"Abstract
Wall"
Copyright ©
2005 by James Daigh
The following are recent accomplishments by MFA program students, alumni, and faculty.
LESLEY ARIMAH was awarded a grant from the Elizabeth George Foundation for work on her novel. She was also a recent recipient of a Jerome/SASE grant.
BRIAN BAUMGART has had micro-fiction published in both Nail Polish Stories (online) and Blink Ink. He teaches at North Hennepin Community College, where he coordinates the AFA in Creative Writing program and curates the Meet the Authors Reading Series.
JESSICA BENJAMIN works at IBM and, among other things, writes for their blog: http://www.smartercomputingblog.com/contributorsprofile/?user_id=28 She's now the Digital Media Chair for Girls Write Now, helping design a the Digital Remix Pilot featuring dorkShops that incorporate digital tools with creative writing. It's run in collaboration with Parsons The Newschool of Design, and Figment.com.
KRIS BIGALK, MELISSA BRANDT, MATT MAUCH, and TRISHA SPEED SHASKAN were all awarded Artist Initiative grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board.
KRIS BIGALK'S poetry collection, Repeat the Flesh in Numbers, was published by NYQ Books in February of 2012. Two of her poems, "Miscarriage" and "A Dissection of Faith" appear in Open to Interpretation: Water's Edge, a juried anthology of poetry and photography. She was one of four Normandale faculty awarded a 2012 MnSCU Board of Trustees Excellence in Teaching Award. She will serve as Keynote Speaker at the 2012 League of Minnesota Poets Conference in April, 2012.
CANDACE BLACK'S "Blue and White" is included in the anthology Collecting Life: Poets on Objects Known and Unknown. She recently had a poem featured in "American Life in Poetry," a nationally distributed newspaper project led by former U.S. Poet Laureate Ted Kooser. Other new poems are included in Burnt District.
KRISTYN BLESSING had a poem published in American Tanka this winter, and will be teaching English Language and Culture at Shandong University of Science and Technology this spring semester.
SARAH ZENK BLOSSOM'S short story, "Goodbye Green and White," is to be published in Blue Lake Review's May 2012 issue: http://bluelakereview.weebly.com/
ROY BUCK has poems forthcoming in Espresso Fiction: A Collection of Flash Fiction for the Average Joe.
ALI CATT'S flash nonfiction piece "Going to See a Man About a Dog" is featured in Airplane Reading (http://airplanereading.org/) She has essays and poetry forthcoming in The Dirty Napkin, decomP, and Used Furniture Review.
JENNIFER DAHLEN is going on sabbatical for spring 2012 from her position at Northland Community College in Grand Forks.
TERRY DAVIS and REBECCA FJELLAND DAVIS both have stories included in Girl Meets Boy: Because There are Two Sides to Every Story, a newly released YA anthology (January 2012) by Chronicle. Twelve YA authors team up for this collection of “he said/she said” stories—he tells it from the guy’s point of view; she tells it from the girl’s.
NICOLE HELGET will receive MSU Mankato's 2012 Alumni Achievement Award in this spring's ceremonies.
GEOFF HERBACH'S young adult novel, Nothing Special, comes out in May. It is a 2012 Junior Library Guild selection. Herbach's Stupid Fast has been named a YALSA Best YA Fiction Selection for 2012, won a Cybil Award for Best YA Fiction of 2011, and has made several best-of-2011 lists.
ARUNI KASHYAP has a story in Evergreen Review and another accepted for publication in Kartika Review, an Asian-American literary journal.
DEANNA LARSEN'S poem "Translations" was nominated by the magazine Mixed Fruit for a Pushcart Prize. Her poem "What Rape is Like" has been nominated by Blood Orange Review for the same prize.
BRONSON LEMER'S memoir The Last Deployment: How a Gay, Hammer-Swinging Twentysomething Survived a Year in Iraq is a finalist for a Minnesota Book Award.
NANCY LOEWEN'S The Last Day of Kindergarten is a finalist for a Minnesota Book Award.
THOMAS MALTMAN'S second novel, Little Wolves, will be published by Soho Press in Fall 2012.
ANGELA MULLEN'S poems "Father," "Box and Blade," and "Because I am not able to include everything in a poem" are forthcoming in the publication Northwind. And my poem "Mars" is forthcoming in The Fiddleback. She will be the Andreas Graduate Assistant for 2012-2013.
LINDSY O'BRIEN received third place in the 2012 B.J. Rolfzen Memorial Creative Writing Contest for her short story "In the Black," which will be published in the associated journal Talkin' Blues. She also has new poetry appearing in Talking Stick.
CHRISTINA OLSON has new poetry and nonfiction in Passages North, Midwestern Gothic, Gargoyle, Willow Springs, and Rhino. Her poem, "Blue Teeth," will appear in the forthcoming anthology American Creative Writers on Class.
RICHARD ROBBINS spent the month of January in Scotland at the Hawthornden Castle International Retreat for Writers, and the month of March as visiting writer at Randolph College in Lynchburg, VA. He has recent work in Burnt District, The Cincinnati Review, Poet Lore, and Field.
LUKE ROLFES has stories appearing in Georgetown Review, Permafrost, and Blue Mesa Review. His collection of stories was a semifinalist for the 2011 New American Fiction Contest by New American Press.
ROGER SHEFFER won the 2011 Crab Creek Fiction Prize, judged by Kim Barnes. He has a story forthcoming in BlueLine.
JESS SMITH'S story "Something Quick and Bright" was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. It was published in Ruminate Magazine, where it was runner-up in the William Van Dyke Short Story prize.
CHRISTINE STARK'S Nickels: A Tale of Dissociation is a finalist for a Lambda Literary Award. The winners will be announced in NYC on June 4th.
SCOTT WROBEL'S Cul de Sac, stories about a group of suburban guys who all live on the same dead-end street, will be released on April 20, which will also be the launch party reading at Magers & Quinn Bookstore in Minneapolis. See the trailer at http://scottwrobel.com/Culdetrailer.htm
JESSICA BENJAMIN has accepted a corporate communications position at IBM, writing for internal and external global audiences. Her memoir "Lullaby" was published in The Laurel Review's fall issue and another memoir, "Half Staff," will be published in the 2011 Girls Write Now Anthology, Opening Lines.
KRIS BIGALK'S book of poems Repeat the Flesh in Numbers has been accepted by New York Quarterly Press and will be published in 2012.
CANDACE BLACK had poems appear in the anthology Poetry City, USA, Cape Rock, and The Saranac Review. In June, she enjoyed a week-long CENTRUM Artist Residency in Port Townsend, WA.
ROY BUCK has had pieces accepted for Inopinata, Juxtaposed, Fiction Parade, and the inaugural issue of Gambling the Aisle.
THOM CHESNEY is now President of Brookhaven Community College in Texas.
ANDE DAVIS has accepted an instructorship at Eastern Oklahoma State College. He has a story in the current South Dakota Review and has had work accepted recently by Hawai'i Review.
REBECCA FJELLAND DAVIS' Chasing AllieCat was published in February by Flux, and became a Junior Library Guild Selection in April.
RHEA DAVISON-EDWARDS has been awarded an artist residency at Devil's Tower National Monument. She will be in residence sometime in September or October.
KRISTIN DODGE-NARJES' first book, Power Plays, is going to be re-released as an e-book.
CLINT EDWARDS has essays in Yemassee and Post Road and one recently accepted by North Dakota Quarterly.
JENNIFER FANDEL'S poems have been recently published or forthcoming in Gulf Stream, Calyx Journal and A Face to Meet the Faces: An Anthology of Contemporary Persona Poetry (University of Akron Press). She is a contributing editor for River Styx, a board member at the St. Louis Poetry Center, and presently works as a program manager for StudioSTL, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering youth through writing.
ROGER HART'S short story, "Like Flying," is forthcoming in The Tampa Review. His essay "Runners" has been included in the anthology Runners on Running.
NICK HEALY was a resident fellow at the Anderson Center in July 2011.
NICOLE HELGET and NATE LeBOUTILLIER sold their co-authored Horse Camp, a middle-grade novel, to Egmont USA. It comes out next summer.
GEOFF HERBACH'S young-adult novel Stupid Fast had various book launches in New York and Minneapolis in recent weeks. The book has been nominated for an ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults Award.
AMI IRMEN just accepted a full time instructor position at Kishwaukee College, where she will be acting as the Developmental Writing Specialist.
ARUNI KASHYAP has published a story in Himal Southasian and has had a story taken by Evergreen Review.
JOSH OLSEN'S chapbook Six Months is due out soon. Information at http://zygoteinmycoffee.com/taintedcoffeepress/sixmonths.html
RICHARD ROBBINS has poems in Sierra Nevada Review, Hubbub, the Occupy Writers web site, and several other journals. A poem and essay appear in Poetry City USA, stories in Green Mountains Review and Permafrost, and an article in The Emily Dickinson Bulletin. A profile and sample poems are featured at the Oregon Poetic Voices website: http://www.oregonpoeticvoices.org/poet/212/
RICHARD TERRILL had new poems appear in Poetry City USA, Nimrod, South Dakota Review, Poetry Daily, and Great River Review. An essay appeared in Brevity. Reviews and criticism appeared in New Letters, Poetry City USA, and Triquarterly.
SETH WELLS has a poem forthcoming in Mason's Road.
SCOTT WROBEL'S book of stories Cul de Sac will be published by Sententia Books in 2012.
LESLEY ARIMAH, NICOLE HELGET, LISA MB SIMONS, and RICHARD TERRILL were all awarded 2011 Artist Initiative Grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board.
KARA GARBE BALCERZAK has had a piece accepted by Brevity.
BRIAN BAUMGART was named director of creative writing at North Hennepin Community College. He has poems forthcoming in Ruminate and Blood Honey Review, and fiction forthcoming in Infinity's Kitchen. He will present with other MSU alumni at the AWP meeting in Washington, DC.
KRIS BIGALK now curates the Banfill-Locke Reading Series in Fridley, Minnesota. She has recently published poems in The Cream City Review and Mead, and has poems forthcoming in Rougarou. In May, she will be the keynote speaker at the SCCC Creative Writing Festival in Selden, New York.
CANDACE BLACK'S poem "Blue and White" has been published in Blood Orange Review http://www.bloodorangereview.com/v5-3/v5-3.htm and the poem "Confession" has been published in Pearl.
ROY BUCK has had work taken by Hot Metal Bridge.
RHEA DAVISON-EDWARDS placed first in the Robert Wright Award competition. Second, third, and honorable mention went to LOGAN GARRELS, CLINT EDWARDS, and ANGELA MULLEN, respectively. The judge was Debra Monroe.
BEN DREVLOW will teach next year at Georgia Southern University.
MELISSA GISH is an assistant professor of English at Glenville State University. Prior to her position there, she was a tenured instructor at New Mexico State University—Carlsbad.
NICK HEALY'S It Takes You Over won the Many Voices Project Prize, sponsored by New Rivers Press. His book will be published next year.
LINTON LEWIS was awarded the Toy Wilson Blethen Fine Arts Award by the MSU College of Arts and Humanities.
DODIE MILLER'S poem, "Moms of Drug Addicts, 1970s" is forthcoming in the literary journal, Tenth Muse. Her essays "Experimental Fiction" and "Trainspotting" are forthcoming from Salem Press.
ANGIE MULLEN has poems forthcoming in Ghost Town and Welter.
JULIE NELSON is a full-time faculty member at Midlands Technical College in South Carolina.
CHRISTINA OLSON has new poetry and nonfiction forthcoming in Gastronomica, H-ngm-n, The Nervous Breakdown, and The Normal School. She was recently awarded a full fellowship to the Vermont Studio Center, and was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. She will teach next year at Georgia Southern University.
CAITLIN O'SULLIVAN will be the 2011-2012 Nadine B. Andreas Graduate Assistant.
RICHARD ROBBINS' poem "Right" was featured at The Write Question blog, the internet arm of the radio program broadcast from KUFM in Missoula: http://thewritequestion.blogspot.com/2010/12/monday-poem-right.html He has given readings recently in Oregon,Montana, and Wisconsin.
JESSICA SMITH'S story "Something Quick and Bright" was runner-up for the Ruminate Magazine William Van Dyke Short Story Prize.
DARREN WIELAND has accepted a full-time position at Minneapolis Community and Technical College.
BRIAN BAUMGART has poems forthcoming in Orange Coast Review and Tipton Poetry Journal.
JESSICA BENJAMIN will be a writing mentor for Girls Write Now http://www.girlswritenow.org/gwn/, a nonprofit that provides guidance, support, and opportunities for New York City's high school girls to develop their creative, independent voices, explore careers in professional writing, and learn how to make healthy choices in school, career, and life.
KRIS BIGALK'S poems appear in recent issues of The New York Quarterly and Water~Stone Review. She will attend the 2010 Bread Loaf Writer's Conference in Middlebury, Vermont in August.
CANDACE BLACK has two poems in the spring 2010 issue of Southern Indiana Review and a poem in the 2010 issue of Memoir (and). Three poems appeared recently in the Autumn 2010 issue of The Fourth River, and Garrison Keillor read a poem of hers on "The Writer's Almanac" for October 24: writersalmanac.publicradio.org/
TIFFANY BRENNEMAN has work forthcoming in Sugar House Review.
Having finished a MA degree at St. Thomas, SARA (HASLADALEN) DAILEY (BA, 2001) is working towards her MFA at Hamline University and teaching classes at the Minnesota School of Business, University of Phoenix online, and Hamline. Her manuscript, The Science of Want, won the Shadow Poetry chapbook competition in 2009.
RHEA DAVISON-EDWARDS received one of the inaugural Coughlan Companies college scholarships.
JW DUNNAN has accepted a full-time teaching position at Georgia Southern University.
CLINT EDWARDS received one of the inaugural Coughlan Companies college scholarships. He has an essay in the summer issue of The Baltimore Review.
KARA GARBE has had a piece accepted for publication in the Tusculum Review.
LOGAN GARRELS' story "Floaters" was accepted for publication in Big Muddy: A Journal of the Mississippi River Valley out of Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau
RYAN HAVELY has been offered a full-time position teaching at West Virginia University.
JUDITH JOHNSON received one of the inaugural Coughlan Companies college scholarships.
BRONSON LEMER'S memoir The Last Rodeo: How a Hammer-Swinging Twentysomething Survived a Year in Iraq has been approved for publication by the University of Wisconsin Press. He has also accepted an English instructor position at Turtle Mountain Community College in North Dakota.
LINTON LEWIS' short plays "Waiting On Godot" and "Bill Watterson's Graphic Novel" have been selected for performance by the Minnesota Shorts Festival of Plays and The Lost Flamingo Company, respectively.
PATRICIA LINEHAN published Win Them Over: Techniques for College Adjuncts and New Faculty (Atwood Publishing).
CHRISTINA OLSON has new poetry and nonfiction in Barn Owl Review, Passages North, Water~Stone Review, The Ledge, Anti-, and Wake. A collaborative broadside of her poem "At the Christmas Party for the Infectious Diseases" appears at BroadsidedPress.org.
ALEX PHILLIPS has a poem coming in the next issue of the Southeast Review.
RICHARD ROBBINS was interviewed for the "Irving Toast, Poetry Ghost" program on KRUU-FM. The interview is archived at http://english2.mnsu.edu/robbins/sounds/robbinsirvingtoastinterview.mp3 He has new poems in Ellipsis and Hawai'i Pacific Review.
LUKE ROLFES has had these short stories accepted recently: "Horse" by The MacGuffin; "Fish on the Lake's Floor" by Bat City Review; "Honeybears" by Connecticut Review; and "Palestine Boy" by Water-stone Review.
SARAH SNOOK has accepted a full-time teaching position at Georgia Southern University.
CHRISTINE STARK'S first novel, Nickels, will be published in 2011 with Modern History Press. Her poem, "Momma's Song", is being released as a cd compilation project and manga book with musician/author Fred Ho. She was nominated for a 2009 Pushcart Prize and she also won a 2010 creative non-fiction mentorship at the Loft. She teaches writing at Inver Hills Community College and Metropolitan State University.
RICHARD TERRILL served as writer-in-residence for the Writers’ Center at the Chautauqua Institution, Chautauqua, NY, in July, and taught this summer at the Rhinelander School of the Arts, University of Wisconsin Extension. He has poems appearing in Black Clock, New Letters, Connecticut Review, and the anthology Reeds and Rushes—Pitch, Buzz, and Hum. An essay, “Dasn’t,” appears in the anthology One Word from Sarabande Books.
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Creative Writing Program
Department of English
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