U.S. Poet Laureate Emeritus Juan Felipe Herrera says that Fresno is the "Capital of Poetry in the World." The Fresno State Master of Fine Arts Program in Creative Writing takes that literary legacy seriously. As part of Fresno's annual Rogue Festival, hear the latest poetry and prose from emerging #FresnoWriters in this storytelling and spoken word show, featuring voices from Professor Brynn Saito's undergraduate English 195 senior seminar.

Time: 2 to 3 PM
Date: Saturday, March 11, 2023
Place: Veni Vidi Vici (1116 N. Fulton St.)
Admission: $8 + Rogue Fest wristband

Buy tickets: https://roguefestival.ticketleap.com/fresnostatecreative/

Noah La Fleur is a senior English literature major at Fresno State. He enjoys writing creatively and has finished a few short stories, a poem, and has begun writing a full-length novel. His stories focus on themes that present themselves so often as to categorize them as universal, such as family struggles or the span of time and the cognitive incongruity that inherently accompanies it. Within this particular interest, he enjoys embellishing in imagery and the thematic ties said device can create. In the future, he hopes to become a published author that continues to write as a side venture.

Nayeli Guerrero studies creative writing at Fresno State. Currently in her last semester, she has plans to obtain her teaching credential and master’s degree to become an English professor. She is a writer, a poet, and a proud plant parent. Nayeli’s writing focuses on family, culture, and setting. She is proud to center her writing around Moyahua, Zacatecas, Mexico and the narratives this little town has to offer. When she’s not busy attending to her studies, you’ll find her out in nature talking to plants and perfecting recipes.

Audra Burwell is a creative writing major at Fresno State, aiming for a Master of Fine Arts degree in poetry. Her work has been published in Palaver Journal, Deep Overstock, Carcinogenic Poetry, Snapdragon, EBer & Wein, Serpentine Zine, and elsewhere, and she has appeared on the Do Fiction Podcast. Her poems “Residing in Your Veins” and “Concealed Oasis” were selected as finalists in Fresno State’s Art Song Festival. She works as a communications assistant for the Kremen School of Education and Human Development, and also works for A Book Barn in Old Town Clovis.

Sharon McClain finds impetus to write from her unconventional childhood growing up in the beach cities of Southern California. Utilizing creative nonfiction and poetry, she alchemizes a painful past into healing and beauty. Themes prevalent in her writing are grief, trauma, addiction, familial bonds, love, forgiveness, and survival. A creative writing major in her final semester at Fresno State, Sharon is working toward a Master of Fine Arts degree in creative nonfiction.

Taylor Seals (she/her) is currently completing her undergraduate creative writing degree at Fresno State. Upon graduation this spring, she hopes to continue her educational career within the MFA program, as well as her passion for three-hour naps between courses and work. When she is not spending days attempting to complete poems from a single murmur that came to her on a random Tuesday night (which she likely forgot to write down), she loves spending quality time gushing over her newborn nephew. This is her first time sharing her work and she is tremendously excited about it. 

Kaly Sous is a Khmer American writer completing her undergraduate degree in creative writing at Fresno State. She was born in Lowell, Massachusetts and has lived in her family’s home country of Cambodia, but has spent most of her life in Fresno, which she considers home. She writes both fiction and creative nonfiction. Kaly works to navigate through emotions such as fear, anxiety, and grief through both the invention of new worlds and reflections on her own life experiences. Her works explore themes of existentialism, trauma, and vulnerability. After graduating, Kaly hopes to enter the publishing industry and work as an editor.

All participants are welcome; if you need special accommodations please email jbeavers@csufresno.edu or call 559.278.1569.