Brenna Womer

Brenna Womer is a prose writer, poet and editor in flux. She is a full-time lecturer at Western Colorado University in Gunnison, where she lives with her partner and pit bull. She holds an M.A. in English from Missouri State University and an MFA in Creative Writing from Northern Michigan University. Brenna is the author of the cross-genre chapbook “Atypical Cells of Undetermined Significance” (C&R Press, 2018) and the full-length collection honeypot (Spuyten Duyvil, 2019). Her work has appeared in Indiana Review, The Normal School, DIAGRAM, The Rumpus and elsewhere.

Brenna was an Air Force kid born in England, where her father’s side still resides in Cambridge. She lived on bases in California, Oklahoma, Virginia and Alaska before she and her parents settled down in Springfield, Missouri. After earning a B.A. in English Literature at Missouri State, she taught composition as a graduate student and served as an assistant editor for Moon City Review as well as an intern for Moon City Press. During her time as an MFA candidate at Northern Michigan, she taught composition, creative writing and literature courses and served as an associate editor of Passages North.

Brenna’s fiction has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, Best of the Net and Best Short Fictions. Her creative nonfiction has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, and her essay “Wüsthof Silverpoint II 10-Piece Set” was named a Notable of the Year in Best American Essays 2017. At Northern Michigan, Brenna was a King-Chávez-Parks Future Faculty Fellow and a two-time recipient of the Excellence in Education Research Grant.

Q&A With Professor Womer

How did you discover Western?

I applied to over 70 creative-writing faculty positions around the country, and after a wonderful interview with Jack Lucido, Dr. Luna and Dr. Jespersen, I was confident Western was the perfect fit. I’m so pleased to be a part of this department and this community.

What are some of the highlights of your career?

It was thrilling to have my first chapbook and first full-length collection accepted by publishers during my three-year MFA candidacy. During that time, I also had an essay named a Notable in Best American Essays 2017, edited that year by the incomparable Leslie Jamison.

What most excites you about your field?

Experimentation with form and the innovation of language. Movements within the creative-writing community toward inclusivity and hybridity. The interrogation of art.

What is your favorite thing about the Gunnison Valley?

So far, the temperate summers and the farmers’ market.

Courses Taught

• Intro to Composition
• Advanced Composition
• Academic Writing
• Good Books
• Women & Literature
• Intro to Creative Writing
• Advanced Creative Writing

Publications

Books

• honeypot. Spuyten Duyvil Publishing (forthcoming 2019)

Chapbooks

• Atypical Cells of Undetermined Significance. C&R Press (March 2018)

Journals & Magazines

Nonfiction

• “Apt 103.” elsewhere 16
• “We Are Not Saints.” Indiana Review 40.1
• “Hypochondria, or The Disease.” DIAGRAM 18.1
• “Sate.” The Normal School 10.2
• “Motherlode.” Booth (Spring 2016/Fall 2017)
• “Forever Blonde.” Hippocampus Magazine (June 2017)
• “Cukes.” decomP (May/June 2017)
• “Empire Blue.” New South 10.1
• “Pet Euthanasia Consent Form.” The Pinch 37.1
• “Wüsthof Silverpoint II 10-Piece Set.” Grist 9

Fiction

• “Nesting.” Pleiades 39.1
• “Sugar Glass.” cream city review 42.1
• “The Cart or The Egg.” Quarterly West 90
• “Anatomy of a Father, of a Moose.” Fugue 51
• “What’s Mine is Yours.” Bayou Magazine 65
• “Just Like Mama Never Made.” Dewpoint 6
• “Fraîche.” Sierra Nevada Review 27
• “Patsy Sings For Me.” Midwestern Gothic 18
• “Chimera.” NEAT. 3

Poetry

• “company,” “tenure,” and “slow burn.” The Rumpus (Fall 2018)
• “Twenty-Something.” DIALOGIST 4.4
• “All-Containered.” Carve Magazine (Winter 2018)
• “Paperweight.” Public Pool (Spring 2017)
• “Back to My Place.” New Delta Review 6.2
• “The Boys.” Prick of the Spindle 10
• “Grandad.” The Dr. T. J. Eckleburg Review (Spring 2018)
• “Close, But No Cigar.” Maudlin House (March 2016)

Reviews

• “A Record of Violence: Kristen Chang’s Past Lives, Future Bodies.” Tarpaulin Sky
• (March 2019)
• “A Microreview of Nicole Walker’s Micrograms.” 3:AM Magazine (May 2017)

Interviews (with me)

• “On Textual Difficulty—Poet Spotlight: Brenna Womer” by Kristina Marie
• Darling for The Best American Poetry Blog (February 2019)
• “Q&A with Poetry Contributor Brenna Womer” by Stacy Pendergrast for Carve
• Magazine (January 2018)
• “Very Serious Questions with Brenna Womer” for New Delta Review (August
• 2016)
• “An Interview with Brenna Womer” by Hayden Takahashi for Sierra Nevada
• Review (May 2016)
• “Contributor Spotlight: Brenna Womer” for Midwestern Gothic (Fall 2015)

Interviews (with others)

• “Smoke & Mirrors: An Interview with Fatima Jamel.” SmokeLong Quarterly
• (March 2019)
• “…Megan Pillow Davis.” SmokeLong Quarterly (September 2018)
• “…Meredith Alling.” SmokeLong Quarterly (March 2016)
• “…Jeff Bakkensen.” SmokeLong Quarterly (September 2015)
• “…Ann Hillesland.” SmokeLong Quarterly (April 2015)

External Professional Affiliations

• Northern Michigan University
• Missouri State University
• Passages North
• Moon City Review & Press