About

I am a poet, scholar, and author of three books of poetry, Letters to Kelly Clarkson, a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award, Valley Fever, and The Sacramento of Desireeach from Sidebrow Books.

My scholarly essays and reviews have appeared in Journal of Modern LiteratureTulsa Studies in Women’s Literature, The Volta, and elsewhere, and I am working on a critical monograph about lyric theory and the North American long poem. I received a BA in political philosophy at Carleton College, an MFA in creative writing at Mills College, and a PhD in English literature at the University of Pennsylvania.

My awards and honors include the San Francisco Foundation’s Joseph Henry Jackson Literary Award and a Dean’s Award for Distinguished Teaching. I have previously taught at Bard College and Mills College and am currently Director of the Creative Writing Program at the University of Pennsylvania. In 2017, I was awarded a Pew Fellowship by the Pew Center for Arts & Heritage. I am on Twitter.