POC Mentorship: Graduate Faculty Writers of Color - Part 2/3 (Montana - Tennessee)

Go back and read Part 1 || Skip forward to read Part 3

Welcome to De-Canon's list of graduate creative writing programs with at least one full-time faculty of color!

This post continues our project of identifying who is teaching where when it comes to permanent creative writing faculty in MA, MFA, and PhD programs across the United States. As noted earlier, there's a good chance I've missed a few people (and possibly programs) -- please feel free to notify me if there are any glaring errors or omissions. This is intended as a snapshot of the current state of things (as of June 2017) -- people do move around and programs will hire more POC creative writing faculty, but at the very least we can get a glimpse of what's going on -- and hopefully this will be a good resource for anyone considering doing graduate work in creative writing.

This post covers faculty and graduate programs in states Montana to Tennessee.  (Originally I was going to keep this to two posts, but Squarespace has a length limit for posts, so this had to be split.  Tennessee seemed like a good place to end on.

You read more about this list's methodology and disclaimers in Part 1.

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MONTANA

• University of Montana (MFA)

  • Prageeta Sharma (Poetry)

NEBRASKA

• University of Nebraska-Lincoln (MA, PhD)

  • Jennine Capó Crucet (Fiction)

  • Joy Castro (CNF, Fiction)

  • Kwame Dawes (Poetry)

  • Amelia María de la Luz Montes (CNF, Fiction)

  • Chigozie Obioma (Fiction, Poetry)

  • Hope Wabuke (CNF, Poetry)

• University of Nebraska-Omaha (MFA) - low residency

  • Lee Ann Roripaugh (Poetry)

NEVADA

• Sierra Nevada College (MFA) 

  • Daniel Chacón (Fiction)

  • Nathalie Handal (Poetry)

  • Tim Hernandez (Fiction, Poetry)

  • Lee Herrick (Poetry)

  • Randa Jarrar (Fiction)

  • John Murillo (Poetry)

  • Patricia Smith (Poetry)

  • Writer-in-Residence:

    • SNC hosts a Kundiman writer-in-residence for 1 month in the winter

NEW HAMPSHIRE

• New England College (MFA) - low residency

  • Lily Hoang (Fiction)

NEW JERSEY

• Rutgers University-Camden (MFA)

  • Gregory Pardlo (Poetry)

  • Patrick Rosal (Poetry)

• Rutgers University-Newark (MFA)

  • Tayari Jones (Fiction)

  • John Keene (Fiction)

  • Akhil Sharma (Fiction)

  • Rigoberto Gonzalez (Poetry)

  • A. Van Jordan (Poetry)

  • Brenda Shaughnessy (Poetry)

• William Paterson University (MFA)

  • Timothy Liu (Poetry)

  • John Parras (Fiction)

NEW MEXICO

• Institute of American Indian Arts (MFA) - low residency

  • Sherwin Bitsui (Poetry)

  • Kimberly Blaeser (CNF, Fiction)

  • Santee Frazier (Poetry)

  • Rachel Eliza Griffiths (Poetry)

  • Toni Jensen (Fiction)

  • Joan Naviyuk Kane (Poetry)

  • Chip Livingston (CNF, Fiction, Poetry)

  • Eden Robinson (Fiction)

  • James Thomas Stevens (Poetry)

• University of New Mexico (MFA)

  • Lisa Chavez (Poetry)

  • José Orduña (CNF)

  • Julie Shigekuni (Fiction)

NEW YORK

• Adelphi University (MFA)

  • Jacqueline Jones LaMon (Poetry)

• Bard College (MFA)

  • Renee Gladman (Fiction)

  • Hoa Nguyen (Poetry)

  • Roberto Tejada (Poetry)

• Brooklyn College (MFA)

  • Ernesto Mestre (Fiction)

  • Meera Nair (Fiction)

  • Sigrid Nunez (Fiction)

  • Madeleine Thien (Fiction)

• City College of New York CUNY (MFA)

  • Salar Abdoh  (Fiction)

  • Lyn Di Iorio (Fiction)

  • Emily Raboteau  (CNF, Fiction)

  • David Unger  (Translation)

  • Michelle Yasmine Valladares   (Poetry)

• College at Brockport SUNY (MA)

  • Ralph Black (Poetry)

• College of New Rochelle (MFA)

  • Bushra Rehman (Fiction)

• Columbia University - NY (MFA)

  • Hilton Als (CNF)

  • Paul Beatty (Fiction, Poetry)

  • Orhan Pamuk (Fiction)

  • Deborah Paredez (Poetry)

  • Adjuncts:

    • There's around 9 POC adjunct creative writing faculty listed

• Cornell University (MFA, PhD)

  • Ishion Hutchinson (Poetry)

  • Ernesto Quiñonez (Fiction)

  • Lyrae Van Clief-Stefanon (Poetry)

  • Helena María Viramontes (Fiction)

• Hunter College CUNY (MFA)

  • Saïd Sayrafiezadeh (CNF)

• Ithaca College (MFA) - low residency

  • Renee Gladman (Fiction)

  • Claudia Rankine (Poetry)

• Long Island University - Brooklyn (MFA)

  • Erica Hunt (CNF, Poetry)

• The New School (MFA)

  • Luis Jaramillo (Fiction)

  • Adjuncts:

    • A number of POC part-time faculty, including Sigrid Nunez.

• NYU (MFA) 

  • Yusef Komunyakaa (Poetry)

  • Zadie Smith (Fiction)

  • Kimiko Hahn (Poetry)

  • Major Jackson (Poetry)

  • Sigrid Nunez (Fiction)

  • Rowan Ricardo Phillips (Poetry)

  • Writer-in-Residence:

    • Terrance Hayes (Poetry)

• Pratt Institute (MFA)

  • Youmna Chlala (Poetry)

  • James Hannaham (Fiction)

  • Mendi Lewis Obadike (Poetry)

  • Adjuncts:

    • A number of POC core part-time faculty, including Mirene Arsanios.

• Queens College CUNY (MFA)

  • Kimiko Hahn (Poetry)

  • Maaza Mengiste (Fiction)

  • Roger Sedarat (Poetry, Translation)

• Sarah Lawrence College (MFA)

  • Tina Chang (Poetry)

  • Cynthia Cruz (Poetry) - undergraduate only

  • Nicole Dennis-Benn (Fiction)

  • Carolyn Ferrell (Fiction)

  • Aracelis Girmay (Poetry)

  • Cathy Park Hong (Poetry)

  • Vijay Seshadri (Poetry)

  • Martha Southgate (Poetry)

  • Monica Youn (Poetry)

• SUNY Stony Brook Southampton (MFA)

  • Cornelius Eady (Poetry)

• Syracuse University (MFA)

  • Arthur Flowers (Fiction)

 NORTH CAROLINA

• East Carolina University (MA)

  • Amber Flora Thomas (Poetry)

• North Carolina State University (MFA)

  • Eduardo Corral (Poetry)

• Queens University of Charlotte (MFA) - low residency

  • Cathy Park Hong (Poetry)

  • Marcus Jackson (Poetry)

  • Naeem Murr (Fiction)

  • Jon Pineda (CNF, Poetry)

  • Patricia Powell (Fiction)

  • Claudia Rankine (Poetry)

• University of North Carolina-Wilmington (MFA)

  • May-lee Chai (CNF, Fiction)

• Warren Wilson (MFA) - low residency

  • Typically 5-6 POC faculty each session

  • Rotating faculty includes:

    • Lan Samantha Chang (Fiction)

    • Danielle Evans (Fiction)

    • David Haynes (Fiction)

    • T. Geronimo Johnson (Fiction)

    • A. Van Jordan (Poetry)

    • Laila Lalami (CNF, Fiction)

    • Victor LaValle (Fiction)

    • Sandra Lim (Poetry)

    • Nina McConigley (Fiction)

    • Pablo Medina (Fiction)

    • Ana Menéndez (Fiction)

    • Matthew Olzmann (Poetry)

    • Rowan Ricardo Phillips (Poetry)

    • Kirsten Valdez Quade (Fiction)

    • Monica Youn (Poetry)

    • C. Dale Young (Poetry)

NORTH DAKOTA

OHIO

• Ashland University (MFA) - low residency

  • Nayomi Munaweera (Fiction)

• Miami University (MFA) 

  • Brian Ascalon Roley (Fiction)

  • Daisy Hernández (CNF)

• Miami University (MFA) - low residency

  • Hoa Nguyen (Poetry)

  • Visiting faculty:

    • Jeffery Renard Allen (CNF, Fiction, Poetry)

    • Lillian-Yvonne Bertram (Poetry)

• Northeast Ohio Master of Fine Arts (MFA)

  • Imad Rahman (Fiction)

• Ohio State University (MFA/PhD)

  • Marcus Jackson (Poetry)

  • Elissa Washuta (CNF)

  • Visiting faculty:

    • Lina Maria Ferreira Cabeza-Vanegas (CNF)

• Ohio University (MA, PhD)

  • Zakes Mda (Fiction)

 OKLAHOMA

• Oklahoma State University (MFA)

  • Stephanie Choi (Poetry)

  • Gene Kwak (Fiction)

• University of Oklahoma (MA)

  • Honorée Fanonne Jeffers (Poetry)

OREGON

• Eastern Oregon University (MFA) - low residency

  • James Stolen (Fiction)

• Oregon State University - Cascades (MFA) - low residency

  • T. Geronimo Johnson (Fiction)

• Pacific University (MFA) - low residency

  • Chris Abani (CNF, Fiction)

  • Sanjiv Bhattacharya (CNF)

  • Eduardo Corral (Poetry)

  • Kwame Dawes (Poetry)

  • Vievee Francis (Poetry)

  • Tyehimba Jess (Poetry)

• Portland State University (MFA)

  • Diana Abu-Jaber (Fiction)

  • Janice Lee (Fiction)

• University of Oregon (MFA)

  • Garrett Hongo (Poetry)

PENNSYLVANIA

• Carlow University (MFA) - low residency

  • Adriana E. Ramirez (CNF)

• Cedar Crest College (MFA) - low residency

  • Jake Lamar (CNF, Fiction)

  • Dinaw Mengestu (CNF, Fiction)

• Temple University (MFA)

  • Don Lee (Fiction)

• University of Pittsburgh (MFA) 

  • Fiona Cheung (Fiction)

  • Angie Cruz (Fiction)

  • Yona Harvey (Poetry)

  • Terrance Hayes (Poetry)

  • Dawn Lundy Martin (Poetry)

  • Notes: Also houses Center for African American Poetics and Poetry with Lauren Russell

• Wilkes University (MFA) - low residency

  • Rashidah Ismaili AbuBakr (CNF, Poetry)

  • Laurie Jean Cannady (CNF)

  • Marlon James (Fiction)

  • Tim Seibles (Poetry)

  • Nina Solomon (Fiction)

RHODE ISLAND

• Brown University (MFA)

  • Colin Channer (Fiction)

  • Mónica de la Torre (Poetry)

  • Sawako Nakayasu (Poetry)

  • Chika Unigwe (Fiction)

  • Visiting faculty:

    • Andrew Colarusso (Poetry)

    • Erica Mena (Poetry, Translation)

SOUTH CAROLINA

• College of Charleston (MFA)

  • Gary Jackson (Poetry)

• University of South Carolina (MFA)

  • Nikky Finney (Poetry)

  • Dianne Johnson (Fiction)

SOUTH DAKOTA

• University of South Dakota (MA/PhD) 

  • Lee Ann Roripaugh (Poetry)

TENNESSEE

• Sewanee School of Letters (MFA)

  • Meera Subramanian (CNF)

• University of Tennessee-Chattanooga (MFA)

  • Earl Braggs (Poetry)

• University of Tennessee-Knoxville (MFA/PhD)

  • Joy Harjo (CNF, Poetry) -- [weirdly not listed under Creative Writing faculty, but is the Chair of Excellence]

• Vanderbilt University (MFA)

  • Piyali Bhattacharya (CNF, Fiction)

  • Lorraine M. López (Fiction)

  • Visiting Faculty:

    • Randall Kenan (CNF, Fiction)

Last updated Sept 22, 2025

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Go back and read Part 1 || Skip forward to read Part 3

Neil Aitken is the author of two books of poetry, Babbage's Dream (Sundress 2017) and The Lost Country of Sight (Anhinga 2008), winner of the Philip Levine Prize. A former computer programmer and a Kundiman poetry alumnus, he holds an MFA in Creative Writing from UC Riverside and a Ph.D. in Literature & Creative Writing from USC. He is the founding editor of Boxcar Poetry Review, the administrator of Have Book Will Travel, and a board member of Poetry East West. (www.neil-aitken.com | neil.aitken@gmail.com | @neil_aitken)