Faculty Mentors

Poetry, Creative Nonfiction Mentor

Fiction, Creative Nonfiction Mentor

Program Coordinator/ Fiction, Creative Nonfiction Mentor

"My emphasis is threefold: challenging students to think about their writing personally, providing them the guidance to produce original work, and instilling in them a respect for process, as well as the traditions that guide it."

Fiction, Creative Nonfiction Mentor

"I offer feedback that avoids being purely prescriptive and aims to ignite rich dialogue. I want students to tell the best version of the story they want to tell."

Stage & Screen, Fiction Mentor

"Every student is on a voyage, and everything I do as an educator is to encourage you to find your voice, muse, self, bliss, fun, and fulfillment in your art and craft."

Poetry Mentor

"'Criticism should tell you what is there,’ wrote the painter Fairfield Porter, and I agree. When we critique a poem in a workshop, we are trying to do exactly that, knowing that neither the writer nor the individual reader is ever able to see all of ‘what is there.'"

Stage & Screen Mentor

"My teaching philosophy has been to meet the students where they're at. In a creative field that means looking at where the students are starting from and nurturing those skills that they have in order to encourage them to get their projects completed."

Creative Nonfiction, Poetry Mentor

“My approach to teaching changes with each student and depends upon the genre or subject matter. I often find myself returning to ‘the basics’—balance, conciseness, tone, the musical qualities of the language, engaging the reader’s senses."

Fiction Mentor

"In one-on-one mentorship, I enjoy getting to know each student well. Knowing you helps me understand why you’re writing, and why your book matters. We’ll discuss fundamental elements of fiction as well as ideas particular to your work."

Stage & Screen Mentor

"My approach to teaching playwriting is a straightforward one. I help students develop a methodology for learning to write their own kind of plays and prepare them for the collaborative process."

Fiction, Creative Nonfiction Mentor

"I seek to develop a strong relationship with my students, and from a place of mutual trust, I have seen amazing growth happen with the students I have been lucky to work with. You will have no greater cheerleader in your corner than I will be when you start having the breakthroughs we both want to see."

Creative Nonfiction, Fiction Mentor

“I hope my comments and critiques will inspire curiosity, challenge your preconceived notions regarding the 'rules' of fiction, and encourage you to experiment with both form and content. My goal is to help each author complete the semester with a greater understanding of how to make a piece more successful."

Creative Nonfiction, Fiction Mentor

"My aim is to cultivate distinctive voices, not force them into a box. I also push students to move beyond the idea that we must ‘write what we know.’ The most exciting work often comes from brave risks."

Stage & Screen Mentor

"For me the beauty of theater is that it lives. It is not an artifact. It wrestles with us and forces us to wrestle with it. Plays live in real time; actors can reach out and touch you."

Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Poetry Mentor

"I accept that everything I write is an important step in the journey I’m on as a writer and a person. If we can build that realization into the process, then we can take a deep breath, get on with the work, and enjoy every minute of it because we know it’s taking us where we ultimately want to go."

Poetry Mentor

“Part of my teaching philosophy reflects an interest in how an individual’s vision can change, strengthen, alter, and interact with the world, beginning in community. I seek to promote creativity through finding an honest voice."

Creative Nonfiction, Fiction, Poetry Mentor

"The creative writing teacher cannot ‘teach’ her students to be writers. Rather, I attempt to aid and abet my students in thinking about, exploring, experimenting with, and working through the creative process. In doing so, I assume the multiple guises of mentor, guide, professional advisor, sympathetic reader, audience at large, critic, and collaborator."

Creative Nonfiction, Fiction Mentor

"I teach the discipline of revising and self-editing and try to foster honest critical dialogue. I encourage my students to read avidly, to take emotional risks and keep revising until they get it right."

Poetry Mentor

"I tend to be a nuts-and-bolts mentor, a ‘poetry home repair’ guy, not fond of theory, especially the post-modernist variety. I try to assess my students’ strengths and weaknesses and go from there, always being as supportive as I can."

Poetry Mentor

“As a mentor, I look for ways to empower writers to add and discover new points and directions. My calling as a teacher is to help students embark on fulfilling creative lives."

Stage & Screen Mentor

"Part of my job teaching structure is helping students categorize and highlight the things they find most interesting in their own personal worlds. Writing anything can be a frightening and lonely task. A good teacher is there to help students when they are stuck, and to get out of their way when they are moving forward."

Creative Nonfiction, Fiction, Poetry Mentor

"Intention—that’s a word I use a lot when working with my MFA students. I try to make it clear that in early drafts of any creative work, intention doesn’t have a place, because coming to the page already knowing what you want to say is not a good thing. Whether one is writing a poem, a memoir, or a short story, there must be a suspension of that knowing, to exist in a place of, as Charles Simic calls it, 'The Uncertain Certainty.'"

Assistant, Program Coordinator

"Having once been in the students’ shoes, I understand how it feels to step into a program like this—excited, nervous, and not entirely sure what lies ahead. I feel very lucky to have been able to stay on with UNO after graduation because what I found here wasn’t just a writing program but also a vibrant, supportive community. I believe that the best creative growth happens in spaces that feel both safe and inspiring, where writers can take risks, stumble, and still feel seen."

As the founder of our MFA, Richard played a pivotal role in shaping its mission and community. In recognition of his invaluable contributions, we are proud to offer the Richard Duggin Fellowship, made possible through his generous support.