Education
University of Michigan. University of Houston. Seattle University.
University of Michigan. University of Houston. Seattle University.
And critic associated with spoken-word, New Sincerity, and New Confessionalism. McGlynn first became popular as a performance poet in the poetry slam scene in the late 1990s, regularly performing at the Electric Lounge and South by Southwest. Two of her signature pieces from that time ("Fat Artists" and "Thong Underwear Poem") are included on the compilation Civil Defense Tina"s Fine-Ass Lingerie.
In 2000, McGlynn moved to Seattle to study musical theatre at Cornish College of the Arts.
In 2002, the artist coached the Seattle poetry slam team to a spot on the Net Promoter Score finals stage and was a Seattle team member in 2003 and an Ann Arbor team member in 2007. Her spoken-word is featured in Rhapsodists, a documentary film about women performance poets.
Upon graduation McGlynn was selected by Tony Hoagland as a Helen Zell Postgraduate Fellow in Poetry at the University of Michigan. Karyna is also the author of three chapbooks, Scorpionica (New Michigan Press, 2007), Alabama Steve (Destructible Heart Press, 2008), and Small Shrines (Cinematheque Press, 2011).
Her work has appeared in many journals, both in print and online, including Gulf Coast, FENCE, Ninth Letter, LIT, Another Chicago Magazine, Indiana Review, Denver Quarterly, Octopus, Willow Springs and Verse.
MCGlynn taught writing and literature at Concordia University in Austin, Texas, and is currently a Doctor of Philosophy candidate and Teaching Fellow in the Creative Writing Program at the University of Houston.
The poet was a member of the 1998 and 1999 National Poetry Slam teams representing the Austin Poetry Slam.