Shayna Sharpe
Nonfiction | Cleveland State University | Class of 2022 (December)
“See You After a While” is a personal, powerful, and darkly funny read. Shayna's voice is full of raw honesty, and she shows us that even in the darkest moments, there is always a glimmer of hope…and humor. You’ll laugh when you know you probably shouldn’t, cry a few ugly tears, and nod along while reading this relatable tale of love, loss, and family.
About Shayna
After running a national media company for a number of years, Shayna decided to walk away from the corporate world to pursue her true passion of writing and earned an MFA in Creative Nonfiction through the NEOMFA program. She is a doctoral student at Kent State University starting in the fall of 2023, pursuing a PhD in Rhetoric & Composition.
Shayna teaches First Year Composition at Cleveland State University, as well as Data Visualization at the Cleveland Institute of Art. She volunteers teaching poetry workshops at the Cleveland Sight Center, as well as volunteers with Master Gardeners of Cuyahoga County and 4H doing youth and community horticultural education.
She and her husband live on the east side with their cats, flock of chickens, and backyard homestead.
SHAYNA'S FAST FACTS
Your favorite place to write while in the NEOMFA?
At home, in our library, looking out the front window with a cat sleeping on my desk. On campus, the silent study area, the second floor of the Cleveland State Library. Carrel by the window.
Do you have any eccentric habits/strategies to get you started writing? What are they?
I don’t know if it’s eccentric, but sometimes I have to play mind games with myself. Put on the header and title, then I can say I started. Or I just start writing gibberish to get me going. I have no idea what to write for this paper. I have a story idea about the time we locked the keys in the car on vacation but I can’t seem to get the words on the paper…
Your advice to an incoming MFA student?
It’s all about revision, revision, and revision. When I started I hated to revise, but it was the only way to really grow as a writer. Slash and burn, get radical. Revising our own work is so hard to do, but also very rewarding.
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English Department
Cleveland State University
2121 Euclid Ave., RT 1815
Cleveland, Ohio 44115