Teaching
Since 1986, I’ve taught a variety of courses and workshops in a variety of places.
Currently, at Radford University, I regularly teach the following:
Core 103—A comprehensive Freshmen Honors course that focuses on developing students’ skills in writing, researching, and public speaking.
American Literature—A survey of classics and contemporary works by American authors, all tied to a course theme of “Liberty, Community, and the American Dream.”
Creative Nonfiction—A writing course focusing on the diverse forms of this genre that requires us to make art from our own lives and the world around us.
The Study of Fiction—A course diving into what makes a good story. We analyze the many elements of fiction while reading a diversity of examples.
Freshmen Composition and Research Writing—The “standards” where students build on previous knowledge to write both personal and academic/researched essays.
What Others Say about a School Visit:
Kathy Mangan, McDaniel College: “I wish every academic week had an inspiring poet plugged into the middle of it! You were wonderful and giving with both the audience at the poetry reading and the students in the class. Your visit to McDaniel was—on all fronts—a rousing success.”
Workshops
Topics that I’ve taught in writing workshops include the following:
Playing with Words: What poetry can teach about metaphors and word play. (All genres).
Playing with Time: How prose writers manipulate time at the micro- and macro-levels.
Truth, Lies and Form, or How Creative is CNF?
Making It: A poetry writing workshop.
The Humor of it All: A humor nonfiction class.
The Beginning, the End, and Conciseness Throughout: A workshop on leads, conclusions, and conciseness.
How to Respond to Other’s Writing
Op-Eds: How-to and Why
Places where I’ve taught or will soon be teaching:
University of Virginia’s Central Virginia Writing Project (Visiting Writer)
West Virginia Writers Conference
Hindman Settlement School's Appalachian Writers Workshop
Virginia's Governor's School for the Arts
Table Rock Writers Retreat
Tennessee Mountain Writers
Virginia Highlands Festival
Blacksburg Home-School Association
Radford University’s Highland Summer Conference
Mt. Rogers Naturalist Rally
East Tennessee State University
Alabama's Writers Conclave
In addition, I’ve taught or lectured on many other topics related to sustainable food and forestry, blueberries, writing, and Appalachian Literature.