Creative Writing

Remembering Dan Langton

Katherine Kwid — Fri, 22 Nov 2024 19:00:09 +0000

Remembering Dan Langton

Author: Maxine Chernoff

November 22, 2024

Creative Writing and literature and language professor Dan Langton has passed away at the age of 97. Dan taught at SFSU since 1968 and retired 50 years later in 2018. He was known for his closeness to students and his use of the typewriter to respond by letter to students' writing, the same typewriter he used to compose thousands of poems and author many books. Serving in the military in World War 2, he committed himself to pacifism. His poems are often highly personal, and some idisplay his pacifist views. Known as a member of the original Beat poets , he was a prominent San Francisco presence and a kind and welcoming greeter of our new students. The meeting for new grad students always had a moment in which he explained how they were chosen for being the best applicants.

Plans are being made for a memorial in the new year. We will keep you informed. He is survived by his son and daughter-in-law and was preceded in death by his beloved wife Evie.

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"Immigrants-eat-pets trope is a century-old stereotype" — An Interview with Professor May-lee Chai

Cecilia Cao — Thu, 12 Sep 2024 21:26:09 +0000

"Immigrants-eat-pets trope is a century-old stereotype" — An Interview with Professor May-lee Chai

Author: Karen Weintraub, Deborah Barfield Berry, and Lauren Villagran of USA TODAY

September 12, 2024

Immigrants-eat-pets trope is a century-old stereotype and "very old racism."

When May-lee Chai was in high school in the early 1980s, a Chinese restaurant finally opened in the small South Dakota town where her family lived.

"The food was delicious!" remembered Chai, now a creative writing professor at San Francisco State University.

But when her parents invited friends to lunch there, they always politely declined. Rumor was they'd be served stray cats and dogs.

Though the rumor was totally false, the owners, who had fled from the Communist Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia, eventually had to sell their business and move away, Chai told USA TODAY.

The talk brought up ugly memories for Chai and many others. "I have heard the immigrants-come-to-town-and-eat-pets racist trope ever since I was a child. This is very old racism," Chai posted to the social media site X, formerly Twitter, receiving more than 225,000 views and 18,000 likes.

Read the full interview with May-lee Chai on USA Today!

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Creative Writing Graduation Celebration

Katherine Kwid — Wed, 10 Apr 2024 23:33:57 +0000

Wednesday, May 22, 2024

02:30 p.m. - 06:00 p.m. PT

HUM 133; HUM 587

cwriting@sfsu.edu

Overview

The Creative Writing Department will be celebrating our 2023-2024 graduating class on Wednesday, May 22, 2024. The ceremony will take place in HUM 133. Doors will open at 2, and the ceremony will begin at 2:30 p.m. This event will be followed by a reception upstairs in HUM 587 from 4 - 6, where food and beverages will be served. Please reach out to cwriting@sfsu.edu if you have not received the evite, and with any questions!

Want to join us on Zoom? Follow this link:

Join Zoom Meeting

https://sfsu.zoom.us/j/85367669623?pwd=dnpPU00xMnlJUGJyRFN0QTdJQ0ZwQT09

Meeting ID: 853 6766 9623

Passcode: 726253

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Creative Writing

Take Place Reading Series

Katherine Kwid — Tue, 17 Oct 2023 21:54:10 +0000

Tuesday, October 24, 2023

07:00 p.m. - 08:00 p.m. PT

Free!

The Depot - in the lower level of the Cezar Chavez Student Center

cwriting@sfsu.edu

Overview

Take Place invites you to celebrate the work of three phenomenal third years! We have Quinn Fairchild, Mikey Gallagher, and Aggie Librodo sharing their incredible work. Join us at The Depot (lower level of the Cesar Chavez Student Center) on Tuesday, Oct. 24, at 7 p.m. Hope to see you there!

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