E R I C M E L B Y E 612 McLain St. Dayton, OH 45403 (937) 222-2954 melbyee@muohio.edu www.users.muohio.edu/melbyee/ EDUCATION Ph.D. University of Denver, 2001. Creative Writing with Rhetoric subspecialty. Dissertation: The Violet Hour: A Novel. Advisor: Brian Kiteley. M.A. University of Southern Mississippi Center for Writers, 1996. Creative Writing. Thesis: Learning to Surrender: Stories. Advisor: Frederick Barthelme. B.A. University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, 1993. English and Creative Writing. Université de Caen, France, 1991. Semester of study in French language. TEACHING EXPERIENCE Assistant Professor of English/Creative Writing 2001-present Composition: The Whole Writing Process Composition and Literature: Literature Inside and Out Educational Leadership: Cultural Diversity Seminar Humanity and Technology Introduction to Creative Writing: Serious Play Intermediate Fiction Writing Introduction to Creative Nonfiction Intermediate Poetry Writing: Poetry in/and the Community (Spring 2006) Independent Study: Modern Poetry in Historical Context Independent Study: The Place of Slam Poetry in the Literary Canon Independent Study: Community-Based Learning and the Creative Writing Workshop Teaching Fellow University of Denver 1998-2001 Expository Writing The Persuasive Voice: Critical Cyberliteracy Writing About Literature: Literary Conversation Introduction to Creative Writing Our Stranger Selves: The Literature of Exile The Impossible Self: Alienation and Self-fashioning in Twentieth Century Literature
CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT Intermediate Poetry Workshop 2006 In the spring of 2006 I will teach this course as a community-based learning course the first such creative writing course at Miami University. The first third of the semester will follow a fairly traditional model for a creative writing workshop, in which students practice close reading of poetry and discuss and practice poetry craft, though there will be a strong emphasis on discussing how the cultural and historical contexts of the course readings shape how and what poets write. In the remainder of the course, students will meet regularly with a poetry writing group in the community to develop new poems and discuss the dialectical relationship between poetry and its cultural contexts. All participants will also organize a public poetry reading at the semester s end, and possibly publish a collective chapbook of poems and essays about their experience in the project. I am also beginning plans for an online version of this project which will involve students working in electronic forums with national and international writers published in Segue (see University Work below) and publishing an electronic chapbook. Project Leader, Community-Based Learning Initiative 2004-present The CBLI is a research project begun as part of my role in the Center for Teaching and Learning Leadership Collaborative (see University Work below). As Project Leader of the CBLI, I am responsible for leading an interdisciplinary group of Miami University instructors who are researching community-based learning pedagogy, implementing CBL courses in our various disciplines, creating an online research and resource database for instructors and regional community agencies, and organizing numerous events such as seminars, panel presentations by visiting scholars, and student fairs. English 111 subcommittee 2004 This committee of English instructors was charged with creating a textbook for use with Miami University s freshman composition course. We developed a theme for the text writing as citizens of a diverse world and compiled essays, stories, poetry, and visual documents for the text, using as our guide our vision of the course s philosophy and our shared knowledge of the student body of Miami University and its regional campuses. Hayden-McNeil, the text s publisher, granted me $1,500 to create a web site called Composition @ Miami that serves as an extension of the textbook and the composition program at Miami University. The site is located at www.units.muohio.edu/composition/index.html. English 171: Humanity and Technology 2003 As part of my year-long involvement with the Humanities and Technology learning community at Miami University, I helped create this course and was the first to teach it on the Middletown campus. The course s purpose is to explore the history of technology and how, through its various mediums, it affects our individual and collective identities.
UNIVERSITY WORK Founder and Editor of Segue online literary journal Miami University Middletown 2002-present I created Segue with the aim of publishing a literary journal that celebrated the whole creative writing process rather than its product alone, and to promote reading, writing, and literature on the Middletown campus by offering a literary journal that is as much an educational tool as a literary venue. In addition to publishing fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction by writers around the globe, Segue showcases new or forthcoming work by well-established writers such as Terese Svoboda, Diane Glancy, Brian Kiteley, Denise Duhamel, Katharine Haake, and Ruth Daigon. Along with their creative work, these featured authors submit essays that explore the writing process behind their submissions. I also created the Writing on Writing (WoW) section of Segue to serve as a resource for students, instructors, and writers at Middletown and abroad. Features of WoW include Author Q&As and Writers at Large. Author Q&As are transcripts of email interviews conducted by composition, literature, and creative writing students with authors published in Segue about the authors work, the writing process, and literature in general. Writers at Large publishes a variety of writing about issues in creative writing, from essays on creative writing pedagogy to interviews with writers. I use WoW and the featured authors creative works and essays extensively in all of my writing courses, and invite other instructors at Miami University to do the same, including facilitating Q&As for their courses. Finally, the role of Managing Editor is taken up by the student editor of Illuminati, the campus print literary journal. I invite this student to participate in the publication process by corresponding with contributors about their submissions, discussing the submissions, and maintaining the web site. Discussing the submissions creates an opportunity for pedagogical inquiry on my part and education about the literary marketplace on the student s part. As Editor, I am responsible for training and overseeing the work of the Managing Editor, soliciting, editing, and publishing featured authors, reading/assessing submissions of fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, and nonfiction essays, and publishing each biannual issue. Judge, Miami University Press National Novella Contest Miami University 2005 I served as an initial judge in Miami University Press national novella contest the first of its kind in the country. My responsibilities included reading and commenting on submissions and recommending prize-winners to be published by MU Press. Member, Center for Teaching and Learning leadership collaborative 2004-2005 The leadership collaborative of the new CTL is responsible for creating opportunities for educational collaborations among campus faculty, staff, and students by organizing seminars, providing research information, and granting funds for research and teaching projects. As a member elected by the leadership collaborative for a one-year term, I was responsible for creating/maintaining the CTL web site, helping to establish CTL s administrative and budgetary policies, and organizing speaker events. I was invited back for a second term, but declined due to time conflicts.
Facilitator, Small Group Instructional Diagnostic (SGID) 2003-present SGIDs are an assessment tool for instructors to gauge the strengths and weaknesses of their courses and their teaching styles. After completing training, facilitators are called on by instructors in any discipline to lead the instructor s students through discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of the course and the instructor s teaching methods in a process-controlled environment. Facilitators then write reports for the instructor on the discussion, and meet with the instructor to discuss the report. The reports are used as official documents in the instructors annual activities reports and tenure dossiers as indicators of teaching effectiveness. Coordinator/Committee Chair, Malcolm Sedam Writing Scholarship 2004-present I initiated this scholarship after locating funds. The scholarship awards up to $850 for English students at Middletown based on the quality of writing submitted in a portfolio. As Coordinator/Chair, I am responsible for promoting the scholarship on campus, leading a committee of English faculty in assessing student writing portfolios, and presenting the scholarship award to a student at an annual student awards ceremony. Listserv Moderator for Segue creative writing listserv 2002-present This listserv offers a space for creative writing instructors, students, and writers to share creative work and discuss issues in creative writing. The listserv boasts an international membership of approximately 50 students, writers, and instructors. Listserv Moderator for Illuminati creative writing listserv 2002-present This listserv offers a space for students and writers in the local community to share creative work and discuss issues in creative writing. The listserv boasts a membership of approximately 25 students and community members. Coordinator/Judge for Malcolm Sedam Writing Contest Miami University Middletown 2001-present As part of my responsibilities as a creative writing instructor, I promote this annual contest for writing students at Middletown, collect submissions, lead English faculty in assessing the submissions, and present the winner at the annual student awards ceremony. Faculty Advisor for The Illuminati, campus literary organization/publication 2001-present As part of my responsibilities as a creative writing instructor, I serve as advisor for the campus student creative writing organization, The Illuminati. I am responsible for interviewing/hiring a student editor, advising the editor on publishing the biannual campus literary journal, Illuminati,
leading staff discussions of creative submissions, and overseeing the editor s work as Managing Editor of Segue online literary journal. COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT Director of Scholastic Writing Awards Program 2005-present SWAP is a writing competition and conference for high schools in the southwestern Ohio region. Teams of student writers submit portfolios of writing samples in multiple genres, the portfolios are given a score, and awards are given at a conference on the Miami University campus. The conference is a day-long event that also features lectures and other educational events for high school teachers and creative writing workshops for students. As Director, I am responsible for promoting the event, corresponding with regional high schools, judging the student writing, and organizing all the conference events. Co-Director, Scholastic Writing Awards Program 2002-2004 Before I became Director of SWAP, the previous Director invited me to collaborate with him on this annual event. As Co-Director, my responsibilities included reading/assessing student writing portfolios, and coordinating graduate students and faculty in leading creative writing workshops for high school students, and leading some of the workshops myself. Coordinator of Fireside Reading 2001-present In conjunction with a writing group in the local community, I coordinate an annual open-mic creative writing reading for students and community members. Program Director, Community Educational Outreach Denver, Colorado 1997-2001 As Program Director for this non-profit organization, I designed and implemented educational and life-skills curricula for at-risk adults, and trained and managed volunteer tutors. PUBLICATIONS Tru. Complete manuscript under review with Macadam/Cage Publishing and Word Riot Press. Novel. The Job Search. Job Search in Academe. Forthcoming. Excerpts from an essay. Delamond. Fling Quarterly. Spring 2005. Tru novel excerpt. The Travelers. The Paumanok Review. Spring 2005. Tru novel excerpt.
The Student Literary Magazine on a Two-Year Campus: Where Politics of Place Meet Literary Politics. Co-authored with Dr. John Tassoni. Forthcoming in Pedagogy. Essay. Segue Into Community: A Wired CBL Course Proposal for Writers on a Two-Year Campus. Under review for Literature Matters, a pedagogical anthology. Essay. Serious Play: Creativity in Composition and Pedagogy. Inventio. Fall 2004. Essay. Poetry is a Circle. Expressions: Anthology of the Middletown Poetry Circle. January 2003. Forward. A Closed Field. Identity Theory. July 2002. Tru novel excerpt. Paper Cuts. Samsara Quarterly. April 2002. Tru novel excerpt. The Last Words. 5_Trope (a Web del Sol publication). Fall 2000. Fiction. Reading Skills Techniques. Colorado Adult Education Professional Association Newsletter, 1998. Article. CEO Curriculum Guide. 1998. (Community Educational Outreach training manual and resource guide for program directors). CEO Volunteer Guide, 1998. (Community Educational Outreach training manual for adult education tutors). Martin Martinez. Product: University of Southern Mississippi Center for Writers. 1996. Fiction. Queer Serene Places. Naugahyde Literary Journal. Spring 1996. Fiction. READINGS, LECTURES, PRESENTATIONS Online Journals and the Literary Marketplace. Presentation for Miami University students. Steven Bauer, Associate Professor. Miami University. Spring 2005. Literary Journals: What s the Use? Presentation at Scholastic Writing Awards Program. Miami University. December 2004. Alphabet. Fiction reading at Writer s Harvest. Miami University. Fall 2003. The Game of Creativity. Lecture and fiction workshop at Scholastic Writing Awards Program. Miami University. December 2002. The Prose Poem and the Novel. Presentation at Scholars and Artists Week. Miami University Middletown. Spring 2002. Tru. Fiction reading at Fireside Reading.. Spring 2002.
The Creative Process and The Last Words. Lecture and workshop given at Middletown Public Library for Miami University students and community members. Spring 2002. Tru. Fiction reading at Writer s Harvest. Miami University. Fall 2001. The Creative Process. Lecture and fiction workshop at Scholastic Writing Awards Program. Miami University. Fall 2001. Tru. Fiction reading at University of Denver. Fall 2001. Tru. Fiction reading for 3x3 Reading Series. University of Colorado. Fall 2000. Q&A. Poetry reading at Writer s Harvest. Miami University. Fall 2002. The Writing Process Revealed. Lecture and workshop for creative writing students. Christine Hume, Instructor. University of Denver. Spring 1999. Wake, Caen, One Hot Evening in Padua. Reading at University of Denver. 1999. Postcolonial Presence in Orwell s Essays. Lecture for students of Twentieth Century European Literature. Kim Herzinger, Associate Professor. University of Southern Mississippi. Spring 1995. CONFERENCES Tru: an excerpt. Fiction reading at the joint conference of The American Culture Association and The Popular Culture Association, San Diego, California. Spring 2005. (Forced to withdraw due to scheduling conflict.) The Creative Connection: Making Literature Important Again. Two Year College Association. Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Fall 2002. Humanities and Technology: An Interdisciplinary Course Proposal. Ohio Learning Network: Learning Communities Initiative. Columbus, Ohio. Spring 2002. Lab Rats in the Workshop: Using Oulipian Methodology to Teach Creative Writing as Process and Craft. Panel chair, CCCC. Denver, Colorado. Spring 2001. Critical Literacy and the Internet in Adult Education Programs. Western States Composition Conference. Salt Lake City, Utah. Spring 2000. The Space of Exile: The Ironic Power of the Prostitute s Mask. The Aphra Behn Society Conference. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Fall 1999.
GRANTS AND AWARDS Teaching Enhancement grant for bringing Diane Glancy to the Middletown campus for a fiction reading and class visits, 2005. $800. College of Arts and Sciences Teaching Enhancement grant for Community-Based Learning Initiative. Miami University, 2005. $2,500. Research leave. Miami University, 2005. Paid semester leave to complete novel manuscript. Hayden/McNeil Publishing grant for creating Composition @ Miami web site, 2004. $1,500. Tru. Finalist, Great American Novel Award. Tupelo Press, June 2003. Summer research grant to complete Tru, a novel manuscript. Miami University, 2002. $4,000. Evan Frankel Foundation Fellowship. University of Denver, 2000. $11,000. Tattered Cover Fiction Prize for Inheritance, (short story). University of Denver, 1999. $200. Tattered Cover Fiction Prize for New Padua, (short story). University of Denver, 1998. $200. Teaching Fellowship. University of Denver, 1998-2001. REFERENCES Brian Kiteley, Associate Professor of English; Director of Creative Writing Program. University of Denver. bkiteley@du.edu. (303) 871-2898. Brian Evenson, Chair, Program in Literary Arts. Brown University. Brian_Evenson@brown.edu. (401) 863-3260. Ann Dobyns, Chair and Associate Professor. University of Denver. adobyns@du.edu. (303) 871-2890. Letters of recommendation available upon request.