11/13/08

GRETCHEN T. LEGLER

Curriculum Vitae

Current Academic Position

University of Maine at Farmington

Department of Humanities/BFA Program in Creative Writing

Full Professor. 2006

Tenure. 2003

Associate Professor. 2001

Assistant Professor. 2000

FAX (207) 778-7452

Previous Academic Positions

University of Alaska Anchorage, Associate Professor with Tenure

Department of Creative Writing and Literary Arts. 1994-2000.

Education

Ph.D. English, University of Minnesota. 1994.

Thesis: "Toward A Postmodern Pastoral: Contemporary Women Writers' Revisions of the Natural World"

Minor in Feminist Studies, University of Minnesota Center for Advanced Feminist Studies. 1994.

M.A. Creative Writing, University of Minnesota. Fiction. 1991.

Thesis: "Naked Heart" (a collection of twelve traditional short stories)

B.A. Cum Laude. Majors in Political Science and Journalism. Macalester College,

St. Paul, MN. 1984.

Cambridge University, Cambridge England. Work in Political Philosophy and 19th Century British Literature. 1982.

University of Utah, Salt Lake City. General undergraduate courses. 1979-1980.

University of New England. Armidale, New South Wales, Australia. Work in Australian History and Literature. 1980.

RECOGNITION OF CREATIVE AND SCHOLARLY WORK

Honors and Awards

Sabbatical leave from University of Maine at Farmington. January 2007-January 2008.

Winner: Association for the Study of Literature and Environment award in environmental creative writing for On the Ice. 2007.

Finalist: Publishing Triangle Judy Grahn Award for Lesbian Nonfiction for On the Ice. 2006.

Graywolf Press New Nonfiction Award for On the Ice. Second Place. 2005.

Visiting Scholar: Cambridge University Scott Polar Research Institute, Cambridge, England. May, 2001.

Grantee: National Science Foundation Office of Polar Programs Antarctic Artists and Writers Program Fellowship. August, 1997- January,1998.

Pushcart Prize for essay "Gooseberry Marsh." The 1998 Pushcart Prize XXII: Best of the Small Presses.

Special Sabbatical Leave from University of Alaska Anchorage for travel to Antarctica. August, 1997-January, 1998.

Pushcart Prize for essay "Border Water." The 1992-1993 Pushcart Prize XVII: Best of the Small Presses.

Associated Writing Programs Intro Journal Award for nonfiction. 1991.

Writing Residencies: Norcroft (Lutsen, MN) August, 2002; Ucross (Wyoming) June, 2000; Hedgebrook (Whidbey Island, WA) March, 2000; Norcroft June, 1994.

National Book Reviews (Selected list):

On the Ice: An Intimate Portrait of Life at McMurdo Station Antarctica: Booklist, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, Lambda Book Report, OUT Magazine, The Advocate, Salon.com, Bookslut, Geotimes. “A perfect combination of nature writing and memoir.”

All The Powerful Invisible Things: A Sportswoman's Notebook: New York Times Book Review, Kirkus Reviews (starred review), Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, Booklist, Los Angeles Times, The Bloomsbury Review, Feminist Bookstore News, American Bookseller, Outdoor Writers Association of America. “An awesome vision…..a spare yet vivid style.”

CREATIVE WORK: Books

On The Ice: An Intimate Portrait of Life at McMurdo Station Antarctica. Booklength nonfiction. Minneapolis, MN., Milkweed Editions, 2005.

All The Powerful Invisible Things: A Sportswoman's Notebook. Booklength nonfiction. Seattle, Seal Press, 1995.

CREATIVE WORK: Articles/Stories/Essays/Art (Selected List)

“Acquainted with the Night.” Let There Be Night: Testimony on Behalf of the Dark. Paul Bogard, ed. University of Nevada Press, 2008.

Introduction to South, by Ernest Shackleton. Reprinted by Barnes & Noble. New York: Barnes & Noble, 2008.

Twenty entries. Home Ground: Language for An American Landscape. Barry Lopez, ed. Trinity University Press, 2006.

“Moments of Being: An Antarctic Quintet.” Writing True: The Art and Craft of Creative Nonfiction. Sondra Perl and Mimi Schwartz. Boston: Heinle Publishing, 2005.

“The Blue Inside the Ice Caves.” Original pastel drawing. Writing True: The Art and Craft of Creative Nonfiction. Sondra Perl and Mimi Schwartz. Boston: Heinle Publishing, 2005.

“Walking.” Going Alone: Women’s Adventures in the Wild. Susan Fox Rogers, ed. Seattle: Seal Press, 2004.

“Fishergirl.” Father Nature: Fathers As Guides to the Natural World. Stan Tag and Paul Piper, eds. University of Iowa Press, 2003.

“Gabimichigami.” Sisters of the Earth, second edition. Lorraine Anderson, ed. New York: Vintage, 2003.

“Moments of Being: An Antarctic Quintet.” The Georgia Review. Winter 2002.

"Fishergirl." His Hands, His Tools, His Sex, His Dress: Lesbian Writers on Their Fathers. Catherine Reid and Holly Iglesias, eds. New York: Harrington Park Press, Alice Street Editions, 2001.

"Out-takes." Under Northern Lights: Writers and Artists View the Alaskan

Landscape. Frank Soos and Kesler Woodwards, eds. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2000.

"Pole." Orion. Winter 2000.

"Southpole" and "Sounds." The Women's Review of Books. November, 1999.

“Grouse.” America: True Stories of Life On the Road. San Fransisco: Traveler’s Tales, Inc., 1999.

"Lake One, Lake Two, Lake Three, Lake Four." Women on the Verge. Susan Fox Rogers, ed. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1999.

"All The Powerful Invisible Things." American Nature Writing 1999. Corvallis: Oregon State University Press, 1999.

"Mushrooms," "Plumtree," and "Gabimichigami." Gifts of the Wild. Seattle: Seal Press, 1998.

"Gooseberry Marsh Part Two." Minnesota Seasons: Classic Tales of Life Outdoors. Waukesha, WI: The Cabin Bookshelf, 1998.

"The Blue." The Antarctic Sun Times. McMurdo Station, Antarctica. December, 1997.

"Gooseberry Marsh Part Two." The 1998 Pushcart Prize XXII: Best of the Small Presses. Wainscott, NY: Pushcart Press, 1997.

"Gooseberry Marsh Part Two." American Nature Writing 1997. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books,1997.

"Gooseberry Marsh Part Two." Orion. 15.1 (Winter 1996): 29-33.

"Garden." A Glimpse of Green: Women Writing on Gardens. London: The Women's Press, 1996.

"Fishergirl." A Different Angle. Seattle: Seal Press, April, 1995.

"Wolf." Another Wilderness: New Outdoor Writing by Women. Susan Fox Rogers, ed. Seattle: Seal Press, 1994.

"Gabimichigami" and "Gooseberry Marsh." Indiana Review 16.1 (Spring 1993): 67-77.

"Solstice" (short story). Grain 20th Anniversary Great Plains Issue 20.1 (Spring 1992): 102-111.

"Border Water." The 1992-1993 Pushcart Prize XVII: Best of the Small Presses. Bill Henderson, ed. New York: Pushcart Press, 1992.

"Border Water." Uncommon Waters: Women Write About Fishing. Holly Morris, ed.

Seattle: Seal Press, 1991. 73-84.

"Border Water" and "Wildflowers." Indiana Review 14.3 (Fall 1991): 146-160.

"Juan Mina" (short story). The House on Via Gombito: Writing By North American

Women Abroad. C.W. Truesdale and Madelon Sprengnether, eds. Minneapolis: New

Rivers Press, 1990.

CREATIVE WORK: Public Readings/Presentations (Selected List)

Visiting Writers Series. Florida State University Creative Writing Program. Tallahassee, FL. November, 2008.

Visiting Writers Series. Goddard College. Plainfield, VT. August, 2008.

Visiting Writers Series. Mercy College. Iowa City, IA. October, 2006.

Maine Public Radio. “Maine Things Considered.” Portland, ME. January 5, 2006.

New Hampshire Public Radio “The Front Porch.” Concord, NH. January 6, 2006.

Minnesota Public Radio. “Midmorning.” St. Paul, MN. January 30, 2006.

Publication reading with Polar explorer Anne Bancroft at the Loft Literary Center.

Minneapolis, MN. January 30, 2006.

Visiting Writers Series. Macalester College. St. Paul, MN. January 27, 2006.

Visiting Writers Series. University of Maine Machias. Machias, ME. February 28, 2006.

“Live From Prairie Lights.” Iowa Public Radio reading at Prairie Lights Bookstore. Iowa City, IA. October 5, 2006.

Visiting Writers Series. Wrangell Mountains Center. Kennicott Lodge. Kennicott, AK. August, 2002.

Visiting Writers Series. University of Maine at Farmington. Farmington, ME. November, 2000.

"The Blue," "The Pole," and "Wind." Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance Fall Conference/Workshop. Gray, ME. September 15-17, 2000.

Reading of Antarctic work with Norman Vaughn, an expedition member with Admiral Richard Byrd when Byrd flew the first aircraft to the South Pole. Cyrano's Bookstore, Anchorage, AK. November 22, 1998.

"Making Literature From Landscape: Notes on the Creative Process." Reading and lecture aboard the Nathaniel B. Palmer in the Ross Sea, Antarctica, January , 1998, and at the McMurdo Station Sunday Science Lecture Series, November, 1997.

“What Wind Does To Snow: A Writer's Antarctic Journey” (A words and pictures performance presented at numerous venues including): Friends of Schoodic Association Public Lecture, Schoodic Point, ME. June, 2007; Gold Leaf Institute, Farmington, ME, April 1, 2001; Farmington Rotary Club, Farmington, ME, December, 2000; The Bookstore, Sheridan, WY, June, 2000; Community of Kodiak, AK, October, 1999; Wild River Artists Guild, Glennallen, AK, July 27, 1999;University of Alaska Anchorage College of Arts and Sciences Expo, September, 1998; Wrangell Mountains Center/ Wrangell-St. Elias National Park Summer Speaker Series, Kennicott, AK, August 16, 1998; Plenary Presentation at the Alaska Center for the Book Writing Rendezvous. Anchorage, AK, April 26, 1998; Anchorage Women's Coffee House, April 24, 1998; Bunnell Street Gallery, Homer, AK, April 10, 1998; UAA Undergraduate Honors Program Seminar, March 13, 1998; University of Alaska Anchorage, March 6, 1998; Anchorage Unitarian Universalist Church, February 15, 1998.

SCHOLARLY WORK: Articles (Selected List)

Leaving Resurrection: Chronicles of a Whale Scientist (Eva Saulitus). Book review. Orion. (Nov/Dec 2008): 75.

Big Dead Place (Nicholas Johnson), End of the Earth (Peter Matthiessen), Terra Antarctica (William Fox). Book review. ISLE: Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and the Environment. 15.1 (Winter 2008): 272-74.

"I Am A Transparent Eyeball: The Politics of Vision in American Nature Writing." Contemporary Literary Criticism Vol. 216. Jeffrey Hunter, ed. Thomson/Gale Group hardcover edition (29-33). 2006.

“The Sky, The Earth, The Sea, The Soul.” Eco-Man: New Perspectives on Masculinity and Nature. Mark Allister, ed. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2004.

"Toward a Postmodern Pastoral: The Erotic Landscape in the Work of Gretel Ehrlich." The First Decade of Ecocriticism from ISLE: Charting the Edges. University of Georgia Press, 2003.

"I Am A Transparent Eyeball: The Politics of Vision in American Nature Writing." Reading Under the Sign of Nature: New Essays in Ecocriticism. John Tallmadge and Henry Harrington, eds. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 2000.

"Who May Contest for What the Body of Nature Will Be?: Body Politics in American

Nature Writing." Writing and the Environment: Ecocriticism & Literature. Richard Kerridge, ed. London and New York: ZED Books, 1998.

"Ecofeminist Literary Criticism." EcoFeminism: Women, Nature and Culture. Karen Warren, ed. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1997.

"Hunting: A Woman's Perspective." Living With Contradictions: Controversies in

Feminist Social Ethics. Alison Jaggar, ed. Boulder: Westview Press, 1994.

"Toward a Postmodern Pastoral: The Erotic Landscape in the Work of Gretel Ehrlich."

Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and the Environment, 1.2 (Fall 1993): 45-56.

"(Re)eroticizing Human Relationships With the Natural World: Native American and Anglo Women Writers' (Re)visions." Studies in the Humanities, 19.2 (December 1992): 183- 194.

"Brautigan's Waters" (Critical essay on teaching nature writing). The CEA Critic 54.1 (Fall 1991): 67-69.

SCHOLARLY WORK:Conferences/Presentations/Papers/Lectures (Selected List)

Forthcoming Presenter: Roundtable: “Let There Be Night.” Association for the Study of Literature and Environment biennial conference. University of Victoria, Victoria, B.C., June 2009.

Forthcoming Presenter: Panel: “XX Marks the Spot: Women and Travel Writing.” Associated Writing Programs annual conference. Chicago, 2009.

Presenter and Panel Organizer/Moderator for “We Will Be Citizens: The Insistent Voice of Lesbian Nonfiction.” Paper titled “Sappho In Antarctica.” Associated Writing Programs annual conference. New York City, 2008.

Presenter: “The Writer in Antarctica.” Panel: “Tabula Rasa: Writing In/On the ‘Blank Slate’ of Antarctica.” Associated Writing Programs annual conference. Austin, TX. April 2006.

Presenter: “Back in Soviet Times: Food, Cooking, and Talk in the Transition from Soviet to Modern Russia.” Panel: “Kitchen Ecologies: Ethnographies of Food, Change and Daily Life in Postsocialist Societies. American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies conference. Salt Lake City, Utah. November 3-6, 2005.

Presenter: “Fishergirl.” Panel: “You Don’t Get Credit for Playing: When Sports Occasions Memoir.” Iowa Nonfiction NOW Conference. University of Iowa. November 3-6, 2005.

Presenter: “Visual Proofs.” Panel: “Writing from Antarctica.” Association for the Study of Literature and Environment biennial conference. Eugene, OR. June, 2005.

Presenter/Moderator: “Recent Nature Writing” panel. Association for the Study of Literature and Environment biennial conference. Boston, MA., June 2003.

Presenter: “Antarctica.” Panel: “Extreme Nature Writing.” Association for the Study of Literature and Environment biennial conference. Flagstaff, AZ. June, 2001.

Presenter/Panel Organizer: "Gender on Ice: Women in the Frozen South." Panel: "Pole to Pole: Images of Women in the Arctic and the Antarctic.” National Women's Studies Association annual conference. Boston, MA. June, 2000.

Presenter: "The Blue" and "South Pole." Panel: “Alaska Writers.” Associated Writing Programs annual conference. Portland, Oregon. March 26, 1998.

Chair and Presenter: "Out-takes." Panel: “Original Nature Writing.” Association for the Study of Literature and Environment biennial conference. Missoula, MT. July 17-19, 1997.

Chair and Presenter: "I Am A Transparent Eyeball: The Politics of Vision in American Nature Writing." Panel: “Annie Dillard.” Association for the Study of Literature and Environment biennial conference. Missoula, MT. July 17-19, 1997.

Presenter/Discussant: "Narrative Theory in Eco-Criticism Roundtable." Western American Literature conference. Vancouver, B.C. October 11-14, 1995.

Moderator: Recent Women Nature Writers Panel. Association for the Study of Literature and the Environment biennial conference. Fort Collins, CO. June 9-11, 1995.

Presenter: "Who May Contest for What the Body of Nature Will Be?: Body Politics in American Nature Writing." Association for the Study of Literature and the Environment biennial conference. Fort Collins, CO. June 9-11, 1995.

TEACHING

University of Maine at Farmington (undergraduate)

Russian Exchange Professor in Syktivkar, the Komi Republic

Writing Practice and Home Reading

LIA: Explorations in Learning

Summer Experience

Technology and the Soul: Living in the Electronic Age (Honors Program)

Experimental Linked Courses

ENG 100/US HST I (multiple semesters)

FYS 100 Thinking Green/ ART 115A Drawing the Natural World

Beginning Creative Nonfiction

Advanced Creative Nonfiction

First Year Seminar: “Thinking Green: Expanding Your Environmental Awareness.” Beginning Composition.

Beginning Composition with Computers

Seminar in Creative Writing

Literary Nonfiction/ Women’s Writing About Place

Literary Nonfiction/Varieties of Nonfiction Prose

Introduction to Women’s and Gender Studies

Nature Writing: A Field Course

Southern New Hampshire University (graduate)

Nonfiction Professor. Southern New Hampshire University Low Residency MFA Program. August 2006-present.

University of Alaska Anchorage (mostly graduate)

Form and Theory: Varieties of Nonfiction Prose

Form and Theory: Nature Writing

Introduction to Creative Writing: Nature Writing

Introduction to Women's Studies

Analysis of Nonfiction Prose

The Art of the Memoir

Topics in Nonfiction Prose: Nature Writing

Topics in Nonfiction Prose: The Writer's Life

Introduction to Creative Nonfiction

Graduate Workshop in Creative Nonfiction

The Short Story

Undergraduate Workshop in Creative Nonfiction

Writing and Gender

Graduate Thesis Advising

Undergraduate Thesis Advising

University of Minnesota (TA/Instructor)

Writing About Art

Writing About Literature

American Nature Writing

Grammar for Creative Writers

Feminist Expository Writing

Writing for the Sciences

Introduction to Women Writers

Introduction to Literature

Women's Short Stories

Introduction to Fiction Writing

Writing Lab Tutor

Intermediate Expository Writing

Reading as Writers: The Memoir

Introduction to Creative Writing.

Introductory Expository Writing

Workshops and Community Education

Goddard Masters Degree in Individualized Studies Summer Residency. Nonfiction workshop on Writing About Place. Plainfield, VT. August, 2008

New Hampshire Writers Day Workshop. “The Solid Earth: Personal Writing About Place.” Manchester, NH. March 24, 2006.

Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance Fall Workshop. Memoir Writing. Haystack School for the Arts. September 12-14, 2003.

Wrangell Mountains Center Writing Workshop. A ten-day writing workshop in the wilderness of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park in Alaska. I taught this workshop in 1998 and was invited back for a second year. August, 2002.

“Downeast Writer’s Workshop.” Workshop emphasizing the connection between creative writing and self-exploration. Old Orchard Beach, ME. April, 2001

Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance Fall Workshop."Geography and the Heart: Nonfiction Writing About Place." Gray, ME. September 15-17, 2000.

"Flexing the Writing Muscle: Exercises to Stay in Shape" and "Funding the Writing Life." Alaska Center for the Book Writing Rendezvous. Anchorage, AK. April, 2000.

Wrangell Mountains Center Nature Writing Workshop. An adult workshop focusing on poetry and personal essays held in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, McCarthy, AK. August 18-21, 1998.

Whittenberger Summer Writing Project: Writing and the Wild. A summer writing institute for secondary school students. Albertson College. Caldwell, Idaho. June 21-July 3, 1998.

Alaska Outdoor Writing Workshops offered through the Alaska Nature Writing Institute. Summer workshops meant to help beginning to advanced writers develop skills related to writing about the natural world. Summer 1995-Summer 1998.

Teaching and Research Interests

The Craft of Creative Nonfiction

Nature Writing/The Cultural Construction of Nature

Antarctic Literature/Women's Antarctic Narratives

Memoir

Ecofeminist Literary Theory/Ecocriticism

Feminist Theory and Criticism

Essay Theory

19th and 20th Century Literature by Women

SERVICE: University of Maine at Farmington

Convocation Speaker: University of Maine at Farmington. September 2006.

Bachelor of Fine Arts Program in Creative Writing:

Interim Program Director: BFA Program in Creative Writing. Spring 2005.

Coordinator: BFA Program in Creative Writing website. 2006-present.

Coordinator: BFA Program Visiting Writers Series. Fall 2004-Fall 2006.

Co-preparer: Outcomes Evaluation and Report for BFA Program in Creative Writing. Spring 2002.

Committee work:

Curriculum and Planning Committee. Fall 2008.

Academic Dismissals and Appeals Committee. Summer 2005-Winter 2007.

Women's Studies Council. Fall 2000-Winter 2007.

Library Committee. Fall 2001-2005.

Honors Council. Fall 2002-Spring 2003

Sabbatical Leave Committee. Fall 2001. Fall 2003.

Humanities Department Peer Committee. 2002-Present.

Search committees:

Women’s and Gender Studies/Composition. Fall 2006

Chair: BFA Program Poetry. 2004-2005.

Social Sciences Sociology. 2004-2005.

American Literature. Fall 2000-Spring 2001.

Other service:

Organizer: Nordica Celebration of Women and the Arts. An annual performance in UMF’s Nordica Auditorium featuring dance, music, readings and other arts, performed by students, faculty and members of the community. 2002. 2003. 2005. 2006.

Reader/Evaluator: UMF Writing Placement Essays. June 2002; Apropos. UMF’s magazine of student writing from the Humanities. Summer 2002; Voices. UMF’s magazine of student writing from first-year Composition. Spring 2002.

SERVICE: Professional

Member of the Executive Council of the Association for the Study of Literature and Environment (an elected position). Beginning 2007.

Panel Member: National Science Foundation Artists and Writers Program Selection Panel. This panel met in Washington D.C. for two days a year to select up to eight grant recipients from a worldwide pool of more than 30 applications from artists and writers of extremely high caliber. June 2000. June 2001.

Editorial Board for University of Virginia Press imprint Under The Sign of Nature: Explorations in Ecocriticism. 2001--Present.

Editorial Board for ISLE: Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment. 1996 --Present.

Reader for NWSA, the National Women’s Studies Association journal. Beginning 2008.

Reader for Environmental History, a scholarly journal published by the Forest History Society and the American Society for Environmental History. 1998--Present.

Reader for Organization and Environment, a scholarly journal from Sage Periodicals Press. 1997--Present.

Reader for Mosaic, a scholarly journal that stresses cross-national and interdisciplinary scholarship. 2002--Present.

Reader for Southern Maine Review. University of Southern Maine journal. 2005–Present.

Manuscript Reader: Palgrave Macmillan. Race and Nature: From Transcendentalism to the Harlem Renaissance. 2008.

Manuscript Reader: Pearson/Longman Publishing. The Truth of the Matter: A Step-by-Step Guide to Writing Outstanding Creative Nonfiction. 2005.

Manuscript Reader: University Press of Colorado. Pioneering Conservation in Alaska: Leaders, Lands and Wildlife. 2004.

Manuscript Reader: Michigan State University Press. Homestand: A Memoir of Growing Up in Sports. 2004.

Peer Review for tenure candidate at Colby College. 2008.

Peer Review for tenure candidate at University of Minnesota Crookston. 2008.

Peer Review for tenure candidate at St. Lawrence University. 2005.

Peer Review for tenure candidate at Colby College. 2004.

Panelist: Ohio Arts Council Literature Award. Cincinnati, OH. 2007.

Panelist: New Hampshire Arts Council Literature Award. Concord, N.H. June, 2008.

Judge: Publishing Triangle Gay and Lesbian Nonfiction Awards. 2007.

Judge: Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance Writing Contest. Fall 2004.

Judge: New Hampshire Writing Awards. Nonfiction Panel. Fall 2003.

SERVICE: Farmington Community

Writer in Residence: Farmington Children’s School. 2007-2008.

Board Member: Farmington Children’s School. 2007-2008.

Board Member: SAVES (Sexual Assault Victim Emergency Services). A Farmington-based non-profit organization aimed at improving community response to domestic violence. 2001-2004.

SERVICE: University of Alaska Anchorage

Co-chair: Women's Studies Program, University of Alaska Anchorage. Spring 1995-Spring 1999.

Memberships

Association for the Study of Literature and the Environment

Modern Language Association

National Women's Studies Association

Maine Women's Studies Association

Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance