Brandon Rushton

Brandon Rushton is an academic and award-winning poet affiliated with the College of Charleston as a member of their writing faculty. He previously served as a Visiting Professor of Writing at Grand Valley State University (2020-2023) and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. at the University of Notre Dame as a Deans’ Fellow. His work spans poetry, creative nonfiction, and literary criticism, focusing on avant-garde forms, ecocriticism, and historical memory. Rushton’s research explores intersections between literature, philosophy, and environmental studies, often engaging with Michigan’s cultural and geographical landscapes.

His academic journey includes an MFA from the University of South Carolina, where he edited the literary journal Yemassee. Rushton’s publications include the poetry collection The Air in the Air Behind It (Tupelo Press, 2022), selected for the Berkshire Prize, and the chapbook Archaeologies (2024). His essays and poems have appeared in Alaska Quarterly Review, Terrain.org, and Denver Quarterly, among others. He co-founded the non-profit poetry organization Oxidant | Engine and has been recognized with awards such as the Gulf Coast Poetry Prize and the Ninth Letter Award.

Rushton’s research interests include material studies, the philosophy of history, and the role of literature in addressing environmental and social issues. His creative work often blends experimental forms with thematic explorations of memory, place, and human interaction with natural landscapes.

His scientific awards include the 2020 Berkshire Prize, Gulf Coast Poetry Prize (2016), and the Theodore Roethke Fellowship (2017). He has contributed peer-reviewed chapters to academic volumes and reviews for literary journals, further solidifying his interdisciplinary approach to scholarship and creativity.