Trans Brilliance, Trans Futures: Leading Writers Speak Out is a Creative Writing Department virtual panel featuring three acclaimed trans writers: Julián Delgado Lopera (Lamba Award-winning author of "Fiebre Tropical"), Jo Livingstone (author and critic, winner of the Nona Balakian Citation for Excellence in Reviewing from the National Book Critics’ Circle) and Denne Michele Norris (editor-in-chief of "Electric Literature" and author of the forthcoming novel, "When the Harvest Comes"). Moderated by Professor Caro De Robertis (John Dos Passos Prize for Literature-winning author of "The President and the Frog" and "Cantoras") Co-hosted by Creative Writing Department Acting Chair, Prof. May-lee Chai.
SF State Creative Writing Department Virtual Panel M.A. or M.F.A.: Q & A Thursday, October 26th, 2023, from 1 - 2 p.m.; featuring M.F.A. Candidates Gretchen Cion, Billy Gong & Ryan Jones and hosted by Professor and Graduate Coordinator May-lee Chai.
Hasti Jafari, Class of 2023 Commencement Speech
Hasti Jafari, recent graduate with an M.F.A. in Creative Writing, was the class of 2023 graduate student selected to represent classmates in the College of Liberal & Creative Arts during Commencement.
Since coming to SF State from Iran, playwright and theatre artist Hasti Jafari has been extraordinarily active in the Creative Writing Department — whether they are creating a series of zines on the Jina revolution in Iran (also known as the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement), writing comedic plays and creative nonfiction, volunteering or teaching.
The Department of Creative Writing presents a virtual panel of four distinguished authors describing their own pathways to publication in different genres of writing, including first publications, how they determine where and with whom they'd like to be published, working across genres, advice for emerging authors, etc. with a Q&A from audience members.
The What’s Next Panel discusses the variety of pathways in which students might apply their Creative Writing degree. Writers Matt Ortile, Lydia Jen, Trevaughn Roach-Carter, Emily Hunt Kivel and Matthew Clark Davison share aspects of their personal writing journey post-graduation.
Tonya M. Foster uses all types of words in her poetry: big and small, beautiful and vulgar. It is a key tactic of the Creative Writing assistant professor’s ongoing study of language. Foster joined San Francisco State University last fall as one of four Marcus Endowed Chairs, tenure-track positions established with a $25 million donation from alumni George and Judy Marcus. Now, SF State students work closely with the New Orleans-raised poet known for electric lyricism and expansive interpretations of language.
Joseph Cassara joined San Francisco State University in 2020 as a George and Judy Marcus Endowed Chair in Creative Writing. His debut novel, “The House of Impossible Beauties” (Ecco/HarperCollins, 2018), is an imagining of characters from the 1980s documentary “Paris is Burning,” which explored New York City’s drag ball scene. The novel won the Edmund White Award for Debut Fiction, two International Latino Book Awards and the National Arts and Entertainment Journalism Award for Best Fiction Book and was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Fiction. Cassara’s short fiction, essays and criticism have appeared in The New York Times Style Magazine, The Boston Review and a London-based anthology titled “The Queer Bible.”
Director, Writer, Editor: Ying Wencie Hoang College of Liberal & Creative Arts | San Francisco State University.
San Francisco State University Creative Writing Professor and Chair Nona Caspers reads an excerpt from “Ants,” the first story in her new novel “The Fifth Woman” (Sarabande Books, 2018).
Video by Sreang Hok