Fayetteville Named a Top 20 College Town

Travel+Leisure has named Fayetteville one of the top 20 college towns for 2013! They mention our great cuisine and thriving arts scene. But everyone here knows that really only scratches the surface: award-winning Farmers Market or gorgeous scenery, anyone? View the full list here. 

Publishers Weekly Praises Gilchrist Collection

Publishers Weekly heralds Acts of God by author and professor Ellen Gilchrist, declaring, "The South is alive and vibrant in Gilchrist’s latest collection." You can read PW's full review online. And mark your calendars for April 2014, when Acts of God will be released!

New Story by Englehardt in Monkeybicycle

"Kentbrook! Kentbrook! Kentbrook!", a deft new story by fourth-year student John Englehardt about the destinations we never quite reach, appears now in Monkeybicycle.

"When Helen stops the car under the sign for American Airlines and doesn’t get out to say goodbye, I consider launching into a tirade in which I list all her faults. Like how she’d be sexier without so many moral hang-ups, how she’s dependent on her officious parents—and so on. In this fantasy I end by saying, 'I want to marry you and all your fucking problems. I wish that was enough,' which is admittedly just something I heard in a movie."

Randolph Thomas Wins Many Voices Project Prize

Congratulations to alum Randolph Thomas (1993), whose story collection, Dispensations, won the 2012 Many Voices Project prize from New Rivers Press! Randolph's fiction has appeared in numerous journals, and his work has won the Florida Review Editors' Prize, the John Gardner Memorial Award, and the Glimmer Train Family Matters Prize. He teaches at Louisiana State University. 

Recent graduate Mathew Goldberg (2008) was also shortlisted for the prize for his novel Friedman in Pieces. So proud of you both!


Longhorn, Heil Featured in Hayden's Ferry Review

Issue 53 of Hayden's Ferry Review features work by alum Sandy Longhorn (2003) and third-year student Kathleen Heil. Pick up your copy now to read Sandy's poems "Left a Refugee Here in a Sterile County"and "I Have Gone Shimmering into Ungentle Sleep." You can also read "Haircut," a short story by Patricio Pron, which Kathleen translated from the original Spanish. 

And on December 12, check the journal's blog for a free internet broadcast from 8-10pm eastern time. Sandy will be featured reading from her work at 9pm!

Yates on the Importance of Small Presses

As you work on your holiday reading/giving lists, don't forget the small presses. Alum Steve Yates (1994), author of "Some Kinds of Love: Stories" and assistant director/marketing director at University Press of Mississippi, offers some insight on the importance of what these small-scale publishers do in his essay "Your No One is My Everyone."

Reaves in Town Creek Poetry

Still shivering in the deep freeze, we offer up these poems by third-year student Diana Reaves, with the warm sun of summer just humming right through them. Read "Papa's Orchard," "We Picked Gardenias," and "Honeysuckle" in the Fall 2013 issue of Town Creek Poetry.

Bowen's "The Even Years of Marriage" Available Now

Here's a book to add to your holiday reading/giving list: The Even Years of Marriage by alum Ash Bowen (2008) is now available from Dream Horse Press. The manuscript won the 2012 Orphic Poetry Book Prize. You can sample some of Ash's poetry from recent issues of the Baltimore Review and Pebble Lake Review.

Heil in New Delta Review & Poor Claudia

Point your browser toward New Delta Review for "The Authority of Accent," an essay by third-year translation student Kathleen Heil. And check out five poems that Kathleen and her collaborator Shrode Hargis published in Poor Claudia: Phenome.

A Duo of Interviews

Check out Authors & Translators, which features an interview with alum Elizabeth Harris (2000). Elizabeth's translation of Mario Rigoni Stern's novel, "Giacomo's Seasons," recently won a prize from the Italian Ministry of Foreign Culture.

After that, head on over to The Rumpus, where novelist and visiting professor Padma Viswanathan interviews Canadian author Catherine Bush.

Dougherty in Green Briar Review

"O Dochartaig, Ár nDútcas" by first-year poet Kevin Dougherty has won honorable mention in Green Briar Review's Annual Federico Garcia Lorca Poetry Prize and was selected by the editors for publication. Congratulations, Kevin!

Takacs Poems & Interviews

Enjoy a passel of new poems by second-year student Eszter Takacs. Two parts of her chapbook-length poem "In Share of Light" appear now in volume 8 of Smoking Glue Gun. 

"Together we will breathe during complicated explosions" and "The world is frightening and I am your best best friend" can be found in issue 27 of the print journal Forklift, Ohio, alongside work by Bob Hicok, G.C. Waldrep, and Kyle McCord. 

And Tell Tell Poetry features an interview with Eszter about her chapbook "The Spectacular Crash." 

Penkov in 2013 Best American Non-Required Reading

"East of the West," an award-winning story by alum Miroslav Penkov (2009) is featured in the 2013 edition of The Best American Non-Required Reading, alongside works by Sherman Alexie, Nick Hornby, and Karen Russell.

Last July, "East of the West" won the 2012 BBC International Short Story Award, which carries a prize of £15,000. It's part of Miro's collection East of the West, published in 2011.

Vandenberg Featured in The Writer's Almanac

"First Snowfall in St. Paul," a poem of cold days and locked brakes by alum Katrina Vandenberg (1997), appeared  in the November 26 edition of The Writer's Almanac.

Yarbrough Novel Named Notable Book of 2013

The Washington Post has named The Realm of Last Chances, by alum Steve Yarbrough (1985), among its Notable Fiction of 2013! 

Michael Lindgren writes, "This beautifully wrought book concerns Kristin and Cal Stevens, a middle-aged California couple who settle in a small town in Massachusetts. The story tracks their halting assimilation into a world that feels foreign and brittle, and it is so keenly observed that its depiction of these lost souls conveys outsize emotional force."

Askew Interviewed in Tin House Blog

Head on over to the Tin House blog for a terrific interview with Rilla Askew, visiting associate professor and author of, most recently, Kind of Kin. Rilla reveals the links between acting and writing, the indispensability of villains, and how perseverance must be tempered with surrender. A wonderful read!

And if that whets your appetite, check out Rilla's essay "Rhumba," which appeared in issue 57 of Tin House.

Dougherty in Jet Fuel Review & More

Enjoy three new poems by first-year student Kevin Dougherty. "Lullaby" and "Heap" appear in the fall 2013 issue of Jet Fuel Review. And the lovely, lonely "Saturday Poem/Instead of Pittsburgh" was published by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

New Gilchrist Story in China Grove

Pick up the inaugural issue of China Grove for a brand new story by Ellen Gilchrist! "Toccata and Fugue in D Minor" comes from Ellen's latest collection, Acts of God, to be published by Algonquin Books in April 2014. It appears in issue 1 of the China Grove literary journal, alongside a lengthy interview with Ellen. 

Applications Closed for Assistant Prof. of Fiction Writing

Thank you to all who applied for our Assistant Professor of Fiction Writing position! The deadline to apply was Friday, Nov. 15, and though some may still be in the mail, the number and quality of applications we've received is impressive. We're excited to read your work and learn more about you in the coming weeks. And we look forward to scheduling Skype interviews with our top candidates in January. 

New Fiction at Knee Jerk

The latest issue of Knee Jerk features a story by recent graduate Kaj Tanaka (2013). Read "Eugenia Will Come Back To You Someday." Kaj also has three pieces of short short fiction in the current issue of Pank. 

Harris Lauded by Italian Ministry of Foreign Culture

Congratulations are due to alum Elizabeth Harris (2000). Her translation of Giacomo's Seasons by Italian novelist Mario Rigoni Stern was recently honored with an award from the Italian Ministry of Foreign Culture. Brava, Elizabeth!

Brock to Read in Baltimore, DC

For our friends and alums in Baltimore and DC: Geoff Brock, professor of poetry and translation, will be reading in your cities this weekend!

Friday Nov. 15 at 4 pm--The Humanities Center and English Dept. of JHU will host Geoff in Gilman 208 on the Johns Hopkins campus.

Saturday Nov. 16 at 2 pm--Geoff will read at the Smithsonian Institute National Portrait Gallery, along with Eavan Boland, Jorie Graham, John Koethe, Yusef Komunyakaa, Paul Muldoon, Steve Scafidi Jr., Michael Schmidt, Dave Smith, Tracy K. Smith, and C.D. Wright, his co-contributors to Lines in Long Array. For more info, click here.

MFA Program Hosts Joyce Carol Oates for Free Reading, April 21

Acclaimed writer Joyce Carol Oates, author of more than fifty novels as well as dozens of short story collections, books for children and young adults, essays and poetry collections, will read from her work at 7p.m., on Monday, April 21, 2014, at the Fayetteville Town Center. The event, part of the University of Arkansas Programs in Creative Writing and Translation Distinguished Readers Series, is free and open to the public.

“Ms. Oates is among the most admired and accomplished writers of our time,” said Todd Shields, interim dean of the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences. “We are honored to host such a distinguished artist and to share her knowledge and work with our community.”

Since 1963, forty of Oates’ books have been included in the New York Times list of notable books of the year. Her novel, Them, won the National Book Award in 1970. Other honors include two O. Henry Prizes, the PEN/Malamud Award for Excellence in Short Fiction, and the M. L. Rosenthal Award from the National Institute of Arts and Letters. In 2009, Oates was given the Ivan Sandrof Lifetime Achievement Award by the National Book Critics Circle and the next year was awarded the National Humanities Medal for her contributions to American letters.

Oates currently serves as the Roger S. Berlind Distinguished Professor of the Humanities at Princeton University, where she has taught since 1978.

Born in Lockport, New York, Oates began writing as a teenager after her grandmother presented her with a typewriter. At the age of 19, she won the Mademoiselle college fiction contest. Throughout high school and college, she followed a strict regimen of writing, drafting novel after novel.

Since then, her career has been marked by productivity—publishing books at the rate of roughly two a year—as well as eclecticism. Her oeuvre contains essays, plays, anthologies, literary criticism, children’s books and poetry in addition to fiction, encompassing countless genres, styles, voices, topics, and modes of creative expression.

“The scope and variety of her works crashes through literary boundaries,” said Davis McCombs, director of the Programs in Creative Writing and Translation. “If you enjoy horror stories, gothic romances, mysteries, suspense, young adult novels, even reportage, you’ll find something of interest in Ms. Oates’ work. And, of course, she’s one of the most respected voices in literary fiction working today.” 

Oates is best known for her novels Them; Blonde, a fictional portrait of the inner life of Marilyn Monroe; The Falls, which won France’s Prix Femina; We Were the Mulvaneys, an Oprah’s Book Club selection; and for her most anthologized short story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” Her most recent works include Daddy Love and The Accursed, and her new novel, Carthage, due to be published in January 2014.

In addition to the reading, Ms. Oates will meet with students in the Master of Fine Arts program in creative writing during her visit.

The creative writing program’s Distinguished Readers Series is made possible by the Fine Arts Activity Fee, the Department of English, and the James E. and Ellen Wadley Roper Professorship in Creative Writing. Their generous support means there is no charge to attend Ms. Oates’ reading, and no tickets are required. Books will be for sale at the venue, with a signing to follow the reading.

Apply Now for Asst. Professor of Fiction Writing!

Old Main, University of Arkansas

We're two weeks away from the Nov. 15 deadline to apply for our tenure-track position of Assistant Professor of Fiction Writing! If you're still wondering whether you can see yourself in Fayetteville, consider autumn in the Ozarks. 

And for more information about the job, click here.

Awards for Recent MFA Graduates

If you've been wondering what our recent MFA graduates have been up to, the answer is: quite a lot! 

Over the past few years, former students have won: 
* Stegner Fellowships at Stanford University
* the £15,000 BBC International Short Story Award 
* the Ruth Lily Poetry Fellowship
* Exeter’s George Bennett Fellowship
* Fulbright fellowships for study & research abroad
* fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts
* the Playboy College Fiction Contest (three times in the past ten years, but who's counting?)
* and been finalists for the Yale Younger Poets Prize.

Works by our graduates regularly appear in:
* Best American Stories
* Best American Poetry
* Best American Essays
* Prize Stories: The O’Henry Award
* The Pushcart Prize anthology
* Best New American Writing
* plus virtually every major literary journal and magazine, including The New Yorker, Harper’s, Poetry, Esquire, and The Atlantic Monthly.

Recent graduates have secured publishing contracts from the some of the most prestigious presses in the country, including FSG, Norton, and William Morrow, sometimes while still in the program.

We couldn't be more proud!

New Fiction, Long & Short, by Mulholland

Graduate Meaghan Mulholland (2010) has two new pieces of fiction out. You can read her small and stunning gem, "Novitiate," in Post Road Magazine:

"Last fall's acorns have taken root, shoots breaking forth from husks we neglected. They grip the earth with tiny fingers—surprisingly strong for such small things. We pull them out, one by one; they resist at first, then yield, the way life clings and clings and clings until it doesn't."

If that whets your appetite, head for the main course: a lengthy story titled "The Long Life Hotel" in At Length. 

Alum Aran Donovan in Best New Poets

Congratulations to recent graduate Aran Donovan (2013), whose poem "two left feet" is included in Best New Poets 2013! You can read an interview with Aran at the Best New Poets blog.

Takacs' Chapbook Available Online

The Spectacular Crash, a chapbook by second-year poetry student Eszter Takacs has been released by H_NGM_N press. For a limited time, you can download the entire chapbook as a PDF, for free! 

Follow this link. Or visit H_NGM_N and click on "Books" then "Chapbooks."

"The Girlhood Book of Prairie Myths" Available Now

Alum Sandy Longhorn's second collection of poems, The Girlhood Book of Prairie Myths, is now available from Jacar Press. The collection won the 2013 Jacar Press Full Length Book Contest, judged by Stuart Dischell, who claims, "These sly, beautifully crafted poems inhabit and haunt the heart-land."  Of the book, fellow alum Al Maginess writes, "A wild imagination launches these poems into flight and sees them land in a place of wisdom."

Yarbrough Novel Generating Buzz

The latest novel from alum Steve Yarbrough (1985) has been generating some great buzz. The Realm of Last Chances was an editor's pick for the Chicago Tribune and has had reviews in the New York Journal of Books and the Boston Globe, among others. 

Steve is the author of nine books. He's a professor in the Department of Writing, Literature, and Publishing at Emerson College in Boston.

Williamson in Tupelo Quarterly & Cumberland River Review

Graduate Corrie Williamson (2013) has two luminous poems in current journals:

             Everything worth knowing
is a story – but let it be fuller, let it be rich
as a root cellar that jars
            the memory of light.

You can read "A Final Study of the Anthropologist" in Tupelo Quarterly. And "Tapetum Lucidum" appears in the Cumberland River Review.

Clark's Fiction in Deep South Magazine

Need to get into an October frame of mind? Visit "Cemetery: Osceola," and see if the "plot" suits you. This short story by third-year student Megan Clark appears in Deep South Magazine.

Takacs in Interrupture

Second-year student Eszter Takacs has two poems in the October issue of Interrupture. "You are a rhythmic tornado and I am the wrong kind of light" and "We are having inadequate feelings about a small spectacular year" can be read here.

Joshua Brown, 2013 George Bennett Writer in Residence

Recent graduate Joshua Camp Brown (2013) has taken up his position as the George Bennett Writer in Residence at Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire. One of the nation's most prestigious post-graduate awards, the Bennett Fellowship provides a stipend as well as housing and meals for a writer just establishing his or her career, with a manuscript under way. No teaching duties or other formal responsibilities are required.

Josh is using his time at Exeter to complete a poetry manuscript on the origins of American roots music. We're thrilled that he has this opportunity!

More info on Josh and the fellowship here and there.

Notter in Crab Orchard Review

Grab a copy of Crab Orchard Review for a new poem by alum William Notter (2002). "Driving Nevada," a work of desert dark, glinted by light, appears in the spring/fall 2013 issue. Bill is the author of Holding Everything Down: Poems. He teaches at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Two of Our Own in The New Criterion

The October issue of The New Criterion features poems by recent graduate Ashley Anna McHugh (2011) and Geoff Brock, professor of poetry and translation. You can read their poems, "Getting On" and "Drive," online now!

Honum Wins First Book Prize for "The Tulip-Flame"

Graduate Chloe Honum (2010) has won the 2013 First Book Prize from the Cleveland State University Poetry Center for her collection The Tulip-Flame. Chloe's work beat out more than 700 other manuscripts for top prize; in 2012 it made Chloe a finalist for the Yale Younger Poets Prize. Look for the book in spring 2014. Congratulations, Chloe!

New Cavalli Anthology Features Brock Translations

A new collection by acclaimed Italian poet Patrizia Cavalli, My Poems Won't Change the World, includes several works translated by our own Geoff Brock, professor of poetry and translation. Geoff joins an elite cadre of practicing poets & translators, including Mark Strand, Jorie Graham, Jonathan Galassi, Rosanna Warren, J. D. McClatchy, and David Shapiro, to bring Cavalli's work to English-language readers.

Honum in Plume

Read "January in West Texas" by alumna Chloe Honum (2010) in the latest issue of Plume, a poem of knotted days and separations.

Brock Featured in The Best American Poetry Blog

The Best American Poetry blog offers a two-part post about contemporary verse translation in which fifteen practitioners of the craft offer insight and advice.  We're proud to find our own Professor Geoff Brock among the literary translators featured. In part 1, Geoff tells readers what qualities to seek in poetry translations. In part 2, he'll offer a list of translations he admires and discuss a work of his own.

Dearnley Wins Playboy Fiction Contest

Congratulations to fourth-year student Stu Dearnley, whose story "Sparring Partners" won the 2013 Playboy College Fiction Contest. His story appears in the October issue of the magazine, available now.

Stu's win gives our MFA program a hat trick: recent graduate Meaghan Mulholland won the contest in 2010 for her story "Woman, Fire, and the Sea," and alum Hardin Young won in 2003 for "The One Percenter."

Sanders Publishes Essay Marking DFW's Death

One of our favorite former students, Steve Sanders--now a PhD student at the Univ. of Houston and nonfiction editor at Gulf Coast--marked the five-year anniversary of David Foster Wallace's death with this personal and poignant essay. 

Two New Poems by Takacs

Second-year student Eszter Takacs has two new poems out, both available online! You'll find "I meant nothing by which we stand here gracefully eating" in the September issue of Thrush, and "Together we will talk right down to Earth" in issue 3 of Ghost Proposal.

New Collection of Flash Fiction from Rafferty

Poetry alumnus Charles Rafferty (1990) ventures into prose with his new collection of flash fiction, Saturday Night at Magellan's, published by Fomite Press. Grab a copy and enjoy some dramatic morsels of story.

And for a taste of Charles' poetry, check out his collection The Man on the Tower, or his latest chapbook "Appetites," published by Clemson University Press. 

Askew Essay in Tin House

Ready for a close encounter of the slithery sort? Check out a new essay by Rilla Askew, visiting associate professor of fiction, in the latest issue of Tin House. You can read "Rhumba" in the Features section here.

Fiction by Kinzer in Whole Beast Rag

Second-year fiction student David Kinzer has a new story, "The Ai Wei Wei Industry," in Whole Beast Rag. 

"Ai Weiwei, the famous Chinese artist and political dissident, appeared at a Handan police station one late spring afternoon. His hair was very gray, and his blue floral shirt was missing two buttons at belly level. At this point, he’d been detained by the Chinese government for 146 days. The first thing he told the police, and the phrase repeated to them most often in the hours afterward, was I am not Ai Weiwei."

Alchemy Features Translation by Fares

The journal Alchemy features a new excerpt from the novel "32" by Sahar Mandour, translated from the Arabic by second-year student Nicole Fares.

"Her parents would tell her that Saeed would make a good partner for her when they grow old, so she should put up with him. She told me: what if I tolerate him and he dies of a heart attack ten years from now? Or what if I kill him before he reaches old age? How can I sacrifice the best years of my life, only to grow old and still have to face him, like a bad job?"

Two Pieces by Heil in Michigan Quarterly

Third-year translation student Kathleen Heil has two pieces in the Spring 2013 Michigan Quarterly Review. The issue features Kathleen's translation of the short story "Fish & Mountains" by Argentinian author Patricio Pron, as well as an accompanying essay that Kathleen wrote about translating Pron's work, "Fish, Mountains, & Locutions."

Pizzolatto in the News for "True Detective"

The New Orleans Times-Picayune recently ran a multi-installment Q&A with alum Nic Pizzolatto (2005). Nic is the writer and driving creative force behind the new HBO series "True Detective," starring Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey and set to air in 2014.

This link takes you to the final interview with Nic but contains links to all previous installments. 

Tost Profiled for Work on "Longmire"

Creative Screenwriting features a great profile of alumnus Tony Tost (2004) on his work writing for the A&E television show Longmire. Read the full article here.

Takacs' Second Chapbook Forthcoming

Swift on the heels of her first chapbook being accepted for publication by H_NGM_N, second-year poet Eszter Takacs will have her second chapbook, "Together We Will Talk Right Down to Earth," published by The New Megaphone. You can get your hands on both in 2014.

In the meantime, check out this delicious sliver of Eszter's poetry, published by cellpoems.

Longhorn Wins Jacar Prize

Alum Sandy Longhorn (2003) has won the 2013 Jacar Press Full Length Poetry Book Contest for her second collection, The Girlhood Book of Prairie Myths. Sandy's first collection, Blood Almanac, is available through Anhinga Press. Congratulations, Sandy!

Askew and O'Grady Join Faculty

We're pleased to announce that two new professors join our faculty this year: Visiting Associate Professors Rilla Askew and Timothy O'Grady.

Rilla is the award-winning author of Kind of Kin, Fire in Beulah, Harpsong, and The Mercy Seat. Born in southeast Oklahoma, a fifth-generation descendant of southerners who settled in the Choctaw Nation in the 1800s, she moved to New York to pursue a career in acting and writing. In 2009, Rilla received an Arts and Letters Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. 

Born in the U.S., Timothy has spent decades abroad, living in Ireland, London, and Spain. He is the author of Divine Magnetic Lands: A Journey in America and (with Kenneth Griffith) of Curious Journey: An Oral History of Ireland's Unfinished Revolution, as well as the novels Motherland, which won the David Higham award for the best first novel in 1989, and I Could Read the Sky, which won the Encore award for best second novel. 

Please join us in welcoming these dynamic and talented writer/teachers to our program!

Welcome, Class of 2017!

The Programs in Creative Writing & Translation are proud to welcome ten new MFA students, who hail from across the U.S.: Caroline Beimford (Wellesley, MA), Sarah Craig (Roanoke, VA), Emily Cruz (Danville, IL), Kevin Dougherty (Pittsburgh, PA), Megan Downey (Baltimore, MD), Jesse Irwin (Bella Vista, AR), Michelle Myers (Tallahassee, FL), Molly Rector (Little Rock, AR), Larissa Sprecher (Cadott, WI), and Daniel Woody (Chicago, IL). 

We're excited to work with these dynamic and talented new writers!

Yates wins Knickerbocker Prize

Graduate Steve Yates (1994) has won the 2013 Knickerbocker Prize for his story "Sandy and Wayne." It's featured in issue 4 of Big Fiction, a magazine dedicated to long short stories. 

For more of Steve's work, get your hands on a copy of his recently published collection, Some Kinds of Love, which won the 2012 Juniper Prize for fiction. Stories from the collection have appeared in The Missouri Review, Southwest Review, TriQuarterly, and other national journals. 

Takacs Recognized in The Pinch Literary Awards

Congratulations to second-year student Eszter Takacs, whose poem "Please Come to My Poetry Reading" placed second runner up in The Pinch's 2013 Literary Awards. This poem is part of Eszter's chapbook, to be published by H_NGM_N later this year.

New Fiction by Penkov in Granta

Pick up the current issue of Granta for "Blood Money," a new story by alum Miroslav Penkov (2009). 

Miro is the author of a collection,"East of the West," the title story of which won the 2012 BBC International Short Story Award. He teaches at the University of North Texas and is editor of the American Literary Review.

Check out the Granta website for more of Miro's writing, here.

Murphy Featured in Thuglit, Issue 5

Love crime fiction, gritty, dark, and sour? Check out issue 5 of Thuglit, which features the story "Gato Negro" by alum Chris Murphy (2009). 

Recent Grads in The Journal and More!

The summer 2013 issue of The Journal features poetry by three recent graduates, Corrie Williamson (2013), Chloe Honum (2010), and Stacy Kidd (2004). 

You'll need to purchase the print edition to read Stacy's "Choose your poison," Chloe's "Nursing Home" and Corrie's "Bear Hunters at McAfee's Knob" and "Hiking to Goldbug Hot Springs, I Consider the Discovery of Lewis and Clark’s Shitter at Traveler’s Rest, Montana." But how can you resist?

Also check out two poems from Chloe in the latest issue of The Southern Review, "Dressing Room" and "Seated Dancer," both read by the author here.

Two Graduates Featured in Flavorwire List

Flavorwire's list of "23 People Who Will Make You Care About Poetry," features two UA graduates!

Matthew Henriksen (2004) is the author of Ordinary Sun, praised as one of the best poetry collections from a small press in 2011. He co-edits Typo, is editor of Cannibal Books, and established, with his wife, Katy, the Burning Chair reading series.

Brian Spears (2002) is the author of A Witness in Exile. He was a Wallace Stegner Fellow at Stanford from 2002-2004 and winner of the  2005 Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Prize. He teaches at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, and is poetry editor of The Rumpus.

Harris Wins PEN/Heim Translation Fund Grant

Congratulations to alum Elizabeth Harris, whose work-in-progress, a translation of Antonio Tabucchi's novel Tristano Dies, has been awarded a PEN/Heim Translation Fund grant. Her manuscript, soon to be published by Archipelago Books, was selected from 180 applications.

Elizabeth graduated from our program with an MFA in fiction in 1999 and an MFA in translation in 2000. Her translations appear in numerous journals and have been featured twice in Best European Fiction anthologies. Brava, Elizabeth!

Two Stories by Erika Seay

Two stories by alumna Erika Seay (2012) appear in journals now. Find "The Great Barrier Reef" in the current issue of Colorado Review and "Not This Human Sadness" in issue 30 of Meridian. 

Erika's work won second prize in the 2011 Playboy Fiction Contest. For more about Erika and her fiction, click here.

Two of Our Own in Subtropics

The new issue of Subtropics contains poems by two of our own: "What I Am, What I Might Have Been," by 2011 grad Jen Jabaily-Blackburn, and "Wilson's Carolina Parakeet: 1810," by Geoff Brock, professor of poetry and translation. 

Brock in The Paris Review

Geoff Brock, professor of poetry and translation, has a poem in the new issue of The Paris Review as well as two translations of Patrizia Cavalli in the same issue and several more in the current issue of The American Reader.

One Story Features Alum Susan Perabo

Pick up the latest issue of One Story (#178), which features "Indulgence" by MFA alumna Susan Perabo (1994). 

And check out the brief Q&A on the One Story website, which asks Susan about the process of writing this story:

"Once I realized what was going to happen in the end (and I realized this within the first couple of pages), I had to forget that it was going to happen so that I could write the story as if it were all really taking place. I did not want to break the spell for myself, or I knew I would break the spell for the reader. Once I realized I had to do this, it was not hard to do, because, as it turned out, it was just an extension of what fiction writers do with every story. As you’re writing, you’re believing. The people are real, and the events are happening, full stop. That’s essential."

Brock's "The Day" in POETRY

The latest issue of POETRY contains a poem by Geoff Brock, "The Day," as well as new work by recent Arkansas visitors, A.E. Stallings and Michelle Boisseau. 

Diagram Features Heil and Takacs

The latest issue of Diagram features an Arkansas double, with poems by second-year translation student Kathleen Heil and first-year poetry student Eszter Takacs. Check out Heil's "Ask the Question" and Takacs' "Profligate Century Living."

Williamson Wins Shenandoah's Boatwright Prize for Poetry

Congratulations to fourth-year student Corrie Williamson, who won the 2013 James Boatwright Prize for Poetry from Shenandoah for her work, "The Evolution of Nightmare." 

Shenandoah awards the $1000 prize to a single poem published in the review over the past year. You can read the poem in full (along with two other works by Corrie) here.

Three MFA Students in the Latest Cannibal

Issue six of the hand-sewn, limited-edition journal Cannibal features work by translation student Kaveh Bassiri and by poetry students Katie Nichol and Eszter Takacs. Get your copy before they disappear!

Englehardt in The Monarch Review

The Monarch Review features a new story by third-year fiction student John Englehardt. Read "Confabulation, Day 4" here.

Kathleen Heil Translates "Bees" for Guernica

The latest issue of Guernica features second-year student Kathleen Heil, who translated the story "Bees" by Argentinian author Patricio Pron: "It happened in summer, when bees are at their busiest making honey, and they fly around endlessly in flaxen arcs like inhabitants of a sprawling city."