April 1, 2002 New Faculty Micah Perks Assistant Professor, Literature Micah Perks Photo: Jennifer Gonzalez Micah Perks teaches American literature and creative writing. Her own fiction and creative nonfiction focus on the tensions within and between communities, and how those tensions play out in terms of individuality, gender, and class. She has a special interest in American utopian communities, the desire to escape from community into wilderness, and the many meanings of wilderness. Perks has published a memoir, Pagan Time: An American Childhood (Counterpoint Press, 2001), and a novel, We Are Gathered Here (St. Martin's Press, 1996). She is also the author of many short stories, which have been published in journals and anthologies. Prior to her appointment at UCSC, Perks taught at Cornell University and Hobart and William Smith Colleges. She has a B.A. in theater arts and anthropology and an M.F.A. in fiction from Cornell University. Return to Front Page