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An Evening with Poets

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Join us next Wednesday evening for some great poetry!

Poets Janna Knittel, Stanley Kusunoki, Sagirah Shahid, and Bryan Thao Worra will present their poetry in an evening of sharing the spoken word. Time for questions and answers will be provided at the end of the session.

This is such a cool opportunity and… it’s virtual!!! Sometimes, COVID brings about great opportunities. This is one of them!

If you’re interested in joining us, visit this website to sign up and reserve your spot!

Poet’s Bios-

Janna Knittel lives in Minnesota but still calls the Pacific Northwest “home.” Janna has published a chapbook, Fish & Wild Life (Finishing Line Press, 2018) and has poems published or forthcoming in Between These Shores Literary and Arts Annual, Blueline, Cottonwood, Up North Lit, North Dakota Quarterly, Split Rock Review, Cold Mountain Review, Whale Road Review, The Wild Word, and Waters Deep: A Great Lakes Anthology. Recognition includes 2021 and 2019 grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board.

Stanley Kusunoki is the author of three collections of poetry; 180 Days, Reflections and Observations of a Teacher, Items in the News, both published by North Star Press of St. Cloud, and Shelter in Place—Poems in a Time of COVID-19, (Polaris Press, an imprint of North Star Press). He has taught creative writing to young people through programs at The Loft, Asian American Renaissance, Intermedia Arts, and S.A.S.E., The Write Place. He was the recipient of a Loft “Asian Inroads” mentorship, and was awarded a MN State Arts board “Cultural Collaboration” grant to create, write and perform “Beringia-The Land Bridge Project” with Ojibwe performance poet, Jamison Mahto at Intermedia Arts. He is the host/curator of the Bridges reading series at Next Chapter Booksellers in St. Paul. Kusunoki most recently was the High Potential Coordinator at Red Oak Elementary School in Shakopee. He lives in St. Paul with his wife, Claudia Daly.

Sagirah Shahid is an African American Muslim poet, educator, and performance artist from Minneapolis. Sagirah has received awards, residencies, and fellowships from the Loft Literary Center, Wisdom Ways, the Twin Cities Media Alliance, and the Minnesota Center for Book Arts. Her debut collection of poetry “Surveillance of Joy” is forthcoming from Half Mystic Press in April 2021.

Bryan Thao Worra is the Lao Minnesotan Poet Laureate and the author of 10+ books, recently appointed by Governor Dayton to the state Council on Asian Pacific Minnesotans to represent the Lao community. He holds over 20 national and international awards for his writing and community leadership. This is his first reading in St. Cloud in over 15 years.

Brought to you by the Department of English and the College of Liberal Arts.

Upcoming Events!

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We have some really exciting upcoming events! Check them out and mark your calendars!

Wednesday, March 17, 4:00–, Danez Smith reading

Here’s link to info and registration: https://huskiesconnect.stcloudstate.edu/event/6941024

 

Bio: Danez Smith is a Black, Queer, Poz writer & performer from St. Paul, MN. Danez is the author of “Don’t Call Us Dead” (Graywolf Press, 2017), winner of the Forward Prize for Best Collection, the Midwest Booksellers Choice Award, and a finalist for the National Book Award, and “[insert] boy” (YesYes Books, 2014), winner of the Kate Tufts Discovery Award and the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Poetry. Danez is a member of the Dark Noise Collective and is the co-host of VS with Franny Choi, a podcast sponsored by the Poetry Foundation and Postloudness. Danez’s third collection, “Homie”, was published by Graywolf in January 2020.

Thursday, March 18th, 4:00 – 5:15, Sheila O’Connor will be joining Shannon Olson’s Advanced Fiction class to discuss Evidence of V, her Minnesota Book Award-winning novel. I’ll open this up to students in the department; she was supposed to visit in person last spring but that had to be cancelled.

Wednesday, March 31st, Sheila returns to meet with Harvest to discuss her role as fiction editor for the Water-Stone Review, housed at Hamline. 4:00 – 4:50. That will be open to English students.

https://waterstonereview.com

TBA – A Wednesday at 4:00, Meghan Maloney-Vinz visit to Harvest editorial group; that would be open to students in English as well. Meghan is the general manager for Water-Stone, and she also manages Hamline’s undergraduate national online journal, Runestone, which re-opens its submissions window in April, I think:  https://runestonejournal.com

Wednesday, April 12, 7:00-8:15 Celebrate National Poetry Month with readings by Four Poets, made possible by a grant from the Minnesota Arts Board

Artist Bios

Janna Knittel lives in Minnesota but still calls the Pacific Northwest “home.” Janna has published a chapbook, Fish & Wild Life (Finishing Line Press, 2018) and has poems published or forthcoming in Between These Shores Literary and Arts Annual, Blueline, Cottonwood, Up North Lit, North Dakota Quarterly, Split Rock Review, Cold Mountain Review, Whale Road Review, The Wild Word, and Waters Deep: A Great Lakes Anthology. Recognition includes 2021 and 2019 grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board.

Stanley Kusunoki is the author of three collections of poetry; 180 Days, Reflections and Observations of a Teacher, Items in the News, both published by North Star Press of St. Cloud, and Shelter in Place—Poems in a Time of COVID-19, (Polaris Press, an imprint of North Star Press). He has taught creative writing to young people through programs at The Loft, Asian American Renaissance, Intermedia Arts, and S.A.S.E., The Write Place. He was the recipient of a Loft “Asian Inroads” mentorship, and was awarded a MN State Arts board “Cultural Collaboration” grant to create, write and perform “Beringia-The Land Bridge Project” with Ojibwe performance poet, Jamison Mahto at Intermedia Arts. He is the host/curator of the Bridges reading series at Next Chapter Booksellers in St. Paul. Kusunoki most recently was the High Potential Coordinator at Red Oak Elementary School in Shakopee. He lives in St. Paul with his wife, Claudia Daly.

Sagirah Shahid is an African American Muslim poet, educator, and performance artist from Minneapolis. Sagirah has received awards, residencies, and fellowships from the Loft Literary Center, Wisdom Ways, the Twin Cities Media Alliance, and the Minnesota Center for Book Arts. Her debut collection of poetry “Surveillance of Joy” is forthcoming from Half Mystic Press in April 2021.

 Bryan Thao Worra is the Lao Minnesotan Poet Laureate and the author of 10+ books, recently appointed by Governor Dayton to the state Council on Asian Pacific Minnesotans to represent the Lao community. He holds over 20 national and international awards for his writing and community leadership. This is his first reading in St. Cloud in over 15 years.

 

Wednesday, April 21st, Harvest Online Release Party, 4:00 – 5:00 p.m. 

We are printing a limited number this year and will have to sort out distribution when they’re ready.

Great Black Authors

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In honor of Black History Month, we compiled a list of amazing Black authors! Check out some of their works!

 

Lucille Clifton – A wonderful poet who was discovered by Langston Hughes! Clifton was born in NY in 1936 and attended Harvard University. My personal favorite poem is her poem, “sisters” where she writes about her relationship with her sister, Elaine! Clifton died in 2010 but her poetry still lives on!

Langston Hughes – A prominent figure during the Harlem Renaissance who often wrote about Black life! He truly shaped the way Black poets are viewed! If you get the chance, read his essay, “The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain.” You won’t be disappointed.

Ralph Ellison – Born in 1914, Ellison grew up loving music. It was thought that he would be a musician and composer, but instead, decided to write. Being the grandson of slaves, Ellison’s works are particularly important. I highly recommend reading his Invisible Man, written in 1952. It is a gripping novel right from the first page!

Alex Haley – Another very important Black author! He wrote his novel Roots: The Saga of an American Family after spending a decade researching his family’s history. The novel was such a success that it was made into a TV miniseries!

James Baldwin – The list isn’t complete without James Baldwin! He wrote many novels and essays that brought to light the unfortunate consequences of the American racial strife. He has been described as “bold and courageous writer who is not afraid to search into the dark corners of our social consciences, and to force out into public view many of the hidden, sordid skeletons of our society” by Therman B. O’Daniel in the College Language Association Journal.

Maya Angelou – Again, another prominent figure that must be on this list! She’s an absolute icon! Read her I know why the Caged Bird Sings. As I was research this book, I found out that it is one of the most challenged books for “its language and portrayals of violence, racism, sexuality, childhood rape and teen pregnancy” (source). To me, this is all the more reason to read it, especially because this novel is autobiographical and describes Angelou’s early life.

This list is far from complete. If you’d like to read more by Black authors, check out this list of great novels compiled by Oprah or this list compiled by Penguin Random House.

English words of African origin

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In honor of Black History Month, I thought it would be fun to put together a list of English words that are derived from African languages!

Check it out!

  • aardvark – Afrikaans word, meaning earth (or ground) pig
  • apartheid – Afrikaans policy of separate development/living
  • banana – West African, possibly Wolof banana
  • banjo – probably Bantu mbanza
  • basenji- breed of dog from the Congo
  • biltong – from Afrikaans – cured meat (often used in South African English)
  • bongo – West African boungu
  • braai – from Afrikaans – barbecue (often used in South African English)
  • buckra – from Efik and Ibibio mbakara “master”[1]
  • bwana – from swahili
  • chachacha possibly from Kimbundu, onomatopoeia for ringing bells or rattles worn around the legs of a female dancers.
  • chigger – possibly from Wolof and Yoruba jiga “insect”)
  • chimpanzee – from a Bantu language, possibly Tshiluba kivili-chimpenze
  • cola – from West African languages (Temne kola, Mandinka kolo)
  • coffee – disputed; either from the Ethiopian region/Kingdom of Kaffa, where coffee originated, or Arabic kahwa
  • conga – feminized form of Congo through Spanish
  • dengue – possibly from Swahili dinga
  • djembe from West African languages [2]
  • fandango- possibly from the kikongo empire[3]
  • Geranuk – Somali: Gerenuk means “giraffe-necked” in the Somali language
  • gnu – from Bushman !nu through Hottentot i-ngu and Dutch gnoe
  • goober – possibly from Bantu (Kikongo and Kimbundu nguba)
  • gumbo – from Bantu (Kimbundu ngombo meaning “okra”)
  • indaba – from Xhosa or Zulu languages – ‘meeting’ (often used in South African English)
  • jambalaya possibly from tshiluba
  • jamboree possibly from swahili “jambo”.
  • jazz – from West African languages (Mandinka jasi, Temne yas)
  • jive – possibly from Wolof jev
  • jumbo – from Swahili (jambo or jumbe or from Kongo nzamba “elephant”)
  • juju – Yoruba
  • juke, jukebox – possibly from Wolof and Bambara dzug through Gullah
  • kalimba
  • Kwanzaa – from the Swahili phrase matunda ya kwanza, meaning “first fruits”.
  • kwashiorkor – from Ga language, Coastal Ghana meaning “swollen stomach”
  • impala – from Zulu im-pala
  • lapa – from Sotho languages – enclosure or barbecue area (often used in South African English)
  • macaque – from Bantu makaku through Portuguese and French
  • mamba – from Zulu or Swahili mamba
  • mambo – possibly West African through Haitian Creole
  • marimba – from Bantu (Kimbundu and Swahili marimba, malimba)
  • marimbula
  • merengue (dance) possibly from Fulani mererek i meaning to shake or quiver
  • mumbo jumbo – uncertain West African etymology
  • mojo – from Fula moco’o “medicine man” through Louisiana Creole French or Gullah
  • obeah – from West African (Efik ubio, Twi ebayifo)
  • okra – from Igbo ókùrù
  • okapi – from a language in the Congo
  • safari – from Swahili travel, ultimately from Arabic
  • samba from an African language through Brazilian Portuguese [4][5], carnaval website
  • sambo – Fula sambo meaning “uncle”
  • sangoma – from Zulu – traditional healer (often used in South African English)
  • tango – probably from Ibibio tamgu
  • tsetse – from a Bantu language (Tswana tsetse, Luhya tsiisi)
  • trek – from Afrikaans – move (often used in South African English)
  • ubuntu – Bantu languages
  • voodoo – from West African languages (Ewe and Fon vodu “spirit”)
  • yam – West African (Fula nyami, Twi anyinam)
  • zebra – possibly from a language in the Congo
  • zombie – Central African (Kikongo zumbi, Kimbundu nzambi)

Source Credit

Join us! for “Infinitum: An Afrofuturist Tale”

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Dear Friends and Colleagues,

The English Department is delighted to welcome award-winning illustrator, concept designer, cartoonist, and animator, Tim Fielder for a Virtual Fireside Chat (via ZOOM) on February 10 from 12:30-1:30 PM where we will be discussing his work, Afrofuturism, and his latest, best-selling graphic novel, Infinitum: An Afrofuturist Tale.

 Mr. Fielder is an Illustrator, concept designer, cartoonist, and animator who has worked over the years in the storyboarding, film visual development, gaming, comics, and animation industries for clients as varied as Marvel Comics (‘Dr Dre: Man With A Cold, Cold Heart’), The Village Voice, Tri-Star Pictures (‘The Mothership Connection’), to Ubisoft Entertainment (‘Batman: Vengeance).

This virtual event will include a moderated Q&A session with Fielder on Wednesday, February 10 from 1230-130 PM, in conjunction with the Introduction to English Studies Course (ENGL300). This will be among the first events where Fielder discusses, in-depth for an academic audience, his new graphic novel, Infinitum: An Afrofuturist Tale, available now through Harper Collins press.

Infinitum is steeped in Afrodiasporic experience and presents a unique cosmic experience, addressing issues of racism, classism, gender inequity, the encroachment of technology, and the spiritual cost of war, while exposing the history behind ancient mysteries.

If you would like to attend this Free Event or if you have any questions, please RSVP to mbdando@stcloudstate.edu.

We hope that you’ll be able to join us for what is sure to be a wonderful talk.

Sincerely,

Michael B. Dando

Interested in Working for SCSU?!

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Interested in working for SCSU this summer? Great opportunities and GREAT people to work with! We highly encourage you to consider working for SCSU this summer.

As someone who works on campus this year, I can say this is one of the best jobs I’ve had. Everyone on staff is so helpful and kind; it’s truly a pleasure to work here! I personally highly recommend working for SCSU.

Applications are due February 12th. Apply here and email advising@stcloudstate.edu if you have more questions.

From History to English

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We have so many amazing Graduate Assistants in our department! Some teach, some do other things, and some work for the Write Place, our SCSU Writing Center designed to help students of all levels improve their writing!

Read below, an experience from one of our GAs working in the Write Place!

I have been a history student at St. Cloud for a few years and I loved my experience so much that now I am a history graduate student! One of my history professors thought I might be a good fit to be a graduate assistant with the English Department.  I was hesitant at first, but after talking with people in the English Department, especially Tim in The Write Place, I thought I could make it work.  Once the semester began and I started meeting with students, I realized how helpful these sessions could be for the student and for myself.  I think I have learned a lot working with the English Department this semester! I look forward to working more with the other coaches and English Department staff as I continue to work on my master’s.  I will always love my History Department relationships, but I am so happy to develop new relationships with the English Department as well!

–Jennifer Sonterre

For more information about the Write Place, visit their website or follow them on Twitter and Facebook!

From the SCSU Write Place website:

“The St. Cloud State writing centers provide free services to support any of the writing and reading you do in and outside of school. We work with writers from all levels of experience and ability at any stage in the writing process. Our purpose is to help you become a more effective, versatile, and confident communicator. 

Most students who visit the writing center schedule appointments to discuss papers that they’re writing for their classes. Some want help getting started. Some have begun writing and are ready to discuss next steps. Some bring drafts that are nearly finished and need help with documenting sources and fine-tuning the language. 

The graduate and undergraduate writing coaches on our staff have been trained to provide this kind of guidance, and they will collaborate with you in making many other kinds of writing decisions.”

This semester, the Write Place offers both in-person and online consultation! Consider checking them out!

My Experience with COVID and being a student athlete

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It is no question the distress of the COVID-19 pandemic has been quite unfavorable to our regular way of living, no matter the role we play in society. As a student athlete at St. Cloud State University, my experience has been an anxious blend of challenging lows and uncomplicated standstills. As a person with attention deficit disorder who prefers physical lectures over technology-based methods, one major struggle for me has been the transition into courses that are completely online. This began as a call for concern but has gradually become less difficult to grow accustomed to. I can owe this easy familiarization process to my SCSU professors, who have been very understanding and helpful along the way.

I am also a student athlete who is on the SCSU tennis team, which has been the biggest obstacle regarding the pandemic so far. With restrictions on flying to avoid putting entire teams at risk, I am unable to visit my sisters in the near future for holidays, Air Force promotion ceremonies, or any other substantial reason that may arise. As someone with asthma, it has also been quite difficult for me to perform at our required workouts to the best of my abilities with restricted breathing underneath a mask. We are strongly advised against pulling them down for air, which completely eliminates the only strategy for me to grasp a full breath, and predominantly takes away the demanded energy for a successful workout. Although there have been obstacles and many other unmentioned changes that are minor to my SCSU athletic lifestyle, my coaches and fellow teammates have also made the transitional process much easier for me to endure.

There haven’t been any drastic changes to my regular lifestyle as a university student, but there have still been a multitude of social, educational, emotional, and health-related challenges I’ve had to conquer as a result of the pandemic, assumingly along with the rest of the student population. While living in a constant state of anxiousness and uncertainty for the future, I am grateful to be a student at SCSU, who has made me feel safe during these times of peculiarity and obscurity.

Thank you for reading,

Samantha Fitzpatrick

Join the Writers’ Club!

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Writers’ Club was started by a group of classmates from creative writing class who thought it would be fun to meet outside class hours to get more feedback on their work and brainstorm ideas to prompt more writing. We found out that lots of people like to write but don’t get enough feedback on their writing to improve or advance in their storyline. Hence, the club was made so that like-minded individuals can share stories, ideas, encouragement, and just get to know each other. Of course, anyone who is interested is welcomed to join us. It’s not just a club for English majors and minors. The Club is very new and still getting started so we welcome any ideas that would benefit everyone who joins.

In a typical meeting, if there are new members, we do an introduction. Then, we talk about what we have been working on. If someone brought a piece they would like to share for feedback, they can share it on the screen, read it to us, and tell us what they need (this hasn’t happened yet). We will then do a workshop as a group. Sometime during the meeting, we would take a couple minutes to do some free writing and read it out loud to the group. At the end, we suggest writing prompts for the next meeting.

For questions about Writers’ Club, please email: cyoleson@go.stcloudstate.edu or type in Huskies Connect in the search bar of SCSU’s homepage, look up Writers Club, and send a message there.

Stony Brook’s Creative Writing MFA program

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Greetings loyal readers,

Check out this opportunity that just popped up in my email today!

We’re excited to offer two Zoom Open Houses for Stony Brook’s Creative Writing MFA program.

On Monday, 11/30, at 4 p.m. EST, we’re convening a faculty panel: Secrets of a Great MFA Application. Faculty Admission Committee Members will talk about what makes an outstanding Statement of Purpose. They’ll also be giving advice regarding the all-important Writing Sample.

ID: 96348126097
Password: 334096

On Monday, 12/7, at 5 p.m. EST, we’re offering a Pop-Up Faculty-Student Reading and Q & A re: the Stony Brook MFA in Creative Writing & Literature.

ID: 92184320719
Password: 424973

Here at Stony Brook’s Creative Writing MFA program, we’ve been impressed by the quality of our applicants and by the strength of our writing community. Stronger still in this year of virtual classes.

Here are 7 ways The Stony Brook MFA program makes a difference in a student’s creative life:

1.)  Small classes and plenty of attention: Writing workshops capped at 12.

2.)  Outstanding faculty—all of whom are working writers: Paul Harding, Susan Scarf Merrell, Ursula Hegi, Molly Gaudry, Robert Lopez, Susan Minot, Patricia Marx, Patricia McCormick, Matthew Klam, Melissa Bank, Roger Rosenblatt. Guest faculty members have included Regina Porter and Hugh Ryan.

3.)  Rigorous and supportive writing guidance.

4.)  During the thesis process every MFA student works one-on-one with an advisor for a year and a half to complete a book-length manuscript, whether a novel, collection of short stories, memoir, or poetry.

5.)  We offer a teaching practicum during which students craft 3 creative writing syllabi, then teach undergrads. A great résumé builder. Very few MFA programs offer grad students the chance to teach creative writing.

6.)  Our graduates find jobs in publishing and academia.

7.)  Our students get published! And win prizes. Genevieve Sly Crane’s thesis became her short story collection and this year she won the coveted Whiting Award. Here are a few of our other outstanding writers: Helen Simonson’s Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand was an international bestseller. Tricia Rayburn has written several YA novels, including The Siren Series. This year Caitlin Mullen’s Please See Us was published to rave reviews. Alison Fairbrother is an editor at Riverhead Books and Random House is publishing her novel, The Catch, next year. Graduates Miranda Beeson and Nancy Keating both have poetry chapbooks appearing soon. Elena Gorokhova has published two award-winning memoirs, including A Mountain of Crumbs.

Other benefits? We offer Submitathons to help students prepare cover letters then send work out to literary journals. Our Writers Speak Wednesday reading series has featured luminaries such as T Kira Madden, Major Jackson, Jamil Jan Kochai, land Roz Chast. Each Spring we offer agent visits. Graduating students get one-on-one meetings with literary agents—and several have been signed on.

With our two creative writing campuses, one in Manhattan, the epi-center of the publishing world, and the other in Southampton, a stone’s throw to Atlantic Ocean beaches and the literary community of the East End of Long Island, we are able to offer students wonderful, sometimes unexpected, opportunities.

We have rolling admissions. Applications to be considered for funding are due 1/7/21. www.stonybrook.edu/southampton/mfa/cwl/

State tuition is a fraction of the cost of other MFA programs.

Thanks for letting your students know about our Open Houses. Please contact us if you have any questions.

With all best wishes,

Lou Ann Walker

Director

MFA in Creative Writing & Literature

Stony Brook Southampton + Manhattan

stonybrook.edu/southampton/mfa/cwl/

631-838-8742