Jessica Jacobs

EDUCATION

M.F.A in Poetry, Purdue University,West Lafayette, IN, May 2013
Thesis: Pelvis with Distance, a full-length collection of poems
Advisor: Donald Platt
B.A., English Literature, Smith College, Northampton, MA, May 2002
Concentration: Creative Writing
Semester abroad, University of East Anglia, Norwich, England, Spring semester 2000
Studies: Literature, Theatre, Poetry, Playwriting
First undergraduate year, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY, 1998-1999


PUBLICATIONS

Books
Pelvis with Distance: Poems. White Pine Press, forthcoming 2015.
Poems from this collection published and forthcoming in Beloit Poetry Journal, Common-place,
Connotation Press, Flyway, Iron Horse Literary Review, The Journal, The Missouri Review,
poemmemoirstory, Poet Lore, Redivider, So to Speak, and Souwester. The title poem won Purdue
Universitys Academy of American Poets Prize, while another won Honorable Mention in So to Speaks
Fall Poetry Contest, and two sets of poems won a number of literary awards from Purdue University,
including the Best of Contest Award in April 2012.

Anthology & Broadside Publications
Broadsided Press, Lake George, 1922, Forthcoming July 2015
The Burden of Light: Poems on Illness and Loss (Fast Foreword Press), A Black-Bird with Snow-Covered
Red Hills and Sky Above Clouds VI, March 2014
Overplay/Underdone: An Anthology of Poetry in the Third Dimension (Medusas Laugh Press),
Composing Ourselves, June 2013
Words on the Go, with Greater Lafayette CityBus, Lafayette, IN, Perspective, August 2011

Journal Publications

Poetry:
Souwester, "Georgia O'Keeffe (Half Naked, in White)"; "Alfred Faces the Camera, Georgia Turns Away;"
and "Like an Early Blue Abstraction," Forthcoming Fall 2014
PANK, Submission Guidelines, Issue 11, Forthcoming Fall 2014
Flyway: Journal of Writing & Environment, Coney Island, 1917 and Lake George, 1922, Forthcoming
2014
The Missouri Review, The White Space in Shadow, Poem of the Week, Forthcoming 2014
Beloit Poetry Journal, The Shelton with Sunspots, Forthcoming 2014
Redivider, May 6, 1986, Forthcoming 2014
Measure: A Review of Formal Poetry, Denning and (Atonement x Completeness x Heaven)
2
= May 21,
2011, Forthcoming 2014
Poet Lore, Early Abstraction, Forthcoming September 2014
Poetic Research column of American Antiquarian Societys Common-Place, To Find You Series I-V,
May 2014
Iron Horse Literary Review, Plate 28Clothed in Only a Swim Cap, Pelvis with Distance, July 13,
1946, February 2014
So to Speak: A Feminist Journal of Language and Art, A Black-Bird with Snow-Covered Red Hills and
From the Faraway, Nearby, January 2014
poemmemoirstory, Black Abstraction, January 2014
Connotation Press: An Online Artifact, Red Barn in Wheatfield, Untitled (Dead Rabbit with Copper
Pot), and No. 8Special (Palo Duro Canyon with Spiral), January 2014
Calyx, Tapering, Summer 2013
J e s s i c a J a c o b s P a g e | 2
The Journal, Nudes Series VIII, July 2013
Rattle, Primer, Summer 2012
Beloit Poetry Journal, Manhattan Bridge Bikeway, Up, Summer 2012
The Los Angeles Review, Ten Country Miles, With Song, February 2012
The Lumberyard, Grandmother Ornithology, Summer 2011
Swink, After Office Dwelling, February 2011
Slice, Corner of Vanderbilt and Park, Spring/Summer 2010
& Review, Easter on Mykonos, July 2010
Reactions (UK), Carpenters Call to Dalis Girl with Curls, This is Why, Hesitation, Summer 2001

Creative Nonfiction:
Common-place, journal of the American Antiquarian Society, Statement of Poetic Research, May 2014
River Teeth, Beautiful Things series, Bells, April 2014
RATTLE, The Double Image, November 2013

Selected Journalism
Curve Magazine, A Fighting Chance, profile of cancer survivor Nancy Lanoue, February 2002
Daily Hampshire Gazette, Three Months, Fifteen-Thousand Miles: Jessica Jacobs and Elizabeth Burden
Take the Ultimate Roadtrip, November 2000

Book Reviews
Sycamore Review, Just to act was the glorious thing: C.D. Wrights One with Others, February 2011
Sycamore Review, Truth, Beauty, and Thomas Mann: The Quests and Questions of Michael Cunninghams
By Nightfall, Winter/Spring 2011

Interviews
Sycamore Review, An Interview with Michael Cunningham, Winter/Spring 2013


WRITING AWARDS & HONORS

Honorable Mention, So to Speak: A Feminist Journal of Language and Art Spring Poetry Contest, judged by
Beth Ann Fennelly, A Black-Bird with Snow-Covered Red Hills, October 2013
Semi-Finalist, Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown Writing Fellowship, May 2013
Third Place, 580 Split Fiction Contest, judged by Michelle Tea, The Balcony, 2005

Academic Awards

Purdue University:
Purdue Universitys Academy of American Poets Prize, Pelvis with Distance, 2013
First Place, Tom Andrews Clapping Award for a poetry sequence, Selections, Pelvis with Distance, 2013
First Place, Barriss and Iola Mills Award, A Decade After the Man I Thought the Last Man, 2013
Best of Contest, Bud and Betty Knoll Award, Selections from Pelvis with Distance, 2012
Best Graduate Entry, Phi Beta Kappa Prize, Selections from Pelvis with Distance, 2012
First Place, Tom Andrews Clapping Award for a poetry sequence, Selections, Pelvis with Distance, 2012
First Place, Folletts Prize for Poetry, Synecdoche: One, 2011
First Place, Kneale Prize for Fiction, Hunger, 2011
Smith College:
Best Collection of Poems, The Elizabeth Babcock Poetry Prize, 2002
Best Collection of Poems, The Rosemary Thomas Poetry Prize, 2002
Honorable Mention, Five-College Consortium Denis Johnson Playwriting Competition, 2001




J e s s i c a J a c o b s P a g e | 3
TEACHING EXPERIENCE

Visiting Assistant Professor of English, Hendrix College, Conway, AR 8/14-5/15
ENGC 403: Advanced Creative Writing: Poetry Spring 15
ENGC 303: Creative Writing: Poetry Fall 14
ENGC 301: Creative Writing: Nonfiction Fall 14, Spring 15
ENGL 273: Special Topics: The Essay Fall 14
ENGL 235: American Narrative Nonfiction Spring 15

Adjunct Instructor
ENG 235: American Narrative Nonfiction, Hendrix College, Conway, AR Fall 13, Spring 14
RHET 1311: Composition I, University of Arkansas at Little Rock Fall 13

Graduate Teaching Instructor, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 8/105/13
ENGL 420e: Business Writing for Entrepreneurs Spring 13
ENGL 420: Business Writing Fall 12
ENGL 205: Introduction to Creative Writing, Poetry & Fiction Fall 11, Spring 12,
Fall 13
ENGL 106LC: Intro to Rhet. & Comp., Business Leaders Learning Community Fall 11
ENGL 106: Introduction to Rhetoric & Composition Spring 10, Fall 11

Instructor, Wabash Area Lifetime Learning Association (WALLA), West Lafayette, IN 4/12-5/12
With Purdue Professor Kristina Bross, taught course focused on local history, poetry, and personal essays

Rock Climbing Instructor, various organizations, FL, MA, NY 8/968/10
Instructed children and adults in the arts of climbing safety, climbing techniques, and lead-climbing

Lead S.A.T. Verbal Trainer, Ivy WestTest Preparatory Service, San Mateo, CA 11/0310/05
Led seminars for new tutors, taught classroom outreach programs, developed curricula

Instructional Awards
Quintilian Award for instructional excellence in Introductory Composition at Purdue University, given
to top 10% of instructors based on student evaluations, Spring and Fall 2011


COMMUNITY-BASED SCHOLARSHIP & SERVICE

Sycamore Writers/Editors in Residence, 2012-2013
With Porter Shreve, created these ongoing Sycamore-funded appointments, which include manuscript
consultations and a master class for current MFA students, as part of Purdues Visiting Writers Series
So You Want to be Published? Sycamore-affiliated Looseleaf Writing Workshop Series, 2013
Designed and led workshop for community members in conjunction with the West Lafayette Public Library
The Belltower, Purdues Undergraduate Literary Journal, 2013
Advised editors on creating and implementing new layout design
Author Introduction and Craft Interview, 2012
Introduced and interviewed Michael Cunningham, keynote speaker and reader for Purdue Literary Awards
ENGL 677: Modernism & Disability Website, 2011
For Purdue Professor Maren Linnet, created site to disseminate the research of ENGL 677 cohort
Business Leaders Learning Community (BLLC) Book Club, 2011
Established and ran group meant to improve English reading comprehension, cross-cultural understanding,
and oral proficiency of international students in the BLLC, of which I taught one section
What Puts the M in PMU?, 2011
Co-authored article with Lisa Young in Remembering Purdue: Purdue Memorials, Commemorations, and
Hidden Histories. Ed. by Professors Kristina Bross and Susan Curtis, for use in Alumni Education


J e s s i c a J a c o b s P a g e | 4
West Lafayette Fire Department Physical and Digital Archive, 2011
Catalogued and organized physical archives, and created digital archive, supported by the Purdue University
Student Service-Engagement Grant, Spring 2011, for Archival Theory and Practice projects
Introductory Composition at Purdue (ICaP) Showcase Awards, 2011
Worked with my ENGL 106 student Leslie Richard to win award for Best Reflection


PUBLISHING, EDITORIAL, & FUNDRAISING EXPERIENCE

Sycamore Review, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 12/105/13
Editor-in-Chief
Increased number of subscribers from fewer than 100 to over 2,000
With Program Chair Porter Shreve, created ongoing Sycamore Writers/Editors-in-Residence positions
Created paid post-MFA Contributing Editor positions as a means to incentivize unpaid genre editors
Created Sycamores first ecommerce site through close collaboration with Purdue business office
Inaugurated a Wabash Prize for Nonfiction and secured Mary Karr and Cheryl Strayed as judges
Promoted journal and Wabash Prizes in all three genres in collaboration with Managing Editors
Conceptualized and managed the creation of digital and audio archives
Initiated contributor payment; created and received approval of a payment scale for solicited writers
Managed and collaborated in website and blog redesign
Hired, managed, and maintained a staff of up to thirteen editors and interns
Designed, ordered, and laid out complete issues in Adobe InDesign

John Wiley & Sons, Higher Education, Hoboken, NJ
Freelance Consultant 9/098/10
Researched and created innovative business and product models for educational texts and programs
Senior Acquisitions Editor, Precalculus Mathematics & Statistics 1/078/09
Managed every aspect of a books life-cycle: researched market needs, signed authors, forecasted
and secured necessary funding, managed development and production of textbooks and media
packages, planned and ran conferences, and traveled extensively for the training and support of
Wileys international sales staff
Grew booklist from $4.5 million to $6.5 million in the domestic college market
Mentored Assistant and Associate Editors

Thomson Higher Education
Sales Representative, New York, NY 1/0612/06
Increased overall sales in territory by 29%
Editorial Assistant, Belmont, CA 8/0512/05
Supported editorial list for Physics and Astronomy

Poetry Flash, Berkeley, CA 9/034/05
Assistant Editor
Selected, copyedited, and laid out articles; planned and executed fundraising

The Orlando Sentinel, Orlando, FL 8/956/98
Freelance Reporter/Photographer
Wrote articles, took photographs, generated story ideas for Education and Arts sections







J e s s i c a J a c o b s P a g e | 5
PRESENTATIONS

Organizer and panelist, 'Every Calling is Great When Greatly Pursued: Managing and Motivating Editorial
Volunteers, AWP Conference 2013
Speaker, On the Pathways to and Practice of Publishing, Purdue Student English Association, 2012
Co-organizer and panelist, When Change is the Only Constant: How Grad Student-Run Journals Can
Thrive Despite the Constant Turnover, AWP Conference 2012
Co-organizer and panelist, When Change is the Only Constant: How Grad Student-Run Journals Can
Thrive Despite the Constant Turnover, AWP Conference 2012
Panelist, IUPUI Fall Editors Panel, Indiana UniversityPurdue University Indianapolis, 2011


READINGS

Taos Poetry Festival, Taos, NM, June 6, 2014
Poets Out Loud, sponsored by Center for Artistic Revolution & The Oxford American, with poets
including Bryan Borland, Nickole Brown, and Seth Pennington, Little Rock, AR, May 8, 2014
Pub or Perish, Arkansas Literary Festival, Little Rock, AR, April 25, 2014
The Fishnet House, Grand Maris, MI, August 2013
Vouched Presents, Indy Reads Bookstore, with poet Kathleen Rooney, Indianapolis, IN, 2013
Middle of Everywhere Reading Series, sponsored by Indiana Review, Bloomington, IN, 2012
The Fullnesss of Everything book launch, sponsored by Tiny Hardcore Press, with Tyler Gobble,
Christopher Newgent, and Layne Ransom, Muncie, IN, 2012
Louisville Literary Conference, Louisville, KY, 2012
Slice Magazine launch for Issue #6, Brooklyn, NY, 2010


References available upon request.