A recent graduate student, I completed a M.A. in English Literatures at the end of 2020. The experience of finishing my final semester of classes and meeting the demands of a Master’s thesis during the midst of the global Covid shutdown is something I will never forget. I also hold a M.S. in Creative Writing from the University of Edinburgh which I earned in 2015. While I’ve spent 7 (nail-bitingly exciting and excessively broke) years synthesizing complex literary theory in the academy, I am excited for the next chapter in my literary career.
When it comes to literature, I seek out the stories of those who walk into a room and feel alone; who don’t expect to be listened to, who are the only one that looks like them, that have learned to keep quiet in order to keep the peace. I will always find myself drawn to stories that look at boundary-crossing identity in contemporary society and find authentic ways to express these unseen perspectives through language that feels shared, even if the experiences described are not.
I’ve been published multiple times in Interpretations, a peer-reviewed literary journal at SFSU. In 2019 and 2020, I presented separate papers at the annual HERA Conference discussing the need to diversify the current canonical texts used in literary education in order to better represent how society, criticism, and the student body has progressed since the mid-20th century. My interest in the value of writing extends beyond the purely academic and shortly after the start of Spring 2020, I joined SFSU’s Committee on Written English Proficiency as a student representative.
Right now, I call the sunny (-ish) city of San Francisco home, a far cry from my East Coast roots or international stopovers. While I have no pets to speak of, I do have a few plants that I call my own as well as an incredible community of friends and found family.
Teresa Diviacchi 