Benita Marie Noveno
Benita Noveno has been teaching at BMCC since 2013 and brings over thirty years of experience in NYC public schools and CUNY colleges. She values the opportunity to connect with students and enjoys creating a dynamic and engaging classroom environment. A graduate of the MFA Creative Writing Program at The New School, she is the founder and host emeritus of the acclaimed Sunday Salon reading series and launched the digital pages of SalonZine. Her work has appeared in MÃNOA, Identity Theory, Brink, Hippocampus, The Hunger, and the Asian American Writers’ Workshop’s Open City and The Margins. Benita served as Writer in Residence at the Kerouac House in Orlando, FL, during the 2021-22 winter season. In 2024, she was awarded the Women’s Prose Prize by Red Hen Press, and her hybrid memoir, Mud on the Moon, is set for publication in fall 2026. Originally from Southeast Alaska, she now lives in Queens, NY.
Expertise
Degrees
Master of Fine Arts, The New School, The New School MFA Creative Writing Program, Concentration in Non-Fiction
Master of Arts TESOL, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, New York, Peace Corps Fellowship Program
Bachelor of Arts, Whitman College, Walla Walla, Washington, French Language and Literature
Courses Taught
- ENG 100.5 is a co-requisite first-year writing course that offers additional instructional support. The course introduces students to the academic writing process through the study of culturally-diverse nonfiction prose. Emphasis will be placed on developing thesis-driven responses to the writing of others, practicing revision, following the conventions of MLA style, and completing a research project. Since this course is equivalent to ENG 101, by its successful conclusion students will be ready for English 201 and for the writing they will be asked to do in advanced courses across the curriculum.
Prerequisite: English Proficiency Index 64 and lower OR a score of 43-55 on the CAT-W and Exemption from developmental reading OR successful completion of developmental reading. This course is not open to ESL students.
Please note: Tuition for this corequisite course is charged by the equated credit (hours) not per credit. - English Composition is the standard first-year writing course. The course introduces students to the academic writing process through the study of culturally-diverse nonfiction prose. Emphasis will be placed on developing thesis-driven responses to the writing of others, practicing revision,
following the conventions of MLA style, and completing a research project. By its successful conclusion, students will be ready for English 201 and for the writing they will be asked to do in advanced courses across the curriculum.
Prerequisite: Writing PI 65+ - This is a course that builds upon skills introduced in English 101. In this course, literature is the field for the development of critical reading, critical thinking, independent research, and writing skills. Students are introduced to literary criticisms and acquire basic knowledge necessary for the analysis of texts (including literary terms and some literary theory); they gain proficiency in library and internet research; and they hone their skills as readers and writers. Assignments move from close readings of literary texts in a variety of genres to analyses that introduce literary terms and broader contexts, culminating in an independent, documented, thesis-driven research paper. By the conclusion of English 201, students will be prepared for the analytical and research-based writing required in upper-level courses across the curriculum; they will also be prepared for advanced courses in literature. Prerequisite: ENG 101
- This course presents a global approach to literature by introducing prose, poetry and drama representative of different cultures and historical periods, from the 17th century to the present. Students engage in close readings of individual texts and contextual/comparative analyses. Written and spoken activities are designed to enhance students? appreciation of literature and their awareness of the ways it arises from, shapes, and reflects the world?s cultures.
