Kudos to Fresno Writers — Summer 2024

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.

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 […]

Read More

Kudos to Fresno Writers — Fall 2023

Two images of men cut together, part of the MFA students, faculty, and staff distinction for fall 2023

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.

Read More

Kudos to Fresno Writers – Spring 2022

A woman's hand with rings on her fingers grasps a pen tightly as she writes in a notebook.

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.

Read More

#FresnoWriters Live with Anthony Cody

Anthony Cody

The Fresno State Creative Writing Alumni Chapter presents #FresnoWriters Live, a virtual reading to celebrate the new poetry collection “Borderland Apocrypha,” the debut book from Fresno writer Anthony Cody. The reading will be held at 8 p.m., Thursday, June 25 on Zoom.

Read More

Kudos to Fresno Writers – April/May 2020

Kudos to #FresnoWriters - Creative Writing Program and Department of English.

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.

Read More

Kudos to Fresno writers: October/November 2019

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.

Read More

‘Normal’ magazine moves to online-only publication

The Normal School magazine cover

Fresno State’s locally grown, nationally known literary magazine, The Normal School, will become an online-only publication starting this fall, ending an 11-year run as a printed periodical. The Spring/Summer 2019 issue of the magazine, due to hit bookstores by late August, will be its last physical issue.

Read More

Kudos to Fresno Writers: June July 2019

Kudos to Fresno Writers

Kudos to #FresnoWriters is a monthly 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.

Read More

On the Books: Andrea Mortimer Rhoads

Andrea Mortimer Rhoads

This month marks the fifth anniversary of Andrea Mortimer Rhoads’s death; she passed away July 24, 2014. In a June email interview, MFA communication specialist Jefferson Beavers spoke with Vuong Quoc Vu about his deep connection to Andrea’s poetry, the process of pulling together a posthumous collection to honor her, and how Andrea’s work fits into the tradition of Fresno writers.

Read More

Krystal Cantu, Student of Distinction

Krystal Cantu

In the Fall of 2018, a serious car accident fractured Krystal Cantu’s spine in three places — challenging her determination to continue her education. In her perseverance, she has continued to thrive in her education — earning further respect from the English department faculty and colleagues.

Read More

Kudos to Fresno Writers: March 2019

Kudos to Fresno Writers

Compiled by Jefferson BeaversRepublished from “We Grow Writers” Kudos to #FresnoWriters is a new monthly 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. J.J. Anselmi (MFA Creative Writing alumni) — Announced the publication of his second […]

Read More

California author Mark Irwin wins 2018 Levine Prize for Poetry

Author Mark Irwin

The Fresno State Master of Fine Arts Program in Creative Writing announced California author Mark Irwin as the winner of the 2018 Philip Levine Prize for Poetry book contest, which includes a $2,000 award and publication of his 10th book, “Shimmer.”

Read More

Peter Everwine, poet and Fresno State professor emeritus, dies at 88

Peter Everwine, Poet and Emeritus Professor at Fresno State

By Jefferson Beavers Dr. Peter Everwine, a professor emeritus of English at Fresno State and nationally acclaimed poet and translator, died in Fresno on Oct. 28 at the age of 88. Services for Mr. Everwine are scheduled for 11 a.m. on Nov. 10 at Farewell Funeral Services, 660 W. Locust Ave. #101 in Fresno. The […]

Read More

Symposium embraces complexities of late alumnus, poet

Juan Felipe Herrera speaks at a national poetry symposium, “Together We’ll Be a Song: A Celebration of Andrés Montoya.”

Photo above: Juan Felipe Herrera gave a rousing keynote to open the symposium, followed by readings by winners of the Andrés Montoya Poetry Prize with Francisco Aragón. ~ Article and photos by Jefferson Beavers, communications specialist, Department of English More than 30 published authors from all over the country, including U.S. Poet Laureate Emeritus Juan Felipe […]

Read More

Creative Writing students perform at 2018 Rogue Festival

Fresno Writers Live at this year's Rogue Festival

Graduate creative writing students from the Fresno State Master of Fine Arts program will headline the “Fresno Writers Live” performances at the 17th annual Rogue Festival, scheduled March 1-10 in Fresno’s Tower District.

Read More

Alabama author wins 2017 Levine Prize for Poetry

Tina Mozelle Braziel is the 2017 winner of the Philip Levine Prize for Poetry

The Fresno State Master of Fine Arts Program in Creative Writing announced Alabama author Tina Mozelle Braziel as the winner of the 2017 Philip Levine Prize for Poetry book contest, which includes a $2,000 award and publication of her debut full-length book, “Known by Salt.”

Read More

‘Normal’ magazine earns high marks for inclusion, notable essays

The Normal School literary magazine wins accolades

~ By Jefferson Beavers, communications specialist, Department of English, reprinted from FresnoStateNews.com Fresno State’s locally grown, nationally known literary magazine, The Normal School, has again earned high marks for gender parity in a nationwide report. The magazine also had five essays and stories mentioned in the newest editions of the annual Best American series. Founded […]

Read More

Fresno Poets Archive Project brings literary history to life

Archive of recordings from past poetry readings

A new video archive project founded in the fall of 2016 provides a way for multiple generations of creative writers to connect with authors essential to the literary fabric of Fresno. The Fresno Poets Archive Project is a series of recorded poetry and prose readings, with dates ranging from the 1980s to the early 2000s.

Read More

Fresno State to dedicate Philip Levine Reading Room

Poet Philip Levine

~ By Jefferson Beavers, reprinted from FresnoStateNews.com Fresno State will mark the opening of the Philip Levine Reading Room inside its Henry Madden Library with a dedication ceremony at 2 p.m. on Friday, May 5. The dedication will be co-hosted by the College of Arts and Humanities, the library and Fresno State Provost Lynnette Zelezny. The ceremony […]

Read More

Creative Writing Program announces three new writing prizes for students

The Master of Fine Arts Program in Creative Writing announces the addition of three new creative writing prizes, in addition to the six existing prizes. The deadline for entry for all nine prizes is Tuesday, April 4. NEW – 2017 Mireyda Barraza Martinez Prizes for Social Justice About the Prize: The Mireyda Barraza Martinez Prizes for Social Justice will […]

Read More

Last Fresno State Talks features Tim Skeen

Fresno State Talks speaker Tim Skeen

~ By Kathleen Schock, reprinted from FresnoStateNews.com On Wednesday, Feb. 22, Dr. Tim Skeen, award-winning poet and professor of creative writing, will present the final talk in this year’s Fresno State Talks series, “The Times They Are a Changin’: Nobel Laureate Bob Dylan and the Beat Poets.” Skeen will cover Dylan’s influence on both music […]

Read More