Looking for tips on revising your book-length poetry manuscript? Nancy Reddy (BA, Writing, 2004) published this practical advice in Poets & Writers magazine. And, once you get that squared away, read Reddy's piece for The Millions on book contracts.
Connie Wagner Ruzich (MA, 1983) is the editor of the 2022 International Poetry of the First World War: An Anthology of Lost Voices (Bloomsbury). The anthology was reviewed in the [London] Times Literary Supplement by Jean Moorcraft Wilson (12 Nov. 2021).
Jennifer Macasek (BPhil, International Studies and English Literature, 2010) received her PhD in Literature from the University of California in 2022 and is currently a lecturer in Chinese Studies at Iowa State University.
Elena Passarello (BA, English Literature and Writing, 2000) directs the MFA program at Oregon State University, where she is an associate professor of nonfiction writing. Passarello's books include Let Me Clear My Throat: Essays (Sarabande, 2012) and Animals Strike Curious Poses (Sarabande, 2018), both of which have received critical acclaim. Passarello's next book will be published in 2025 by Penguin Random House. She can be heard weekly on radio stations across the country as part of the Public Radio Exchange's (PRX's) Live Wire program.
This past spring saw the publication of Rob Tally Jr.'s (MA, Literature ,'93; PhD, Cultural and Critical Studies, '99) 
The Critical Situation: Vexed Perspectives in Postmodern Literary Studies (Anthem symplokē Studies in Theory).
Lucy Matz Veres (Public and Professional Writing certificate, 2011) is wrapping up her eleventh season with the Cleveland Cavaliers; Veres spent the first nine years doing social media for @cavs on the digital team and is now finishing up her second season on the community relations team.
John Zaphyr (BA, Writing, 1986) is senior acquisitions editor for Springer Publishing, New York, N.Y.
Ruth Alkons Wolinsky (BA Writing/fiction and BS Civil Engineering, 2001) writes: "I'm a civil engineer by trade, living in Houston, Texas, for the past 15 years. I have been married to Matthew Wolinsky (BS Applied Math and BA Environmental Studies,1999) for 20 years, and we have a daughter in the seventh grade. Even though I'm an engineer, I attend a lot of poetry readings and still love fiction with the fire of a thousand suns." Among her accomplishments, Ruth notes that she finished Ulysses this year (which makes her English grad equivalent of Eagle Scout!).
In February of 2024, Autumn House Press will publish Cameron Barnett's (MFA in Poetry, 2016) second full-length collection of poetry, Murmur. Cameron is in his eighth year of teaching middle school English language arts and social studies at Falk Laboratory School, which is part of the School of Education. He has also been the Emerging Black Writer in Residence at Chatham University since spring of 2022. In Pittsburgh, Cameron will give a reading to launch his book as part of Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures Made Local series—Thursday, February 29, at 6 p.m.
Tina Calabro (MFA ’84) is outreach and preservation coordinator for the Western Pennsylvania Disability History and Action Consortium. She writes regularly about disability issues.
Editor's Note: We only publish alumni news in the Fall/Winter issue but welcome news year-round. Please update us on what is happening here. Faculty, staff, and grad students can keep us posted on publications, promotions, prizes, projects, and other news here.