dmacc

General Information

Welcome. I teach a range of English and Literature Courses on the Newton Campus of Des Moines Area Community College, including Composition, Introduction to Literature, Contemporary Literature, and Creative Writing. My courses always involve reading and writing, and I basically believe in the worth of both activities.

On winter days in Iowa, you may need to use your defroster before you drive. That’s because you can’t see through the windshield. Writing is like a mental defroster. It gives you a clear look at the world of ideas, offering you a way to drive forward into it all, finding your direction and purpose. Reading can also add to this clarifying effect because other writers, through the careful articulation of personal ideas and emotions, help us to understand our own ideas and emotions.

I may be a bit biased because reading and writing have been a way of life for me. I began reading books to myself in second grade, when I was at a boarding school in Ethiopia, where my parents lived and worked. Eventually, that love of literature took me to the University of Kansas for an M.A. in Literature, and it was there that I designed my own course titled Cultural Perspectives in Literature, beginning a special focus on literature from authors outside the U.S. or from authors with ethnic and minority perspectives (for further teaching background, click here). I also began to write in second grade—composing letters to send to my parents while I was away at boarding school. That habit of writing grew over time, as I experienced how writing could help me to make sense of my experience in the world. Eventually, I completed a second graduate degree, an M.F.A. in Creative Writing, through the Nonfiction Writing Program at the University of Iowa. Today, I have published three books, dozens of essays and articles, plus quite a few poems (for author background, click here).

I hope to meet you in a writing course or literature course. Since we have such a small campus at Newton, if you take an English or Literature course, you are quite likely to study with me. You also are welcome to drop by the Writing Center (my office) if you have any writing concerns that arise. I consult with students about their writing projects, whether they are still in the early stages of development (outlining and drafting) or nearing completion. I will try to help you identify and solve whatever problems may exist in the writing, including issues of focus, research, organization, wording, or documentation.