A black and white photo of Sarah, a white woman with brown hair. The hair is pulled back, with some hair in her face. She wears large, dangling triangle earrings and rectangle glasses. She wears a black dress. She stands at a microphone, looking down at a music stand.

​​​Sarah M. Duncan​ 
is a neurodivergent queer cis white femme living on unceded Pawtucket and Massa-adchu-es-et land. In addition to her creative and academic pursuits, ​Duncan is committed to student advocacy, (dis)ability justice, and ending violence against people with mental illness. She holds an MFA in
Creative Writing from the University of Wyoming and an MA in American Studies from the University ​of Massachusetts - Boston.

​Pop Culture Scholarship

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​​​Duncan studies the popularity
​and significance of the “time-loop” plot in 21st Century film and television. Her master's thesis, "This Feels Like Groundhog Day: Stuckness and the Cultural Work of 21st Century Televisual Time-Loop Plots," won the Michael Lenz Award for Nontraditional and Innovative Scholarship. When she isn’t thinking about temporal politics, Duncan analyzes representations of (dis)ability in pop culture, such as in her recent essay on the
​OCD-Coding of Chidi Anagonye in
​NBC’s The Good Place. 

Media // Publications 

Multidisciplinary Art

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​​​Duncan brings her trademark
​wit, transparency, and knack for ​investigating moral and political complexity into all of her writing and performance. In 2019, her poetry chapbook, Week/End, was published by Headmistress Press; one of the poems, We Went to a Farmer's Market, was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. In 2015, her play Come Back Up was produced by Sanguine Theatre Company at the Off Broadway theatre The Gym at Judson. Over the last ten years, Duncan has performed poetry, stand-up comedy, and theatre at a variety of venues including Improv Boston, La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club, Joe's Pub, The Cherry Lane Theatre, and The Wild Project.

Media // Publications // Performances // Awards

CUltural Work

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​As writer and Blog Director at Monstering Magazine, Duncan challenges ableist and sanist cultural narratives, such as arguing that students should be allowed to turn their screens off on Zoom, or that mentally ill people are selfish, criminal, or violent. She is fiercely committed to expanding cultural knowledge, acceptance and material support for those, like herself, living with the widely mischaracterized Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD). To that end, Duncan intentionally discusses her experiences in writing, speaking engagements, and creative performance, such as in this piece on the idea of "self-care." 

​Publications

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Duncan has a gift for connecting people and ideas. ​In NYC, Duncan organized, hosted, and curated poetry events throughout the city, including Judson Church's monthly poetry potlucks and for shows that delved into privilege and consent at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club. During the height of Occupy Wall Street, Duncan co-produced Occupy the Empty Space, which consisted of three interactive, political theatre festivals on housing justice, immigration justice, and the right to public space.

Cultural Work

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​Duncan believes that education is a tool for liberation when paired with action. In Boston, she is on the production team for Showing Up, a live-streamed web series where comedians interview change-makers on their justice work, raise money for organizations, and teach viewers how they can best get involved. Duncan is also a dedicated educator with expertise in rhetoric, composition, creative writing, and history. In 2018, she was awarded the Slater Award for Excellence in Teaching, which is given to a teacher with a proven record of student advocacy and support.

​​Cultural Work
Sarah M. Duncan is available for speaking engagements
and consulting about her scholarship and advocacy,
​as well as for teaching, writing, and performance opportunities. 
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