Valerie Finn

Valerie Finn is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of English at Arizona State University, where she teaches first-year composition courses (ENG 101, ENG 102, ENG 217). She holds an MFA from Warren Wilson College (2002) and a BA in English from Columbia University (1996). Her academic work intersects with creative writing and poetry, focusing on themes like trauma, Jewish identity, Ukrainian-American cultural narratives, and contemporary societal issues.

• Notable awards include the Joan Beebe Teaching Fellowship (2004-2006), James Merrill Fellowship (2013), and a Pushcart Prize nomination.
• Her poetry appears in journals such as American Poetry Review, Ploughshares, and ZYZZYVA, with recent 2025 publications exploring Soviet legacies and modern existential challenges.
• Valerie lives in Tempe, Arizona, with her husband Patrick Michael Finn and their son.