Creative Writing Alumni Chapter hosts literary reading at Campus Pointe

May 31, 2019.Reading time 4 minutes.

The Fresno State Creative Writing Alumni Chapter presents “Hot Off the Press 4” from 4 to 6 p.m. Saturday, June 8, at Collect Coffee Bar (3142 E. Campus Pointe Dr.) at Campus Pointe. The reading will celebrate new books from Fresno writers Sara Borjas, Lena Mahmoud and Monique Quintana.

Fresno State CAH alumna Marisol Baca named Fresno Poet Laureate

May 2, 2019.Reading time 4 minutes.

Fresno State alumna Marisol Baca is the City of Fresno’s fourth Poet Laureate. She will be the first woman to serve as the city’s literary ambassador.

Martin Paul, Fresno State Professor Emeritus, dies at 82

April 24, 2019.Reading time 14 minutes.

Dr. Martin Paul, a professor emeritus of English at Fresno State and a self-taught specialist on poetry in translation, died in Sarasota, Florida on April 1 at the age of 82.

Kudos to #FresnoWriters: February 2019

March 5, 2019.Reading time 5 minutes.

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.

Pulitzer Prize finalist Patricia Smith featured at Spring Reading Series

March 1, 2019.Reading time 5 minutes.

Spring Reading Series. Patricia Smith, Mai Der Vang, Tina Mozelle Braziel, and Brynn Saito.

The Fresno State Master of Fine Arts Program in Creative Writing will feature a Pulitzer Prize finalist, the 2017 Philip Levine Prize for Poetry winner, and two of its accomplished new faculty authors in its Spring 2019 Fresno Poets’ Association reading series.

Graduate student symposium features keynote on the humanities and hope

December 11, 2018.Reading time 5 minutes.

SESA Symposium Keynote Speaker Dr. Steve Adisasmito-Smith

~ By Jefferson Beavers, communication specialist, Department of English English faculty and award-winning translator Dr. Steve Adisasmito-Smith will deliver a keynote address entitled “The Humanities: An Evolving Hope” as part of the second annual Students of English Studies Association symposium on Dec. 13 and 14 on campus. Dr. Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval, dean of the College of […]

Debut books by new English faculty win national awards

December 10, 2018.Reading time 4 minutes.

Authors Venita Blackburn and Joseph Cassara

By Jefferson Beavers Authors Joseph Cassara and Venita Blackburn, both new assistant professors of English at Fresno State, have each won national awards for their debut books. TheLos Angeles Press Club recognized Cassara’s novel, “The House of ImpossibleBeauties,” as Best Fiction Book 2018 in its 11th National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards. The awards were given at […]

Students collaborate to publish a children’s book which teaches environmental responsibility

November 20, 2018.Reading time 5 minutes.

College of Arts and Humanities undergrads Kelsi Stieler, Kaylee Gutierrez, and Kristin Bonillas have utilized their talents and collaborated to write, illustrate and publish a children’s book. “The Tree Tales” book, which is available on Amazon, centers around the importance of environmental conservation and teaches kids what they can do to help. “A large part […]

As part of a worldwide celebration, an English class will perform ‘200 years of Frankenstein’ on Halloween

October 31, 2018.Reading time 1 minute.

The English Department’s British Romantic Literature class will be performing the 1823 adaptation of “Frankenstein” on the 200th anniversary of Mary Shelley’s novel. The play “Presumption: or, the Fate of Frankenstein” will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 31 in the Peters Business Building auditorium Room 191. While Professor Toni Wein began her career […]

English students awarded Yonsei Memory Project ‘Storytelling for Change’ Fellowships; performances slated for Oct 27-28 and Nov 3-4

October 18, 2018.Reading time 8 minutes.

Paul Sanchez, Will Freeney, and Nohemi Samudio Gamis

Three students from the College of Arts Humanities—Nohemi Samudio Gamis, Will Freeney, and Paul Sanchez—were awarded fellowships as part of Yonsei Memory Project’s “Storytelling for Change” program. The program trains new and experienced writers, artists, activists, organizers, students, and local community members in the power of crafting detailed, heart-moving, and inspiring personal stories that touch upon themes of civil injustice and civil liberties. Founded by poet and English assistant professor, Brynn Saito and artist and farmer Nikiko Masumoto, Yonsei Memory Project (YMP) utilizes arts and storytelling to generate dialogue connecting the WWII incarceration of the Japanese American community with current struggles for justice.

As I begin my transition to the Office of the Provost, I think deeply about the value of our College and our disciplines.

We are the proud heirs to an academic and artistic tradition that prides itself on promoting core values that reflect our vast potential: Maturity and flexibility of mind, dynamic exploration of our human relationships, and the creation of meaningful insight into a historical period. Within this tradition, communication is at the heart of all of our disciplines. We are masters of communication in artistic and literary ways -from video, dance, painting, and music, to speeches, essays, books, and poetry.