Kathleen Graber

Kathleen Graber serves as Professor and Director of the MFA in Creative Writing program within the Department of English at Virginia Commonwealth University's College of Humanities and Sciences.

Her educational background includes:

• MFA in Creative Writing (Poetry) from New York University
• BA in Philosophy from Hofstra University

Graber's research centers on Contemporary Poetry, Book Arts, and Hybrid Forms, where she investigates the materiality of poetic expression through experimental structures and interdisciplinary approaches. Her work consistently challenges conventional boundaries between text, form, and physical medium.

Her publications—including The River Twice: Poems and The Eternal City: Poems—demonstrate recurring engagement with memory, urban landscapes, and narrative innovation within contemporary American poetry. These works reveal her distinctive fusion of lyrical precision with conceptual experimentation across diverse poetic forms.

Graber's scholarly recognition includes:

• Guggenheim Fellowship
• American Academy of Arts and Letters Fellowship
• NEA Fellowship
• The Rilke Prize in Poetry
• Library of Virginia Literary Award

As MFA Director, she mentors graduate students through advanced poetry workshops and specialized courses including Form and Theory of Poetry, Diverse Voices of the New Century, and Salvage as Metaphor and Method. Her undergraduate teaching encompasses poetry workshops and Introduction to the English Major, emphasizing both technical mastery and conceptual innovation.