Jenny Mueller

Jenny Mueller, Ph.D., is a Professor of English at McKendree University in Lebanon, Illinois. She holds a PhD from the University of Utah, an MFA from the University of Iowa, and degrees from the University of Chicago. Her creative work includes poetry collections such as State Park (2017) and Bonneville (2007), as well as edited volumes like Moonie (2017). Her research and teaching focus on creative writing (poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction) and 20th-century American and English poetry. She advises Catalyst, McKendree’s student literary magazine.

Dr. Mueller’s awards include the 2008 Illinois Arts Council Literary Award and residencies at prestigious institutions like the Banff Centre for Creative Arts and PLAYA. She is actively involved in literary organizations such as the Modern Language Association and the Society for the Study of Midwestern Literature.

Her writing often explores themes of displacement, memory, and nature. As the literary executor of her late mother, poet Lisel Mueller, she is compiling and editing her unpublished works. Dr. Mueller’s teaching philosophy emphasizes understanding the process of writing, encouraging students to engage deeply with language and creativity.