Sarah Messer

Sarah Messer is a Lecturer in the Creative Writing and Literature Program at the Residential College of the University of Michigan, with prior experience as an Associate Professor in the MFA/BFA program at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. Her academic work spans poetry, nonfiction writing, and interdisciplinary literary forms within the Residential College's humanities-focused structure.

Messer's research centers on experimental and hybrid literary genres, emphasizing memoir, lyric essays, and poetry that explores women's narratives, Buddhist devotional traditions, and procedural techniques. She has developed specialized courses on the history of American memoir, elegies, manifestos, and non-traditional poetic forms, reflecting her commitment to pushing creative boundaries in autobiographical and spiritual writing.

Her significant recognitions include:

• Provincetown Fine Arts Work Center fellowship
• Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing fellowship
• NEA grant
• Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs grant
• Mellon Foundation grant
• Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study (Bunting) fellowship in poetry (2008-2009)

Messer has extensive advising experience through MFA/BFA programs, guiding students in poetry, memoir, and experimental genres. She co-founded One Pause Poetry in 2010, establishing an enduring community platform for audio poetry archives and readings in Ann Arbor.

Her creative projects extend into community engagement via One Pause Poetry and practical arts through cheese making at White Lotus Farms, demonstrating a unique fusion of academic rigor and hands-on artistic practice outside institutional frameworks.