MFA — A Round with Writers

May 21

May 21 S:2-Ep:14 Cesar Toscano

Cesar Toscano is a Chicago-based writer, with a BA in Creative Writing from Columbia College Chicago. He is the recipient of the Columbia Scholastic Press Association Certificate of Merit for his poem “A Dinner Night Passed”. His poem ”Dream Workshop” was selected as the winner of the 2024 Allen and Lynn Turner Commencement Poetry Competition.

He also runs his magazine, Mystical Owl Magazine, for strange fiction and poetry. His work delves into mental health and identity through a speculative, magical realism, and horror lens.

Apr 25

Apr 25 S:2-Ep:13 Michelle Alexander

Matthew Gutierrez

Michelle Alexander is an American-Trinidadian poet, creative nonfiction writer, New York University Gallatin School of Individualized Study graduate, and MFA candidate at Columbia College of Chicago. Her work has appeared in Salt Hill; she is a poet in residence with the Chicago Poetry Center.

Dec 19

Dec 19 S:2-EP:7 Izzy Dimiceli

Matthew Gutierrez

Izzy Dimiceli is a queer poet and artist born and raised in the Chicago suburbs. She is currently pursuing an MFA at Columbia College Chicago.

Sep 22

Sep 22 S:2-Ep:2: Gina Twardosz

Matthew Gutierrez

Gina, a Chicago resident, recently earned her MFA in creative nonfiction from Columbia College Chicago. Her literature, twice nominated for the Pushcart prize, is exceedingly personal, often satirical, with an eye cast to the side for the strange and whimsical.

Sep 15

Sep 15 S:2-Ep:1: Natasha Mijares

Matthew Gutierrez

Natasha is a Cuban American poet, educator, curator, and artist. Born and raised in Miami, she moved to Chicago to study creative writing at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

May 12

May 12 Episode 6: Tony Trigilio

Matthew Gutierrez

Tony Trigilio’s most recent book of poems is Proof Something Happened. His essay collection, Craft: A Memoir, is forthcoming in September 2023. He is a Professor of English and Creative Writing at Columbia College Chicago.