BRENNA CASEY

Boston College, B.A., English, University of Notre Dame, M.F.A., Creative Writing, Duke University, Ph.D., English

Brenna completed her doctoral work this spring in the Department of English at Duke University, where she has been teaching creative writing and literature. Her dissertation investigates the intersections of literature, visual culture, and technology in the U.S. throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Brenna is the recipient of the Stephen Horne Award, awarded to a Graduate Instructor who has been nominated by his or her students for their outstanding commitment and excellence in teaching. She completed her M.F.A. in Creative Writing at the University of Notre Dame where she was awarded the Sparks Fellowship. While in South Bend, Brenna founded a weekly writing group for adults at South Bend’s Center for the Homeless, was recognized by the Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) for outstanding nonfiction writing, and received the university’s Distinguished Graduate Student Award, in part for her teaching excellence. Brenna’s essays, poetry, and reviews have been published widely. She is currently a regular contributor at Ploughshares. Brenna has managed communications for nonprofit organizations in Seattle and Washington, D.C., and worked in the Putney Student Travel office where she specialized in new media outreach and Latin American programming. Brenna created Putney Student Travel’s Writing in Prague and Ireland programs, taught writing for National Geographic Student Expeditions in Peru and Spain, and has led Putney programs in Ecuador, Argentina, Costa Rica, Prague, and Ireland. Brenna is fluent in Spanish.