Susan Somers-Willett
Susan Somers-Willett (born 1973)[1] is an American author and academic working as a professor of literature and creative writing at the University of Texas at Austin.
Susan Somers-Willett | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1973 (age 50–51) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
| Academic background | |
| Education | Duke University (AB) University of Texas at Austin (MA, PhD) |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | English literature Creative writing |
| Sub-discipline | Poetry |
| Institutions | Carnegie Mellon University Montclair State University University of Illinois University of Texas at Austin |
Education edit
Somers-Willett earned an A.B. from Duke University, followed by a Master of Arts in creative writing and PhD in American literature from the University of Texas at Austin.
Career edit
Somers-Willett is the author of two books of poetry: Quiver (Virginia Quarterly Review Series, University of Georgia Press, 2009)[2] and Roam (Crab Orchard Series in Poetry Open Competition Awards, SIU Press, 2006).[3] She is also the author of a book of scholarly criticism, The Cultural Politics of Slam Poetry: Race, Identity, and the Performance of Popular Verse in America (University of Michigan Press, 2009), which was the first scholarly monograph on the poetry slam and which focuses on African American performance in slam and spoken word poetry.[4]
She has taught at Carnegie Mellon University, Montclair State University, and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where she was an Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow in the Humanities. She currently works at the University of Texas at Austin.[5]
Personal life edit
From 2003 to 2013, Somers-Willett was married to author and screenwriter Ernest Cline, with whom she has one child.[6][7]
Selected works edit
- The Cultural Politics of Slam Poetry: Race, Identity, and the Performance of Popular Verse in America, University of Michigan Press, 2009.
- Quiver Virginia Quarterly Review Series, University of Georgia Press, 2009.
- Roam Crab Orchard Series Open Competition Award, Southern Illinois University Press, 2006.
References edit
- ^ "The cultural politics of slam poetry : race, identity, and the performance of popular verse in America". tamucc.userservices.exlibrisgroup.com. Retrieved 2023-01-20.
- ^ University of Georgia Press website
- ^ Southern Illinois University Press website
- ^ University of Michigan Press website
- ^ Susan B.A. Somers-Willett official website
- ^ "Marriage/Divorce Indexes". Texas Health and Human Services. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
- ^ Milson, Katherine. "Interview with Dr. Somers-Willett" (PDF). Retrieved 6 June 2022.
External links edit
- Official Website
- Susan Somers-Willett's poem "On Cancer" in Gulf Coast: A Journal of Literature and Fine Arts (25.1).