Erica Hoffmeister

Bio

Erica Hoffmeister is an educator, scholar and multi-genre writer. Originally from Southern California, she has lived and taught in the Denver Metro area since 2016.

Education

Erica earned her MFA in Creative Writing, Poetry and MA in English from Chapman University. At Chapman, she served on the Graduate Student Council as a representative voice and was awarded a Creative Writing Grant in 2015.

Professional Background

Erica is the author of three hybrid/poetry collections: Lived in Bars (Stubborn Mule Press, 2019), Roots Grew Wild (Kingdoms in the Wild Press, 2019), and All the Parts You Haven’t Lost (ELJ Editions, 2024). She has published dozens of works of short fiction, short memoir, poetry and critical essays in a variety of literary journals, magazines and anthologies, and has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize in creative nonfiction, received three Best of the Net nominations for poetry and earned several other finalist spots in competitions across genres.

As an independent scholar, she has presented at several conferences; her research focuses on horror cinema, pop culture studies, generational nostalgia and Gothic literature, all of which she works into her creative writing.

She has taught writing and rhetoric as an adjunct instructor since 2016 for Metropolitan State University and colleges in the Colorado Community College System. With a passion for both media literacy and restorative justice, she volunteers as an editor and organizer for PEN America in the Prison Justice Writing Program.

Motivation for Teaching

Erica’s passion for narrative-driven writing is evident in her student-centered approach to teaching. She believes that every story matters, and that disruption, healing, human connection and revolution can all be achieved with the power of words. She believes that education and writing by nature, are radical, and can’t wait to read all that you have to say.