Katie's Blog

I figure it's about time for another update! My last post left off on a bit of a cliffhanger. Hurricane Harvey sure did its number on my life, Beaumont, and pretty much the entire Texas gulf coast. However, life's returned to a new normal. I'm settled into my new little apartment. I have a nice routine going. I've gotten used to the Beaumont smell (sort of). I've made friends. I'm getting the hang of this whole assistant professor thing, more or less. Here's a summary of my first few months on the job: The first two weeks of instruction at Lamar University were canceled due to Harvey. I was stuck at my old home in Edinburg, thanks to some flooded roads. To make things even more complicated, I had a writing residency to complete! My original plan was to teach two weeks face-to-face at Lamar and then transition my students to an online enviornment for the duration of my residency. Um, the best laid plans, much? I was able to cut my residency a...

That's me, a week ago today, starting a new chapter of my life, a new job, in a new town. But so much has changed since I snapped that impromptu selfie after Lamar University's fall convocation.  When I took that picture, Hurricane Harvey was a mere remnant low churning away in the Bay of Campeche. I love tracking hurricanes; it's somewhat of a seasonal obsession. I get a bit of a thrill from it because, living in the Rio Grande Valley, if we did get a storm, it was usually just a tropical storm or low grade hurricane. My most significant hurricane story is Dolly, a Cat 1 that hit the day after I signed the mortgage for my first house. The worst that happened was we lost power for maybe 3 days. But as probably everyone knows by now, Harvey is/was a very different storm. On Wednesday, it looked as though Harvey was aiming for my beloved valley. It looked like it was going to be a puny tropical storm that dumped some much needed rain on a dry and sun-scorched l...

Once upon a time this was my home. Literally! I lived there in the UTPA women's dorms back in my undergraduate days. Today marked my last day at UT-RGV/UTPA. I spent the day packing up my office, walking around campus, and reflecting on what all this means. It's amazing how much one can be shaped by (and shape) a place. This institution has been a major part of my life for the past thirteen years, so saying goodbye is a little tricky. I thought this might be a good time and space to look back at what UTPA/UTRGV has meant for me, how I've grown, and hopefully, too, how my time here has benefited and shaped the university as well. So stroll with me, will you, down memory lane a bit? This story goes back to 2004. I was seventeen, graduating high school, and was genuinely in love with life. I went to high school just across the street from campus. I ended up at UTPA for an incredibly practical and impractical reason. 1. They offered me $$$ and a free dorm room and 2. My ...

A nice event, indeed!  There we are, a little slice of the beautiful RGV poetry community. From left: Anthony Ripp, Brenda Nettles Riojas, Odilia Galvan Rodriguez, Edward Vidaurre, Me, Celina Gomez, Emmy Perez and Ronnie Garza. It had been awhile since I'd participated in a poetry reading, and with my big move ahead, I thought it would be a good idea to take advantage of this opportunity to meet with my fellow Valley poets. I'm glad I did! There were plenty of hugs to be had :) The event took place at Rio Grande Grill in Harlingen. It's a nifty little restaurant that serves BBQ and tacos, good Tex Mex. They had us in a private room so we could have some peace away from the noise of the restaurant. The vibe felt comfy and cozy -- perfect for the reading/workshop, which is a part of a series organized by Odilia. Emmy, Edward, and Brenda were featured. I read at the open mic.  Here I am, reading a few of my newest poems. They're from my curre...

Oh my! Talk about a blast from the past. There I am, at Stephen F. Austin University, during the summer between my sophomore and junior year of high school. I'm with two of my high school besties, Ana and Minji. I'm fifteen years old. Why am I sharing this picture, you ask? Tomorrow, I'm returning to my high school to talk to girls not unlike that crazy blonde with the wild hair and the key around her neck about careers. So, naturally, this puts me in a reflective mood.  I'm supposed to prepare a little talk about how I became a writer, which is a complicated question to be sure. That girl there? She was writing all kinds of angsty poems because she was falling in love for the first time with a boy who played football and drove an old pick-up truck.  Being a writer's always been who I am, but I suppose they don't want me to talk about that. It's a career day, after all, and of course I want to encourage these young folks to follow ...

Ok, so, that's not how it was like for me at all.  In fact, I think my quest for an Assistant Professor position was a bit charmed.  But I figure it might be helpful to chronicle my experience. What was the process of interviewing for an academic job in creative writing like for me and what did I learn? I'll explain: Last fall, I heard a rumor there were going to be some openings this English department. Because I already knew some of the faculty members, I had a good idea that I wanted to join that department, but of course, how does one go about doing that? I've applied for a few academic jobs, and up until this one, I never get so much as a sniff. This time, though, I tried to be a little strategic. At an upcoming conference, I knew Department Chair would be there, and it would be a great opportunity to introduce myself and make a first impression. I attended his presentation and asked him some hopefully smart questions about his book to break the ice....

I'm smiling in this photograph for two very wonderful reasons: I'm eating pasta. I just signed my contract with Lamar University to join their English department in the Fall 2017 semester as an Assistant Professor and Editor-in-Chief of Lamar University Press! Words can't even express how grateful I am for such an opportunity. But since this is a writing blog, I'll give it a try :) This position is pretty much my dream job. I really can't imagine a better place to work, a better team to join, or a better job to do. I will be working half-time with the English department teaching poetry, creative writing, and whatever else they need. My other responsibility includes helping with the press, learning the ropes, and eventually taking over as the director. It's a tenure-track position, which, if you know academia, the arts and humanities in particular, English especially, even more so creative writing, and specifically poetry... well, you get the p...