Christopher Kempf

Christopher Kempf is an Assistant Professor in the Department of English at the University of Illinois, affiliated with the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. His work bridges creative writing (poetry and nonfiction) and scholarly research on labor studies, modernism, and workshop pedagogy. He holds a Ph.D. in English Literature from the University of Chicago (2020), an MFA from Cornell University (2009), and a Wallace Stegner Fellowship from Stanford (2014).

His poetry collections What Though the Field Be Lost (2021) and Late in the Empire of Men (2017) explore national identity through historical memory and ecological imperialism. His scholarly book Writing Craft: The Workshop in American Culture (2022) analyzes the cultural roots of creative writing pedagogy. Awards include a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship and the Pushcart Prize.

Teaching includes courses on poetry writing, creative nonfiction, and the role of place in literature. His research also examines labor metaphors in literary production and the societal impact of local traditions.