About Michelle
Michelle earned her PhD in Literature and Creative Writing from the University of Houston and her MFA in Creative Writing from Columbia University. She published her first book, NO CRYING IN THE GARDEN in 2021. Michelle has received awards for her writing and pedagogy, and she currently resides in Northern Virginia where she works in Large Language Modelling and User Experience Design.
POETRY
ACADEMIC PRESENTATIONS
Spring 2021
GRADING THE UN-GRADABLE: REIMAGINING ASSESSMENT IN CREATIVE WRITING
ASSOCIATION OF WRITERS & POETS
2021 CONFERENCE
This panel discussion, presented virtually at the 2021 AWP Conference focused on rethinking our approaches to creative writing pedagogy. Much of the conversation addressed how we move forward as instructors post-COVID-19, and how the landscape of creative writing might shift moving forward.
Transcript (click here)
Fall 2019
CREATIVE WRITING IN NON-TRADITIONAL SETTINGS
TEXAS ASSOCIATION OF CREATIVE WRITING TEACHERS
2019 CONFERENCE
This panel discussion focused on the relationship between creative writing pedagogy and non-traditional classroom settings. Topics addressed included: teaching within communities that have been marginalized, creating space for emotional affect within the workshop, and re-imagining how we address trauma in writing, outside of academic settings.
Summer 2019
STRATEGIES FOR ADDRESSING ISSUES WITH SYLLABI AND ACTIVITIES
UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON
ANNUAL TEACHING FELLOWS ORIENTATION
This presentation, given to all incoming Graduate Teaching Fellows, addressed common issues and concerns in preparing for and effectively teaching undergraduate-level writing and rhetoric as well as best practices for interacting with undergraduate students.
Summer 2019
TRIGGERED: WRITING FROM WITHIN & OUTSIDE OF TRAUMA
BOLDFACE CONFERENCE FOR EMERGING WRITERS
This presentation addressed writing and workshopping trauma-related work in a manner that is sensitive while also being constructive. Through examining the work of poets such as Ocean Vuong and Patrick Rosal, this presentation considered how we can better accommodate writing as both practice and catharsis.
Transcript: (click here)
Winter 2018
THINKING BEYOND THE CLASSROOM SPACE: USING SOCIAL MEDIA AS A LEARNING TOOL
UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON
DECEMBER TEACHING CONFERENCE
Until recently, the notion of utilizing social media such as Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or TikTok was considered taboo. This prescient presentation offered suggestions on incorporating social media into classroom activities in service of helping students deploy what they have learned about effective rhetoric as they move through their everyday lives.
Spring 2017
BUT IS IT REALLY FUNNY THOUGH?: PERSPECTIVES ON SATIRE AS TRANSGRESSION IN ATLANTA, 30 ROCK & THE BOONDOCKS
LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY
GUMBO & ZYDECO CONFERENCE
This presentation explored the role and responsibility of satire immediately following the 2016 United States Presidential Election. Utilizing Mikhail Bakhtin’s characterizations of satire as a method of transgression or reaffirmation of the status quo, as well as Gayatri Spivak’s work on the subaltern and representation vs. re-presentation, this discussion analyzed how modern satirical programming such as Atlanta, The Boondocks, and 30 Rock offer effective models for satire as praxis.
Abstract: (click here)