NEOMFA
Campuses
NEOMFA is located in the industrial Midwest—a rapidly changing and evolving part of the country, rich with history, imagery, and stories.
Rubber, rust, steel, salt—
Great Lake; Crooked River.
Folk art, modern art, art deco
Rock-n-roll, punk rock, garage rock—Hall of Fame
Black Keys, DEVO, Dead Boys.
Old story, new story, ghost story, your story
Young voices, fresh voices—your voice
Mahoning Valley, Erie Canal—
Lift bridges, covered bridges.
Akron, Kent, Cleveland, Youngstown:
Four cities, one community—unlimited possibilities
We seek to help our students connect with this context artistically in whatever manner enhances their growth as writers and readers. Compounding the resources of the four participating universities—Cleveland State University, Kent State University, University of Akron, and Youngstown State University—the NEOMFA’s unique design enables students to engage with university presses, campus literary magazines, poetry centers, reading series, high-profile visiting writers as well as the regional community outside the university.
Rubber, rust, steel, salt—
Great Lake; Crooked River.
Folk art, modern art, art deco
Rock-n-roll, punk rock, garage rock, Hall of Fame
Black Keys, Devo, Dead Boys.
Old story, new story, ghost story, your story
Young voices, fresh voices—your voice
Mahoning Valley, Erie Canal—
Lift bridges, covered bridges.
Akron, Kent, Cleveland, Youngstown:
Four cities, one community—unlimited possibilities
University of Akron
Our Location: Olin Hall, 361 Buchtel Common
Campus Coordinator: David Giffels
Contact: (330) 972-6604 | dg36@uakron.edu
It is a town whose history bespeaks great highs and tragic lows, built by the growth and subsequent removal of the rubber industry from its streets. This isn’t something you’ll know going in, but there’s baggage in everything, and, like any broken place, it rebuilt itself into something new, something better. It’s resilient, this city, and found its second life in art created out of that resilience.
It is a town whose history bespeaks great highs and tragic lows, built by the growth and subsequent removal of the rubber industry from its streets. This isn’t something you’ll know going in, but there’s baggage in everything, and, like any broken place, it rebuilt itself into something new, something better. It’s resilient, this city, and found its second life in art created out of that resilience.
It is a town whose history bespeaks great highs and tragic lows, built by the growth and subsequent removal of the rubber industry from its streets. This isn’t something you’ll know going in, but there’s baggage in everything, and, like any broken place, it rebuilt itself into something new, something better. It’s resilient, this city, and found its second life in art created out of that resilience.
It is a town whose history bespeaks great highs and tragic lows, built by the growth and subsequent removal of the rubber industry from its streets. This isn’t something you’ll know going in, but there’s baggage in everything, and, like any broken place, it rebuilt itself into something new, something better. It’s resilient, this city, and found its second life in art created out of that resilience.
It is a town whose history bespeaks great highs and tragic lows, built by the growth and subsequent removal of the rubber industry from its streets. This isn’t something you’ll know going in, but there’s baggage in everything, and, like any broken place, it rebuilt itself into something new, something better. It’s resilient, this city, and found its second life in art created out of that resilience.
—KATIE MERTZ | NEOMFA ’15 | PASTRY CHEF + OPERATIONS MANAGER, ASTERISK COFFEE BAR
Akron fun facts:
- In Greek, Akron means “a high place.”
- We are the hometown of Rita Dove & LeBron James.
- The Dum Dum lollipop, which originated at the Akron Candy Company in 1924, was created here. They are so named because sales manager I.C. Bahr thought “dum dum” would be easy for kids to say.
- Akron was once known as the center of airship development. The Loral Airdock—where Goodyear once built blimps and now only houses them—is one of the largest buildings without interior supports. It’s 22 stories high and could accommodate four football games at once. Its height and atmosphere actually produce rain inside.
Places we 
in Akron:
Annabelle’s in Highland Square
Pots & Pans for Jamaican Cuisine
Mr. Zub’s Deli for 2 AM eats
Bars & graveyards for writing
Cleveland State University
Our Location: 1860 East 22nd Street, Rhodes Tower
Campus Coordinator: Mike Geither
Contact: 216-258-5524 | m.geither@csuohio.edu
Cleveland fun facts:
- Let there be light! Cleveland was the first city to be lit electrically in 1879. It’s also the first to use an electric traffic signal, installed on Euclid Avenue and East 105th Street.
- Our native sons include Screamin’ Jay Hawkins and the creators of Superman, Joe Schuster and Jerry Siegel
Places we in Cleveland:
Mahall’s for bowling
Corky’s Place (karaoke 7 days a week)
Rising Star Coffee & Cleveland Public Library for writing
What a stunner, to travel the world and discover that the loveliest, zaniest, most sherbet-reminiscent sunsets were in Cleveland, Ohio, all along?
The better part of least one NEOMFA thesis was composed at Detroit Shoreway’s retail anchor and Cleveland’s best coffee shop, Gypsy Beans & Bakery Co. Pages upon pages of workshop notes have been considered, then ignored or burned, over beers at The Parkview and XYZ the Tavern. Creative duress has been extinguished or momentarily cast aside during late-night excursions to Tina’s Nite Club...
The better part of least one NEOMFA thesis was composed at Detroit Shoreway’s retail anchor and Cleveland’s best coffee shop, Gypsy Beans & Bakery Co. Pages upon pages of workshop notes have been considered, then ignored or burned, over beers at The Parkview and XYZ the Tavern. Creative duress has been extinguished or momentarily cast aside during late-night excursions to Tina’s Nite Club...
The better part of least one NEOMFA thesis was composed at Detroit Shoreway’s retail anchor and Cleveland’s best coffee shop, Gypsy Beans & Bakery Co. Pages upon pages of workshop notes have been considered, then ignored or burned, over beers at The Parkview and XYZ the Tavern. Creative duress has been extinguished or momentarily cast aside during late-night excursions to Tina’s Nite Club...
—SAM ALLARD | NEOMFA ’12 | SENIOR WRITER, CLEVELAND SCENE MAGAZINE
Kent State University
Our Location: Satterfield Hall, 475 Janik Drive
Campus Coordinator: Catherine Wing
Contact: (330) 672-1743 | cwing1@kent.edu
The recent revitalization of Kent’s downtown area has not erased its history. The glass lines of modern architecture reflect the repurposed mills. Now home to art galleries and local small businesses, the buildings of bygone industry stand a proud watch; below them, the long defunct canal lock and dam.
The recent revitalization of Kent’s downtown area has not erased its history. The glass lines of modern architecture reflect the repurposed mills. Now home to art galleries and local small businesses, the buildings of bygone industry stand a proud watch; below them, the long defunct canal lock and dam.
The recent revitalization of Kent’s downtown area has not erased its history. The glass lines of modern architecture reflect the repurposed mills. Now home to art galleries and local small businesses, the buildings of bygone industry stand a proud watch; below them, the long defunct canal lock and dam.
The recent revitalization of Kent’s downtown area has not erased its history. The glass lines of modern architecture reflect the repurposed mills. Now home to art galleries and local small businesses, the buildings of bygone industry stand a proud watch; below them, the long defunct canal lock and dam.
—RYAN LIND | NEOMFA '17
Kent fun facts:
- The band Devo was formed at Kent State by art students Gerald Casale and Bob Lewis and Mark Mothersbaugh, who also came up with the concept of “de-evolution.” Their first performance (as “Sextet Devo”) was held at the Kent State Performing Arts Festival in April 1973.
- Famous Alums: Drew Carey and Michael Keaton (Although Carey didn’t graduate—after being expelled twice he moved on to the US Marine Corps)
- Parking is strictly enforced everywhere, all the time.
Places we in Kent:
Downtown by the bridge is the best place to write. It’s hard not to be drawn to a river.
Taco Tontos for 2 AM eats
Youngstown State University
Our Location: Debartolo Hall, 119 Armed Forces Blvd.
Campus Coordinator: Christopher Barzak
Contact: (330) 941-1653 | cmbarzak@ysu.edu
Natural beauty and man-made decay, living side by side, united into a single harmony for me by my mother’s tales that blended history with folklore, the mundane with the wonderful. That same strange amalgamation made its way into my writing.
Natural beauty and man-made decay, living side by side, united into a single harmony for me by my mother’s tales that blended history with folklore, the mundane with the wonderful. That same strange amalgamation made its way into my writing.
Natural beauty and man-made decay, living side by side, united into a single harmony for me by my mother’s tales that blended history with folklore, the mundane with the wonderful. That same strange amalgamation made its way into my writing.
Natural beauty and man-made decay, living side by side, united into a single harmony for me by my mother’s tales that blended history with folklore, the mundane with the wonderful. That same strange amalgamation made its way into my writing.
—COURI JOHNSON | NEOMFA ’15
Youngstown fun facts:
- Bruce Springsteen composed the song “Youngstown” for his 1995 album The Ghost of Tom Joad. The “my sweet Jenny” referred to in the song is the Jeannette blast furnace. (Source: Vindicator 11-22-95, A1:2)
- Martin Scorcese used so many stories from the Youngstown mob in Goodfellas that he dedicated the film to Youngstown.
Places we in Youngstown:
Mill Creek Park is the best place to write
Wedgewood Pizza
© 2021 NEOMFA
English Department
Cleveland State University
2121 Euclid Ave., RT 1815
Cleveland, Ohio 44115