Q: What is your area of specialty?
A: Poetry.
Q: What was the title of your master’s thesis or dissertation?
A: PhD dissertation: Byron, Hemans, and the Reviewers, 18-7-1835: Two Routes to Fame (1995). MFA thesis: Roll Call at the River (2002).
Q: What is your most recent publication?
A: I recently assembled my third full-length collection of poems. Its title, which may change, is Candy. I published a chapbook titled Or Air and Earth in 2019 with Unicorn Press. I’ve published ten poems in literary journals (such as 32 Poems, Southern Indiana Review, and Four Way Review) since 2021.
Q: What is your favorite assignment to assign?
A: I enjoy the first poem assignment I give my students in Poetry I. It’s titled “The Kitchen Sink,” and it asks them to include a host of poetic techniques in a very short poem. It also throws them a curveball. But that’s a secret.
Q: What was the last book you read?
A: Nina Simone’s Gum by Warren Ellis.
Q: What are your favorite events on campus?
A: The Words to Say It Visiting Writers Series. Hosting accomplished writers on campus provides our students and faculty with a great opportunity for greater exposure to the diverse and vibrant (though often “hidden”) world of contemporary literature.
Q: Where is your favorite place to eat on campus?
A: My desk.
Q: What do you enjoy most about CCU?
A: The students. I’ve been blessed with some great ones over the years.
