Joan Houlihan
Professional Title: M.F.A. Creative Writing Faculty
Areas of Academic Focus and Expertise:
Poetry
Representative List of Recent Courses Taught:
Distance-Learning Courses:
· Creative Writing I-IV
· Craft and Reflection I-III
· Graduating Seminar Preparation
· Creative Thesis
Residency Seminars:
· Entering, Dwelling, Leaving: Discovering Order in Your Poetry Manuscript
· The Sound of One Voice Talking: Monologue in Poetry, Drama, Fiction and Nonfiction
Education: B.A., M.A., English, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Representative List of Recent Publications / Exhibitions:
Books:
The Us (2009)
The Mending Worm (2006)
Hand-Held Executions: Poems & Essays (2003)
Teaching Philosophy: I engage each poem on its own terms, taking it as far (and deep) as possible, while respecting limits and personal aesthetics. Some of my methods include: tailoring readings based on what I see as a student's affinities to, and differences from, contemporary poems, as well as on what I think the poet's work lacks. I ask students to challenge their own style with new models and to examine their assumptions about what a poem is. I focus on the small elements of craft (line, syntax and line break, image and metaphor, sound and diction) as a way to inform the large - inspiration, author intention and reader response, innovation and communication. I also assign exercises that focus on a particular element of craft and demonstrate how to radically re-envision a poem as an editor. Many of my students have published books, chapbooks, in journals, and have won awards.
Awards: Must-read book of 2009 (Massachusetts Center for the Book), Green Rose Award for a Second Book (New Issues Press).
Affiliations: Clark University; Founding Director of the Concord Poetry Center, Concord, MA; Founding Director of the Colrain Poetry Manuscript Conference; Contributing Editor, Contemporary Poetry Review.
Past Affiliations: Columbia University, Emerson College. Former Editor of Perihelion.
Websites:www.joanhoulihan.com, www.concordpoetry.org, www.colrainpoetry.com