About Chris Stewart, M.F.A.
Christine Stewart is program director for arts in education, literature, and children's events with the Maryland State Arts Council. A former artist-in-residence with Creative Alliance in Baltimore, she is the founding director of the wildly successful Write Here, Write Now workshops co-sponsored by CityLit Project. She has a M.A. and M.F.A. in creative writing and poetry, is the recipient of a Ruth Lilly Fellowship, a Pushcart Prize nominee, and has been published in Poetry, Ploughshares, Blackbird, The Cortland Review and other literary magazines. Her ten minute plays, Anesthesia (about where we 'go' under anesthesia--the surprising world and choices we find there), and Literary Land (inspired by Shannon Hale's novel 'Austenland,' about what happens when one takes a 'literary' vacation and plays the role of a heroine in a novel) have been performed in showcases for local playwrights. Besides teaching at Creative Alliance (where she hosts the new annual poetry marathon tradition, 'First Day,' a cavalcade of 50 poets, performers, and musicians), she has led workshops at Carver Center for Arts and Technology and the Baltimore Museum of Art.
Look for her this September at another ten minute play showcase at Creative Alliance, and the Baltimore Book Festival, where she will host a reading of excerpts from the first Write Here, Write Now anthology, Freshly Squeezed, published by Apprentice House Press (in the CityLit tent). Until then, she's just bought a house and is holed up there in between classes, hard at work on finishing her third novel, Inventory, watching Doctor Who (her not-so-secret, and only, sci fi pleasure), reading David Lodge novels, and playing online Scrabble with her best friend in Los Angeles (so far she's winning).
Anyone interested in private mentoring or critique services should email her at stewartcas@netzero.net
For samples of her work, please see “Poetry Samples” and excerpts from her two novels, Killing the Good Girl and American Mystic.
CURRICULUM VITAE Christine A. Stewart EDUCATION: M.F.A. Creative Writing in Poetry - University of Maryland, College Park, MD, magna cum laude, 2003 M.A. English and Creative Writing - Hollins University, Roanoke, VA, magna cum laude, 2000 B.A. English with Concentration in Creative Writing - Goucher College, Baltimore, MD, Degree with Distinction and Honors in English, 1999 TEACHING EXPERIENCE:
Created Write, Here, Write Now writing program in which participants experiment with fiction, poetry, non-fiction, and playwriting, and work on creative projects. At the end of each session, a reading is offered to the community. Future classes will focus on a specific genre, and involve creation of a literary magazine showcasing student work. Creative Alliance is a community based non-profit organization that presents and promotes the arts and humanities. Co-sponsored by CityLit Project, a non-profit organization that promotes the culture of literature.
Instructor, Los Angeles Valley College Extension Program, Valley Glen, CA, Fall 2004 - Present Course taught: Concrete Poetry. A workshop in which participants produce poems in the spirit of the visual poetry art form from the 1950’s and 60's. Discussion of the form, critical analysis of examples from the period, as well as elements of craft. Instructor, Pasadena City College Extended Learning Program, Pasadena, CA, Fall 2004 - Present Course taught: Poetry Workshop. A class in which participants turn in weekly poems for discussion, complete in-class and at-home writing exercises, analyze and discuss classic and contemporary poems as well as essays on craft, and present poets and poems to the class. ADDITIONAL EXPERIENCE: Facilitator, WriTeens Writing Workshop, Pasadena Public Library, Pasadena, CA, Spring 2005 A writing workshop for teens ages 13-18, in which the participants experiment with fiction and poetry exercises, and are introduced to elements of craft. Mentor/Volunteer, WriteGirl, Hollywood, CA, Fall 2004 - Summer 2005 Weekly mentoring of a female teenage writer. Member of the curriculum team, developing and implementing the curriculum for the monthly workshops, readings and festivals, as well as creating curriculum guides for the anthologies produced each year. WriteGirl is a community of women writers that promotes creativity and self-expression to empower girls ages 12-18. Mentor/Volunteer, Venice Arts, Venice, CA, Summer 2004 Co-mentor in multi-media class for children ages 6-9. A class in which writing is mixed with painting, photography, music and dance. Venice Arts is a non-profit arts center that brings together artists and low-income young people whose access to the arts has been limited. EDITING EXPERIENCE: Co-Editor, Exit 146, Roanoke, VA, September 1999-May 2000 A literary magazine produced by the creative writing graduate students at Hollins University. HONORS AND AWARDS:
The Patterson Residency, Creative Alliance, Baltimore, MD, 2005-2008
Second Place, Erskine J. Poetry Prize, Smartish Pace, 2003 Graduate Student Scholarship, University of Maryland, College Park, nomination from Michael Collier, 2000 Pushcart Prize nomination from Elizabeth Spires for "Missing World," Ploughshares, 2000 Creative Writing Fellowship, Hollins University, Roanoke, VA, awarded 1999 Phi Beta Kappa, Goucher College, 1999 Lizette Woodworth Reese Award in Poetry, Goucher College, 1999 Ruth Lilly Fellowship in Poetry, Modern Poetry Association and Poetry magazine, awarded 1998 Academy of American Poets, Goucher College; 1997, 1998, 1999 PUBLICATIONS:
"Body Cloud," The Cortland Review, Fall, 2006
"Memory of What I Should Regret," and "National Poetry Month," Blackbird, November 2005
"Keeping." Maize, Winter 2003 "Stopping Alone Cross Country," "The Floating World of Ukiyo-e." Smartish Pace, Fall/Winter, 2003 "The Waiting Room." Poetry, May, 1999 "Cypresses, Bathing." Poetry, July, 1999 "Missing World," "Spider Time." Ploughshares, Winter 1999-00 "Pilgrimage." Five Points, Winter 1999 "Insurrection." The Baltimore Review, Spring 1997 PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS: Academy of American Poets Associated Writing Programs Poetry Society of America REFERENCES: Madison Smartt Bell, Goucher Chair for Distinguished Achievement, Professor, Goucher College. Elaine Chapman, Director, Pasadena City College Extended Learning Program. Michael Collier, Professor, University of Maryland, College Park. Richard Dillard, Professor (former Director of Creative Writing Program), Hollins University. Stanley Plumly, Distinguished Professor, University of Maryland, College Park. Elizabeth Spires, Goucher Chair for Distinguished Achievement, Professor, Goucher College.
