The Department of Literatures in English / Creative Writing Program proudly presents the 2025 MFA in Creative Writing Graduation Reading!

Join the Graduating MFA Poets and fiction writers as they celebrate their MFA completion with readings from their thesis or works-in-progress!

Reception to follow in the English Lounge, 258 Goldwin Smith Hall

Free and open to the public

This event is presented by the Department of Literatures in English / Creative Writing Program at Cornell University

Em Setzer is a poet and translator from Maryland. They hold a BA in Creative Writing and Classics from Bard College. Their translations have appeared in Asymptote as well as LESBIANTIQUITY, and their poetry can be found in a variety of places, such as BULLSHIT LIT. Their first micro-collection ERATO, published by rinky dink press, is out now.

Amir McClam (he/they) is a writer, educator, and ceramicist from Buffalo, New York. He earned a B.S. in Psychology from Howard University in 2022. Amir is currently an MFA student in Poetry at Cornell, where he teaches Race, Writing, and Power. He has previously worked as an assistant editor for Epoch Magazine and The Amistad. Their writing explores Black queer and trans feminisms, embodiment, and the relational healing that fosters social transformation. Amir's poems can be found in Nimrod International Journal and The Amistad.

Matthew Bettencourt (he/him) earned an undergraduate degree from the UW Madison Creative Writing department and formerly served as Editor-in-Chief at the Madison Review. He is currently an MFA student at Cornell University, where he is an assistant editor at the Epoch Literary Magazine.

Aishvarya Arora (b. Hanumangarh, India) is a poet, educator, and cultural worker from Queens, New York.  Aishvarya has received support from the Fulbright Program and the Asian American Writers’ Workshop, where they were a Poetry Coalition Fellow. Currently, Aishvarya is an MFA candidate in Poetry at Cornell University. Their work is featured in, or forthcoming from, Poetry Northwest, The Margins, The Hopkins Review, Apogee, and others. 

Ngoc Pham is a Poet graduating with an MFA in Creative Writing from Cornell.

Born to a Japanese mother and an American father, Hana Widerman is a poet originally from California. She graduated from Princeton University with a degree in English and Creative Writing and won the James Richardson Award in Poetry. She is currently an MFA student at Cornell University, where she was the 2024 recipient of the George Harmon Coxe Poetry Prize. Her poetry appears or is forthcoming in The Threepenny Review, The Journal, The Washington Square Review, The Offing, The Shore, and on The Poetry Society.

Currently on Cornell's campus, masking is encouraged.
Please check Cornell's up to date COVID-19 policy for visitors to campus here.

We strive to host inclusive, accessible events that enable all individuals, including individuals with disabilities, to engage fully. To be respectful of those with allergies and environmental sensitivities, we ask that you please refrain from wearing strong fragrances. The venue is wheelchair accessible. If you need additional accommodations to participate in this event, please contact us as soon as possible.

Cornell University is located on the traditional homelands of the Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫ' (the Cayuga Nation). The Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫ' are members of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, an alliance of six sovereign Nations with a historic and contemporary presence on this land. The Confederacy precedes the establishment of Cornell University, New York state, and the United States of America. We acknowledge the painful history of Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫ' dispossession and honor the ongoing connection of Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫ' people, past and present, to these lands and waters.