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ExploreCreative Writing
All members of our Creative Writing faculty are writers themselves. Our interests include environmental literature, hybrid forms, text and image, ecopoetry, creative writing informed by history and research, linguistics, language preservation, creative nonfiction and memoir, speculative fiction, graphic novels, and more.
This program is designed to offer students a strong foundation in craft, creativity, and criticism, as well as a solid understanding of Native and World literature.
Throughout the program, students have many opportunities to read publicly and develop their own voice. Students work with a faculty member to design, edit, and publish an annual anthology of creative writing and art. With our small class sizes, we offer individualized attention and feedback. Creative Writing students also have the opportunity to work with a broad array of visiting writers from the local Lannan Literary Foundation. The Creative Writing program offers many opportunities for scholarships, recognition, and fellowships to national writing conferences.
IAIA Anthology: A Song to Remember
Sometimes a song reminds us of a time and place from long ago. Sometimes it’s a friend we carry in our pocket when lonely—hard times rock our souls. A song can bring us joy, give us courage, inspire us to move forward, or invite us to the dance floor.
As singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder once said, “Music, at its essence, is what gives us memories.”
This spring, students in my Advanced Composition and Podcasting class at the Institute of American Indian Arts were writing about a favorite song when they went home for spring break. Then COVID-19 appeared and campus was closed.
But students kept writing and attending class on ZOOM. And soon, thanks to cell phones and the Internet, along with efforts by Engineer Jane Pipik and me, a new series of Song Essays emerged.
While each of us has our own path, what we listen to on the journey can and does make all the difference.
Here now, A Song to Remember.
—Deborah Begel, IAIA Adjunct Professor
“A Song to Remember” Personnel
- Hokian Win McCloud (Dakota Sioux/Yakama/Puyallup)
- Greg Ebona (Tlingit/Haida)
- Davina Millay Gomez (Pomo/Hopi/Diné/Mexican)
- Matthew Stout
- Charmaine Kinale (Hopi/Tewa)
- Willard Claschee (Shoshone/Paiute)
- KamiJo Whiteclay (Aspáalooke)
- Jacquelyn Yepa (Diné/Walatowa)
Deborah Begel Executive Producer of Radio IAIA, has been producing radio news reports, documentaries and literary features for local, national and international programs and stations for nearly four decades. She’s also a co-founder of the Association of Independents in Radio. Begel has been teaching English and writing for about 15 years.
Jane Pipik, Mix Engineer, Sound Designer, Radio IAIA. Jane Pipik was a production and recording engineer for public broadcasting for 35 years in New York and Boston. Pipik is now a freelance audio archivist. She once recorded Anthrax live in the Boston area for a radio broadcast.
Hokian Win’s Sidestep
It’s Just a Stop
Sleepless on Route 509
Popping into Personality
“Da Khila”
Drowning in November Rain
We Press Play, Don’t Press Pause
Wardance!
Creative Writing Core Faculty

James Thomas Stevens, MFA
(Akwesasne Mohawk)
Department Chair
Associate Professor
Creative Writing
P (505) 424-2377
E jstevens@iaia.edu
Biography

Anne Haven McDonnell, MA, MFA
Associate Professor
Creative Writing
P (505) 424-5733
E amcdonnell@iaia.edu
Biography

Kim Parko, MFA
Associate Professor
Creative Writing
P (505) 424-5780
E kparko@iaia.edu