Like so many of you, I’m grateful that we can once again learn, teach, and collaborate safely in-person and remain hopeful that, with caution, we will remain able to do so throughout the fall and winter. I’m also excited to celebrate some writing achievements and embark on some new projects!
On the academic research side, my master’s thesis, “Stitching Together a Women’s Movement: The Origins and Impact of the Daughters of St. Crispin,” won the University of Massachusetts 2022 American Studies Book Award. I recently had the opportunity to connect this work to current events in a piece written for the Made by History section of The Washington Post titled, “Women have always been key to the labor movement: Solidarity between male and female workers is crucial to advancing the cause in America.”
In the creative nonfiction realm, “Mud,” an essay exploring the relationship between family, culture, and geographic place was featured in the Spring 2022 issue of Vineyard Literary. This piece forms the basis of a work-in-progress focused on evolving generational economic and social changes and the responsibility of traditional education systems and work environments to adapt accordingly.
Lastly, in my continuous pursuit to expand my knowledge of, and sharpen my skills in, nonfiction writing methodology, theory, and teaching, my most recent craft essay, “A Structural History of American Public Health Narratives: Rereading Priscilla Wald’s Contagious and Nancy Tomes’ Gospel of Germs amidst a 21st-Century Pandemic,” is featured in the Spring 2023 issue of Assay: A Journal of Nonfiction Studies.
Photo by Amy Mackin