Cathryn ("Cathy") Hankla (born March 20, 1958) is an American poet, novelist, essayist and author of short stories. She is professor emerita of English and

Creative Writing Creative writing is any writing that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, or technical forms of literature, typically identified by an emphasis on narrative craft, character development, and the use of literary ...

Hollins University Hollins University is a private university in Hollins, Virginia. Founded in 1842 as Valley Union Seminary in the historical settlement of Botetourt Springs, it is one of the oldest institutions of higher education for women in the United States ...

Hollins, Virginia Hollins is a census-designated place (CDP) in Botetourt and Roanoke counties in the U.S. state of Virginia. Hollins covers much of the area known locally as "North County". The population was 15,574 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Roano ...

, and served as inaugural director of Hollins
Jackson Center for Creative Writing
from 2008 to 2012. Hankla is the author of more than a dozen books of poetry and prose. Her writing has been published in multiple journals and anthologies, including the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...

'', '' Ploughshares'', '' Virginia Quarterly Review'', ''

The Missouri Review ''The Missouri Review'' is a literary magazine founded in 1978 by the University of Missouri. It publishes fiction, poetry, and creative non-fiction quarterly. With its open submission policy, ''The Missouri Review'' receives 12,000 manuscripts ...

'', '' Alaska Quarterly Review'', '' Shenandoah'', ''

Denver Quarterly The ''Denver Quarterly'' (known as ''The University of Denver Quarterly'' until 1970) is an avant-garde literary journal based at the University of Denver. Founded in 1966 by novelist John Edward Williams. ''Publisher'' ''Denver Quarterly'' i ...

'', ''

Prairie Schooner ''Prairie Schooner'' is a literary magazine published quarterly at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln with the cooperation of UNL's English Department and the University of Nebraska Press. It is based in Lincoln, Nebraska and was first publish ...

'', '' Passages North
A Cast Iron Aeroplane That Can Actually Fly: Contemporary Poets Comment on Their Prose Poems
'' and
A Literary Field Guide to Southern Appalachia
'' While at Hollins, Hankla was appointed Susan Gager Jackson Professor of Creative Writing (2012–2014). She twice chaired the university's English and Creative Writing department and taught courses in image/word, drawing, writing, cartooning, and filmmaking, in addition to literature and creative writing. Additionally, Hankla has held teaching appointments at

Washington and Lee University , mottoeng = "Not Unmindful of the Future" , established = , type = Private liberal arts university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.092 billion (2021) , president = William C. Dudley , provost = Lena Hill , city = Lexington ...

(1989–1991), Randolph Macon Women's College (1987) and The

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...

(1985). She has served as Poetry Editor for
The Hollins Critic
', a literary journal, since 1996.

Life

Hankla was born in the Appalachian town of

Richlands, Virginia Richlands is a town in Tazewell County, Virginia, United States. The population was 5,823 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Bluefield, WV-VA micropolitan area which has a population of 107,578. History Located along the banks of the Clinch R ...

. She currently resides in

Roanoke, Virginia Roanoke ( ) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 100,011, making it the 8th most populous city in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the largest city in Virginia west of Richmond. It is ...

and operates a painting studio. She collaborates with artists of various disciplines as part of her generative process. Much of her work is featured o
cathrynhankla.com.

Publications

Hankla's 14 books of poetry and prose include ''Lost Places: On Losing and Finding Home, Galaxies, Great Bear, Fortune Teller, Miracle Fish, Last Exposures: A Sequence of Poems, and Texas School Book Depository: Prose Poems.''(See full list below).

Bibliography

Essays

*
Lost Places: On Losing and Finding Home
'' Mercer University Press. 2018.

Novels

*
The Land Between
'' Baskerville Publishers. 2003. *
A Blue Moon in Poorwater
'' Ticknor and Fields. 1988. Reprinted University Press of Virginia. 1998.

Poetry

*
Not Xanadu
'' Mercer University Press. 2022. *
Galaxies
'' Mercer University Press. 2017. *
Great Bear
'' Groundhog Poetry Press, LLC. 2016. *
Last Exposures: A Sequence of Poems
'' Louisiana State University Press. 2004. *
Poems for the Pardoned
'' Louisiana State University Press. 2002. *
Emerald City Blues.
' Tryon Publishing Co. 2002. *
Texas School Book Depository: Prose Poems
'' Louisiana State University Press. 2000. *
Negative History.
' Louisiana State University Press. 1997. *
Afterimages
'' Louisiana State University Press. 1991. *

'' University of Missouri Press. 1983.

Short story collections

*
Fortune Teller Miracle Fish
'' Michigan State University Press. 2011. *
Learning the Mother Tongue
'' University of Missouri Press. 1987.

Chapbooks and monographs

* ''Imaginative Thinking: Expressive Writing and Drawing.'' Nancy Dahlstrom and Cathryn Hankla. Hollins University Press. 2003. * ''Cool Water: An Interview and New Poems.'' Yarrow Chapbook Series. 1992.

Journal features

* Hankla's poem "What Falls" featured in
A Cast Iron Airplane That Can Actually Fly: Contemporary Poets Comment on Their Prose Poems.
' MadHat Press. 2019. * Hankla's poem "Two-Chambered Heart" featured in
A Literary Field Guide to Southern Appalachia.
' University of Georgia Press. 2019.

Awards and recognition

Writing

Among various other recognitions, Hankla has received a Virginia Commission for the Arts Fellowship in Poetry (1998), a PEN Syndicated Fiction Prize (for "Lost in Space," 1989), and the James Boatwright III Prize ( 2009) for her poem "Bee Tree." Her first book of poetry,
Phenomena
'' reviewed by

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

as one of the five best collections of the year (1983), and her story collection ''Learning the Mother Tongue'' were both Breakthrough Series winners (1983, 1987). Two volumes of Hankla's poetry have been finalists in th
Library of Virginia Awards
(''Texas School Book Depository: Prose Poems'' (2001), and ''Great Bear'' (2017)). Her short story "Powerful Angels," originally published in
Virginia Quarterly Review
'' was listed in ''Best American Short Stories "100 Other Distinguished Short Stories" (2001). Hankla's early papers are archived a
James Branch Cabell Library
in Richmond, Virginia.

Visual art

Hankla’s geometric abstract paintings were included i
''Studio Visit'' (2009)
and have been selected for national juried shows. Her paintings hang in private and corporate collections in Arizona, Colorado, Massachusetts, Michigan, North Carolina, Texas, and Virginia.

Education

Hankla attende
Pulaski County High School
in Dublin, Virginia, where she was involved with drama, band, filmmaking, and photography. She served as editor of the student literary magazine, ''Inklings''. Hankla later received her

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

in English and Film from Hollins College in Hollins, Virginia (Hollins University, today) in 1980. She earned her Master of Arts in English and Creative Writing from Hollins in 1982.

Academic appointments

* Chairperson, Department of English and Creative Writing, Hollins University (2016–2020). * Director, MFA and Undergraduate Creative Writing, Jackson Center for Creative Writing, Hollins University (2008–2012). * Coordinator, Graduate Teaching Fellows, Hollins University (2004–2007). * Director, Graduate Teaching Fellows, Hollins University (2004–2005). * Chair, Department of English, Hollins University (1995-1998). * Chair, Imagination Studies Pathway, Hollins University (1991-1995).

References

External links

Writer's Voice interview with Cathryn Hankla

Virginia Public Radio interview with Cathryn Hankla

Huffington post review of Fortune Teller Miracle Fish
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hankla, Cathryn Hollins University alumni Hollins University faculty People from Richlands, Virginia 1958 births Living people American women poets 21st-century American novelists 20th-century American novelists American women novelists 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers 20th-century American poets 21st-century American poets Novelists from Virginia American women academics