Katherine Gaffney

Katherine Gaffney is a Lecturer in the Department of English at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She holds a PhD in English with a Creative Writing Emphasis from the University of Southern Mississippi (anticipated 2023) and an MFA in Creative Writing (Poetry) from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Her work bridges creative and scholarly domains, focusing on poetry, disability studies, and Romanticism. She has taught courses in creative writing, composition, technical writing, and literature at multiple institutions.

• Education:
• B.A. English, University of Florida (2010-2014)
• B.S. Psychology, University of Florida (2010-2014)
• M.F.A. Creative Writing, Poetry, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (2016-2019)
• Ph.D. English (Creative Writing Emphasis), University of Southern Mississippi (2021-2023)

Her publications include the chapbook Once Read as Ruin (Finishing Line Press) and the full-length poetry collection Fool in a Blue House, which won the 2022 Tampa Review Prize for Poetry. Her poems appear in jubilat, Harpur Palate, and Mississippi Review, among others. She has participated in prestigious writing workshops and residencies, including Tin House, SAFTA, and Sewanee.

• Awards:
• Winner of the 2022 Tampa Review Prize for Poetry

Her teaching focuses on first-year writing, professional/technical writing, and creative writing. She has designed courses such as RHET 101 Principles of Writing and CW106 Introductory Poetry Writing, emphasizing collaborative learning and student creativity. Katherine is committed to integrating her research on disability studies and Romanticism into both creative and pedagogical practices.