Words Matter
Stories Teach
Fiction, Poetry, Blogging,
Memoir (maybe?), and
(almost) Academic Writing.
Discover My Writing
I believe we communicate most authentically through story...be it actual fiction, writing memoir, or simply having a chat with a friend or stranger. We communicate through story. It can be with words, images, actions, and gestures. Whatever the case: story, like The Dude's rug, ties it all together.
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Herein you will discover a portfolio of writing, much of what defies a particular focus and/or genre - but rather than push against that, I am leaning in. Herein I share a selection of my shorter works. I will also commit to contributing regularly to my blog - the focus of which will manifest as I write.
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Thinking future: my two larger projects (a trilogy of speculative/sci-fi novels and a trilogy of (possibly almost) memoirs) will be writing themselves in the background as they seek to merge style, genre, and subject matter with one key aspect that connects It All - Story. Updates, teasers, and eventually links to obtain manuscripts as I enter the world of Indie Publishing will arrive.
About Me.
I am a Professor of English at Rockford University in Rockford, Illinois. I have served as Chair of English, Dean of Arts and Humanities, and Provost of the University. Recently I have returned to full time faculty - However, this website is my space to re-ignite my Writer Identity after nearly a two and a half decades in Teaching and Administration.
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I live with my wife, Karen, a Registered Nurse. We have three children. Two sons (Caleb and Julian) and one daughter (Zoey). While I could go on and on about all of them, I am reminding myself this is my story - and the story of others is their own to tell (which is something that the memoirist-to-be part of me is struggling with). Having said that: My family are all sorts of awesome-sauce.
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I have written poetry and short fiction (mostly for myself) since I can remember. And I have written and published in Academia since grad-school. My current objective: to take a good deal of my 'private' writing and make it 'public.' As such, in each and all the forms I plan to share, I will be sharing (directly or indirectly) my story - even when the story has nothing to do with me or even our own reality.
Education
2002-2008
Ph.D., Literature
Arizona State University
While pursuing my doctorate, I taught as a teaching associate at ASU. My dissertation addressed Blues, African American Literature, and Reading as Performance.
1998-2000
M.A., English
University of St Thomas
While pursuing my M.A., I also had the opportunity to engage in several graduate level creative writing courses. This is also where I received my first teaching experience.
1992-1996
B.A., English
Augustana College (SD)
While at Augie, I transition mid-way from Math Major / Educ Minor, to majoring in English with minor in Classics. I decided halfway through I'd rather teach college English than high school math. Still deciding if that was the correct decision ;)