CV | Claudia Smith Chen
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Education | Courses Taught | Publications | Editing | Related Experience | Academic Service | Honors and Awards | Presentations | Interviews | Reviews | Translations
Education
Doctor of Philosophy, 2012.
University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg. Emphasis on creative writing. Director: Steve Barthelme. Successfully defended dissertation.
Masters in Library and Information Science, 1999.
The University of Texas at Austin.
M.A. in English, 1993.
The Writing Seminars, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore. Thesis advisor: Robert Stone.
B.A. In English, 1992.
Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson. Emphasis on American Literature. Director: Mona Simpson.
Courses Taught
University of Houston-Downtown. English Lecturer. Fall 2014 to present.
Composition 1301; Composition 1302; English 2312: American Literature from 1865 (survey course); English 3309: Introduction to Creative Writing (multi-genre). English 3343: Fiction Workshop.
University of South Alabama. Adjunct Faculty. Fall 2013 to August 2014.
English Composition 101. Composition 101 prepares the student for writing in other courses at the University of South Alabama (USA) and other colleges, familiarizing the student with notions of rhetoric and audience analysis.
University of Southern Mississippi. Teaching Assistant. Fall 2009 to spring 2012.
English Composition 101 and 102. Composition 101 focuses on the development of students’ abilities to critically read, reflect on, and respond to different writing situations. Composition 102 is designed to build upon the repertoire of strategies for successful writing learned in English 101; English 102 focuses on persuasive and researched writing.
Technical Writing 333. English 333 aims to prepare students to read, conduct research, and communicate more effectively in a range of academic, professional, and public settings.
English 203. (World Literature) includes readings of memoir, drama, poetry, and short stories from around the world. Working from my own syllabus, my class was focused on in-class discussions, close readings, and an introduction to literary analysis.
Gemini Ink
Writers-In-Communities, (WIC), a program that sends professional writers into diverse community settings to offer free workshops based in reading, creative writing, oral traditions, and storytelling. Taught flash fiction workshops to San Antonio high school students. 2008.
Highland Park High School
Flash fiction teacher at the Highland Literary Festival in Dallas, Texas. November, 2007.
Beijing Language and Culture University
Beginning and Advanced Composition, Business English, American Culture and Society, Readings in Selected Periodicals.
Publications
Books, Chapbooks
Quarry Light. Northampton: Magic Helicopter Press, 2013. Print. 20% of all pre-ordered sales will be donated to The Shafer Center, a crisis
center located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
Put Your Head In My Lap. Portland: Future Tense Books, 2009. Print.
Reprint: A Peculiar Feeling of Restlessness: Four Chapbooks of Short-Short Fiction By Four Women. Brookline: Rose Metal Press, 2008. Print.
The Sky is a Well and Other Shorts. Brookline: Rose Metal Press, 2007. Print.
Novel Chapter
Box City. New World Writing. 21 July. 2013. Web.
Novella
Sustainable Development. Inkburns. 11 Jan. 2004. Web.
Nonfiction
“Fresh Whole Milk.” The Southwest Review. February 2020. Web.
“Dispatch From a Pandemic: Houston.” Another Chicago Magazine. June 2020. Web.
“In Between.” Gay Magazine. February 2020. Web.
“Trek Across a Trackless Land.” Fierce: Essays by and about Dauntless Women.
Nauset Press. 2018.
“The Bones: A Letter To My Daughter.” The Texas Review. 39 (3&4) Fall/Winter 2018. Print.
“What The Body Remembers.” The Manifest-Station. April 2016. Web.
“What If I’m Actually A Character in a Larry McMurtry Novel?” LitHub. July 2016. Web.
Review of Flash Fiction International. American Book Review.
“Basic. Bitch.” The Toast/The Butter. January 2015. (edited by Roxane Gay).
“In My Clothes.” The Rumpus. August 2014. (edited by Roxane Gay).
“Both Nostalgic and Sinister.” American Book Review. November/December 2014.
“Implied Narrative.” American Book Review. May/June 2010. Print.
“Pillow.” Make. Fall 2009. Print.
"Submarine Dreams." What Happened To Us These Last Couple Years? An Anthology of The Bush Years. Elope Press and So New Publishing, 2008. Print.
Poetry
"Diagramming" (sestina). Product 25. The University of Southern Mississippi. Summer 2011. Web.
Short Stories
“Propriety.” Product 26, Center For Writers English Dept., 2011. Print.
“Catgirl.” Lone Star Noir. Anthology. Akashic Press and Cinco Puntos Press, 2010: 41-64. Print.
“His Lovely Hands.” Product 24. The University of Southern Mississippi. 2010. Print.
“Hook.” Storyglossia. March 2008. Web.
“Virgins.” Juked 4. Fall 2006: 52-57. Print.
“Under the Floorboards.” (Cordelia Snow.) Horror Library I. Ed. R.J. Cavender. Cutting Block Press, 2006. 74-83. Print.
“Daughter.” Night Train 5. 2005: 35-38. Print.
“Swimmer.” The Shore. Winter 2004: 29-30. Print.
“My Mother In The Car.” Pig Iron Malt. 1 Jan. 2003. Web.
“Speeding.” Annandale. 1992: 21-27. Print.
Short- Short Stories (selected)
“The Wolf.” New World Writing Fall 2015.
“Gacy’s Wife.” New Flash Fiction edited by Robert Shapard. July 2015.
“Big Sky.” Corium Magazine. Spring 2015.
“Hula.” Wigleaf, November 2012. Web.
"Pillow." Fiction Southeast. July 2011. Web.
“Film.” Wigleaf. 4 Aug. 2009. Web.
“Pillow.” Make. Fall 2009. Print.
“Scout Lantern.” WigLeaf. 15 March 2008. Web.
“Babyfat.” Noo. 26 May 2008. Web.
“Derrick.” Juked. 6 Aug. 2008. Web.
“What Becomes You.” Steel City Review. 1 Jan. 2007. Web.
“Eclipse.” FriGG. 1 Feb. 2007. Web.
“Victorious.” FriGG. 1 Feb. 2007. Web.
“Catalog.” Literary Mama. 13 May 2007. Web.
“First Stop.” Literary Mama. 2007. Web.
“Wipe-Out.” 3:00 A.M. Magazine. 22 March 2007. Web.
“Red.” Night Train Magazine. 13 Aug. 2007. Web.
“Halcyon.” Juked. 24 Oct. 2007. Web.
“Her Lips.” Smokelong Quarterly. 15 Jun 2. 2006. Web.
“Sugar.” Smokelong Quarterly. 2007. Web.
“Icicle.” Juked. 20 Feb. 2006. Web.
“Swallow.” Snowvigate. 1 March 2006. Web.
“Colts.” elimae. 1 May 2006. Web. The New Microfiction. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, August 2018. Print.
“Slip.” Mississippi Review Online. 1 July 2006. Web.
“Possum.” Juked. 26 Sept. 2006. Web.
“Quarry Light.” Juked. 30 Nov. 2006. Web.
“My Lawrence.” 2005. New Sudden Fiction: Short-Short Stories From America And Beyond. Ed.
Robert Shapard and James Thomas. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2007. 105-110. Print.
“Bluebonnet.” Juked. 24 June 2005. Web.
“Harvest Moon.” Juked. 20 Sept. 2005. Web.
“Opium.” elimae. 1 Sept. 2005. Web.
“Germ.” Ghoti. 15 Oct. 2005. Web.
“Mermaid.” Pindeldyoboz. 24 Oct. 2005. Web. The New Microfiction. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, August 2018. Print.
“Liar.” Hobart. 1 Jan. 2004.
“The Wooly Mammoth.” Eyeshot. 18 Jan. 2004. Web.
“Cherry.” Failbetter. 1 Sept. 2004. Web.
“Whole.” Temenos. 1Sept. 2004. Web.
“Love Scavenger.” Word Riot. 1 Aug. 2003. Web.
“Angel Wings.” Pindeldyboz. 9 Sept 2003. Web.
“How To Catch A Good Girl.” Word Riot. 1Dec. 2003. Web.
“The House I Left Behind.” The Salt River Review. 2002. Web.
Editing
Guest Editor (forthcoming, June 2013) Smokelong Quarterly.
Staff editor, Hobart. 2005-07.
Guest editor, Firsts and Lasts of Hobart. 2005.
Guest editor, Smokelong Quarterly.
Guest editor, Word Riot.
Editorial assistant, Burlington Free Press. 1995.
Interim Text editor, Bard College Publications, including Annandale, Hudson Valley Review, and Word and Image. 1993.
Related Experience
University of Southern Mississippi
Teaching Assistant World Literature 203. Graded hundreds of papers online, provided quiz questions to a team-taught class, and provided support to students during on-line chat hours. 2009.
Austin Community College
Reference Librarian. 2000-2001. Provided in-depth reference service to students, instructors, and the public. Created library displays for the Eastview campus; developed themes, compiled special bibliographies, and created informational handouts and study guides. Responsible for research and library use instruction at the reference desk, library tours, and classroom presentations. Developed library assignments collaboratively with the faculty.
Academic Service
S.A.W.G. San Antonio Writers Guild
Judge, Flash Fiction, for the San Antonio Writer’s Guild annual contest (2011).
Beijing Language and Culture University
Thesis Advisor and Review Board Member for graduating students.
Central Michigan University
Final judge for the 2007 Litzenberg prize, a scholarship prize for undergraduate students.
Honors and Awards
Discovery Prize Winner. Winner, The 2013-2014 League of Texas Discovery Prize, Quarry Light.
Winner, The Joan Johnson Award, an award for most outstanding achievement by a graduate student in poetry or fiction at The University of Southern Mississippi, 2012.
Honorable Mention in the poetry category for the graduate publication, Product, for the poem "Diagramming."
Honorable Mention for the Joan Johnson Award, an award for outstanding achievement by a graduate student in poetry or fiction at The University of Southern Mississippi. 2011, 2010.
Winner in nonfiction category for the graduate publication, Product, for the short essay, “Pillow.”
Winner for the collection The Sky Is A Well And Other Shorts, Rose Metal Press’ first annual short-short chapbook competition.
Winner of the New England Bookbuilders’ Award 2007.
Featured in Powell’s ”Daily Dose.” 2007.
Pushcart nominee 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008; a total of 12 Pushcart nominations.
StorySouth’s Million Writers’ Award notable short story for “Snow Squall,” 2005.
StorySouth’s Million Writers’ Award notable short story for “Monopoly,” 2004.
StorySouth’s Million Writers’ Award Top Ten Online Story for “How to Catch a Good Girl,” 2003.
Semifinalist for the James Jones First Novel Fellowship for A Girl Like That 1997.
Winner of the Wilton Moore Lockwood Prize presented to the student who has submitted the most distinguished creative or critical writing in coursework at Bard College. 1992.
Winner of the Mary McCarthy Prize given to the most promising prose or fiction writer at Bard College. 1990.
Presentations
“Late Yeats.” Panel presentation with Dr. Michael Mays and Ali Tharp. Presentation at the ACIS (American Conference for Irish Studies), 2012.
“The Dancer Becomes the Dance: Art and Transcendence in W.B. Yeats’ Sailing to Byzantium and Among School Children.” Presentation at the University of Mississippi’s Faculty Graduate Research Colloquium, 2011.
“A Chorus of Hauntings: Giving Breath to Ghosts.” Panel discussion with Deborah Poe, Cole Swensen, Jake Adam York, Brandon Shimoda, and Selah Saterstrom. AWP Conference (Denver), 2010.
“Fluid Borders, An International Writing Community: a 21st Collaborative Phenomenon.” Panel discussion with Darlin’ Neal, Kim Chinquee, Pia Ehrhardt, Kathy Fish, and Jeff Landon. AWP Conference (New York), 2008.
“The Online Writing Community and Flash Fiction: Words Across the World.” Panel discussion with Darlin’ Neal, Jeff Landon, Girija Tropp, Liesl Jobson, and Kathy Fish. AWP Conference (Atlanta), 2007.
Interviews
Gaudry, Molly. Online interview. Rumble Magazine 31 Oct. 2009.
Jobson, Liesl. Online interview. Eclectica July 2007.
McKnight, Erin. Online interview. Prick of the Spindle 2008.
Nellen, Stefani. Online interview. The Short Review Feb. 2008.
Young, Joe. Online interview. Smokelong Quarterly 2007.
Spitzer, Kelly. Juked Issue 5 Winter 2007-2008.
Tanzer, Ben Online Interview. Orange Alert 12 Nov. 2009.
Reviews (Selected)
Pettice, Mary. “Comment and Witness.” Review of Quarry Light. American Book Review Vol. 36, Number 2 Jan/Feb 2015.
Review of “Catgirl” in Lone Star Noir. Kirkus Book Reviews 1 Nov. 2010.
Review of A Peculiar Feeling of Restlessness: Four Chapbooks of Short Short Fiction by Four Women. Carp(e) Libris Reviews 3 June 2008.
Carmen, Sean. Review of The Sky Is A Well And Other Shorts. Bookslut Sept. 2007.
Collins, Myfanwy. Blowing Minds. Review of A Peculiar Feeling of Restlessness: Four Chapbooks of Short Short Fiction by Four Women. Quick Fiction 9 May 2008.
D’Agostino, Paul. Review Of A Peculiar Feeling of Restlessness: Four Chapbooks of Short Short Fiction by Four Women. American Book Review. Vol. 30, Issue 2. Jan/Feb 2009.
Gaudry, Molly. Review of Put Your Head In My Lap. The Chapbook Review Nov. 2009.
Koch, P.G. Review of “Catgirl” in Lone Star Noir. Austin Chronicle 17 Oct. 2010.
Malone, DiAnne. A Book of Ubiquitous Movement. Review of A Peculiar Feeling of Restlessness: Four Chapbooks of Short Short Fiction by Four Women. Gently Read Literature 1 Aug. 2008.
Nellen, Stefani. Review of The Sky Is A Well And Other Shorts. The Short Review 2007.
Rooney, Kathleen. Review of Put Your Head In My Lap. Black Ocean Press Oct. 2009. Web
Scott, Bradley. Review of “Catgirl” in Lone Star Noir. American Library Journal Xpress Reviews 1 Oct. 2010.
Translations
“Kwiaty Od Dziewczny Z Ohio.” (“Flowers from an Ohio Girl.”) Trans. Dorota d’ Aystettan. Minimal Books, 2010. Web.
“Mi robot.” (“My Robot.”) Trans. Toshiya Kamei. El Puero Cuento, num 5. Mexico City, Mexico. Print and Web.
“Sminka.” (“Lipstick.”) Trans. Piotr Siwecki. Minimal Books, 2009. Web. Minimal Books, Antologia, 2010. Print.