Mary Finn

Mary Finn is the Cardiss Collins Professor of Instruction in the Department of English at Northwestern University's School of Communication. She specializes in Romantic and Victorian literature, with research focusing on figures like Kierkegaard, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Percy Shelley, and Robert Browning. Her work bridges literary criticism and religious themes, as seen in her book Writing the Incommensurable (1993).

Education: PhD in English from Bryn Mawr College.

Research Interests: Finn explores how 19th-century poets navigated spiritual and existential questions through form and metaphor. Her scholarship connects Victorian religious thought with aesthetic innovation, analyzing how writers like Rossetti and Hopkins used poetry to express ineffable ideas. She also contributes to Romantic studies through analyses of Shelley's philosophical poetry.

Publications: Her 1993 monograph compares Kierkegaard's existential philosophy with poetic works by Rossetti and Hopkins, highlighting tensions between language and transcendence. She has also published articles on Shelley's metaphysical themes and Browning's narrative techniques.

Teaching & Service: Finn teaches core courses in Romantic and Victorian literature. No grants or awards explicitly listed.