Read about the Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and Poetics dynamic group of students, their educational backgrounds, and research interests.
2012 Cohort
Ellen Bauer
Undergraduate Institute: John Carroll University
Undergraduate Degree: English
Research Interests: Reproductive rights, mountaintop removal, anti-racism, LGBT resistance movements, socialism, medicine, the intersectionality of oppressions, post-colonial literature, music, memory conditions
Snapshot: Ellen is an aspiring novelist and poet from the Midwestern rust belt. She loves tea, and is an avid baker who enjoys experimenting with new ingredients and recipes. She has many nicknames, the best among them being "Cactopus."
Marcus Bingham
Undergraduate Institute: Central Washington University
Undergraduate Degree: English Language and Literature: Writing Specialization, minor in Theatre Studies, magna cum laude
Research Interests: Creative nonfiction writing, film studies, playwriting, new historicism and post-colonialism
Snapshot: Marcus has led an eclectic life, working as a laborer, stage tech, graphic artist, media technician, writing consultant, videographer, actor, playwright, script analyst, and film extra. He recently delivered his speech The Global Age as the student speaker for the CWU 2011 graduation ceremony. Marcus’ mid-life goal is to inspire a new generation through teaching and writing.
John Boucher
Undergraduate Institute: Evergreen State College
Undergraduate Degree: Creative Writing, Film Theory and Production
Research Interests: Poetry, micro-fiction, screenwriting, interactive narrative design
Snapshot: John is a co-founder of the Seattle-based writing collective Les Sardines, which publishes a bi-annual lit zine called "Les Sar'zine." He is also co-founder of "The IIWII Project" with artist Aaron Morgan. In 2011, he edited "Heart Breaks Open," an award-winning feature film that played festivals worldwide.
Susan Brown
Undergraduate/Graduate Institute: Evergreen State (BS), The University of Washington Seattle (BA), Florida Atlantic University (MUP)
Degrees: Environmental Studies (BS), Anthropology (BA), Urban Planning and Regional Planning (MUP)
Research Interests: Creative industries entrepreneurship, material culture, history & historic places, magic, theater, and mixed media
Snapshot: Susan likes to imagine things that don't exit, then cause them to materialize, or at least appear. Lately she is doing a lot of digital collage combining elements of vintage illustrations & her own photography, like in the self-portrait. The new images are being published by Cream City Review, Mayo Review, and Breakwater Review. They are also being fabricated as installations, artist books, and a card game for storytellers that celebrates creativity. Plus, she is working on Kickstarter fundraising projects, and writing short fiction.
Margaret Chiavetta
Undergraduate Institute: SUNY Buffalo
Undergraduate Degree: Anthropology
Research Interests: Margaret focuses on fantasy fiction; however, she is looking to expand her skill set to writing for the internet as well as the gaming industry.
Snapshot: Originally, Margaret wanted to be a National Geographic girl. She graduated in 2005 from the University at Buffalo with a BA in Anthropology and spent one year in Puerto Rico studying free-range monkeys. However, this incredible experience was followed by a series of bad decisions. She ended up pigeon-holed in the animal biomedical research industry. She had a flighty career, moving from one facility to the next, all of which were the same… monkey holocausts. Eventually Margaret had... sort of... a nervous breakdown, followed by a premature-mid-life-crisis. But, like all transformations, she got it together and found the better path for her career. She figures since the world is coming to an end any way, she might as well do what she loves. She foresees two very productive years here at UWB.
Sandy D'Entremont
Undergraduate Institute: Central Washington University
Undergraduate Degree: Interdisciplinary Studies: Social Sciences
Research Interests: The hero/heroine's journey in film and literature, the role of archetypes in fiction, and the power of myth/story to initiate change, both personal and cultural
Snapshot: Sandy is a technical writer for the software industry who lives outside Entiat, Washington. Her interests include reading, gardening, and exploring wild and beautiful places.
Kelle Gaddis
Undergraduate Institute: University of Washington Bothell
Undergraduate Degree: Interdisciplinary Studies: Culture, Literature & the Arts
Research Interests: One of Kelle's research goals will be to create a platform to help individuals: cultivate their writing voice; enhance self-awareness, and expand creativity and imagination. She believes creative writing can empower people to claim personal agency or reclaim a lost sense of agency.
Snapshot: Kelle Grace Gaddis has a passion for writing, particularly literary fiction and poetry. Travel and writing has helped her become a thoughtful global citizen and active volunteer for change both at home and abroad. Kelle strongly believes all people; regardless of race, ethnicity, age or social class deserve respect, dignity and opportunity.
Aimee Harrison
Undergraduate Institute: Massachusettes Institute of Technology
Undergraduate Degree: Creative Writing
Research Interests: Surrealist fiction, narrative poetry, and the intersection of photography and video with literature
Snapshot: Before becoming a writer, Aimee studied geology, environmental science, biology and mathematics, and she has worked in animal care with sea lions, macaques, baby ducks and porcupines. She loves electronic music, crayola crayons, arts and crafts involving yarn and house cats as much as words.
Andrew Huskamp
Undergraduate Institute: Seattle Pacific University
Undergraduate Degree: Educational Ministry
Research Interests: Children's literature, mythology, fairy tales, young adult fiction
Snapshot: Andrew grew up in Montana and has worked with Youth for Christ in the Crossroads area of Bellevue during the last three years. He enjoys working with youth alongside his wife and hopes to continue investing in young people throughout his life by engaging them with the power of story.
Talena Kettrell
Undergraduate Institute: Montclair State University (BA), University of Washington (Teacher Certification)
Undergraduate Degree: Broadcasting (BA), Elementary Education, Middle Level Humanities (Teacher Certification)
Research Interests: Talena is interested in poetics as an educational tool to help close the opportunity gap for urban youth. She is also interested in multi- media and literary collaborations as a means to showcase the written word as a fine art.
Snapshot: Talena, a proud native of Paterson, NJ, began writing stories when she was five years old and won her first writing award at age seven. She graduated from Rosa Parks School of Fine and Performing Arts where she majored in Creative Writing and fell in love with poetry. Talena is the founder and president of Her Best Self a non-profit organization that empowers high school age girls by combining rite of passage activities and mentoring. She is also a mother, martial artist and gardener.
Jay Loomis
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Undergraduate Institute: University of Washington Bothell
Undergraduate Degree: Interdisciplinary Studies: Culture, Literature & the Arts
Research Interests: Collaborative/interactive fiction, the intersection of games and story creation, game design, popular fiction across many media
Snapshot: Jay loves nothing more than the exotic alchemy of people connecting through the medium of story. A jack-of-all-trades, he is easily excited by a wide variety of subjects, most of them admittedly pretty geeky. The best way to get to know him is to sit down and play a story game with him.
Tiare Mathison
Undergraduate/Graduate Institute: Evergreen State College, Fuller Theological Seminary
Degree: Masters of Divinity
Research Interests: Exploring the connection of the word written, spoken and heard; examining the space of silence; and how do visuals and music enhance words
Snapshot: Tiare is passionate about life, enjoys good food and good conversations, dabbles in watercolor, and cares deeply about doing her small part to make a better world for everyone.
Michael Paschall
Undergraduate Institute: Brooks Institute of Photography
Undergraduate Degree: Film and Video Producation, concentration in Screen Writing
Research Interests: Visual journalism, poetry, and the relationship between poetic visual and journalistic expression, Native American culture, mythology, and astronomy
Billy Phillips
Undergraduate Institute: Brigham Young University
Undergraduate Degree: Philosophy, Political Science, a-letheia and poiesis
Research Interests: Epic narrative poetry, art as rupture to hegemonic thought, Anarchism, genre challenging narrative, women's poetry and literature, Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Levinas and ethics, children's advocacy
Snapshot: Billy is a poet living in Marysville with his wife and two children. He has vanity published books of poetry, and produced two of his plays. He paints and does charcoal drawings, organizes reading groups, and tries to stay up on his philosophy studies.
J.D. Satlin
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Undergraduate Institute: SUNY Buffalo
Undergraduate Degree: Philosophy
Research Interests: Rhetoric, futurism, the way in which language affects ethical decision making, the place word connotations play in expression, the ability of words to reinforce or lessen cognitive biases, the relation between identity and writing (or more generally creative expression)
Snapshot: J.D. grew up in the Seattle area, and went away to undergraduate at University at Buffalo in Buffalo, NY to study philosophy, where he graduated Summa Cum Laude. He is an avid consumer of information in nearly any form he can get it. His thought process verges on Socratic, if Socrates really loved puns. His interests range into the sciences as well as the humanities; sciences from astronomy to neuro/cognitive science fascinates him.
Diana Savora
Undergraduate Institute: University of Washington Bothell
Undergraduate Degree: Interdisciplinary Studies: Culture, Literature & the Arts
Research Interests: To explore the rapid change that the literary world is experiencing as the development, modification, and expansion of technology closes the gap between community, writer and reader.
Snapshot: Diana loves living in the Pacific Northwest and takes advantage of the rainy days to stay indoors and write. She lives with her amazing husband and two sweet English Bulldogs. When she’s not busy writing or reading, she enjoys cooking, skiing, or just hanging out with family and friends.