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English Faculty

	Kate Aspengren Adjunct Assistant Professor of English B.A., The University of Iowa M.F.A., The University of Iowa, Playwrights Workshop Kate Aspengren's plays include Flyer, Rule of Nines, Too Fast to Fall, Adrift, and Blue Yonder. Her work has been published by Samuel French, Inc. and has been produced throughout the United States and Canada, including productions by Actors Theatre of Louisville, The New American Comedy Festival, Three Graces Theatre Company and Six Figures Theatre Company. She teaches annually in the Iowa Summer Writing Festival and holds a yearly residency at Tower Hill School in Wilmington, Delaware.

	Charles Aukema Professor of English A.B., Calvin College M.F.A., University of Iowa, Iowa Writers' Workshop In addition to teaching creative writing, Professor Aukema teaches computer applications in writing. These applications include writing hypertext fiction. He is the founder of The Coe Review, the college's nationally known literary magazine.

	Robert D. Drexler Whipple Professor of English B.A., Amherst College M.A., University of Iowa Ph.D., University of Chicago Author of two poetry chapbooks, Dr. Drexler has been director of the ACM Japan studies Program, director of the India Studies Program at Puna, and a Fulbright Lecturer at Chiang Mai University in Thailand. He teaches Early Modern British, Medieval English, 20th Century British, Irish and Asian Literature.

	Gina Hausknecht John William King Professor of Literature and Creative Writing, Chair B.A., Oberlin College M.A., Ph.D., University of Michigan Dr. Hausknecht teaches early modern British literature, including Shakespeare, British Renaissance poetry, and the Milton seminar. She also regularly teaches in the gender studies and First Year Seminar programs. She has published articles on Milton, 17th century literature and culture, pedagogy and technology, and girls in contemporary popular culture.

	Terry Heller Howard Hall Professor of English A.B., North Central College A.M., Ph.D., University of Chicago Dr. Heller is author of The Delights of Terror and The Turn of the Screw: Bewildered Vision, and editor of Sarah Orne Jewett's The Country of the Pointed Firs and Other Fiction. He has written reference articles, short fiction, and literary journal essays. He is the current manager of the on-line archive, the Sarah Orne Jewett Text Project. Dr. Heller teaches Russian, American, and popular literature. One of his favorite courses is Monsters in Film.

	Gordon Mennenga Assistant Professor of English B.A., University of Northern Iowa M.F.A., University of Iowa, Iowa Writers' Workshop Professor Mennenga is a fiction writer whose short story, "Peepers" won a Nelson Algren Award. He has written monologues for Garrison Keilor and a film based on a monlogues was released in 1999. Professor Mennenga teaches film and creative writing and is the academic advisor for Coe's nationally circulated magazine, the Coe Review. His academic interests include hip hop music and popular culture.

	Patrick Naick Assistant Professor of English B.A., University of California, Berkeley M.A., Purdue University Ph.D., University of Iowa Patrick Naick's teaching and research focuses on 20th century American literature and culture with specific interests in African American literature and urban studies. He also serves as coordinator for the American Studies and African American Studies program.

	Daniel Poppick Adjunct Assistant Professor of English B.A., Kenyon College M.F.A., University of Iowa Writers' Workshop Daniel Poppick teaches creative writing and literature with an emphasis on poetry and poetics. His poetry and criticism appears in Colorado Review, Denver Quarterly, Kenyon Review, The Claudius App, New American Writing, and elsewhere. With Rob Schlegel, he coedits The Catenary Press.

	Melissa Sodeman Assistant Professor of English B.A., University of Washington, Seattle M.A., Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles Melissa Soderman joined the Coe English faculty in 2007. She studies 18th century and Romantic literature, with particular interest in sentimental literature, the history of the novel, gender studies, and the history of the book. At Coe she teaches courses on 18th century and 19th century fiction, Romantic literature, and women writers.

	Ann Struthers National Fellowship Advisor B.A., Morningside College M.A., Ph.D., University of Iowa Dr. Struthers is the author of two chapbooks and two collections of poetry. She has published numerous book reviews, articles in literature reference books, academic essays and short fiction and was Writer in Residence at Coe for many years. She was a Fulbright Fellow in Syria and in Sri Lanka, and is the faculty advisor for students and faculty who apply for Fulbright, Goldwater, Truman, Rhodes and Marshall Fellowships.