About

Australian Aboriginal Literature
African American Literature
American Literature
Book History

Education

2011     Ph.D. English, Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
Dissertation: Expansive Modernism: Female Editors, Little Magazines, and
New Book Histories.
Major area: Twentieth-Century American Literature
1st minor area: Multi-Ethnic Literature
2nd minor area: Rhetoric and Composition
2008    M.A. English, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis.
2006    B.A., summa cum laude, English, Purdue University North Central.

Publications

Books (in print)

A Companion to the Works of Kim Scott. Camden House, 2016.

The success of A Companion to Australian Aboriginal Literature (see below) met the immediate need in Australian, World, and Indigenous literature markets, but with the growing interest in this community there are now increased opportunities for specific books that focus on key individuals within the canon. One contemporary Aboriginal Australian author who continues to make a decisive impact on both the Australian and the global canon is Kim Scott (1957- ). Scott’s novels have won countless awards, including Australia’s highest literary award, the prestigious Miles Franklin Award, twice (in 2000 for his landmark novel Benang and again in 2011 for his highly acclaimed novel That Deadman Dance), and the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for the best book in Southeast Asia and the Pacific (That Deadman Dance). Scott has also published in other literary genres including poetry, short stories, children’s literature, and on Indigenous health. Despite national and international acclaim for his literary contribution, there was previously no comprehensive critical companion that contextualizes his work for scholars, students (undergraduate and graduate), and general readers. A Companion to the Works of Kim Scott fills this void by providing a collection of twelve original essays that focus on Scott’s novels, short stories, poetry, and work with the Wirlomin Noongar language project and Indigenous health. The companion also includes an original interview with the author, conducted by the companion’s editor.

A Companion to Australian Aboriginal Literature, editor. Rochester, NY: Camden House, 2013. Paperback edition was released in August 2015.
http://www.camden-house.com/store/viewItem.asp?idProduct=14705

Aboriginal literature is central to Australia’s culture, yet it has only recently come into its own as a recognized canon. This companion, the first of its kind, traces the development of Aboriginal literacy from the oral tradition up until today and includes detailed critical examinations of the various genres in which Australian Aboriginal authors have excelled, including autobiography, poetry, drama, fiction, film, and music.  The companion makes a strong contribution to Australian, multi-ethnic, and transnational literature.

Books (under contract)

Gwendolyn Bennett: The Harlem Renaissance’s Quintessential Poet, Artist, Editor, and Columnist. University Press of Mississippi. Expected release date: mid-2017.

Bennett (1902-1981) was a key figure in the development of the Harlem Renaissance and was a mainstay in the Harlem arts and education communities long after the Renaissance ended. Though Bennett was highly renowned, particularly in the 1920s and 1930s, she has yet to reach the literary heights of other Renaissance artists, such as Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, and Countee Cullen. With no significant
scholarly treatment of Bennett’s diverse accomplishments completed to date, this book fills an important gap in the history of African American art, poetry, and editorship during and after the Harlem Renaissance.

Articles (in print)

“Gwendolyn Bennett: A Leading Voice of the Harlem Renaissance.” The Blackwell Companion to the Harlem Renaissance. Ed. Cherene Sherrard. West Sussex, UK: Wiley-Blackwell, 2015. 203-218.

“An Interview with Jeanine Leane.” Antipodes. 28.1 (June 2014): 173-182.

“Gwendolyn Bennett’s ‘The Ebony Flute.’” PMLA. 128.3 (May 2013): 744-755.

“Gwendolyn Bennett’s Anniversary Issue of ‘The Ebony Flute.’” MAPS (Modern American Poetry Site). Ed. Cary Nelson. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. 2013. 2,000 words.

“Gwendolyn Bennett’s Career: A Brief Snapshot.” MAPS (Modern American Poetry Site).
Ed. Cary Nelson. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. 2013. 1,500 words.

“Lola Ridge’s Pivotal Editorial Role at Broom.” PMLA. 127.2 (March 2012): 283-291.

“Female Aboriginal Narratives: Helping Reshape Australia.” Reading Down Under:
Australian Literary Studies Reader
. Ed. Amit Sarwal and Reema Sarwal. New Delhi: SSS Publications, 2009. 236-242.

“Aboriginal Mothering: An Australian Perspective.” Until our Hearts are on the Ground:
Aboriginal Mothering: Oppression, Resistance and Transformation
. Ed. Dawn Memee
Lavell-Harvard and Jeannette Corbiere Lavell. Toronto: Demeter Press – York
University, 2006. 125-137.

Articles (under contract)

“The Aboriginal Novel.” (co-written with Peter Minter, U of Sydney) The Oxford History of the Novel in English. Eds. Patrick Parrinder, Coral Ann Howells, Paul Sharrad, Gerry Turcotte. 2016. 7,000 words.

“Redeeming Hemingway and his Women: Periodicals as Sites of Change in the American Literature Classroom.” Teaching Hemingway and Gender and Sexuality. Ed. Verna Kale and Mark Ott. Kent State UP, 2016. 4,000 words.

“An Interview with Heat and Light Author Ellen van Neerven.” Antipodes. Forthcoming. 3,000 words.

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