Texas State MFA

Poetry Professor Dr. Cecily Parks has been named the winner of the 2026 Rilke Prize for her collection THE SEEDS! Granted by the University of North Texas, the award includes a $10,000 prize and visit to UNT on November 4-5 for a reading and book signing.

Of the winning collection, the judges write: “THE SEEDS…is born of a mother’s desire to confront and understand the damage scarring the world even as she attends to its abundance.”

THE SEEDS was also a finalist for the PEN/Voelcker Award, and was recently reviewed by MFA Poetry alum Melanie Robinson for The Rumpus.

Congratulations, Cecily!

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Texas State Department of English
TXST Liberal Arts
Alice James Books

Current first-year fiction student Burgin Streetman spoke about her life in books, being a writer and artist, teaching, and returning to school as part of Vol. 48 of the recent PechaKucha San Antonio presentations.

Dedicated to visual and concise storytelling, this unique presentation format consists of 20 images, each shown for 20 seconds, collected to tell a larger story.

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The Graduate College at Texas State University
Texas State Department of English
TXST Liberal Arts

The program cordially invites you to join us for our annual 3rd Year Reading, featuring graduating MFA students! 🎓

When: Thursday, May 14, 1-3 PM
Where: Katherine Anne Porter Literary Center

We hope to see you there! ✨

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The Graduate College at Texas State University
Texas State Department of English
TXST Liberal Arts

Excited to welcome back Marise McDermott ('96), a graduate of the Texas State MFA Creative Writing program in Fiction and the new executive director of The Wittliff Collections 📖

“This will be the front door of the university,” McDermott says. “It will be a destination.” 💫

Marise McDermott Takes the Helm of The Wittliff Collections, Spearheads New Cultural Center for Spring Lake Newly appointed Wittliff Director Marise McDermott leads a $40M expansion of The Wittliff Collections, including a Spring Lake cultural center to serve as TXST’s “front door” with exhibits

On April 1, the Department of English and MFA Program had the pleasure of celebrating the work of dear colleague Naomi Shihab Nye at the Katherine Anne Porter Literary Center. 💫

Of the event, MFA Program Director Charlotte Pence writes: "We had a beautiful farewell reading for the legendary poet Naomi Shihab Nye! Her words have long reminded us to find tenderness in the everyday and it was a joy to celebrate her and the lasting mark she's made on our community."

As comes to a close, we’re still buzzing over Associate Professor Dr. Cecily Parks’ recognition as a finalist for the 2026 PEN Voelcker Award for Poetry Collection for her book, THE SEEDS (Alice James Books). 🌱

Last month, Dr. Parks was honored along with other finalists and winners at the in New York City.

Of THE SEEDS, PEN America writes, “Far-reaching and layered, this is a vivid and sometimes dark examination of womanhood, domesticity, and our relationship with nature.”

Congratulations again, Cecily! ✨

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Texas State Department of English
TXST Liberal Arts