C.A. Coffing holds an MFA in writing from Lindenwood University. A self-published novelist and playwright, her work has been published in Flash Fiction Magazine and elsewhere. She was a 2013 Santé Fe Writers project Finalist, third prize recipient in Flash Fiction Magazine’s 2021 contest and a 2022 Pushcart Prize nominee. Her written work has appeared in live theatre showings throughout the Pacific Northwest, including a series of social/environmental justice themed plays for Reach for The Sky July, a program for at risk youth. She currently writes, teaches dance and waits tables in a small river town.
Cristie Coffing
Name some artists that have influenced you: Writers that have influenced my career along the journey include Alice Hoffman, Joan Didion, Zora Neale Hurston, Raymond Carver, Sam Shepard and Tommy Orange. I have to admit; I am a mystery fanatic and love reading the works of Andrea Camilleri, Elly Griffiths and many other whodunnits.
Share an artistic accomplishment you are proud of: For fourteen years, I was gifted with the opportunity to write student inspired plays with a social and/or environmental justice theme for at risk youth. I am sincerely proud to say that I was able to convey my love of theatre and writing and was the happy recipient of many learning opportunities provided to me by the students. As a group, we learned that if we can dream it, we can write it!
Why do you teach art? Every day we are creating stories — our stories, our lives. We are creating art in the world in one form or another, be it gardening, raising children, working, or going to school. One of my greatest pleasures lies in helping to expand and explore the natural artistic abilities we all possess through writing. The art of writing provides a vehicle with which to explore, imagine, and make sense of the world, a way to conjure and channel magic and possibilities.