Although my graduate training and much of my professional experience involves fiction writing, I recently made the shift to nonfiction and am currently working on a collection of essays. I enjoy exploring this essentially hybrid genre, one that involves elements of personal writing, philosophy, cultural or literary analysis, and investigative journalism. My teaching aims reflect my writing interests. I specialize in teaching students how to bridge what I see as a false dichotomy between “creative” and “critical” writing, helping them to produce works that are simultaneously analytical, reflective, illustrative, and highly inventive.
Areas
- Creative Nonfiction
- Fiction
- The Familiar Essay
- Academic Writing
Degrees
- B.A. Creative Writing and History, Oberlin College, 1986
- M.F.A. Creative Writing, University of Arizona, 1992
Some Publications and Works in Progress
- Survival Stories, essay collection in progress.
- Malice, historical novel in progress.
- "Survival Stories" (essay) forthcoming in Alaska Quarterly Review, Anchorage, AK, 2009.
- "Curse Like a Sailor" (essay) forthcoming in Brain, Child, Lexington, VA, Spring 2009.
- "Exalting the Weird" (essay) forthcoming in Fourth Genre, East Lansing, MI, Spring 2009.
- “My Mess” (essay) forthcoming in The Journal, Columbus, OH, Fall 2008.
- “Along for the Ride” (essay) in The Sun, Chapel Hill, NC, April, 2006.
- Chapters from Saturn Returning (a novel) published in the Constance Saltonstall Foundation 1999 Chapbook.
- "Cartoon" (short fiction) in Gulf Coast, Houston, TX, Summer 1996.
- "The Taking of Charlotte" (short fiction) in The Georgia Review, Athens, GA, Summer 1992.
- "Birobidzhan" (short fiction) in Beloit Fiction Journal, Beloit, WI, Fall 1992.
- "The Dead Are Eating" (short fiction) in Puerto del Sol, Las Cruces, NM, Summer 1992.
- "Scrub" (short fiction) in Sun Dog: The Southeast Review, Tallahassee, FL, Spring 1992.
- "Jacob's Heart" (short fiction) in Tucson Guide Quarterly, Tucson, AZ, Summer 1992.
Grants and Awards
- 2007 Constance Saltonstall Grant for Memoir/Autobiography.
- 1999 Constance Saltonstall Grant for Prose Writing.
- 1996 Pushcart Prize Nomination for "Cartoon" (short story).
- 1993 Pushcart Prize Nomination for "The Taking of Charlotte." Listed in Pushcart Prize XVIII "Stories of Note."
- 1992 John Weston Award for outstanding University of Arizona graduate fiction writer.
- 1991 Minnie Torrence Award for graduate student achievement in writing.
