Karin Roffman

Karin Roffman is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of English at Yale University, with affiliations in Humanities, American Studies, and Public Humanities. She also serves as the Associate Director of Public Humanities, contributing to interdisciplinary initiatives that bridge scholarship and public engagement.

Her research focuses on 20th and 21st-century American literature and art, particularly the lives and works of poet John Ashbery and painter Jane Freilicher. She has published extensively on modernist and contemporary writers and artists, with a strong emphasis on archival research and literary biography.

Roffman’s recent publications span biographical, poetic, and interdisciplinary themes. Her articles reflect a deep engagement with literary influence, the intersection of music and poetry, and the material culture of artistic creation. The works collectively emphasize archival discovery, intertextuality, and the role of personal artifacts in shaping artistic identity.

She has received significant recognition for her scholarship, including:

• Named one of the 100 Notable Books of 2017 by The New York Times
• Winner of the University of Alabama Press’s American Literature Elizabeth Agee Manuscript Prize

Her research has been supported by major grants from ACLS (twice), the Howard Foundation, NEH, Houghton Library, Harry Ransom Center, and the American Philosophical Society. She is actively involved in digital humanities, notably through the project John Ashbery’s Nest, a virtual tour of Ashbery’s Hudson house developed in collaboration with the Yale Digital Humanities Lab. While no students are listed, her role as a senior lecturer and mentor in public humanities suggests advisory involvement.

Roffman leads and contributes to innovative interdisciplinary teams, especially in digital archiving and public-facing humanities projects. Her work exemplifies a commitment to making literary and artistic legacies accessible through technology and narrative scholarship.