Education
- M.F.A. in Creative Writing, Cornell University
- A.B., Mount Holyoke College
- Diplôme d'études françaises, 3e degré, Université de Rouen (France)
Educational Philosophy
Writing fiction or poetry isn't that different from making a mud pie. First you slap some earth and water together and mix up a big nasty mess, then you start trying to shape it, squash it all flat, and so forth. If it dribbles and drips, so much the better. What gets dirty gets cleaned. You add water, you add earth; you sponge up the counter and the floor; sooner or later, you've made a pie out of mud. Does it look the way you planned? Can you explain why it came out the way it did? Chances are, the answer to both questions is no.
Not planning, not being able to explain: in our culture, these
characteristics are suspect. They're signs of irresponsibility, eccentricity, failure to adhere to goals and objectives, of a non-linear (and thus impractical) intelligence. Any student who takes creative writing seriously has to throw these cultural judgments in the garbage. This sort of writing has its own rules and responsibilities. It isn't neat. But it can teach you things you never planned to learn, things you might not be able to explain.
Courses Taught
- Creative Writing I and II
- Independent Study in Creative Writing
- Creative Writing I (Honors)
- Special Section of English II (Honors): Plagues, AIDS, and the Cultural Response
- English II
- English I
- English I Workshop
- Basic Composition Seminar
- Foundations of Reading I and II
Publications:
- "F-Stops," THE NORTH AMERICAN REVIEW, March / April 1999.
- "Priests," THE NORTH AMERICAN REVIEW, March / April 1997.
- "Fish," THE IOWA REVIEW 20 / 3 (1990).
- "Sugar River," THE IOWA REVIEW 18 / 3 (1988.)
- "Daddy Rat," THE NORTH AMERICAN REVIEW, June 1987.
- "New Car," PLAYGIRL, March 1986.
- "Southville," ARTS / NEW JERSEY, Summer 1985.
- "Starring," (a novella), FICTION NETWORK, Fall 1984.
- "Time Zones," BLOODROOT, Spring 1983.
- "The Man with the Truck," FICTION, Spring 1983.
- "Little Deaths," EPOCH, Winter 1981.
- "Night Ride," FICTION, Spring 1980.
- "Out the Boulevard," MIDDLE JERSEY WRITERS, 1979.
Awards:
- Prose Fellowship, New Jersey State Council on the Arts, 1994.
- General Electric Award for Younger Writers, 1989.
- Distinguished Artist Award, New Jersey State Council on the Arts, 1988.
- Artistic Merit Award, New Jersey State Council on the Arts, 1984.
Creative Writing Residencies:
- The MacDowell Colony, Peterborough, New Hampshire: December 1998, October - November 1989, June-July 1988.
- Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Sweet Briar, Virginia; April 1990.
- Yaddo, Saratoga Springs, New York; November-December 1985, July-August 1985, November 1984.
Page design by H. Smythe
Last Modified:
February 28, 2001
by AKT
