Anna Joy Springer

M.F.A. (Brown)

Associate Professor of Writing

Academic Senate Distinguished Teaching Award Winner, 2010
Recipient of UCSD Chancellor's Associates Faculty Excellence Award
UCSD Hellman Fellow

Writing of Fiction, Hybrid Forms, and Graphic Texts

Anna Joy Springer received her M.F.A in Literary Arts from Brown University. Teaching interests: graphic texts and comics, punk rock, feminist ethics, anti-establishment literatures, Buddhist praxis, and radical literary arts pedagogies

Distinguished Teaching Award -- fall, 2010

Chancellor's Associates Faculty Excellence Award for Visual Arts and Performance -- spring, 2013

Books

The Birdwisher, Birds of Lace Press, December, 2009

The Vicious Red Relic, Love, Jaded Ibis Press, August 2011

The Vicious Red Relic, Love [The Forests]: A Companion To The Memoir, Jaded Ibis Press, February, 2013

Selected Recent Graphic Texts, Short Stories, Essays, and Memoir

“The Blackbird II,” “The Crow,” and “The Swan II,” (From Thieves with Tiny Eyes, novel in progress) LTTR 4 Do You Wish To Direct Me?), edited by Ulrike Mueller, K8 Hardy, Ginger Brooks Takahashi, and Emily Roysdon, Printed Matter, Inc., fall 2005. (43-45).

“Kathy Acker’s Mystickle Snail and Bone Pedagogy; or, My Cannibble Entreaty Dear,” Encyclopedia, edited by Tisa Bryant, Miranda Mellis, and Kate Schatz, spring 2006. (10-13).

“The Forest of Clashing Erotics,” (from novel in progress, The Vicious Red Relic, Love, C.1 page 107), Sidebrow digital journal, winter 2006. http://www.sidebrow.net/

“The Forest of Clashing Erotics,” (from novel in progress, The Vicious Red Relic, Love), C.1. page 107, Sidebrow 1 2008 Anthology, October 2008. (24). (print, perfect bound version of above)

“My Pride and Broken Buzzers,” Working Sex: Sex Workers Write About A Changing Industry, Ed. Tara Perkins, Seal Press, winter 2007. (264-276).

Excerpts from The Vicious Red Relic, Love, from Suspect Thoughts: A Journal of Subversive Writing #18, “Utopia Means Nowhere,” Ed. Peggy Munson, winter, 2007. http://www.suspectthoughtspress.com/springer.htm

“Forests,” “Goddess,” and “Inanna”, (solicited excerpts from The Vicious Red Relic, Love) Encyclopedia F-K, edited by Tisa Bryant, Miranda Mellis, and Kate Schatz, fall 2008. (139-144)

“Pneumonic Devices” ArtXX: Women in Art, Issue 1, edited by Francesca Austin Ochoa, fall 2008.

“The Mafia Man in Two Voices” [out of nothing] electronic magazine, Winter 2009, ed. Janice Lee, Eric Lindley, and Joe Milazzo. http://www.outofnothing.org/509/

“Metamorphabulous”, introduction to The Evolutionary Revolution by Lily Hoang, Les Figues Press, 2010. (vii-xiv)

“Slime Mold as Power Animal” Facilitate This ed. EE Miller, Fall 2010. http://www.nonsitecollective.org/system/files/The Slime Mold as Power Animal.pdf

“The Seagull,” “The Vulture,” “The Lark,” “The Albatross,” and “The Peacock.” (From Thieves with Tiny Eyes, novel in progress Thieves With Tiny Eyes) Joyland, edited by Matt Timmons (July, 2011). http://www.joylandmagazine.com/stories/los_angeles/thieves_tiny_eyes_excerpt

“Variations on a Theme: The Ruling Class Rules for Realism,” Eleven Eleven 12 Winter 2012. http://www.elevenelevenjournal.com/2012/01/25/anna-springer/

“Thieves Rebus” NAP 2.9, Ed. by Janey Smith, Aug, 2012. (29-31)

“The Forest of Despots’ Daughters,” a rebus. Pank (LGBTQ Issue), Guest edited by Tim Jones-Yelvington (Fall 2012). http://www.pankmagazine.com/the-forest-of-despots/

“Identity as Encounter: I as Thou in Discontinuous Memoir,” essay. Bombay Gin Literary Magazine 39.1, February 2013. (54-62)

“CONNIE SAMARAS: ORACLE APOSTATE” for the artist book Tales of Tomorrow for survey show at The Armory in Pasadena (Armory Press, Pasadena, May 2013. DAP, NYC, Distributor). (77)

“Diagetic” No More Potlucks 32: Perform, Edited by Mél Hogan & M-C MacPhee, Winter, 2014. http://nomorepotlucks.org/site/diagetic-an-excerpt-from-art-in-heaven-anna-joy-springer/

“Even if it’s Bad: Eileen Myles and Anna Joy Springer In Conversation,” No More Potlucks 34: Failure, edited by Mél Hogan & M-C MacPhee, Spring 2014. http://nomorepotlucks.org/site/even-if-its-bad-eileen-myles-and-anna-joy-springer-in-conversation/

“On Trigger Warnings,” Entropy with CAConrad, Jos A. Charles, Sarah Schulman, Aishah Sahidah Simmons, moderated by Megan Milks, April, 2014. “Part I: In the Creative Writing Classroom” http://entropymag.org/on-trigger-warnings-part-i-in-the-creative-writing-classroom/; “Part II: Generational Tensions” http://entropymag.org/on-trigger-warnings-part-ii-generational-tensions/; “Part III: Disability and Accommodation” http://entropymag.org/on-trigger-warnings-part-iii-disability-and-accommodation/

 “Variations On A [Fucked] Theme: The Ruling-Class Rules For Realism,” The &Now Awards 3: The Best Innovative Writing, edited Megan Milks, &NOW Books, an imprint of Lake Forest College Press, March, 2015. (82-86)

Thieves Rebus (Paintings 1-4), Encyclopedia Volume 3 (L-Z) edited by Tisa Bryant and Miranda Mellis, forthcoming, 2016. http://encyclopediaproject.net/

“Windows Let In Light” (Excerpt from Art in Heaven) Nerve Lantern: Axon of Performance Literature 8, Ed. Ellen Redbird, Pyriform Press, Fall 2015. (78-83)

“If I Touch It” On The Volta In Evening Will Come: A Monthly Journal Of Poetics (The Force Of What’s Possible—Issue 48, December 2014), edited by Lily Hoang and Joshua Marie Wilkinson. http://www.thevolta.org/ewc47-jmwilkinson-intro-p1.html   http://Www.Thevolta.Org/Ewc48-Ajspringer-P1.Html

“Church Camp Romance, Age 14” (excerpt). The Account: A Journal of Poetry, Prose, and Thought Special Issue: Graphic Works. Spring, 2015. Edited by Brooke Wonders. http://theaccountmagazine.com/?article=church-camp-romance-age-14

“Cops and Fathers” from Art in Heaven in Fourteen Hills, Vol. 21.2, 2015 (San Francisco State University Press) (168-170) http://14hills.net/content/volume-212-2015

“Art in Heaven,” (excerpt) Glitter & Grit: Queer Performance from the Heels on Wheels Femme Galaxy, edited by Damien Luxe, Heather Maria Acs, and Sabina Ibarola Publication Studio, Winter 2015. (296-300)

“Blood Origins of the Miniature Outer Space Theater Re-Enactment Experiment” (excerpt from Art in Heaven). Yes Femmes chapbook for “Yes Femmes” reading, AWP Los Angeles Offsite Event at Human Resources Gallery, Birds of Lace Press and Institute for Flying, April 2016. (19-22)

“Magic and the Intellect: Four Writers Discuss The Stakes of Magic in Literature Today,” Co-authored with Lucy Corin, Kate Berneheimer and Rikki DuCornet, edited by Lucy Corin. The Writer’s Chronicle: May/Summer 2016. (59-70)

Excerpts from The Vicious Red Relic, Love in HERE + NOW: The Anthology of Prose, Poetry, Visual, Found, E- & Other Hybrid Writings as Contemporary Art, solicited and edited by Steve Tomasula. Excepted chapters are “The Forest of Mandatory Innocence,” “The Forest of Peril That’s Real,” “The Forest of Good Bad Intentions,” “The Not Fake Parallel Forest,” and “No Escape Hatch in the Forest.” (forthcoming, The University of Alabama Press, Winter 2018.) 

“Dazzle The Sky,” in Portland Review. (forthcoming, Portland State University, Spring 2018).

Interviews/Media

INTERVIEWS: Gimme Something Better http://gimmesomethingbetter.com/excerpts/absolutely-zippoblatz; http://gimmesomethingbetter.com/excerpts/spoken-word-sister-spit January 2010)

ARTICLE:  in Word Riot by David Hoenegman  http://www.wordriot.org/archives/1411(June 2010)

ARTICLE : San Diego Union Tribune http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/jul/08/her-writing-career-isnt-book/(July 8, 2010)

INTERVIEW, video: “From the Back of the Room,” http://www.fromthebackoftheroom.com/home.htm (September 2011)

ARTICLE: “XX hardcore: Female punks step out From the Back of the Room in new doc” in San Francisco Bay Guardian, November 2011, Emily Savage. http://www.sfbg.com/2011/11/15/past-and-present (November 2011)    

INTERVIEW: “Love, Trauma, Loss, and Forgiveness” with Tt Jax of the LAMBDA Literary Foundation, April 2012. http://www.lambdaliterary.org/features/04/09/anna-joy-springer-love-trauma-loss-and-forgiveness/

INTERVIEW: “Author Interview With Anna Joy Springer” with Lisa O’Neil The Dictionary Project, January 2013. http://thedictionaryprojectblog.com/2013/01/23/the-dictionary-project-author-interview-anna-joy-springer/

INTERVIEW: “The Lightening Room With Anna Joy Springer” with Roxanne Gay, Pank Magazine, February, 2013. http://pankmagazine.com/2013/02/04/the-lightning-room-with-anna-joy-springer/

INTERVIEW, video: The Punk Singer, directed by Sini Andersen, March 2013. http://www.thepunksinger.com/

INTERVIEW, video: Grrrl (the short version), directed by Vega Darling, September 2013. http://grrrlmovie.com/screenings-and-events/

INTERVIEW: “An Interview With Anna Joy Springer by Jeremy Hight” at Unlikely Stories: Episode IV. Spring 2015. www.unlikelystories.org/15/springer0515.shtml

INTERVIEW: “The Art of Pedagogy: An Interview with Anna Joy Springer” by Jasmine Stein, Spine, Winter 2016. http://spinepress.com/the-art-of-pedagogy/

INTERVIEW, video: Turn it Around, executive-produced by the band Green Day and co-produced and directed by Corbett Redford, Fall, 2017. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3913194/

Published Lyrics and Discography

“Lullabye,” Cheaper Than The Beer, Vinyl EP, Lookout! Records (1990) Blatz. (reprinted by Life Is Abuse in 2001; reprinted by Alternative Tentacles 2005) Blatz.

“Cockaroach Café,” “Lullabye,” A Touch Of Blatz (Shit Split), CD/ Vinyl LP/ Cassette with Filth, Lookout! Records (1992) (reprinted by Life Is Abuse in 2001, reprinted by Alternative Tentacles in 2007) Blatz.

“Roadkill,” Bitches and Brew, Vinyl EP with Tribe 8, Outpunk Records (1992). Blatz.

“Almond Tree,” “Rockabilly Song,” “Yer A Job,” “Red Riding Hood,” The Gr’ups, Vinyl EP, Zafio Records (1992). The Grups.

“Buildings are the Purtiest Trees I’ve Seen,” “Kali is Yer Badass Mutha,” “Tristen’s Revenge,” Buildings are the Purtiest Trees I’ve Seen, Zafio Records (1993). The Gr’ups.

“Militia,” “Psycho March,” Badass and Free, Vinyl EP, Outpunk Records (1996). Cypher in the Snow.

“Militia,” “Cigarette Picnic,” “Rent-a-Gash,” “Psycho March,” “Pirate Song,” “Femme-Kata,”

“Tristen’s Revenge,” “Rock Opera,” “Circus Amongus,” Blow Away the Glitter Diamonds Stolen From the Crown, Audio CD, Candy Ass Records, (1997). Cypher in the Snow.

“Blame the Victim,” Free To Fight #1, Vinyl EP, Candyass Records (1998). Cypher in the Snow.

“The Madness of a Simple Red Light,” “Regression,” So, You Have An STD, Vinyl EP, Bad Monkey Records (1998). Cypher in the Snow.

“On The Way To Frisco,” Later That Same Year, S.P.A.M. Vinyl LP Compilation Records (1999). The Gr’ups.

A Li’l Lost featuring all songs previously released on Buildings are the Purtiest Trees I’ve Seen and The Gr’ups, plus unreleased songs. Vinyl LP, Recess Records (2010). The Gr’ups.

Mike Montano, all previously released songs, recorded live at 924 Gilman Street on 12/27/2013. Vinyl LP, Zaifo Records  (2016). Blatz.

Staged or Filmed Writing for Performance and Installation

“Plaything One.” Excerpt from Art in Heaven. Nerve Lantern, edited by Ellen Redbird, spring 2003

“The Tuba’s Monologue.” Excerpt from Art in Heaven. Brown University New Plays Festival, Providence, Rhode Island, April 2002

“The Tuba’s Monologue.” Excerpt from Art in Heaven.  New Media Installation and Panel, “Remixing: Sound/Body/Performance,” Center for Research in the Computer Arts, University of California at San Diego, May 2002

“The Tuba’s Monologue.”  Excerpt from Art in Heaven.  Geisel Arts Library’s Paper Theater Festival, University of California at San Diego August 2002

Plaything. Filmed and adapted “The Tuba’s Monologue” excerpt from Art in Heaven.  “Up the Downside” - A Night of Short Films, Capitol Theater, Olympia, Washington, September 2002

“We Longed,” Finery Issue 4: At Play. Ed. Gina Abelkop, Birds of Lace Press, fall 2007. Hand-bound Limited Edition of 100

“Inside Voice Oracle,” performance for Both Sides and the Center at the MAK Center Schindler House, Los Angeles, CA.  http://jacket2.org/reviews/both-sides-and-center

“Explanation as Composition Audio Tour,” in collaboration with Aimee Bender, Allison Carter, Mark Z. Danielewski, Carribean Fragoza, Veronica Gonzalez, Janice Lee, Harryette Mullen, Janet Sarbanes, Anna Joy Springer and Stephen Van Dyck, Mar. 2012. http://www.notcontent.lesfigues.com/category/events/ 

“So Yummy,” for Afterglow Video Series, curated by Harry Dodge, September 4, 2014. http://www.pieterpasd.com/events/afterglow-summer-video-series/

Selected Recent Literary Performances, Workshops and Public Appearances      

Book Release and Press party for Birds of Lace at Mommy!Mommy! in LA April 2010

Featured Reader at “Contemporary Women’s Writing: New Texts, Approaches, and Technologies. ” Third Biennial International Conference of the Contemporary Women’s Writing Network In collaboration with San Diego State University, July 7-9, 2010.

Performance at Silverlake Street Fair for Les Figues Press – Personal Metaphors via Augury

Performance at Porchlight Reading Series for Gimme Something Better (link to vid) Litquake, San Francisco, Oct 7, 2009 http://www.litquake.org/?s=porchlight

Reunion show for Gr’ups June 4, 2010 Gilman Street Project, Berkeley CA  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pi2ZZ0tetxM

The Vicious Red Relic, Love. Guest Artist Reading at CSU Summer Arts held on the Fresno State campus, July, 2012. http://jenpalmaresmeadows.com/2010/11/07/csu-summer-arts-2011-poetic-proseflash-fiction-csu-fresno/

“Both Sides and the Center,” a weekend summer literary festival at the MAK Center for Art and Architecture at the Schindler House in West Hollywood, California, August, 2012. (http://www.lesfigues.com/lfp/274/both-sides-and-the-center AND http://jacket2.org/reviews/both-sides-and-center%20%20

The Vicious Red Relic, Love. Guest Artist Reading for “Wordfest” at Fresno State University, with Claudia Rankine and Tom Bissell. http://mfafresno.wordpress.com/2012/01/26/wordfest/

“Explanation as Composition.” Part 3 of the Not Content series of text projects (in three parts) curated by Les Figues Press at Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions (LACE) (January and March 2012). http://www.notcontent.lesfigues.com/category/events/

AWP Panel: Fata Morgana: Literature Spread Thick as a (Re)flex(i-on) of Technology and Time with Jane L. Carman, Debra Di Blasi, Steve Tomasula, Annand Janice Lee. (February 2012)

AWP Panel: Building and Surviving an Innovative Writing Program with K. Lorraine Graham and John Pluecker, Janet Sarbanes, and Mark Wallace. (February 2012)

The Vicious Red Relic, Love at the Festival of the Arts 2012, at California State University Sacramento with Tisa Bryant and Trinh T. Minh-Ha. (April 2012)  http://www.al.csus.edu/festival/

The Vicious Red Relic, Love at the 12^th Annual Juniper Literary Festival, UMass Amherst. (April 2012)  http://www.umass.edu/english/MFA_JuniperFestival.htm

The Vicious Red Relic, Love Framingham State University, Framingham, MA (April 2012) http://thegatepost.com/author-anna-joy-springer-shares-her-personal-story-of-lost-love/

Bluestockings, NY, New York (April 15, 2012) (http://bookboroughing.com/ai1ec_event/a-night-of-experimental-writing-with-anna-joy-springer-robin-coste-lewis-and-silas-howard-at-bluestockings/?instance_id).

Vicious/Daughter Book Tour with Janice Lee (August 2012)

DG Wills, La Jolla, CA (September 22, 2012), (http://www.sdcitybeat.com/sandiego/article-10985-anna-joy-springer-o-berkley-where-art-thou-and-james-skalman.html).

The Vicious Red Relic, Love reading. CalArts MFA Writing Program Visiting Artist Series, Valencia, CA (October 4, 2012) http://calarts.edu/event/2012-10-04/mfa-writing-program-visiting-artist-series-anna-joy-springer.

Auctioneer (Performance) Les Figues Auction, Human Resources, Los Angeles, CA (20009-2012) http://www.lesfigues.com/auction2012/.

&Now Festival at University of Colorado, Boulder (September, 2013)

Performance & panel: “The Queer Heart” with Matias Viegener moderator) Brian Blanchfield, Kevin Killian, and Melissa Buzzeo.

Performance & panel: “Arcane Profane” with Leon Baham, Lucy Corin, Naima Lowe, and Miranda Mellis.

“Traum und Trauma” reading at Poetic Research Bureau, Los Angeles, CA (October 5, 2013)

http://www.poeticresearch.com/2013/10/traum-und-trauma-prb-group-reading-sat.html.

Blatz reunion, performance, 926 Gilman, Berkeley, CA (December 26-7, 2013) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtPT-IEh3E4.

“Q.E.D. II - The Presence of Absence,” moderator of discussion with Matias Viegener, Tisa Bryant, and Catherine Lorde at the MAK Center Schindler House in West Hollywood, CA (March 12, 2013) http://www.lesfigues.com/q-e-d-ii-the-presence-of-absence/.

“Community Speculators – Queers, Aliens, Time, Space, Love, Labor and Value,” a reading and talk for Connie Samaras’ solo show and book release of Tales of Tomorrow, Armory Center For Arts, Pasadena, CA (May 19, 2013) http://armoryarts.org/visit/2013-armory-events/community-speculators-queers-aliens-time-space-love-labor-and-value/.

Talk on “Perverse Expressionism in Women’s Comics and my rebus project, Thieves Rebus: Experimental Drawing Studio, UCSD (February 12, 2014) http://visarts.ucsd.edu/events/anna-joy-springer.

AWP Conference Seattle (February, 2014)

Talk and Panel “Magic and the Intellect” with Lucy Corin, Rikki Ducornet, and Kate Bernheimer https://www.awpwriter.org/awp_conference/event_detail/746.

Talk and Panel “The Peculiar Yesterday: The Memoir Today,” with Cris Mazza, Jane LaForge, and Dawn Raffel http://brevity.wordpress.com/2014/03/03/memoir-today/.

“A Spectacle and Nothing Strange” performance for Eve Fowler with Chris Tysh (March 8, 2014) http://www.poeticresearch.com/2014/03/chris-tysh-eve-fowler-sat-mar-7.html.

“Diagetic” reading at Pieter PASD, Los Angeles, CA with Maggie Nelson and Laurie Weeks (March 16, 2014) http://www.pieterpasd.com/events/an-evening-of-readings-by-maggie-nelson-anna-joy-springer-laurie-weeks/.

Vicious Red Relic, Love and Thieves’ Rebus reading. Cal State San Marcos (April 17, 2014) https://www.facebook.com/ltwrcsusm.

“Les Figues Press Annual Summer Solstice Party,” performance and ritual. The other featured performers were Dodie Bellamy and Sandra Doller (June 21, 2014) http://www.lesfigues.com/les-figues-summer-solstice-party/.

 “Art in Heaven” at Writing Now Series at School of Critical Thought, CalArts, Valencia CA, hosted by Tisa Bryant (December 4, 2014) https://writing.calarts.edu/writing-now-reading-series-and-seminar-2014-2015

Visiting Writer and Reading with Lucy Corin, School of Creative Writing, University of Georgia, Athens, hosted by Magdalena Zurawski  (November 3, 2014) https://www.english.uga.edu/cwp/pages/159

“I’m A Frayed Knot” reading with UCSD Graduate Cross-genre Writing Workshop students and Professor Tisa Bryant with the CalArts Graduate Hybrid Writing students at Poetic Research Bureau, Los Angeles, CA (December 11, 2016).  https://www.facebook.com/ events/1085202834844465/

“Yes, Femmes,” AWP offsite reading, Human Resources Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, hosted by Gina Abelkop (April 2, 2016).
https://www.awpwriter.org/awp_conference/schedule_overview_offsite/2016_LOSANGELES?date=2016-04-02&from_time=&to_time=&event_keyword

“Connie Samaras: Oracle Apostate” panel at “Speculative Landscapes: The Photography of Connie Samaras” in with Lisa Bloom and Ken Gonzalez-Day, hosted by Lisa Cartwright, CalIt2, UCSD (April 15, 2016). http://visarts.ucsd.edu/events/speculative-landscapes-photography-connie-samaras-exhibition

“Faculty and MFA Reading” at “Shaping Change Symposium” on Octavia Butler at UCSD, hosted by Shelley Streeby and Ayana Jameson, La Jolla, CA (June 3, 2016). http://imagination.ucsd.edu/_wp/news/shaping-change-remembering-octavia-e-butler-through-archives-art-and-worldmaking-conference/

YES FEMMES II, Lambda Festival Of Writing Event, Pieter PASD, Los Angeles, CA (March 6, 2017). http://www.latimes.com/books/la-et-jc-lambda-litfest-20170306-story.html  

 “Reading by Moonrise” with Ben Loory, sponsored by Bowtie Project and Clockshop, Los Angeles, CA (October 6, 2017). https://clockshop.org/event/anna-joy-springer-ben-loory/