UCR Distinguished Professor Susan Straight joined UCR Low Residency MFA critic-in-residence Heather Scott Partington on an April 29 episode of Alta Asks Live, a series produced by The Journal of Alta California. Hear Straight discuss her debut memoir, “In the Country of Women,” the challenges of teaching remotely due to COVID-19, and how the coronavirus outbreak has affected her community and the city of Riverside.

Watch the interview below:

Straight is a distinguished professor of creative writing at UC Riverside and the author of eight novels including “Highwire Moon,” “Between Heaven and Here,” and “A Million Nightingales.” Her latest book, “In the Country of Women,” was published in August 2019.

Partington is a writer, teacher, and book critic whose writing has appeared in publications including the New York Times Book Review, Washington Post, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, and Los Angeles Review of Books. She is an alumna of the UCR Low-Residency MFA program in Palm Desert and currently serves as the program’s critic-in-residence.