Kudos to #FresnoWriters is an ongoing series on the Fresno State MFA blog, celebrating the professional accomplishments of students, alumni, and faculty in Fresno State’s Creative Writing Program and Department of English.
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While the bachelor’s degree looks great on paper to the parole board, the humanities courses have taught incarcerated individuals to reflect on their past and write their own story for their future.
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If the story of Hope Vang’s academic life so far was told as a children’s fairytale, you could imagine a narrator starting the brightly colored book with a wondrous voiceover introduction…
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Creative writers from Fresno State’s Department of English will headline the “Fresno Writers Live” performances at the 2025 Rogue Festival, scheduled for February 28 through March 8 in Fresno’s Tower District.
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Fresno State’s Department of English welcomes 10 acclaimed authors and scholars this spring for campus visits, including the poet and translator Marcelo Hernandez Castillo, the co-founder of Undocupoets, a collective that brings recognition to works written by undocumented poets and spreads awareness about the societal barriers they face as writers.
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Kudos to #FresnoWriters is an ongoing series on the Fresno State MFA blog, celebrating the professional accomplishments of students, alumni, and faculty in Fresno State’s Creative Writing Program and Department of English.
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Parker’s stories and poems focus on experimental forms and themes of family. She enjoys writing sci-fi and fantasy — like she has since she was a kid — but her interests in poetry, literary fiction and visual storytelling are expanding.
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Fresno State alumna Kayla Mendoza decided that she wanted to get out of her comfort zone and travel to new and different places, so she landed a teaching job at an English language academy in Seoul, South Korea.
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Author, translator, and University of Virginia associate professor Carmen Lamas will deliver the keynote address for Fresno State’s eighth annual Students of English Studies Association symposium on December 12 and 13. The theme for this year’s SESA symposium is “Translations.”
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“I always wanted to do something where I was going to help people.”
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Fresno State’s Master of Fine Arts program in creative writing will host two author readings this fall — one featuring the program’s faculty authors, and one with a pair of acclaimed writers from the American South.
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Fresno State alumna Samantha Golden works full-time as the recreation director at Gymnastics Beat and part-time as a writer for the Clovis Roundup community newspaper.
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At least half of the writers performing at LitHop have connections to Fresno State as students, faculty, or alumni.
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Two-time Fresno State alumna Mary Sosa is the community engagement coordinator at the Poverello House, a downtown Fresno organization that offers food, shelter, and social services to people in need.
Read More![Photo: Hmong American poet Soul Vang. [Credit: May Yang-Vang.]](https://fresnostatecah.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/soul-vang-header.png?w=750)
Fresno State’s Creative Writing Alumni Chapter, in collaboration with the Fresno Poets’ Association series, will present its second annual Fresno Writers Summit. The event celebrates new books by four alumni authors and features a keynote reading from trailblazing Hmong-American poet Soul Vang.
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From left, Fresno State MFA alumni Tiffany Crum, Samina Najmi, and Delaney R. Whitebird Olmo have all announced their debut books will be published in 2025. Kudos to #FresnoWriters is an ongoing series on the Fresno State MFA blog, celebrating the professional accomplishments of students, alumni, and faculty in Fresno State’s Creative Writing Program and Department […]
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Each October over the five-year campaign, three writers would take their turns publishing 15 new pieces in 15 days, staggered throughout the month, as members of the Creative Writing Alumni Chapter promoted their work on the FresnoWriters.com project website.
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Fresno writer Hermelinda Hernandez Monjaras, a two-time Fresno State alumna, has won a Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellowship from the Poetry Foundation.
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Kudos to #FresnoWriters is an ongoing series on the Fresno State MFA blog, celebrating the professional accomplishments of students, alumni, and faculty in Fresno State’s Creative Writing Program and Department of English.
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“Although creative expression within Hmong history and culture is evident in our oral stories, oral poetry, textile art and the playing of various bamboo instruments… one will quickly discover that, even in this category, there are no novels, plays, or collections of poems, essays or short stories.” ~ Burlee Vang
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Katie Xiong, an English major who currently studies creative writing as an undergraduate at Fresno State, will now experience her first Young Writers’ Conference on campus.
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Arts in Motion will be held at 4 p.m. Friday, April 19, at the Fresno State Concert Hall. During the event, one undergraduate and one graduate student of distinction will be presented as Dean’s Medalist.
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Singh Dhillon describes himself as “a Punjabi boy at heart” and said that his keynote address for the Fresno audience will include a reading from Sunny G’s opening chapter solely because it ends with the words “Fres-Yes.”
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Hermelinda Hernandez Monjaras is a graduate student receiving her MFA in creative writing, poetry. She is a graduate Dean’s Medal nominee from the Department of English.
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Luis Granados Torres is a graduate student receiving his M.A. in English literature. He is a graduate Dean’s Medal nominee from the Department of English.
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The weeklong series of events kicks off at 4 p.m. Friday, April 19, with Arts in Motion, a celebration of the College of Arts and Humanities’ top students. The showcase culminates with two live performances of Carl Orff’s “Carmina Burana,” an emotional spectacle of music and might, at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, April 26 and 27.
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Natalie Vasquez is an undergraduate student receiving her B.A. in English studies and a minor in Chicano/Latino studies. She is the Dean’s Medal nominee from the Department of English.
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Kudos to #FresnoWriters is an ongoing series on the Fresno State MFA blog, celebrating the professional accomplishments of students, alumni, and faculty in Fresno State’s Department of English and Creative Writing Program.
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Biance Palma is an undergraduate student receiving her B.A. in communication and minoring in media, communications and journalism and English literature. She is the Dean’s Medal nominee from the Department of Communication.
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Fresno State’s Department of English welcomes seven accomplished authors and scholars this spring for campus visits, including the pathbreaking artist Sandra Cisneros, winner of the Poetry Foundation’s 2022 Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize.
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The Art Song Festival at Fresno State is not just an event; it’s a cultural expedition that spans three days of performances, masterclasses, competitions, lectures and discussions.
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Fresno State’s Master of Fine Arts Program in creative writing announced Southern California author William Archila won the 2023 Philip Levine Prize for Poetry book contest
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Dr. Stanley Poss, a Fresno State professor emeritus of English, passed away on Dec. 14, 2023, in Fresno. He was 96.
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Dr. Judith A. Rosenthal, a feminist literary scholar and Fresno State professor emerita of English, passed away from pancreatic cancer on Dec. 25, 2023. She was 78.
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Author, translator, and Stanford University professor Roanne L. Kantor will deliver the keynote address for Fresno State’s seventh annual Students of English Studies Association symposium.
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With $2,905 in initial gifts from 39 students, faculty, staff, alumni, and community friends — most of those coming during Fresno State’s annual Day of Giving campaign — the English Department successfully established the new English Department Scholarship fund in 2022.
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More than 100 writers will gather in Fresno’s Tower District on Saturday, Oct. 14 for LitHop 2023, the city’s free literary festival.
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With about three months to reflect on their experience, Fresno State students were present at Fresno State’s M Street Graduate Studios gallery during ArtHop to show off their paintings and projects in a unique exhibition that combined digital humanities with the fine arts.
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Fresno State’s Master of Fine Arts program in creative writing will host three author readings in the month of October — one featuring the program’s faculty authors, one a celebration of contemporary queer literature, and one welcoming back to campus an alumni author with three new poetry collections being published this fall.
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The College of Arts and Humanities welcomes new faculty Juan Carlos Mantilla to the Department of English. Dr. Mantilla is an Ecuadorian scholar of the art histories and comparative literatures of early modernity.
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The College of Arts and Humanities welcomes new faculty Michele McConnell to the Department of English. Dr. McConnell specializes in literacy studies, adolescent literacies, critical literacy, and collaborative and participatory writing practices.
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Celebrating the professional accomplishments of students, alumni, and faculty in Fresno State’s Department of English and Creative Writing Program.
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The College of Arts and Humanities welcomes new faculty Brenna Womer (she/they) to the Department of English.
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Dr. Eugene Zumwalt, a Fresno State professor emeritus of English, passed away on July 27 in Tollhouse, California. He was 99.
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By Jefferson Beavers, communication specialist, Department of English Two brand-new Fresno State alumni have begun their summers with full-time jobs that were secured and started months before finishing their undergraduate studies in the English Department. Literature major Beth Contreras started working as a legal assistant for the Fresno County Public Defender’s office in April, and […]
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This compilation includes news between January and May 2023
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We are excited to acknowledge the achievements of our College’s most accomplished students. From the creative artists to the humanists, every scholarship winner and Student of Distinction reflects the experimentation, compassion, and curiosity that Fresno State fosters.
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Meet five English alumni who’ve gone on to successful careers outside of teaching or publishing.
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For high school students like De La Torre, the English Department’s biggest annual event marks a series of firsts: the first time stepping onto a college campus, the first time attending a writing conference and for some, the first time seeing their writing published.
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Last week, the 6th Annual Art Song Festival concluded with the announcement of the winners in the poetry, composition and vocal prize categories. Special guests Alexander Hahn and Kelley O’Connor judged this year’s vocal competition.
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Fresno State’s English Department will host its 43rd annual Young Writers’ Conference, welcoming alumni author Ethan Chatagnier back to campus for the keynote address.
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Mialise Carney and Lucca Lorenzi were named the 2023 Dean’s Medalist for the College of Arts and Humanities during the Arts in Motion ceremony on Saturday, April 15, in the Concert Hall.
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We are excited to acknowledge the achievements of our College’s most accomplished students. From the creative artists to the humanists, every scholarship winner and Student of Distinction reflects the experimentation, compassion, and curiosity that Fresno State fosters.
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“At Fresno State, I, for the first time in my life, felt accepted and found a sense of belonging. I was encouraged to write poetry about the experience of farm laborers, tell the story of my grandparents and delve into topics that have been underrepresented.”
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“I grew up silenced and sheltered from society, but through education, community and art, I’ve discovered a place in a world I didn’t believe had space for me.”
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“My ultimate goal is to earn a Ph.D., eventually teaching at a university while contributing to the emerging field of Indigenous-focused environmental humanities.”
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The Arts and Humanities Showcase offers a unique opportunity, through various performances, exhibits, lectures and workshops, to immerse yourself in the creativity and cultural diversity of Fresno State’s talented students.
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The 14th annual Undergraduate Conference on Multiethnic Literatures of the Americas (UCMLA) features keynote addresses from authors and scholars Shadab Zeest Hashmi and Dr. LeiLani Nishime.
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Creative writing and literature students from Fresno State’s Department of English will headline the “Fresno Writers Live” performances at the 2023 Rogue Festival, scheduled for March 3 through 11 in Fresno’s Tower District.
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Kudos to #FresnoWriters is an ongoing series on the Fresno State MFA blog, celebrating the professional accomplishments of students, alumni, and faculty in Fresno State’s Department of English and Creative Writing Program.
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The Fresno State Master of Fine Arts Program in creative writing announced Georgia author Éric Morales-Franceschini has won the 2022 Philip Levine Prize for Poetry book contest, which includes a $2,000 award and publication of his debut full-length poetry collection, “Syndrome.”
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Dr. Toni Wein, a Fresno State professor emerita of English, passed away on Dec. 17, 2022, after a bout with brain cancer. She was 70.
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Three alumni authors from Fresno State’s Master of Fine Arts program in creative writing published their debut books in 2022.
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Toni Wein, Ph.D., Professor Emerita, English Department (2002-2018) was born on April 20, 1952, in Detroit, MI and, after a bout with brain cancer, passed away on December 17, 2022, in Portland, OR.
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Author and Central Valley native Manuel Muñoz will deliver the keynote address for Fresno State’s sixth annual Students of English Studies Association symposium on December 8 and 9. The theme of this year’s symposium is “Transcending Boundaries: Finding Hope in the Now.”
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Dozens of English Department alumni over the years have gone on to develop successful library careers.
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At least half of the writers performing at LitHop have connections to Fresno State as students, faculty, or alumni.
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Author Mai Der Vang, an assistant professor of English at Fresno State, won an American Book Award for her documentary poetry collection, “Yellow Rain.”
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Dr. H. Ray McKnight, a Fresno State professor emeritus of English, passed away on Aug. 5 in Richmond, California. He was 88.
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Located on Church and Willow avenues in Southeast Fresno, the Juan Felipe Herrera Elementary School grounds are visually striking, with a large orange entrance contrasted with the dark blue administrative office and the vivid sky that often graces Fresno in the late summer.
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The College of Arts and Humanities welcomes new faculty Dr. Sean A. Gordon to the Department of English. He earned a Ph.D. in English and American Studies from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he recently defended his dissertation, “On Being Dispersed: The Poetics of Dehiscence from ‘We the People’ to Abolition.”
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Dr. Steve Adisasmito-Smith, a Fresno State associate professor of English, passed away on July 10. He was 57.
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Dr. John McDermott, a Fresno State professor emeritus of English, passed away on June 15. He was 89.
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Frances Levine, whose gift to Fresno State of her U.S. poet laureate husband’s extensive personal book collection sparked the creation of the Philip Levine Reading Room inside the University library, passed away in Fresno on June 13. She was 94.
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Kudos to #FresnoWriters is an ongoing series on the Fresno State MFA blog, celebrating the professional accomplishments of students, alumni, and faculty in Fresno State’s Creative Writing Program and the Department of English.
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Facing obstacles of all kinds — including earning the bulk of their degrees in a global pandemic — these 2022 graduates of Fresno State’s English Department have all found ways to use writing and literature to thrive.
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Author and Fresno State professor Mai Der Vang was honored May 9 as a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry, for her groundbreaking book of documentary poetry, “Yellow Rain.”
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The competition is open to all currently enrolled Fresno State English and Creative Writing undergraduate and graduate students.
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Now a graduate student, Hermelinda Hernandez Monjaras won the Mireyda Barraza Martinez Prize for Social Justice Writing twice as an undergraduate in 2020 and 2021.
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The conference will feature an awards ceremony, keynote speaker Kristen Radtke, and writing workshops led by Master of Fine Arts graduate students. It will take place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Wednesday, April 27, inside the Satellite Student Union.
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Meet the 2022 College of Arts and Humanities Dean’s Medalists and Students of Distinction.
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A festive display of artistic expression and humanistic discipline culminating in a celebration of student excellence.
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“Janette is a wonder and a marvel: the word that best describes her is ‘ardent.’ She is impassioned and energetic, yet always shows care and respect for others. With deep roots in the Central Valley, Janette is an advocate for the transformational power of education,” said Steve Adisasmito-Smith, associate professor of comparative and world literature, Department of English.
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“After graduating, I plan to teach at the college level and to continue work as an editor and start my own literary journal that focuses on experimental genre fiction from BIPOC, queer, fat and disabled communities.”
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“I have devoted my professional and academic work to supporting positive change within my community and I hope to continue my work at the City college level after graduation. Working to support one another and fostering a sense of agency, be it in formal or informal learning contexts is intrinsic to humanity.”
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Maya Pindyck has won the 2021 Philip Levine Prize for Poetry book contest, which includes a $2,000 award and publication of her book, “But the Orange Tree.”
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“It takes three artists to bring an art song to life: a poet, a composer and a singer.” – Dr. Maria Briggs
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Kudos to #FresnoWriters is an ongoing series on the Fresno State MFA blog, celebrating the professional accomplishments of students, alumni, and faculty in Fresno State’s Creative Writing Program and the Department of English.
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Dr. Robert O’Neil, a Fresno State professor emeritus of English, passed away Oct. 22. He was 93.
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“When you have people who lift you up and push you to try new things, they are giving you the chance to grab onto what could give you success each and every time. You don’t always have to take it, but it also never hurts to try.”
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More than 100 writers will gather in Fresno’s Tower District on Saturday, Oct. 16 for LitHop 2021, the city’s free literary festival.
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Nine of Prof. Brynn Saito’s creative writing students enjoyed an impromptu afternoon of awe, history, and inspiration last week when they visited the acclaimed Stonewall Uprising art exhibit. Here is their reaction…
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What she didn’t know was that her graduate work as an editor with The Normal School literary magazine would not only give her a taste of the publishing world but would also help her build a vast and strange arsenal of random facts.
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Kudos to #FresnoWriters is an ongoing series republished from the Fresno State MFA blog, celebrating the professional accomplishments of students, alumni, and faculty in Fresno State’s Creative Writing Program and the Department of English.
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The College of Arts and Humanities welcomes new faculty Dr. René M. Rodríguez-Astacio to the Department of English.
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Kudos to #FresnoWriters is an ongoing series on the Fresno State MFA blog, celebrating the professional accomplishments of students, alumni, and faculty in Fresno State’s Creative Writing Program and the Department of English.
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Not even a global pandemic can keep the Department of English’s highest degree program from celebrating 25 years of alumni accomplishments
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Fresno State alumna Megan Anderson Bohigian has been named the City of Fresno’s fifth poet laureate, serving as the city’s literary ambassador.
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“[I]t’s my lifelong goal to continue showing the joys of interconnected humanities to more future young minds in Fresno.” ~ Harrison Martin
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“For someone like me to be here, there was a lot of luck involved, my own hard work and persistence, timely opportunities, but most of all, the support from family and community. Their care and acknowledgement drive me.” ~Jer Xiong
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The College of Arts and Humanities at Fresno State 