MFA in Creative Writing - Our Community

An MFA student reads to an audience.
Zeina Hashem Beck, Marilyn Abildiskov, and Rachel Richardson with students

@smcmfa - Your One-on-One Connection

Curated by our own MFA Graduate Assistants, the @smcmfa Instagram gives you a close look into the literary lives of our students, faculty, alumni, and larger community. Whether you're looking for information about our Visiting Writers Series, works published by our current/former students, or candid takes of day-to-day life at Saint Mary's, we've got you covered!

Check Us Out on Instagram

Literary Life at SMC

A student writes in the redwood grove.

The Visiting Writers Series

Each semester, the SMC MFA program invites its Visiting Writers to afternoon craft conversations and evening readings that create a space for students, faculty and the broader community to gather, reflect, and learn from groundbreaking artists.

Weekly Community Events

Each week, the SMC MFA program gathers informally outside of class to seek solidarity and inspiration in our nearby redwood grove, in the library, in our nationally accredited modern art museum, or at social actions on campus.

Arts Excursions

Students gather beyond the SMC campus at bookstores, arts festivals, open mics and other literary experiences around the Bay Area.

Stay Connected
SMC campus against the hills

A Campus That Feels Like a Writing Retreat

Nestled in the rolling foothills of the East Bay, the Saint Mary's campus is a quiet refuge for reading and writing just a short drive from Oakland, San Francisco, and all the Bay Area has to offer.

The SMC MFA program draws on the diverse literary landscape of California to make a home for powerful poets and storytellers from all walks of life.

Pause for Poetry

Established in 2022 through close collaboration between the MFA in Creative Writing and the SMC Library, Pause for Poetry invites the SMC community to take a study break with a few minutes of poetry read by our talented undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty.

Community
Speakers
A group of students, faculty, and staff gathered on the second floor of the library listening to a poetry reading. A group of students, faculty, and staff gathered on the second floor of the library listening to a poetry reading. Reading at Saint Mary's Pause for Poetry. A group highlighting the Pause for Poetry graphic and visitors to a Pause for Poetry event. The SMC community awaiting the next reader at Pause for Poetry.
A group of students, faculty, and staff gathered on the second floor of the library listening to a poetry reading. A student wearing a blue shirt reading at Pause for Poetry. Former Visiting Writer Yona Harvey reading at Pause for Poetry. Former MFA student in Poetry, Nick Minges, reading at Pause for Poetry. A group of students, faculty, and staff gathered on the second floor of the library listening to a poetry reading. Former MFA Faculty in Poetry Brenda Hillman reading at Pause for Poetry. MFA student in Poetry Natalie Davis reading at Pause for Poetry. Reading at Saint Mary's Pause for Poetry. A group highlighting the Pause for Poetry graphic and visitors to a Pause for Poetry event. The SMC community awaiting the next reader at Pause for Poetry.
A student wearing a blue shirt reading at Pause for Poetry. Former Visiting Writer Yona Harvey reading at Pause for Poetry. Former MFA student in Poetry, Nick Minges, reading at Pause for Poetry. Former MFA Faculty in Poetry Brenda Hillman reading at Pause for Poetry. MFA student in Poetry Natalie Davis reading at Pause for Poetry.

Upcoming MFA in Creative Writing Events

A Day in the Life at SMC

The pursuit of an MFA encompasses many moments and experiences. Whether it's during their time in the classroom or out in the world, our students are constantly making meaning—and memories with one another!

Students and family at thesis readings
2024 graduating class
Students engaged in conversation at a craft talk
Q&A at craft talk
Audience at Marcelo Hernandez Castillo's Craft Talk.
Lauren Graff at SMC
Creative Writing Students Before Reading
SMC Campus Deer
Creative Writing Student Natalie at Pause for Poetry
Creative Writing - Yona Harvey at Pause for Poetry
Creative Writing Students Fiction Candid
Creative Writing Students at End of Semester Party
Creative Writing Students and Naomi Williams
Q+A at Marcelo Hernandez Castillo's Craft Talk.
Q+A at Marcelo Hernandez Castillo's Craft Talk.

School and Department Information

Chris Feliciano Arnold
Director, MFA in Creative Writing
cfa1@stmarys-ca.edu
925-631-8556

Collin Skeen
Assistant Director of Admissions and Recruitment 
cas38@stmarys-ca.edu
925-631-4190

School of Liberal Arts
MFA in Creative Writing
Faculty

© 2025 Saint Mary’s College of California