Kiara Koenig

Kiara Koenig

• pronunciation: key-r-ah, kay-nig
• pronouns: she/her/hers

I teach literature, creative writing, composition, critical thinking, and tutor training, sometimes within a single semester or a single course. My approach to teaching emphasizes analysis, craft, current topics, and interdisciplinary and intersectional perspectives. I believe that writers, like athletes and musicians, achieve their best results through a combination of practice, coaching, play, and a lot of hard work.

I believe students need opportunities to gain professional experience in their field of study, which is why I serve as the faculty advisor for Flumes, an online literary journal with an editorial staff of Yuba College students. I love language, imagery, and an engaging narrative. I want poetry “that is death-shaded, insecure, funny, tough. …that says to God, ‘I’m doing the best I can—what the hell more do you want from me?’” (D. Barresi) and prose that is “the perfect fist of words, melody, distortion, hope, beauty, and meaningful violence” (M. Ryan).

I've presented at national conferences, won prizes for fiction and poetry, coached nationally ranked speech and debate competitors, and I'm admittedly addicted to being active. Any day without a hike, swim, bike ride, kayak trip, strength training session or some other physically demanding activity is a waste. My husky, the Kodiak Bandit, wholeheartedly agrees. When in doubt, climb a mountain, jump in the water, take a photo, write something.

Class Schedule