American poet
Melissa Studdard was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and is an American author, poet, talk show host, and professor. Her most recent book is the poetry collection "Dear Selection Committee." The title poem from her collection "I Ate the Cosmos for Breakfast" was produced as a short film and featured as an official selection at the Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival and the Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Film Festival. Her middle-grade novel, "Six Weeks to Yehidah" won a Forward National Literature Award and Pinnacle Book Achievement Award. The accompanying journal, "My Yehidah", was released in December 2011 and was adopted by art and play therapists for clinical use in adolescent therapy sessions.
Studdard is a full-time college professor at Lone Star College–Tomball. She is the former host and producer of VIDA "Voices &amp; Views" for . In her podcast work she has interviewed such figures as Jane Hirshfield, Rita Dove, Julia Cameron, Robert Pinsky, Patricia Smith, Cheryl Strayed, Joy Harjo, and Krista Tippett. Studdard is also a past president of the Women's Caucus and moderated their annual meeting at the Association of Writers &amp; Writing Programs conference.
She is also an honorary Professor at the International Art Academy in Volos, Greece. She co-hosts the poetry series "Poems You Need" with Kelli Russell Agodon.
Early life.
Melissa Studdard was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States, and was raised in Texas. She received her B.A. (1991) and M.A. (1995) from the University of Houston, and her M.F.A. (1997) from Sarah Lawrence College. 
While at the University of Houston, Studdard worked on the college's literary journal, "Gulf Coast", as a production editor, curated the "Gulf Coast Reading Series", and taught college courses for the Houston Community College System. 
While at Sarah Lawrence College, she worked as an assistant editor at Chelsea (magazine) and taught for City University of New York at Baruch College, John Jay College, and Hunter College. She then briefly taught at San Jose State University and the University of Houston–Downtown, prior to accepting a full-time teaching position with Lone Star College in 2001. 
Works.
Selected short works.
Studdard's work has been published in multiple journals, magazines, newspapers, blogs sites, and anthologies, including "The New York Times", The Best American Poetry, Ms. Magazine, Poetry (magazine), "The Guardian", "The Academy of American Poets' Poem-a-Day", "Southern Humanities Review", "Kenyon Review", "Harvard Review", "Verse Daily", "Missouri Review", and "Psychology Today".
References.
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