English instructor leaving PSU

At the end of fall quarter, Portland State will lose a successful writer and professor; Debra Gwartney, an assistant professor in the English Department and a National Book Critics Circle Award finalist, is leaving after six years to work on her writing.

Gwartney has primarily taught nonfiction writing during her time at PSU, along with some literature classes. However, the memoir genre interests her most.

“The memoir writing courses I’ve taught have been particularly popular—they’ve been inspiring and fun for me, too,” she said. “Every time I teach a course… I learn something new about myself as a writer.”

During her career at PSU, Gwartney received two nominations for the John Eliot Allen Excellence in Teaching Award.

“This makes me think that the sense of satisfaction and excitement I get in the classroom is happening for students, too,” she said.

Aside from teaching, Gwartney also helped establish the MFA creative writing program at PSU.

Support from local organizations and the PSU community have kept Gwartney busy on her writing. Over the past two to three years, she has been engaged in research for her current project. She said much of the support comes from a fellowship she received from the American Antiquarian Society and a PSU faculty grant.

“I’m ready to concentrate on writing, the structure and development of ideas,” she said. Her interest in frontier history and her family’s role in it will be incorporated into her next book.

MFA graduate student Steve Beaven said he has taken several classes with Gwartney over four years.

“She is, without a doubt, the best teacher I’ve ever had,” he said. “She puts in a lot of time with her students and is a great advocate for their work. This is really a loss for the writing program.”

Gwartney’s plate is full for the foreseeable future, with invitations to panel the NonfictionNow Conference at the University of Iowa this fall and a fellowship from the Writer’s Center in Washington, D.C. She is also finishing an essay for a book about the American West, edited by Lynn Stegner.

“I’m thrilled to have a piece in that anthology, especially since I see my writing interests turning more to considerations of the mythology of the West,” Gwartney said.

In addition, she will be busy teaching workshops, as well as traveling with her husband, Barry Lopez, who is also a writer.

Aside from writing several essays, Gwartney is the author of Live Through This: A Mother’s Memoir of Runaway Daughters. She is also the co-editor of Home Ground: Language for an American Landscape, and has appeared on National Public Radio’s “This American Life.” This fall she will be teaching a memoir-writing class along with an MFA nonfiction workshop.