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Kim
Addonizio
Poet/novelist
A self-described "late-bloomer," she discovered poetry in her
late 20s as a liberal studies undergrad. She went on to earn an M.A. in
creative writing—and critical acclaim. "Tell Me," her third
collection of poetry, was a finalist for a 2000 National Book Award.  |
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Po Bronson
Novelist
He gave up a lucrative career as a bond trader to study creative writing at SF State, where his best-selling novel
"Bombardiers" began life as a writing assignment for a class.
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Ernest
J. Gaines
Novelist
This author of the bestselling "A Lesson Before Dying" says the biggest thrill
of his career remains the day that an SF State literary journal published
his story "The Turtles" in the '50s. |
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Gerald Haslam
Writer
After earning a B.A. and M.A. in English at SF State, he achieved critical acclaim
for his fiction focused on rural California, including the Western Literature
Association's Distinguished Achievement Award. |
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Devorah Major
Poet/Novelist
This San Francisco Poet Laureate's father was the first director
of the Educational Opportunity Program at San Francisco State. She
arrived on campus right after the student strikes and found her home
in the Black Studies department where she devoured the curriculum. |
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Frances
Mayes
Author
This alumna returned to SF State to teach literature but after the success of "Under
the Tuscan Sun" and "Bella Tuscany," she said arrivederci so she could
write full time. |
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Michael McClure
Poet
One of the Beat period's most accomplished poets, he's well-known for authoring
the controversial poem "The Beard" but less known for co-writing Janis Joplin's
1971 hit, Mercedes Benz. |
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Janice Mirikitani
Poet/activist
She marched in demonstrations at SF State during the turbulent '60s and went on to become San Francisco's
2000 poet laureate and executive director/president of the Glide Foundation.
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Anne Rice
Novelist
She and her late husband, Stan—the inspiration for the vampire Lestat in "Interview
With the Vampire"—earned
BAs together in 1964. She stayed on for a master's program, he to teach and
run the Poetry Center.
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Philip Schultz
Poet
"Failure," the title of his sixth collection of poems, is a bit ironic considering it won this English graduate the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for poetry. |
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Cole Swensen
Poet
One of five writers whose poetry collections were nominated for a 2004 National
Book Award, she says former professors
including Nanos Valaoritis and Frances Mayes helped her hone her craft. |
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Gail
Tsukiyama
Novelist
She had her eye on a film career when she started at SF State but fell in
love with language instead and now writes such bestsellers as "Women of the
Silk" and "Dreaming Water." |
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Thomas Watkins
Writer, teacher
This late environmental writer edited the Wilderness Society's
magazine and served as the first Wallace Stegner Distinguished
Professor of Western American Studies at Montana State University.
His numerous publications include a Harold Ickes biography, a finalist
for the National Book Award. |
