Susan Sweeney

Susan Sweeney is a Distinguished Professor of Arts and Humanities at the College of the Holy Cross, specializing in Modernist and Postmodernist Fiction, 19th Century American Literature, and Comparative Literature. She holds the Monsignor Edward G. Murray Professorship and has received numerous accolades including the PSA Gargano Award (2018 & 2022) and the 2021 Barabtarlo Prize. Her research focuses on authors like Poe, Nabokov, and Dickinson, often exploring narrative techniques and sensory perception in literature.

Education: Ph.D., Brown University.

Recent projects include collaborations with composers on interdisciplinary works like Close and Apart, organizing international conferences such as Hidden Nabokov, and leading grants like the Mellon Foundation-funded Mapping Worcester in Poetry. She advises students in creative writing and literary studies, with notable student collaborations in scriptwriting and ekphrastic poetry exhibitions.

Awards highlight her contributions to Poe and Nabokov studies, with publications in journals like Orbit and Poe Studies. She also creates sculptural book art, exhibited at the Cantor Art Gallery, blending literary expression with visual media.