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Casandra Lopez

SAR Indigenous Writer in Residence Fellowship 2013

Casandra Lopez is of Cahuilla, Luiseno, Tongva, and Chicana descent. Through the SAR indigenous writer-in-residence program, Lopez plans to prepare her novel-in-stories for publication. When We Were Hunted centers on a California Indian/Mexican family grieving the loss of Michael, the complicated man they knew as their father. Each of the chapters/stories is told from one of three alternating perspectives, which include the two children and mother of the family. In writing about her work, she notes:

“Many of my research interests center on issues of place, specifically how place can act as an architect of thought and influence language, and the possibility of restoring a community’s connection to place. It is this intersection of place, history, culture and identity that I seek to explore in my stories.”

Toward the end of her tenure at SAR, Lopez will bring in renowned Pueblo author Evelina Zuni Lucero for three days of workshopping, followed by a public reading. Lucero (Isleta/San Juan Pueblo) is Chair of the Creative Writing Department at the Institute of American Indian Arts. She is also a much-published journalist and an author of novels and short stories.

Casandra Lopez received her MFA in Creative Writing/Fiction from the University of New Mexico in 2012. She also holds an MA in Educational Counseling from the University of Redlands and a BA in Design with a concentration in American Indian Studies from Cornell University. Her work has been featured in several publications, including “Remember This” and “Brain Bullet,” Caesura (2012); “What Remains,” Sakura (2012), “Between the Dust and City,” High Desert Journal, 14 (2011); and “When Later Sounds Like Love,” The Tower (internet publication, 2010.)

Lopez feels that the SAR fellowship will help hone her writing skills. She will be in residence from January 3–February 21, 2013.

Sponsored by Lannan Foundation.

Casandra Lopez, 2013 SAR Indigenous Writer in Residence. Photograph by Jason S. Ordaz.