David Hansen (Literary Arts 1999) Speaks to Students During Common Experience

May 13, 2022

Hansen is pictured with Shannon Hannigan, Literary Arts Instructor.

Perpich alum David Hansen (Literary Arts 1999) spoke with students during Common Ex this past Monday, May 9th. Sandwiched between readings he shared with students, David gave an authentic, passionate talk about his life’s journey. He described himself as currently lost. He admitted to not having any answers, but that he thought it was important to share what it feels like to be lost this way as a person committed to his art. In the end he asked the question, “What now?” His own response was “Here I am.” In his story, and in the writings he shared, David modeled for our community the value in fully, honestly showing up in our own lives!

Shannon Hannigan, Literary Arts Instructor, said, “I’ve known David Hansen since 1997, when he started as a Literary Arts student at Perpich. I haven’t seen him in many years and in the interim he has achieved much as a writer, speaker, and teacher. I’m thrilled that he loves his work now. But David is still exactly who he has always been, honest and true, and it was so sweet to have him back home for a moment.”

David Hansen’s stories have appeared most recently in South Carolina Review, Chicago Review, Puerto del Sol, and Necessary Fiction. In 2019, his story “Hell” was finalist for the Shirley Jackson Prize, and in 2018 he won a senior writing fellowship from Washington University in St. Louis. He is currently at work on a collection of very small stories.

He has a master’s degree from Washington University in St. Louis, and now he teaches courses in fiction and creative-nonfiction writing at the University of Rochester in Rochester, New York.

Selected Publications

• “My Sister,” Pithead Chapel, 2022
• “Goodbye!” On the Seawall,  2022
• “A Small, Good Thing,” Jellyfish Review, 2021
• “A Feast in My Honor,” SmokeLong Quarterly, 2021
• “Three Welsh Names,” South Carolina Review, 2020
• “Our Philosophy,” Chicago Review, 2020
• “My Body,” Puerto del Sol, 2020
• “Valley of the Kings,” Necessary Fiction, 2019
• “Hell,” Fairy Tale Review, 2018
• “Pendragon,” Conjunctions, 2017
• “Mimicry,” Connecticut Review, 2005
• “Laundry,” Tampa Review, 1999