Rebecca Hart Olander
Rebecca Hart Olander, Instructor
Office: Bates 203A
Email: rolander@westfield.ma.edu
Phone: 413-572-8235
Before joining the faculty at WSU, Rebecca Hart Olander taught secondary English at West Springfield High School; edited a magazine about food, wine, and travel; interviewed prospective students and read applications for admission at Hampshire College; led writing workshops and book groups for people of all ages; and worked for a variety of local publications and educational institutions. Her poetry has been recently published in Brilliant Corners, Yemassee Journal, Naugatuck River Review, and Silkworm and her critical work has appeared in Rain Taxi Review of Books, Solstice Literary Magazine, and Valparaiso Poetry Review. She was the winner of the 2013 Women's National Book Association poetry contest.
Education:
- M.F.A. in Poetry, Vermont College of Fine Arts, 2015
- M.A.T. in English, Smith College, 1996
- B.A. in Humanities, Division III: Poetry, Hampshire College, 1993
Courses Taught:
- English 101: Composition I
- English 102: Composition II
- English 102: Writing about Innocence and Incarceration
Professional Activities:
- Director, Perugia Press
- Founding Member, “Working Titles” Creative Writing Collective
- Founding Member, Straw Dog Writers’ Guild
- Member, Vernon Street Writers
- Member, Friends of the Emily Dickinson Museum
- Advisory Committee Member, “30 Poems in November!” literacy project
- Member, Composition Committee, Westfield State University
- Member, Academy of American Poets
- Member, Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP)
