Katherine Lynes

Katherine Lynes is an Associate Professor of English at Union College. She holds affiliations with the English Department, Africana Studies, American Studies, and the Environmental Studies Program (ESPE). Her research focuses on poetry and poetics, African-American literature, environmental writing, and stylistics. She teaches courses that bridge literary analysis with interdisciplinary themes like ecology and modernism.

Dr. Lynes earned a dual B.A. in Biology and English from Lewis & Clark College and Portland State University, followed by an M.A. and Ph.D. in English from Rutgers University. Her work integrates scientific and literary perspectives, evident in her award-winning scholarship on Black ecopoetry. She has published widely in journals such as African American Review, Comparative American Studies, and Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment.

Her notable work includes analyses of Helene Johnson’s poetry and Jimmy Santiago Baca’s translations. She received an Honorable Mention for the Joe Weixlmann Award (2015) for her essay on African American reclamation ecopoetics. Her articles frequently explore intersections of race, environment, and form in modern and contemporary poetry.

Lynes’ research also engages with modernist studies, stylistics, and the cultural politics of nature writing. She collaborates across disciplines, reflecting her expertise in both scientific and humanistic frameworks.