Kathleen Ellis

Kathleen Ellis is a Lecturer III in the Department of English at the University of Maine, where she teaches courses including College Composition, Creative Writing, American Women’s Literature, and Business Writing. She has been affiliated with the UMaine Honors College since 2002, teaching interdisciplinary seminars like 'Civilizations' and 'Feast or Famine: Food in Literature.' Her office is located in Neville Hall, and she maintains regular appointment hours.

Ellis's research spans creative writing, poetry translation (Spanish/Portuguese), 20th-21st century American poetry, and Latin American literature. Secondary interests include environmental literature, exile narratives, and representations of women in war. Her recent work focuses on the Penobscot Watershed, bilingual poetry translation, and experimental collaborations with visual artists.

Her publications demonstrate consistent engagement with environmental themes, feminist reinterpretations of history/mythology, and cross-cultural dialogues. Recent works (2007-2008) show intensified focus on ecological crises and Latin American translation, while earlier collections explore American regionalism and gender archetypes.

Awards & Grants:

• Maine Arts Commission Good-Idea Grant (2007)
• National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship (1985)
• Pablo Neruda Poetry Prize (1986)
• Artist residencies at Yaddo and Djerassi Foundation
• Multiple Maine Humanities Council grants

Ellis coordinates campus-community initiatives including the 'Works in Progress' faculty series at Fogler Library and the annual POETS/SPEAK! multilingual reading at Bangor Public Library. She leads poetry workshops at the Farnsworth Art Museum and is developing manuscripts like The Wide Disturbances of Water and a novel, Mina Bravo and the Mexican Cha-Cha.