Rhonda Cooksey to Present at the American Folklore Society and South Atlantic Modern Language Association

MFA student Rhonda Cooksey presenting two papers at conferences this semester! In October, she will present “Folk Healing Communities in the Ozarks” at the joint meeting of the American Folklore Society and the International Society for Folk Narrative Research. And in November, she will present “Abject Other in 18th Century Eastern European Folklore and Gothic…

Grad Student Describes Life as an Intern at UMKC’s ‘New Letters’

Each semester, New Letters, UMKC’s literary journal, offers internships to students that provide hands-on publishing experience, including publication management, copy editing, manuscript evaluation, grant development, writing and market research, and creative writing. MFA student Colleen Boyd recently wrote about her experience completing the internship this spring: One of the best experiences I’ve had in grad school…

Good News and Recent Publications From MFA Students

We’ve had a spate of good news and publications from our MFA students. Maureen Hirthler’s story was the lead piece on the national blog, KevinMD: http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2015/04/i-inwardly-watch-my-lifes-blood-flow-away-and-no-one-notices.html Emily Geminder’s story, Your Village Has Been Bombed, is in the spring issue of the literary journal, Witness: http://witness.blackmountaininstitute.org/issues/volume-28-no-1-spring-2015 Anders Carlson was hired as a summer intern at the…

Recent Publications from Andrew Johnson

Andrew Johnson’s essay “On Impunity” was featured on Guernica Daily on November 26th: https://www.guernicamag.com/daily/andrew-johnson-on-impunity/ Andrew’s work also appeared recently in Killing the Buddha (June 18, 2014) and Crazyhorse 85 (Spring 2014). Andrew completed the MFA program in 2013 and is now director of Pilgrim Center in midtown Kansas City.

Kniggendorf Writes For The Kansas City Star

This semester I’ve been reviewing books at the Kansas City Star as an intern. This is an internship that any graduate student in the UMKC English department can apply for. I have been reading and reviewing one book of my choosing each week of the semester. The only other duties I’ve had there have been…

Johnson’s Recent Publications

Andrew Johnson (MFA 2013) recently published his essay “Sleeping In” in MAKE (Issue 14), his essay “Mezuzah” in Saint Katherine’s Review (Vol. 3 No. 3/4), his essays “Late Migration,” “Stuck,” and “Extinction” in Passages North (Issue 35), and his essays “Perhaps One Day This Will All Make Sense,” “Hypothetical Conversation,” and “Tangled Up” in Crazyhorse…

Clifton’s Recent Publications

Brian Clifton (MFA 2014) has recently had poems published in the following magazines: The Dirty Napkin (“Albatross Epistolary”), Volume 6 (http://thedirtynapkin.com/issue/060/11/) Sprung Formal (“Mortality University”) Issue 9 burntdistrict (“A Prayer To Forget,” which was also nominated for a Pushcart Prize) Volume 2 Issue 2 (​http://burntdistrict.org/volume-2-issue-2/) Split Rock Review (“Gilham Park”) Issue 2 (http://www.splitrockreview.org/issue-2/) Atlas & Alice (“The Chicken or Fish Option”)…

Call For Submissions: Bear Review

Brian Clifton (MFA 2014), and Marcus Myers (MFA 2013), have started an online literary magazine for poetry, flash fiction, and micro-essays. The magazine is called Bear Review, and its first issue is slated to be released in September. Bear Review is currently accepting submissions through Submittable. Aesthetically, Bear Review is pretty eclectic—ranging from experimental to…