative nonfiction will tackle the complicated predicaments that memory can create. The series intends to celebrate the genre and a create dialogue on important questions of content and craft with which each writer inevitably grapples.

A reception and book signing will follow the reading, which takes place in the Alice Peters Auditorium on campus, inside the University Business Center. Details are available on the SJLA's MySpace page.

MFA student David Cicoletti writes about the series recently on Fresno Famous. Click here for the article.