Susan Straight | |
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Straight in 2010
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Born |
Riverside, California, U.S. |
October 19, 1960
Alma mater | Riverside Community College, University of Southern California, University of Massachusetts Amherst |
Occupation | Writer |
Susan Straight (born October 19, 1960) is an American writer. She was a National Book Award finalist for the novel Highwire Moon in 2001.
Susan Straight has published six novels, a novel for young readers and a children's book. She has also written essays and articles for numerous national publications, including The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Nation and Harper's Magazine, and is a frequent contributor to NPR and Salon.com. Her story "Mines," first published in Zoetrope All Story, was included in Best American Short Stories 2003.
Straight lives in Riverside, California. She has three daughters: Gaila (b. 1989), Delphine (b. 1991), and Rosette (b. 1995). Her oldest daughter graduated from Oberlin College. Her second daughter graduated from the University of Southern California. Her youngest daughter is now attending the University of Southern California.
Straight attended John W. North High School in Riverside, California and took classes at Riverside Community College while in high school. She went on to earn a scholarship to the University of Southern California and, in 1984, earned her M.F.A. from the University of Massachusetts Amherst's MFA Program for Poets & Writers. She co-founded the Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing & Writing for the Performing Arts program at University of California, Riverside, where she is currently a Distinguished Professor of Creative Writing and the director of the graduate program.