In Memoriam: Dr. Eugene Zumwalt

Professor Emeritus Eugene Zumwalt. Photo by George Johnson

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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6th Annual Art Song Festival: Prize Winners

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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Juan Felipe Herrera wins Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize

Juan Felipe Herrera in front of an orange patterned wall in the Laureate Lab Visual Wordist Studio.

U.S. Poet Laureate Emeritus Juan Felipe Herrera, a professor emeritus of Chicano and Latin American studies at Fresno State, won a Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize in recognition of outstanding lifetime achievement in poetry.

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4th Fresno State Art Song Festival, 2021: Prize Winners

Top left to right: Micah Byers, Allen Gallego and Kana Kains. Bottom left to right: Lana Kains, Jeremy Boulton and Joshua Bravo

Six students were named as winners in the 4th Annual Art Song competition at Fresno State. During the competition, the poetry and composition finalists worked with vocalists to perform original works during the festival

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Reading series features Levine Prize winner, new podcast interviews

The university’s Master of Fine Arts program in creative writing will feature a virtual reading from the 2019 Philip Levine Prize for poetry winner and a half-dozen new podcast interviews with Fresno writers for its 2020-21 Fresno Poets’ Association reading series.

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Provost celebrates National Poetry Month with Levine and Boone’s ‘Our Valley’

"Our Valley" Poetry by Philip Levine, Music by Benjamin Boone from "The Poetry of Jazz, vol. 1"

In celebration of National Poetry Month, Fresno State Provost Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval offers a message of how poetry contributes to a greater sense of community and presents “Our Valley” a fusion of poetry and music by Philip Levine, an emeritus professor of English at Fresno State and former poet laureate of the United States, and Benjamin Boone, a Fresno State Music professor.

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Reading Series Features a Trio of Prize-Winning Poets

Marcelo Hernandez Castillo, Marisol Baca, Mark Irwinand

The Fresno State Master of Fine Arts Program in Creative Writing will feature the Fresno Poet Laureate, the 2018 Philip Levine Prize for Poetry winner, and one of the founders of the groundbreaking Undocupoets campaign in its spring 2020 Fresno Poets’ Association reading series.

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Reading Series Features New Faculty, Professor Emeritus

C. G. Hanzlicek

The fall 2018 Fresno Poets’ Association reading series celebrates Fresno State writers, including an accomplished poet and professor emeritus, and a featured reading with two new fiction faculty from the Master of Fine Arts Program in Creative Writing. Admission is free to all three community readings, which are sponsored by the Fresno State College of […]

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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 […]

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National symposium honors late Fresno State alumnus, poet

A Celebration of Andrés Montoya

More than 30 published authors from all over the country, including U.S. Poet Laureate Emeritus Juan Felipe Herrera, will gather in Fresno on April 13 and 14 for a national poetry symposium, “Together We’ll Be a Song: A Celebration of Andrés Montoya.”

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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.

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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.

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Summer Arts culminates in Student Showcases

Lauren Lavin presents at the Hybrid Poetics Student Showcase.

 Photo above by Todd Sharp: Lauren Lavin reads her poem during the Hybrid Poetics and Narratives Student Showcase. ~ By Lisa Maria Boyles, communications specialist for the College of Arts and Humanities Summer Arts is sparking a fire at Fresno State. The month-long festival is transforming more than 400 students from Fresno and beyond. Summer […]

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English alumni inspire high school writers and teachers at campus conference

Young Writers Conference

~ Photo above (taken by Jefferson Beavers): Department of English lecturer Tanya Nichols, who has coordinated the Young Writers’ Conference for more than a decade, welcomes area high school students and teachers to campus. ~ Video by Jenny Toste, University Communications ~ Article by Jefferson Beavers, communications specialist for the Department of English Two alumni […]

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LitHop festival features Fresno State student writers and faculty

LitHop with Randa Jarrar and Gary Soto

~ By Jefferson Beavers, reprinted from FresnoStateNews.com More than 150 writers will gather in Fresno’s Tower District Saturday, April 29 for LitHop 2017, a free literary festival that will be headlined by Fresno State alumnus and author Gary Soto. At least half of the 150 writers performing at LitHop have connections to Fresno State as […]

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Young Writers’ Conference draws hundreds to Fresno State campus

Winners from 2017 Young Writers' Conference

~ Video by Jenny Toste, University Communications ~ Photos by Jefferson Beavers Almost 250 students and 37 teachers from 22 schools came to the Fresno State campus for the 37th annual Young Writers’ Conference on Wednesday, March 29. At the opening ceremony in the Satellite Student Union, student writers learned who had won various prizes. The […]

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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 […]

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Fresno State Talks lecture series covers chemistry, camaraderie and Bob Dylan

Fresno State Talks

~ By Kathleen Schock, reprinted from FresnoStateNews.com Three Fresno State professors — nominated and selected by students for their abilities to engage, challenge and inspire — will share their bold ideas and discoveries with the public during the fifth annual Fresno State Talks lecture series in February. The free, public lectures will be Feb. 8, […]

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Eight creative writing alumni publish first books in 2016

~ By Jefferson Beavers, reprinted from FresnoStateNews.com Eight alumni authors from the Fresno State Master of Fine Arts Program in Creative Writing published their first books in 2016, a new record for the program. The graduate Master of Fine Arts program offers advanced training in the writing of poetry, fiction and creative nonfiction. The heart […]

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Community film premiere celebrates poet alumnus Larry Levis

~ By Jefferson Beavers, reprinted from FresnoStateNews.com The Fresno State Master of Fine Arts Program in Creative Writing will host the Central California premiere of a new documentary film about the late author Larry Levis, a nationally honored poet and Fresno State alumnus who grew up in Selma. The film premiere will be at 6:30 […]

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Soul Vang Scholarship and Hmong minor forge connections with community

  A new Hmong minor and the establishment of a new scholarship will allow Fresno State “to connect more closely with our Hmong neighbors in this community and beyond,” President Joseph I. Castro said last night at a celebration attended by more than 200 people. The event was held in honor of the Soul Vang Scholarship, […]

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Alumnus Soul Vang creates endowed scholarship, poetry prize

~ By Jefferson Beavers, reprinted from FresnoStateNews.com Fresno State celebrated trailblazing Hmong-American alumnus Soul Vang (soulvang.net/) for creating an endowed scholarship and annual poetry prize aimed at encouraging students to pursue their passion for writing about the Asian-American experience. Vang, a poet and educator who holds a Master of Fine Arts degree in creative writing and a […]

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Fall literary readings feature celebrated writers, film premiere

~ by Jefferson Beavers, reprinted from FresnoStateNews.com; Creative Writing Program graduate assistant Rose Galaviz contributed to this report The fall 2016 Fresno Poets’ Association Reading Series will include an acclaimed literary publisher, faculty from the Master of Fine Arts Program in Creative Writing (fresnostate.edu/creativewriting) at Fresno State and a special film premiere featuring a beloved Fresno poet. […]

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Work to begin soon on Philip Levine Reading Room

The creation of the Philip Levine Reading Room will soon begin on campus at the Henry Madden Library. The reading room will house Levine’s personal collection of poetry and literature, generously donated by his family to benefit Fresno State and the community.   The reading room will be located on the second floor of the Henry […]

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