Kudos to #FresnoWriters is a regular series on the Fresno State MFA blog, celebrating the professional accomplishments of students, alumni, and faculty in the Creative Writing Program and the Department of English at Fresno State.
If you have a special announcement, a professional or creative success, or an inspiring story that you’d like us to share, please submit this short form.
Compiled by Jefferson Beavers
10/09/2020
Kyle Aisteach (MFA Creative Writing alum) — Will publish the novelette “Time Travel Triad” in the debut issue of Departure Mirror Quarterly.
William Arcé (English faculty) — Was interviewed by Martin Velasco-Ramos for the article “Fresno State employees say they’re overworked as ‘rainy day fund’ goes untapped” in the Valley Voice newspaper.
Stacey Balkun (MFA Creative Writing alum) — Published the essay “In Praise of Silence: Camille Dungy’s ‘Language’” for the University of Arizona Poetry Center; the erasure poem “First Manifesto of Surrealism” in the anthology “Erase the Patriarchy: An Anthology of Erasure Poetry,” from the University of Hell Press; and the poem “The Water, the Truth, the Water” in the anthology “Rewilding: Poems for the Environment,” from the Split Rock Review and Flexible Press.
John Beynon (English faculty) — Was interviewed by Martin Velasco-Ramos for the article “Fresno State employees say they’re overworked as ‘rainy day fund’ goes untapped” in the Valley Voice newspaper.
Venita Blackburn (English faculty) — Nominated for Best of the Net for the story “Smoothies,” previously published in Split Lip Magazine.
Sara Borjas (BA English Literature alum) — Won the American Book Award from the Before Columbus Foundation, for her debut poetry collection, “Heart Like a Window, Mouth Like a Cliff,” published in 2019 by Noemi Press. Interviewed by Kathleen Schock on family, identity, and winning the American Book Award for Valley Public Radio. Also had her book reviewed by the poet Alina Stefanescu for Another Chicago Magazine.
Mariah Bosch (Creative Writing grad student) — Published the poem “Double Sonnet, Suspended” on Poets.org, for the Academy of American Poets.
Cindy Bradley (MFA Creative Writing alum) — Nominated for a Pushcart Prize for the essay “July, Exhaling,” previously published in the magazine Under the Sun.
Phyllis Brotherton (MFA Creative Writing alum) — Nominated for Best of the Net for the essay “The Year of Assassination,” previously published in the magazine Under the Sun.
Mialise Carney (Creative Writing grad student) — Reviewed the Molly McCully Brown book “Places I’ve Taken My Body,” an essay collection that explores living within and beyond the limits of a body, in Brevity Magazine’s “Experiences of Disability” issue. Also, will publish the short story “During a Quake” in the magazine Hobart.
Kenneth R. Chacón (MFA Creative Writing alum) — Published the poems “Ride or Die; or What the Woke Don’t See” and “N*****” in the magazine The Artifa[ctuals].
Ethan Chatagnier (BA English Literature alum) — Reviewed the Asako Serizawa book “Inheritors,” a story collection of lives fragmented by the Pacific side of World War II, in the Kenyon Review.
Steven Church (English faculty) — Won third place in the juried awards for his lyric essay “Understanding the Fox,” as part of the Pandemical virtual exhibition from Fresno State’s Center for Creativity and the Arts. His essay “Memory Yards” was also selected for the exhibition.
Carol Claassen (MFA Creative Writing alum) — Nominated for Best of the Net for the essay “Object Permanence,” previously published in The Forge magazine.
Anthony Cody (MFA Creative Writing alum) — Was named a finalist for the National Book Award from the National Book Foundation, for his debut poetry collection, “Borderland Apocrypha,” published in 2020 by Omnidawn. Published the poem “brd” on Poets.org, for the poem-a-day feature for the Academy of American Poets. Also, was interviewed by Sebastián Hasani Páramo for the Under Pressure series in The Boiler journal. [Read more]
Beth Contreras (English Education undergrad student) — Was interviewed by Martin Velasco-Ramos for the article “Fresno State employees say they’re overworked as ‘rainy day fund’ goes untapped” in the Valley Voice newspaper.
J. Ashley Foster (English faculty) — Co-authored with the scholar Andrew Janco, published the article “Challenging a ‘Warist’ Society with Digital Peace Pedagogy” in the journal Radical Teacher.
Will Freeney (Creative Writing grad student) — His essay “Breathe” and his photograph “Bleaker Street” were selected as part of the Pandemical virtual exhibition from Fresno State’s Center for Creativity and the Arts.
Eddie P. Gomez (MFA Creative Writing alum) — Published the essay “Diamonds in the Light” in Small Print Magazine.
Howard V. Hendrix (English lecturer) — Published the opinion piece “Disaster Hits Home for Volunteer Firefighter in Creek Fire” in the San Francisco Chronicle.
Arielle K. Jones (MFA Creative Writing alum) — Nominated for Best of the Net for the story “Sabbath,” previously published in The Rumpus.
Jenny Krichevsky (English faculty) — Featured in a new faculty profile on the College of Arts and Humanities news blog.
Kirk Alvaro Lua (MFA Creative Writing alum) — Performed the Gary Soto poem “The Gold Cannon” for the #FresnoWriters at Home series on the Fresno State MFA YouTube channel.
Suzanne Lummis (MA English alum) — Published the poems “Those Poets Who Write About Loss” and “Why I Am Not the Los Angeles River” in the magazine Interlitq.
Alison Mandaville (English faculty) — Reviewed the Tian Veasna book “Year of the Rabbit,” a graphic memoir of life under the Khmer Rouge, in the journal World Literature Today.
Sarah Fawn Montogomery (MFA Creative Writing alum) — With authors Keah Brown and Sonya Huber, co-edited the “Experiences of Disability” issue #65 of Brevity Magazine. Included is a roundtable discussion with the editors, “Disability as Nuance, Disability as Craft.” Also published essay “Something from Nothing” in the journal Pithead Chapel, and the poem “Offerings” in the anthology “Rewilding: Poems for the Environment,” from the Split Rock Review and Flexible Press.
Miroku Nemeth (MA English Literature alum) — Published the poems “Yusuf and Omar,” “I Love You,” “Forever Beggars in the Laughing Lion’s Court” and “February 2, 2018” in the anthology “A Kaleidoscope of Stories: Muslim Voices in Contemporary Poetry,” from Lote Tree Press.
Shelby Pinkham (Creative Writing grad student) — Published the poems “American Medical Questionnaire” in the magazine PANK, and “To Haunt a House from Across the Valley” in the Bee House Journal.
Monique Quintana (MFA Creative Writing alum) — Announced the publication of her second book, the fiction chapbook “My Favorite Sancho and Other Fairy Tales,” forthcoming in December 2020 from Sword and Kettle Press. Nominated for Best of the Net for the essay “Black Licorice,” previously published in the journal Yes Poetry. Had her book “Cenote City,” published in 2019 by Clash Books, reviewed by the author Hillary Leftwich in the Heavy Feather Review. Her poem “my spine becomes an armadillo circus” was selected as part of the Pandemical virtual exhibition from Fresno State’s Center for Creativity and the Arts. Also published the essays “the night show novarro” in Giallo Lit, and “Son Puppets to Juárez” in Mixed Mag. [Author website]
Charles L. Radke (MA English alum) — Published the stories “Alfred’s Feast” in the Mud Season Review, and “Renaissance Man” in the journal HASH.
Ernesto Reyes (Creative Writing grad student) — Published the flash fiction story “The Name You Asked For” in the magazine Maudlin House.
Brynn Saito (English faculty) — Co-authored with the poet Traci Brimhall, published the poems “Ode to the Bone China Sugar Bowl,” “Shelter Ghazal,” and “Starlight from the Old Century” in the journal Guesthouse. Also co-authored with the poet Traci Brimhall, published the poems “Distance Ghazal” and “Blood Ghazal” in South Florida Poetry Journal.
Bradley Samore (Creative Writing grad student) — Published the poem “There Was Never a Door” in the journal The Dewdrop. Also, his poem “Across Quarantine” was selected as part of the Pandemical virtual exhibition from Fresno State’s Center for Creativity and the Arts.
Nohemi Samudio Gamis (BA English Literature alum) — Published the poem “Afterlife. Dream Log #13” on Poets.org, for the Academy of American Poets.
Emily Jo Scalzo (MFA Creative Writing alum) — Published the poems “Digress” and “Chassis” in the journal Yes Poetry.
Reva E. Sias (English faculty) — Published the article “Locating Our Editorial and Intellectual Selves Through and Within the Pages of ‘Reflections’: A Personal Reflection” in the 20th anniversary issue of Reflections: A Journal of Community-Engaged Writing and Rhetoric.
Gary Soto (BA English Literature alum) — Published the poem “In Praise of Dreams” on Poets.org, for the poem-a-day feature of the Academy of American Poets.
James Tyner (MFA Creative Writing alum) — Has been selected to serve on the Americal Library Association’s new Publications Advisory Board. He is one of Booklist’s 10 advisory board members who will focus on highlighting books from underrepresented groups. Also, recorded a tour of his writing space for the #FresnoWriters at Home series on the Fresno State MFA YouTube channel.
Sally Vogl (MFA Creative Writing alum) — Published the poem “Jerome” in the magazine Panoply. Also, her poem “Pieced Together” was selected as part of the Pandemical virtual exhibition from Fresno State’s Center for Creativity and the Arts.
Ashley Wells (MFA Creative Writing alum) — Announced the publication of her debut book, the nonfiction book “The Cowgirl and The Racehorse: A Recovery,” forthcoming in October 2020 from Skinner House Books and Lantern Publishing & Media. [Author website]
Erik Wilbur (MFA Creative Writing alum) — Announced the publication of his debut book, the poetry chapbook “What I Can Do,” forthcoming in November 2020 from Chestnut Review Press. The chapbook won the 2020 Chestnut Review Poetry Chapbook Contest. Also published the poems “Echolocation” and “Proof” in the Florida Review’s Aquifer; the poem “Livin’ It” in the Rising Phoenix Review; and the poem “I Should Know a Millionaire” in the New Ohio Review. [Author website]
Tara Williams (MFA Creative Writing alum) — Her trio of photographs “Study in Desuetude ” were selected as part of the Pandemical virtual exhibition from Fresno State’s Center for Creativity and the Arts.
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