Meet My Captivating Cohort
- Kristi My
- Jun 11, 2024
- 1 min read
One of my favorite things about being able to complete my MFA is that I was surrounded by some up-and-coming talented writers. That gave me the opportunity to admire their work and to be influenced by the vast creativity that they all possess.
For that reason, I thought I would compile them all here and introduce you to them today. I've gathered some links for you here, and I pulled their bios from their websites. They're all brilliant, so make sure to put aside some time to read some of the work they have out in the world. I have to say that if any of these writers don't have a single fan in the world, then I am probably dead. I believe that I will admire and champion them for the rest of my life.
UCF MFA in Creative Writing 2024 Cohort
Link: https://daniellesarta.com/
About: "Danielle “Dani” Sarta is a recent graduate of the University of Central Florida’s Creative Writing MFA program, whose focus is on writing hybrid works of poetry and CNF that highlight the hybridity of her own life and experiences growing up as a queer, Hispanic trans-racial adoptee in Central Florida. They always knew they wanted to be a writer, ever since they played with Barbie dolls and MyLittlePonies, weaving intricate plots of romance, betrayal, and revenge that only a kid with access to the newly budding internet could weave. Poetry came later, when she realized that drama could be explored in line with nature, and that the true tragedies are often found in the smallest of things. Mother to two cats raised from 4 weeks old, Dani can always be found with new pictures of them to show any unsuspecting passerby, and cat fur on her black clothes no matter how much lint-rolling she does."
My Favorite Memory with/of Dani: It would be very hard to pick a favorite memory of Dani, because Dani was the leader of our cohort. They are so talented and a great leader, always advocating on our behalf. The one memory that stands out in my mind is that they had a quote about aging that they had mentioned in our first workshop, and then used the quote in a poem for our last workshop. It was a full-circle moment in my mind.
Where You Can Find Their Work:
"Finding Calm in the Rage: A Review of Laurie Rachkus Uttich’s Somewhere, a Woman Lowers the Hem of Her Skirt " from Olit
Link: https://www.kiannagreene.com/
About: "Kianna Greene is a poet and writer living in Orlando, Florida where she teaches creative writing at the University of Central Florida. Nominated twice for a Pushcart Prize, Kianna is an alumna of The Kenyon Review’s Writers Workshop and currently serves as an Associate Poetry Editor for The Florida Review."
My Favorite Memory with/of Kianna:
I want to say that it was the moment that I realized I was in the presence of a genius (check out the poem that is in The Coachella Review down below, because it was one of the first I read from her). Other than that, I would have to say that I always loved reading the feedback that she gave me, because I could always visualize in my mind's eye the physical reactions that she would make when she noted things. It always made me smile.
Where You Can Read Their Work:
"Sitting Quiet" in Ruminate (Winner of The Waking's 2021 Flash Prose Prize in Nonfiction)
"what I've learned about absence while studying korean" in The Coachella Review
Link: https://emilyrosemiller.com/
About:"Emily is an MFA student at the University of Central Florida where she is studying poetry. At UCF, they serve as a poetry reader and book review reader for The Florida Review, UCF’s literary journal. She graduated magna cum laude from Saint Leo University in 2020 where she earned her BA in English with a specialization in creative writing.
Emily writes poems that reflect their experiences as a neurodivergent queer woman. She writes her truth bluntly and boldly in the hopes that someone will find themselves in her work’s raw openness or be challenged in their own worldview.
At the moment, Emily lives in Orlando, Florida with their partner and cats. When not writing or editing, she can be found playing the Sims and visiting theme parks."
My Favorite Memory With/of Emily: Even though Emily didn't graduate with us, she was kind enough to bring us all flowers on the night of our graduate reading. Moreover, Emily was one of the first people I developed a connection with on my first day of graduate school, in a Form and Theory class we shared.
Where You Can Read Their Work:
Their website has 20+ publications listed, so I am just going to list my top 3 here, but you can get the full comprehensive list if you click here.
Link: https://michellemunoz.godaddysites.com/
About: "Michelle is an MFA candidate at the University of Central Florida. She has been published in Hash Journal, Levitate Magazine, and Variant Literature. Michelle is a prose editor for The Florida Review. She has also participated as a staff reader for Carve Magazine. She lives in central Florida with her three-legged cat, Levi."
My Favorite Memory With/of Michelle: There were countless times that Michelle and I would go and get acai bowls before we had a long class. She introduced me to the place that makes the best acai bowls I have had in my life, and then we would have amazing conversations about life.
Link: https://jessamsantiago.wixsite.com/amaliaceganathewande
About: "Connect with Egana and other readers in a community which appreciates the perspective of the non-binary Pilipino-Cuban-American. The anonymous author writes about passing artistic hobbies in the blog, nonsensical riddle and lyrical poems, and social critique focused creative narratives with dashes of flash nonfiction."
My Favorite Memory With/of Jessa: There were many nights where Jessa walked with me to my car across campus after class. I would take her home, and we would always end up having deep conversations about our lives. We also worked on a collaborative project together in our first semester, and we are in the process of editing that.
Where to Read Their Work:
Link: https://fernandacoutinhoteixeiracom.wordpress.com/
About: "Fernanda Coutinho Teixeira is a fiction writer with a penchant for the fantastical, the scary and the weird. She has a Bachelor’s degree in History from the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. Presently, she is a first-year graduate student at the University of Central Florida, where she works as a graduate teaching assistant and works of her first short story collection."
My Favorite Memory With/of Fernanda: I don't know if it's my favorite, but one of the first memories I have with Fernanda is that we attended a trivia night together. She prefaced it with, "I don't know how good I'll be at trivia," and then ended up answering more questions correctly than I did. We ended up winning free books that night, which was fun.
Where to Read Their Work:
Link: https://camilacal07.wixsite.com/camilacal
About: "Camila Cal Mello is a first-generation emerging creative nonfiction writer, poet, and journalist. She earned her BA in Interdisciplinary Studies with concentrations in Communications and Letters/Modern Languages at the University of Central Florida. She minored in Creative Writing and Latin American Studies and holds certificates in Hispanic/Latino Media and Editing/Publishing."
My Favorite Memory With/of Camila: When I showed up to orientation, I appreciated Camila's presence because I remembered taking a remote learning class together in 2020. Even though we weren't in person, I felt familiar enough with Camila to take comfort in that fact.
Where to Read Their Work:
"What a 17-Year-Old Needs to Know When Caring for a Cancer Patient (Who Happens to Be Her Mother)" from The RoadRunner Review
Link: https://spencerreynoldswriter.com/
About: "Spencer Reynolds lives in Orlando, FL while pursuing an MFA at the University of Central Florida. Originally from Nashville, Spencer completed his BA at the University of DC. He is senior associate editor for The Florida Review."
My Favorite Memory With/of Spencer: During this past AWP in Kansas City, Michelle and I had skipped out on the keynote speaker (our feet were tired of walking up/downhill. Instead, we went out for dinner and to play games, and Spencer joined us. It was probably one of the first times I really had an opportunity to get to know Spencer.
Where to Read Their Work:
Link: https://justinahlquist.com/
About: "Literary Fiction Writer in Orlando, Florida. Currently an MFA candidate at the University of Central Florida. Assistant Editor at the Florida Review."
My Favorite Memory With/of Justin: When we had our AWP reading in Seattle, Justin was one of the MCs, and he had the ability to make me smile with his humor. He would also occasionally join Jessa and I on our evening walks across campus.
Link: https://nickstovel.com/
About: "Based in Florida, Nick is a fiction writer and aspiring filmmaker that focuses on issues of identity and social integration among young adults. He earned his B.A. from Florida Atlantic University and is currently in the Creative Writing M.F.A. program at the University of Central Florida."
My Favorite Memory With/of Nick: Nick is also one of the first people that I interacted with on my first day of graduate school. We exchanged numbers because we ended up working on a project together, and now I've roped him into watching Traitors UK with me.
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