RESEARCH
I grew up in Alabama, where I began corresponding with poet Robert Creeley as a teenager. His mentorship drew me to the University at Buffalo (SUNY Buffalo) Poetics Program, then helmed by poets Creeley, Charles Bernstein, and Susan Howe. As an undergraduate there, I found my way to a work-study position at the Poetry Collection under Michael Basinski and Robert J. Bertholf. Along with the daily tasks of working in a closed-stack archive and on small archival projects, I was tasked with creating and digitally editing a full-color scan of James Joyce’s Ulysses manuscript. These experiences in poetry, archives, and manuscripts continue to influence my interdisciplinary approach to scholarship. I research and publish actively in the areas of contemporary poetry and library science.
My digital archival experiences at Buffalo and, later, Internet Archive, led me to concentrate on cataloging and digitization challenges presented by artists’ books during my M.L.S.. My dissertation explores the material history, cultural significance, and archival challenges of pocket notebooks. Simultaneously speaking to the concerns of material history (i.e., Lisa Gitelman, Shannon Mattern, Bruno Latour, Johanna Drucker) and collection challenges of cataloging and archiving these small, ephemeral books, I examine the importance of field notes and pocket notebooks in contemporary (post-WWII) literature.
As a creative, I currently have three full-length books: Organic Furniture Cellar (Outside Voices Press, 2006), Life-List (Chax Press, 2015), and How to Know the Flowers (Veliz Books, 2019). There are four more books under contract, to be released each year from 2024-27 by Insert Press, that are part of a long-term project called The Daybooks. I have an M.F.A. from Miami University, where I studied with poet Hoa Nyugen. As a poet-librarian, I take Johanna Drucker as a model, who maintains her creative presence as a poet and book artist alongside her academic practice. As a poet, my extensive network among other writers gives me exclusive access to notebooks that are not yet housed in archives.
As a teacher and librarian, I am ethically committed to young adult literacy, trauma-informed education, and inclusivity. I have striven to increase diversity in the literature and theory students encounter on bookshelves and in the classroom. I design for disability in my courses and actively use and promote research from underrepresented communities. My syllabus for the Women’s and Gender Studies course that I teach at the University of Alabama at Birmingham reflects my commitment to intersectionality. My teaching is heavily informed by bell hooks, trauma-aware educational practices, and constructivism, all of which came together for me as I completed my M.A.E. in Secondary Education in 2020-21, during the COVID pandemic that forced educators to teach online to very diverse students. More than ever before, the digital divide, class and racial divisions, and trauma had to be approached head-on to ensure equal access to education. My approaches to online teaching, diversity, and inclusion were tested and radically enhanced during this challenging time.
Recently, I developed a 300-level course on Book and Print Design for the English Department at the University of Alabama, where I am a Full Time Instructor. My concerns regarding diversity and disability show up in this course's texts, assignments, and teaching methods. This course builds from my knowledge of the history of the book by spending the first five weeks covering the history of typography. After this crash course, students develop an aesthetic statement using precise vocabulary. Each student develops a paperback book and ebook from cover to cover using public domain materials, reflecting on their process along the way. Toward the end of the course, they develop media kits using traditional paper press releases and social media marketing. At the end of this project-based experiential learning journey, students have a portfolio of materials to prepare them for the publishing industry. (Our adventures can be followed on Instagram @druidcityclassics.)
My interdisciplinary research and teaching reflect the natural alliance of literary studies, critical theory, and library science. Book history is wedded to the experiments of poets and artists in artists' books, chapbooks, zines, and small-press publishing. Cataloging, archival, and retrieval problems can arise due to these publications’ ephemeral and off-beat nature (for instance, Clark Coolidge’s literal cheese sandwich in the University at Buffalo Poetry Collection). Knowledge of, and professional networks in, both library science and literature grants me singular insight into the material history of contemporary poetry.
Current Projects
Dissertation (conclusion)
Artists' Books and L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E Poetry
Pocket Notebooks in Yellowstone (part of the dissertation)
My digital archival experiences at Buffalo and, later, Internet Archive, led me to concentrate on cataloging and digitization challenges presented by artists’ books during my M.L.S.. My dissertation explores the material history, cultural significance, and archival challenges of pocket notebooks. Simultaneously speaking to the concerns of material history (i.e., Lisa Gitelman, Shannon Mattern, Bruno Latour, Johanna Drucker) and collection challenges of cataloging and archiving these small, ephemeral books, I examine the importance of field notes and pocket notebooks in contemporary (post-WWII) literature.
As a creative, I currently have three full-length books: Organic Furniture Cellar (Outside Voices Press, 2006), Life-List (Chax Press, 2015), and How to Know the Flowers (Veliz Books, 2019). There are four more books under contract, to be released each year from 2024-27 by Insert Press, that are part of a long-term project called The Daybooks. I have an M.F.A. from Miami University, where I studied with poet Hoa Nyugen. As a poet-librarian, I take Johanna Drucker as a model, who maintains her creative presence as a poet and book artist alongside her academic practice. As a poet, my extensive network among other writers gives me exclusive access to notebooks that are not yet housed in archives.
As a teacher and librarian, I am ethically committed to young adult literacy, trauma-informed education, and inclusivity. I have striven to increase diversity in the literature and theory students encounter on bookshelves and in the classroom. I design for disability in my courses and actively use and promote research from underrepresented communities. My syllabus for the Women’s and Gender Studies course that I teach at the University of Alabama at Birmingham reflects my commitment to intersectionality. My teaching is heavily informed by bell hooks, trauma-aware educational practices, and constructivism, all of which came together for me as I completed my M.A.E. in Secondary Education in 2020-21, during the COVID pandemic that forced educators to teach online to very diverse students. More than ever before, the digital divide, class and racial divisions, and trauma had to be approached head-on to ensure equal access to education. My approaches to online teaching, diversity, and inclusion were tested and radically enhanced during this challenging time.
Recently, I developed a 300-level course on Book and Print Design for the English Department at the University of Alabama, where I am a Full Time Instructor. My concerns regarding diversity and disability show up in this course's texts, assignments, and teaching methods. This course builds from my knowledge of the history of the book by spending the first five weeks covering the history of typography. After this crash course, students develop an aesthetic statement using precise vocabulary. Each student develops a paperback book and ebook from cover to cover using public domain materials, reflecting on their process along the way. Toward the end of the course, they develop media kits using traditional paper press releases and social media marketing. At the end of this project-based experiential learning journey, students have a portfolio of materials to prepare them for the publishing industry. (Our adventures can be followed on Instagram @druidcityclassics.)
My interdisciplinary research and teaching reflect the natural alliance of literary studies, critical theory, and library science. Book history is wedded to the experiments of poets and artists in artists' books, chapbooks, zines, and small-press publishing. Cataloging, archival, and retrieval problems can arise due to these publications’ ephemeral and off-beat nature (for instance, Clark Coolidge’s literal cheese sandwich in the University at Buffalo Poetry Collection). Knowledge of, and professional networks in, both library science and literature grants me singular insight into the material history of contemporary poetry.
Current Projects
Dissertation (conclusion)
Artists' Books and L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E Poetry
Pocket Notebooks in Yellowstone (part of the dissertation)