Sara Sams
Arizona State University
Writing Programs
Tempe, AZ 85287-0302
917 N. 8th St
Phoenix, AZ 85006
EDUCATION
May 2013Arizona State University Tempe, AZ
Master of Fine Arts. Creative Writing, with emphasis in poetry.
GPA 3.98
Thesis: Atom City
Committee Members: Cynthia Hogue, Chair; Norman Dubie; Sally Ball
May 2008Davidson College Davidson, NC
Bachelor of Arts with Honors in English, Spanish minor, Creative Writing cluster
Cumulative GPA 3.4, Major GPA 3.6
Honor’s Thesis: Arroyos: Poems
Committee Members: Jason Koo, Chair; Gail Gibson; Therese Svoboda; Elizabeth Mills
Summer 2006Cambridge University Cambridge, UK
Davidson Summer Intensive at Corpus Christi College
Fall 2006Universidad Complutense Madrid, Spain
International Education of Students Semester Abroad
Spanish Language Intensive
PUBLICATIONS
Individual Poems
Anthologies
“There’s a Place They Almost Get To,” …And LOVE… Jacar Press, 2012.
Journals
“The Marriage Voyage of Juán Ramón Jiménez,” Blackbird Vol 12 No 1 [ Fall 2013
“Pedro Salinas and the Greatest Spanish Love Poem,” “Doña Juana La Loca,” and “Art History at the Prado,” Hinchas de Poesía No. 9 [ Spring 2013
"Montreat" and "Pedro Salinas and the Greatest Spanish Love Poem,” Hoarse Quarterly No. 6, Spring 2012.
“Mountain Song,” “Conocimiento,” & “Psalm for Agehya,” Contexts Journal Volume 5, The New School, 2010.
Translations:
“Poems” by David Leo García, The Drunken Boat [ Spring 2011
Nonfiction:
“A Conversation with Tina Chang: An Interview with the Poet,” Four Way Books Blog [ Spring 2013
“On Translating Mikhail Aizenburg: An Interview with translator J.Kates,” Hayden’s Ferry Review, 51, Winter 2012.
“Winter/Spring Poetry Roundup,” Hayden’s Ferry Review Blog [haydensferryreview.blogspot.com], Spring 2012
“Bridgework: A Conversation with the Poet Marilou Awiakta,” Revelader [ Winter/Spring 2010.
PUBLIC PRESENTATIONS
Readings
Edge 61, Tucson, AZ: Featured poet at series curated by Melissa Buckheit and held at the Casa Libre en La Solana (January, 2014).
Mixer Reading Series, New York, NY: Featured reader at this monthly New York reading series (December 2013).
“Xul Solar and Jorge Luis Borges: The Art of Friendship,” Phoenix, AZ: collaborated with poets Nathan Slinker, Ana Boca, & Spencer Hanvik and performed original work in response to the exhibit at the Phoenix Art Museum (November 2013).
Stjukshon Native Reading Series Fundraiser, Tucson, AZ: read with local celebrated writers to benefit the reading series (August 2013).
Arizona State University, MFA Reading Series, Tempe, AZ: 1 of 3 featured writers (annual, 2010-2013)
Charlotte Reading Series: 1 of 2 local Davidson poets featured at a local reading (2005).
Presentations
Lecturer. “Eye on the World: Baring Soles,” a Creative Arts Programme for high school students held at the National University of Singapore and sponsored by the Ministry of Education (2012).
Moderator. Craft Question and Answer Session with Tony Barnstone at The Virginia G. Piper Center (2011).
Moderator. Craft Question and Answer Session with Nicole Cooley at The Virginia G. Piper Center (2010).
TEACHING POSITIONS
January 2014-presentPhoenix Center for the Arts/Phoenikera Writer’s GuildPhoenix, AZ
Workshop Instructor & Program/Curriculum Developer
Intro to Poetry Writing
August 2013-presentArizona State University Tempe, AZ
Faculty Associate
ENG 108: First-Year Composition for Multilingual Writers
WAC 107: Stretch First-Year Composition for Multilingual Writers
August 2013-presentParadise Valley Community College Phoenix, AZ
Adjunct Faculty
ENG 101: First-Year Composition
ENG 102: First-Year Composition
August 2010-2013Arizona State University Tempe, AZ
Teaching Assistant
ENG 101: First-Year Composition (instructor)
ENG 102: First-Year Composition (instructor)
ENG 105: Advanced First-Year Composition (instructor)
ENG 287: Introduction to Poetry Writing (T.A. for Dr. Terry Hummer)
ENG 287: Introduction to Poetry Writing (instructor)
ENG 387: Intermediate Creative Writing, Poetry (T.A. for Dr. Cynthia Hogue)
Summer 2012National University of Singapore Singapore, Singapore
Co-Instructor
Introductory Fiction & Poetry Writing Workshop (summer term workshop offered in conjunction with the Virginia G. Piper House for Writing and NUS)
TEACHING DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOPS/ COURSES
ENG 594: Teaching Multilingual Composition, Paul Kei Matsuda, Fall 2013.
ENG 593: Pedagogy for Teaching Poetry, Creative Writing, T.R. Hummer, Fall 2011.
ENG 594: Continued Support for New TA’s, Shirley Rose & Zach Waggoner, Spring 2011.
ENG 594: Seminar for New TA’s, Shirley Rose & Zach Waggoner, Fall 2010.
Institute for Reading Development Training in Reading Instruction, Summer 2008.
RELATED PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2013-presentWaxwing Magazine Flagstaff, AZ
Translations Editor
2012-2013Hayden’s Ferry Review Tempe, AZ International Poetry Editor
2011-2012Four Way Books Tempe, AZ
Responsibilities included copyediting/proofing galleys, reading manuscripts under consideration for publication, interviewing authors, and other assorted projects.
Spring 2011Desert Nights, Rising Stars Writers’ Conference Tempe, AZ
Piper Center Ambassador
Responsibilities included serving as a host to visiting writer David Shields and introducing Shields at his reading for the conference’s opening reception.
Fall 2010-presentAssociation of Writers and Writers Programs
Member
Attend panels on creative writing pedagogy at the annual AWP conference.
July 2009-2010Parnassus: Poetry in ReviewNew York, NY
Editorial Assistant
Responsibilities included working as a part of a small team on Volume 32, reading and responding to nonfiction and poetry submissions, editing accepted nonfiction articles, and assisting with layout.
August 2008-2009Ministerio de Edcuación de España Granada, Spain
Fourth Grade Science instructed in English for ESL students
Third Grade Science instructed in English for ESL students
Tutored co-workers in English grammar, speaking, and writing
Summer 2008Institute of Reading Development Philadelphia, PA
Instructor
Entering 9th-11th Graders Summer Reading Course
Entering College Students/12th Graders: Reading Efficiency & Note-Taking
SPECIAL SKILLS
Fluent in Spanish; Proficient in: Adobe PageMaker, QuarkXPress, Powerpoint, Blackboard, Canvas; strong computer skills and quick mastery of new programs.
RESEARCH EXPERIENCE
Spring 2013Research Assistant to Cynthia Hogue
Responsibilities include aiding Cynthia Hogue with course preparation and delivering occasional lectures for ENG 387 (Intermediate Poetry Writing Workshop), a writing workshop with a special emphasis on poetic forms; providing feedback to and copy-editing various scholarly works in progress.
2011-2012Research Assistant to Alberto Ríos
Responsibilities include providing feedback to and assisting in the compilation of a forthcoming poetry manuscript and other ongoing creative projects; supporting graduate classroom organization; assisting in the revision and compilation of a series of dramatic monologues for Rios’s collaborative production, “Améxica: Tales of the Fourth World,” presented by James E. Garcia and Alberto Rios at the Center for Community Development and Civil Rights
2010-presentResearch Assistant and Ghost Writer for S. Lee Wright, S. Lee Wright Ltd. Architectural Interior Design
Responsibilities include working together on a book-length project about Wright’s design philosophy.
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Rhetoric & Composition American Modernism
Creative WritingWriting Pedagogy
Creative NonfictionTranslation Theory
Creative Writing PedagogySecond Language Writing Theory
PoeticsContemporary Spanish Poetry
HONORS , AWARDS, & FELLOWSHIPS
Spring 2014Tupelo Press Snowbound Chapbook Contest, Semi-Finalist
Spring 2013Teaching Excellence Award, Graduate and Professional Student Association, Arizona State University
Spring 2013AWP Intro Journal Project Award, Honorable Mention in Poetry
2011-2013AWP Professional Development Grant, Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing (annual travel grant).
Spring 2013Glendon and Kathryn Swarthout Award in Writing, Honorable Mention, Poetry, Arizona State University
2010-2012Piper Center Academic Fellowship, Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing (renewed annually)
2010University Graduate Fellowship, Arizona State University
2004-2008Patricia Cornwell Scholarship for Excellence in Writing, Davidson College, $20,000 per year.
2008Thomas J. Watson Fellowship, Fellowship Finalist
2006Dean Rusk Grant, Dean Rusk Center at Davidson College
2005R. Windley Hall Writing Award, Davidson College, First Place for manuscript of poems.
REFERENECS
Please feel free to contact any of my references.
Sally Ball, Assistant Professor and T.A. Mentor, Department of English, Arizona State
University, Tempe, AZ, 87287-0302; (480) 965-5829;
Cynthia Hogue, Maxine and Jonathan Marshall Chair in Modern and Contemporary
Poetry/Committee Chair, Department of English, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 87287-0302; (480) 965-7745; .
Herbert Leibowitz, Founder & Co-Editor, Parnassus Poetry in Review. 205 W. 89th St, #8F, NY,
NY 10024. 212-362-3492.
T.R. Hummer, Professor and T.A. Mentor, Department of English, Arizona State University,
Tempe, AZ, 87287-0302; (480) 965-7476;
Zachary Waggoner, TA Mentor 2010-2011, Associate Director of the Program in Writing and Rhetoric, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305; (650) 736-1422;